Thanks! With enough coffee in my system, I always have fun. :)

It all finally hit me a week ago yesterday, when I was reading a Covenant excerpt to the free-writing group I facilitate (obviously not as an example of free-writing). In the back of my mind I thought: I am reading out of a *book* -- and it happens to be *mine*! Holy [expletive of wonder deleted].

Yesterday was my birthday (I'm a Forty Niner!), and I received in the mail a gorgeous cloth designed by a childhood friend. Elana and I have known each other for more than 35 years and were joined at the hip as kids, so much so that our teachers and even our parents sometimes called us by each other's name. The way we played together as adolescents was by sitting side by side and writing, then sharing our stories with each other. Elana's artwork has recently started taking off, and now I know why! (I have yet to take and post a photo, but I plan to within the next couple of days).

I told Elana that her telepathy was in good working order, because down at Necronomicon I was admiring Tracy Akers' sales table. (I've started reading her excellent YA fantasy, The Fire And The Light.) Tracy displayed her books on a beautiful, Celtic-style spread. Now that dealer tables are in my future, especially with Covenant being the first in a series, I decided I wanted something for my own display.

It came in the mail yesterday from a longtime creative soul mate. (Grinnnn.)

I've got three author events coming up this month (the first one is tomorrow at a local bookstore) and am keeping my fingers crossed that the case of 36 books I ordered arrives soon. I started selling copies up here before I realized I needed to hold back (and isn't *that* a nice "problem" to have!) so that I'd have something for the events. In the meantime I've gotten Toys: a display easel on which to put the framed poster of the cover that Aisling provided; several book easels; and postcards, a mug, a T-shirt, and a book bag all imprinted with the cover along with www.aislingpress.com and a credit line to Bo Savino as the cover artist.

(In my head I can hear Mel Books as Yogurt in the movie Spaceballs, declaring that the true power of the Force (aka The Schwartz) is: MOYchendising!)

Yeah, I'm having fun. :-)

Even managed to send out a couple of short submissions and will see how they fly...