TODAY IS RELEASE DAY!

When I started writing a novel (that no one will ever see) years ago, I researched the publishing industry and totally chickened out. I thought there was no way I was going to be good enough. The prospect of one day walking into a Barnes & Noble and finding a book I'd written on the shelf seemed an impossibility.

But the thing is, if this form of creating is inside of you, it finds a way out. You have to write. You have stories to tell. You suck it up and do the work because you love it and can't imagine your life without this part of you. You long to create characters and stories that someone else can connect with. To share a little piece of what's inside your head, even if just for that one person that needed to hear what you had to say. You get better by doing. By reading. By listening. By seeing. By not quitting.

Starting today I'm going to be able to walk into a bookstore and find a book with my name on it, with words I've written inside, and this is so huge I can't even fully process it. From this day on, I'll always be a published author. Like, what?! ALL THE MUPPET FLAILS!!

And I owe a million thanks to my critique girls, Katie M. Stout, Kristi Chestnutt, and Kim Franklin, and to readers Amy Sonnichsen, Cari, and Mari. My amazing agent Marietta B. Zacker, and incredible editor Caroline Abbey. Laura Whitaker and everyone at Bloomsbury! My supportive and loving family and friends, in-person and online! My journey here wouldn't be the same without each of you.

Colosseum at night

In Wish You Were Italian, Pippa makes a list of ten goals for her summer in Italy:

• Don’t get arrested
• Don’t make a fool out of myself in public
• Get my picture taken at the Colosseum
• Find random souvenir for Morgan
• Get a makeover
• See Pompeii
• Swim in the Mediterranean Sea
• Have a conversation with someone in only Italian
• Eat a whole pizza in one sitting
• Fall in love with an Italian

If I were spending an entire summer in Italy (hey, it's fun to dream!), here are ten things I'd want to do!

• Take an official tour of the Colosseum, including the scary bottom level
• Go to the catacombs
• See Pompeii
• Eat gelato at least twice a day
• Paint on location instead of later from a picture
• Take a gondola ride in Venice
• Stay at a bed and breakfast in Tuscany 
• Learn to make authentic pasta from scratch
• Rent a bicycle and ride around a quaint village
• Learn to speak enough Italian to get by without relying on English

Hubs and me eating gelato in Corniglia, Cinque Terre

 

Painter in Florence | Bikes in Florence

What would you do with a whole summer in Italy?!

If you'd like a signed copy of Wish You Were Italian, my local indie bookstore ships! Click THIS LINK to order, marking any personalization details in the order comments. 

Is it Spring Where You Live? (With Lots of Pictures!)

Yesterday I set out with my camera to capture springtime. It's HERE (and my sinuses aren't happy about it). I paid for these photos dearly last night when my head felt like it was about to explode, but seeing them this morning (headache free), it was worth it! Here's a little glimpse of what spring looks like in Houston for those of you who don't live here.

These first six were taken at my parents' house.

Bzzzzzz:

Purty butterfly:

 

The flower on a dill plant looks like fireworks:

Fern:

Another fern:

Verbena:

These were taken at my parents' land. Last year we didn't have a good showing of bluebonnets due to drought, but this year they are thick!!

Yes, Indian paintbrushes ARE that blindingly bright. It almost hurts to look at them. But they're such an interestingly shaped flower!

Happy spring from me and Handy!

Is it spring where YOU live yet?!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, from my family to yours!

A Year on Etsy

Well, it's been a slow start for me on Etsy. I've officially had my store up for a year now, and have only made two sales (better than none, I know). So, as fellow consumers of handmade products on Etsy, what are some things that you might be tempted to buy from a photographer? Here are some things I've been considering adding to the shop.

• Prints (obviously... because that's all I have on there so far :)
• Notecards (blank on the inside with a photo on the front)
• Bookmarks (maybe a series of 4 in a pack?)

Any of these sound appealing? Any other ideas of things I could try to do with my images?

If you haven't been to my Etsy store in a while, check it out. I've recently added some new prints.

My New WIP Setting, Tilt-Shift Style!

What's tilt-shift? It's a type of photography that I haven't officially tried, but you can fake it in Photoshop. Basically, it makes the photo kind of look like you took a picture of miniatures or a model set.

It's probably not a surprise to most of you that the new story I'm working on is set in Italy. I've been going through all my travel photos for inspiration, and I've been playing with them in Photoshop to give them a fun twist--the tilt-shift twist! It works better on some than others, but either way, it brings a new life to the photos. Fresh and fun. Enjoy!

My MC starts out in Rome

And eventually she settles in Cinque Terre because, well, if you've ever been there, you know how hard it is to leave.

View from her window in Riomaggiore

 Makes me ache to go back. I told Handy I was working on a new story set in Italy and the first thing out of his mouth was, "And I suppose you have to go back for research now?" HA! I wish we could! I'll have to settle for sifting through all the photos and maps and travel guides I collected back when I was planning. Sigh. 

What about you? Do you use photos for inspiration? Ever set one of your stories in a place you went on vacation because you loved it so?! 

Help! I need your opinion!!

Okay blogging friends, I'm considering entering a photo into a photography contest (it's for a magazine cover), and while I'm certainly not expecting to win, I still want to have a great submission.  Here are a few of the ones I'm torn between.  Which one is your favorite?!

#1

#2

 #3

#4

Springtime, Photo Props, Winners, and Blog Hop Giveaways, OH MY!

Lots to cover in this here post!!  First... I can't believe it's spring already! This year is already flying by at warp speed--and the bluebonnets are blooming!!  Check out this little cutie I took pictures of today!

I was so excited to finally use one of my props I bought last year!  And he was only sitting on it for about 2 seconds, so I'm pretty proud of this one. haha.

Ok, I've been SO slow announcing the winners of my Birthday giveaway... and I'm SO sorry.  I am just having the hardest time deciding because all of your ideas sound fun.  But I've definitely decided to give someone a new banner, and someone a new button--so there will be two winners!! I'll try to have this figured out soon!!

And for those of you interested in snagging a SIGNED copy of Across the Universe by Beth Revis, head over to BOOKRUSHED because we are part of a super fun giveaway hop!  AND scroll down to a previous post to see about unfollowing/refollowing to correct our feed in your reader. We had some issues before, which have since been resolved, but it may require a correct unfollow/refollow from you if you were following us before the fix!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone--be safe!!

Plugged Back In, and Giveaway Reminder

How is the first Monday of the year shaping up?  Hard to get motivated?  Excited about the clean slate?  Both??

Don't forget about my Blogiversary Giveaway (I think I accidentally called it a contest... I always get those mixed up.. but whatever  :) that ends at MIDNIGHT CENTRAL on January 9th.  It looks like we'll only have one winner--I'm not holding my breath on reaching 300 followers by then--so the winner will get a $15 gift card emailed to them for Amazon. If you haven't entered yet, you might as well!

ENTER HERE 

I had a nice unplugged New Year's weekend at a friend's parent's ranch near Waco.  Did some knitting, reading, picture taking, and lots of good eating!  Here are a few pictures:

Kissed by a cow!

A curious donkey named Rebecca.

Sunset...

Super old tractor likely left by the previous previous land owners.

First time one of my sun flares gave me a polygonal shape vs round... must be the lens filter...

Sunset again...

My friend's dad owns a car dealership in Waco and this is part of one of their old signs they have out at the ranch.

Some really cute pink berries--no clue what they are.

Holly with a color effect for funsies... so long Christmas... see you next year!

I Was Framed!

Well, I'm getting frames!  I've partnered with a frame company, The Organic Bloom, that only sells to photographers and I think it's love.  Here's the promo I made (and other vendors are asking me if they can use it too--so I feel SUPER cool!).

These all come in pretty much every size you can want, starting at 2x3 ornament size up to gigantic. 

My samples are on their way! So excited! :)

If any of you are interested in more info about ordering some, just holler!

His name is Stanley. And Etsy Store RELAUNCH!

Thank you all for your kind words about my branch! 

And I didn't mention it before, but his name is Stanley...

Every year, I name my tree, or rather, it names itself.  Sometimes after all the ornaments are on, sometimes in the tree lot, the name will come into my head and then there is no going back--it has to be the first one I think of.  Usually our trees are girls (Francesca, Caroline, Isabella....), but this year, the branch is a boy.  And his name is Stanley. 

Anyway... here is a gift idea for you!  I'm giving the Etsy store another go!  People sell stuff on there, I know they do... so I've got some Italy prints available if anyone is interested. 

Things like 

and

and

and some others.  I had a friend order four from me yesterday and she didn't understand why I wasn't trying to sell them, so.... now I guess I am. :)

LINK TO MY ETSY STORE!

Check back tomorrow for my blogiversary contest announcement!

Who's Counting?

Whoever says, "...but who's counting?" is usually the one that's doing counting, right?  

These days, I'm counting a lot of things...

CALORIES

This past Friday I started counting calories (again).  Seriously though, that extra 20 pounds I thought I had to lose is now magically 30.  Yeah... that blasted scale.  I'll tell you WHAT, if you don't want to know, don't get on it, but if you do, there is no greater motivator.  Simply working out has NOT been cutting it, so I'm back to counting everything that goes in my mouth, and I'm only drinking water--which isn't too hard, since it's pretty much all I drink anyway.  Since Friday, I've been between 1200-1500 a day (the goal is 1400, as it's too dangerous to go below 1200 a day, especially while working out).

I know what you're saying... how many health kicks can this girl go through in a year?!

At least one more ;)

PHOTO SESSIONS

Now that the job security blanket has been thrown out, I've been counting how many sessions I book--there is a certain number of sessions I need a month to make what I made at my former job.  

Am I there yet? 

Not even close.  

But I'm still counting.

EDITED PHOTOS

I count how many photos I edit per session, yes I do. 

BLOG COMMENTS

I like to see the number of comments that come through, not gonna lie. 

DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

40 days to go people.  Have I bought anything yet? 

No.

$ 

It's pretty important to have an idea of what's coming in... and making sure there is less going out.

Anyone know of good coupon resources? Because I'm considering being a coupon cutter....

DAYS UNTIL HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PT1

Oh yes, I am.  I'm planning to go Friday at some point.  I always say I want to wait for the big releases to die down a bit, but the trailer looks SO stinking exciting, I don't think I can wait.

What are you counting?

Catching up, Blasts from the Past, and Newborns Everywhere!

It seems like every time I say I'm getting better about blogging and commenting on your blogs, I miss a whole week of it!  My head just hasn't been in the game this week.  I finally got Photoshop for my Mac in, and even though I know how photoshop works (for the most part), I still feel like I'm learning it all over again... new mouse, new keyboard... new operating system.  It's like I was driving standard, and now I'm driving a stick shift. hahaha. But... a much FASTER and PRETTIER car of course. 

---

I was anti-Facebook for a long time, as some of you know.  But when I started my photography biz, I signed up because it really is a great marketing tool.  Much more so than my photography blog... I only have 6 followers there, where as my FB page has 86 "Likes".  Not too terrible for a couple months, I'd say.  

And I've reconnected with some people from the past, and it's not only neat to see where they are in their lives, but some of them have inquired about photo sessions. :)

About a month ago I reconnected with someone I used to coach with back in my figure skating days, and she had her second baby the same day another friend of mine from the rink days did!  

I LOVE taking pictures of brand new little humans.  Even though they really really really don't like getting their picture taken for hours on end, they need to eat VERY OFTEN, and they pee and dump all over everything, I am just so honored to capture this moment in their lives. 

Here are a few of my favorites from the last two newborn sessions!

Miss E

Miss T

Marketing on Halloween? Opinion PLEASE!

I'm not even going to tell y'all how frustrated I've been the past two days (with no end in site!)... there's no reason to bring you down with me!  All I'm saying is: computer virus, thought it was fixed, desktop icons, start menu, and taskbar are all M.I.freakin.A  I guess I have a date with the Geek Squad tomorrow, because clearly this is beyond my capabilities (And that's what makes me the most angry, I think).

ANYWAY... OPINION TIME!!

I frequently look at other photographer's work and websites, and I saw that one local gal is tying a business card to bags of M&Ms to pass out to trick-or-treaters.  Another blogger I saw is passing out little goody bags to the parents with her biz info.

Some of the comments I've seen under proclamations such as these were interesting.  For every 5 people that think it's a great idea and want to try it themselves, there is 1 person who thinks it's very very tacky (obviously, not a business owner).  

Now, I'm a bit on the fence, because initially I thought, WHAT A COOL IDEA!! It clearly sounds perfect to give parents my photography info, because what parent doesn't like pictures of their kid? (And Christmas is coming up, HELLO)

But the Negative Nellys out there made me stop in my tracks, because I hate the idea of people thinking poorly of me (or that I am tacky! HEAVEN FORBID!), and I don't want to get a bad rep right when I'm starting out.  

But again, I just lost my job (so I'm desperate for ways to find clients) and how many free marketing tools are there?  After all, people will be coming to MY DOOR (or, my parent's neighbor's driveway for the hayride, which is where I will very likely be) begging for MY CANDY, so would it be considered soliciting at that point?

So what do I do?  Make up treat bags with a discount coupon for a session and give them to the adults?  Ask them outright if it would offend them?  Forget I ever saw the idea? 

Alaska Pictures!

Last month, hubs and I went to Alaska with his parents, brother, and our sister in law.  (This trip was planned and paid for long before the lay-off knowledge... we really aren't irresponsible with money!)  

Despite knowing I was out of a job in just a few weeks, I was able to relax!  I took TONS of pictures; did quite a bit of fishing; taught my sister in law how to knit scarves (while sitting on the porch of the house we rented, in full view of a GLACIER... amazing); read Paranormalcy by Kiersten White, A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray, and started Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (it was on the bookshelf at the house, so I had to pick it up--I finished it at home with a library copy... it was okay); stalked the Time Bandit from Deadliest Catch; ate the most AMAZING snow crab legs; ate more; shopped along the Spit in Homer; got my internal clock all messed up and STILL haven't recovered (not having a job to get to everyday will allow you to sleep in... and stay up late... it's a problem).  I'd definitely go back to Alaska at some point.  The weather was gorgeous, scenery was, well... take a looksie: 

The river outside our cabin in Cooper Landing:

Night view from house in Homer:

Sunset on the Spit in Homer

  

Amazing food!  We ate at a fish market on the Spit that gets their crab from the Time Bandit!

We took a glacier tour!  This sucker is MASSIVE.  A mile wide where it touches the water.  If you look closely, you'll see a huge piece of this is falling off.

This is the same photo as above, but to give you an idea of scale, click on the photo so it fills your screen and see mid-left I highlighted a massive bird flying in the shot.

Bear print we saw at one of our stops on a guided fishing trip.  According to our guide, this was a smaller bear, maybe 2 years old.  My hand wouldn't even take up the bottom portion.

A black bear we spotted on the glacier tour.  The black bears are smaller than the brown ones because black bears stick to the mountains and eat mostly berries and what they can find, while the brown bears stick to the rivers and eat fish, getting more protein.

Brown bear we spotted on our fishing trip.  Even though he's super far away, and I zoomed in as much as I could (and cropped the photo to zoom in even more, so it's a little grainy), you can see this sucker is MASSIVE.  There were people wade fishing right by him, but he only cared about the fish.  Here he was walking along a sand bar, and shortly after he went for a swim, scooping up fishies and tearing them to shreds.  It was fascinating.

A pair of Otters we saw on the glacier tour.  They just float on their backs and twirl around in the water, keeping a layer of air between their skin and the water for insulation.

These were the most skittish little guys.  As soon as the boat approached, away they flew, or down they dove.  This little Puffin had trouble taking off and kept skimming the water surface.  I zoomed in as far as I could, and crop zoomed even more, so it's a bit grainy.  You can still see how adorable he is though! 

I did NOT expect to see so many sea lions.  This is just one location we found them on our glacier tour.  They were LOUD too!

Here is the front of the Time Bandit, as seen on Deadliest Catch.  We didn't get to meet Captain Jonathan or his brothers, but we did meet their mom working in their little Time Bandit Shop! (But I did meet Captain Sig Hansen (of the Northwestern) and his brother Edgar at Disney World a few years back!)

That's us... in a crab pot.  From left to right:

Hubs, me, sister-in-law, bro-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law 

Here is hubs fly fishing with the new rod his dad got him for his birthday.

That's all I've edited so far... just the highlights of the trip.   Hope you enjoyed them!