Thursday, October 17, 2013

Pocket Forest’s E-Book Release!

When I think of the new edition, I compare it to the highly unlikely scenario where, after receiving your baby at the hospital, a nurse chases you down to say, “Ma’am, wait! You actually delivered twins!”

Then she hands you another wrinkly little baby that looks nothing like the previous one, yet they both share the same piercing scream.

It has to be like that.

Deathless Press had published my chapbook, Pocket Forest, back in August. The first edition sold out within 12 hours. The second and third editions are, as of last week, officially sold. Sometimes people email me photos of their copies, which always makes me a little teary-eyed. It’s like I’m looking at babies.


Babies... have mustaches, right? Thanks for the photos, Allison and Cara!

Having my first published book sell out, no matter how small, is a great accomplishment. But logically, it also means that no more copies are coming. If you had been hoping to snag one, I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… unless you spot someone walking down the street with a copy of Pocket Forest and steal it from them.



So how did this whole e-book thing start? Supplies to create more copies of my book were dwindling and Deathless Press had to start making Fall 2013’s lineup. Time to move on… except for the fact that readers were still asking for it. Deathless Press and I kicked around some ideas about what to do next. We talked about publishing an e-book and the plan began to solidify. I looked forward to updates from DP and just about swooned when I saw the e-book cover.

Yet plans change sometimes.

Publishing the e-book wasn't going to mesh with DP’s vision of the press. I understood that. So we shook hands and the reigns got turned over to me.

I decided to publish Pocket Forest with Amazon. My inner perfectionist came out while wrestling with the formatting. There was always another typo I missed (I’m the queen of typos. My kingdom is vast.); getting the spacing just right, when it came to chapter titles, was a bit tricky too.

Don’t get me started on the Online Previewer. It lets you see how your e-book will look on various platforms, including iPads and iPhones. Very, very cool… until, if you’re like me, you spend a good few hours reading each version in a last-ditch hunt for final edits.

But really, the entire process is easy. After I submitted the e-book for approval last evening, I went to sleep… and woke up at midnight with an urge to see if my book was online.

And guys. It was.

That’s Sonic speed, right there.

It’s going to take Google a little longer before the link comes up in a search, so you can find the e-book edition by typing in the title and author into the Amazon search bar or simply click on one of the numerous, clearly-marked links on my blog:


One last thing: Don’t forget to leave a review for Pocket Forest once you’ve read it. You can post it on Amazon and/or Goodreads. And please be honest. I can take it!

Something like that, I suspect.

Regular readers of my blog may be getting a tad tired of all the Pocket Forest news, so I promise to entertain you with other topics this month (and next month. Yes).

Unless you want me to talk more about PF. In which case, feel free to ask me a question in the comment section or email me.

Otherwise, I’ll be catching you up to speed on:
  •  how it feels to be stuck in revision hell (fun times)        
  • my NaNoWriMo plans and current writing project
  • that Boardwalk post I mentioned in the previous post.

Happy Reading!

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Disney's Food and Wine Festival 2013

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN! Covering Disney's Food and Wine Festival is becoming one of the most fun and intensive traditions I have on this blog. Saying I look forward to this event every year is an understatement. I love trying new foods from other countries. I am a foodie at heart, despite not cooking much myself. So I love running around from booth to booth, trying new dishes and skulking around the Festival Center to spy on chef demonstrations. 

In past years, I've seen Robert Irvine and dozed in top-secret lounges, but I always try to trump myself. So here we go. 

If you're participating in the Food and Wine Festival, you can pick up free Discovery Passports. The passports are incredibly useful and small enough to tuck in your pocket. You will find the menus from each country's booth, along with a spot for stamps. I've never collected the stamps in previous years (usually because of laziness and forgetfulness), I decided to go for it this time. 

And, that means that I cheated.

Although most of the booths are countries, others are kind of random with no geographical home (like the Cheese Booth, Refreshment Port, and Desserts & Champagne). I don't drink... not really, no, so I wouldn't actually buy anything from the booths focused on alcohol. And even though I try new foods, I don't have enough time or money to conquer the whole circuit in one year. So what I did was get on line at each booth and patiently waited to collect the stamps. Fair enough, right? The weird part was that I wasn't the only one doing this. Other people - grown adults - were racing between booths, passports flapping in their hands. It was invigorating to see, haha. 


The ultimate prize is getting the Stamp of Completion from the Festival Center. Hoo-rah. You don't even know how proud I was to show the passport at the front desk. And, ironically, the cast member working the desk didn't even check to see if I got them all. I guess I look like a trustworthy person. Here they are anyway:



Food I Ate: 

In a nutshell, I must say that everything I've eaten this year was fantastic. You'll notice that I had a lot more dessert; that's basically because it's October and still extremely hot. More hot than previous years. So the weather has made the festival less leisurely and more... like a lot of work. To stay hydrated, I stopped at water fountains and kept ordering dessert. The silk ice cream ribbon (kind of like Ninja Ice's ice cream) and lychee aerated water from the China Booth basically saved my hide during a very cloudless midday heat wave. Florida, man. 


Lobster and Seafood Fisherman's Pie
Ireland Booth

Potato & Leek Waffle with Braised Beef
Belgium Booth

Kielbasa & Potato Pierogi with Caramelized Onions & Sour Cream
Poland Booth

Vegetarian Haggis with Neeps and Tatties
Scotland Booth
*My Favorite*

Trick'n Chick'n Curry with Basmati Rice
Terra Booth (Vegan)

Chili Colorado with House-made Chips & Cashew Cheese
Terra Booth (Vegan)

Youki Tofu
Japan Booth

Mango-Flavored Silk Ice Cream Ribbon
China Booth
*My Favorite* 

Lychee Aerated Water
China Booth 

Pavlova 
Australia Booth

Frozen Smores 
Desserts & Champagne


Guylian Belgian Chocolate Seashell Truffles
Desserts & Champagne
*My Favorite*


Little German Village:


Sorry guys! I wasn't able to update this section this year because, even though I've been a few times, it's still early in the festival for the train village to be updated. So, to make up for it, I have pictures of the new chocolate sculptures from the Chocolate Experience: From Bean to the Bar!




Later in the month, I'm going to put together another post about the Boardwalk, including some adorable ducks taking over the swimming pool at the Dolphin and my spending the majority of the night listening to some awesome music at Jellyrolls, the dueling piano bar.