Anyway. So in my house, Christmas prep is in full swing. Were it up to my daughter, we would have been decorating a month ago, but I held her off until last week. =) Decorating, baking, holiday preparation is in that category of things I hate to get started on but love to have done. And which tend to engross me once I’m started. Baking gingerbread cookies the other night led to chocolate chip yesterday, and if I weren’t out of sugar and a few other crucial ingredients, I might just go for type 3 today. There’s just something about seeing those beautiful lights sparkling on the tree in my living room that makes me want to break out in song and fill the house with the smells of baking.

And I’m terribly excited to be going to a fancy Christmas party this weekend. I have NEVER had cause to get all dressed up for a Christmas party, so this is fun. And my friend the hostess actually put it together just for a chance to get all fancy schmancy, so it should be extra fun because of its fun-seeking origins. I found an awesome little black dress with a cream sash and some sparkle where strap meets bodice, and the perfect silver shoes. I am not a shoe fiend, but I loooooooove those shoes! As does my hubby, miraculously. So yay! Exciting!

On to the final installment of my subject line. A friend of mine from one of my writing loops got an ARC of Stray Drop and just finished it yesterday. Earlier this week I got an update from Goodreads where she had posted a halfway-through review that was GLOWING, which made my day. Her full reaction was even better. It so, so warms my heart to hear that I actually pulled off what I wanted to in this book. So thanks, Dina!!

Speaking of which, you have a few more days to comment on Tuesday’s WordVessel post for a chance to win. I believe the drawing’s on Saturday. There’ll also be an interview and giveaway on Stephanie Morrill‘s site next week, and I think I’m going to have another title contest on Monday with a copy as one of the prizes. Although y’all should really go buy a gazillion copies for everyone you know too . . . 😉

When best friend Stephanie Morrill kept telling storied about her adorable kiddo kept her humble and anchored during the whole book-release process with cranky days and climbing all over the box of books, I laughed. When it was me whose big day was humbled by children up SEVEN TIMES the night before, leaving me with a whopping four hours of sleep, it wasn’t nearly so funny. Still, I tried really hard to get excited. I sent out emails. I posted blogs and Facebook statuses about it. I commented on the lovely Author Spotlight Patty Wyson had put up about me.

And then I dashed out the door to drop Rowyn off at my mom’s and take Xoe to Story Time at the Library. Fought with them over lunch, battled them back into the car, but Rowyn to bed. Rowyn, who hadn’t gotten nearly enough sleep the night before, WOULD NOT go to bed. I rocked him for half an hour and finally got him to sleep. Of course, rocking for half an hour also lulled me into semi-consciousness, so I had to go nap too.

By the end of the day, feeling more human, I was so ready for the excitement to bear some fruit. I was thrilled by the comments I had gotten on the various postings about the book. I was feeling pretty good, pretty happy, ready to take my place in the annals of history as a fabulous writer! (Okay, exaggeration. LoL)

And then my hubby said, “Log in to the store and see if we have any orders.”

Um, ugh. Nothing bursts my bubble like reality. Because of course there were no orders yet. Not surprising with a small press book on the first day, but still. Being me, I had hoped.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m still excited, I’m having a blast with these first days of promo, of holding those finished books in my hand and saying, “Wow. These are gorgeous.” But I’ve also resigned myself to the fact that, unlike in a book, each story in reality doesn’t have a definite climax. Or at least, not when you expect it. And that’s okay–because my story’s written by a fabulous Author who knows way better than I do where this plotline should go!

(Reminder–you can still enter to win a copy of the book at Patty’s blog through the 6th!)

First, Stray Drop is available for pre-order at CrossPurposes Books. Waiting to put it up on Amazon until we have the cover finalized. For all your crazy cats out there that have mentioned your plans to buy it, feel free to go ahead. =) And if you want it signed, just shoot me an email at roseanna [at] roseannawhite [dot] com and let me know, and I’ll sign it before it gets shipped out. (Sometimes it’s really handy to live with the publisher . . .)

Next up, cover should be finalized within a few days, and I am soooooo excited! Photographer David Schrott will be taking the photos, and the fabulous George Weis of Tekeme Studios will be turning those sure-to-be-amazing photos into a cover. There’s a story behind that, actually. Wanna hear it? If not, read no further, LOL.

At the ACFW conference, I got out the SuperShuttle at the hotel and saw a girl a little younger than me, who I’d spotted at BWI, sitting right across from me. So naturally, I said, “Hey, we were at the airport together!” As it turns out, we also had the same flight home, so we agreed to meet up and have someone to sit with and talk to. This girl is Ashley Weis, and as we got talking, she told me about her husband’s design company. I was at the moment trying to figure out how to get a new cover, so I asked her whether he did book designs, and she assured me he did. I had a gut feeling then and there that the Lord was answering my cover-prayers!

I’m very excited at how Ashley’s husband got the vision for the book; the design he proposed is exactly what I was hoping for, and I know the execution will be stunning. Interestingly, Ashley herself will be the model, and I know she’ll be a fantastic Abigail.

Anyway. Rest assured I’ll be posting the cover as soon as I have the file!

Moving on. In the weeks leading up to release and through the month of December, instead of My Friend Fridays featuring my author buds, I’m going to be featuring the characters from Stray Drop, starting tomorrow with Abigail. I hope y’all tune in to get a sneak peek at these guys!

In high school, I got a little bit of experience with actual clay, the kind you shape and model and fire in a kiln. The kind that, as my art-teacher BIL pointed out the other week, is muddy and dark when you’re working with it, but which emerges from the flames a pure white. All sorts of spiritual significance in that, huh?

But these days, I’m in Play-Doh World. It happens when babies grow into toddlers and need to be entertained at a seat for ten minutes now and then. =) Now, I’m a big Play-Doh fan. Bright colors, non-toxic, not too messy . . . until it starts to dry out. Inescapable, right? Eventually, the modeling compound get dry and crumbly and cracked.

Gee, no spiritual significance in that. Ha. Ha ha. Seriously, I can’t count the number of days I’ve felt like that–like I started out this wonderful, bright, innocent thing, able to be shaped into whatever the Potter wanted. But then life sneaks in, disappointments and rejection keep coming, and there are days when I just feel dried out, crumbly. It doesn’t usually last long (for me–I’ve yet to successfully re-hydrate the Play-Doh), but still.

Then last year, I discovered a kind of RoseArt clay. Bright, colorful, non-toxic, and smells good to boot. And on the bucket, it says “Never dries out!” Yeah, right. Right? I didn’t believe it, and I didn’t figure I should try to test it out. Until one day, my daughter hid some when I wasn’t looking. I found it a week later, sighed, picked it up prepared to throw it away . . . and was amazed. This clay was still malleable. Still soft. Still bright, colorful, non-toxic, and fragrant. Unbelievable!

So as my kids sit here playing with this clay, which has been sitting out for who-knows-how-long (my daughter is an expert hider–I had no clue she had put some in her music box! Oy!) I realize I want to be like this clay. I don’t want to have the excuse of “dried-out days are inescapable.” I don’t want to think that of course things will crumble eventually. Why should they? Why should I? I serve an expert Potter, one who uses a secret formula of life to create the clay from which I’m made. Why should I assume He made me of stuff that can’t survive long in the fresh air?

Play-Doh is still awesome, don’t get me wrong. But I don’t want to be Play-Doh. I want to be made of a clay that can always be reshaped into the image the Potter has in mind, no matter how long I’ve been out in these winds and heat of life. I want to be molded by Him daily. I don’t want to sing about the Potter and the Modeling Compound. I want to be the clay.