Sunday, April 1, 2012

So ...

 It's been a busy week. Max's One Year Clean celebration on Tuesday night with his Cake Night on Sunday, coupled with a couple evenings moving mattresses, along with a Care Home tour, and the usual hospital visits ... it's been tiring but in a mostly good way.

Squeezed into that was also a meeting I had on Friday morning, before I went to work, with a guy I've been  chatting with re: the (private) journal I've been keeping re: the wisdom, experience, and thoughts I've had during this past year in terms of Max's recovery. I contacted the MB Herald and asked if they'd be interested in publishing an article I'd written but they declined. However, Mike (Reimer) who works in their special features department contacted me and thought that one of the Herald's associate publications might be interested. Long story short, after months of meeting for coffee (well, coffee - double/double - for him, tea for me. Old Fashioned plain for him, Chocolate Dipped for me) twice a month, we've agreed on a concept, and I've got a contract to write a small paperback (non-fiction) book for the MB Conference's Educational Division. (!!) (Yes, I think that deserves two exclamation marks.)

I know.

Seriously.

SO exciting. SO scary.

Because I'm an unproven author, Mike has offered to be my co-writer on this project. So very thankful for him and his willingness to work with me on this. I am learning so much from him.

I know what you're thinking. Yes I do.
But you're wrong.
Dead wrong.
I will not be getting rich from this.
Mike and I will be doing this for almost nothing. We're both passionate about the topic, and are seeing this as a service opportunity. Some people go on mission trips. Some people hand out sandwiches on the East Side. Some people write books. It's a great fit.

An unexpected, fun development from all of this?
You'll never guess...

The publisher asked us to submit some cover design ideas, and Mike agreed that Clint is the perfect choice for our graphic needs. Clint and his business partner Adam, have submitted some concept artwork that is fabulous, and I think they're going to go for it. I might be more excited about the opportunities this presents for Clint, than the actual book does for me. Again, there's not much money in this for Clint, but him and Mike get along really well, so I anticipate some collaborations in the future.

And the very best, most exciting part of this all?
Max might be adding two chapters to this book.

Oy. I am so happy.

"For I know the future plans I have for you," says the Lord. "Plans for good and not for evil."

Three things I'm thankful for:
1. Mike asked if he could meet my dad and mom. We'll pop in at the hospital this afternoon. Maybe our next book will be on End-of-Life issues and experiences. Hahahahaha. Listen to me. Don't even have the first chapter written on the first book, and already I'm planning the second one. 2012 is turning out to be A Very Good Year.

2. It's Mike's birthday on today, so after the hospital visit, we'll meet the kids in New West to celebrate Max's One Year Cake, Mike's 44th birthday, and the book contract at the Spaghetti Factory. I love family dinners. If I could ever figure out how to fix things so that I could add pictures to my blog again - you can bet I'd be posting a bunch late on Sunday night.

3. THIS. It's my favorite day of the year.

Shalom,

4 comments:

Kim N. said...

Jane, this is awesome!! Definitely worth two exclamation points! Maybe three!

Kim

Anonymous said...

Jane,
Is this an April fools joke. If not why didn't you tell me about this last night? Love you, Mom

valerie said...

YIPPPEEEEE!

Anonymous said...

I get it....it is your favorite day of the year. ha ha