I really should not interact with strangers...

Or even friends of friends of friends.

Let me set the stage.

I am fostering a puppy.  My receptionist's brother's best friend's niece might be interested.  But they want to meet the puppy.

Great!  Wait, what?  I have to be there.  #ohdear.

But I am brave and want this puppy to get a good home, so I say sure, come on over.  Wait, what?  They want to come over at 7:30pm?  Um, do they not realize that is just 1/2 hour before my bedtime?

But again, sure.  The puppy wants a good home.

For the first ten minutes I am so proud of myself.  I have not done anything stupid or weird or downright bizarre.

Then they want to meet Princess, because she sounded like a really cute Chihuahua.

I get very excited and jump up and right in front of them push out my chest, start unzipping my jacket and say "You're gonna love this!"

Ah, the look of pure horror on their faces.  I then clarify "I've got a Chihuahua in my bra."

Again, that clarification never seems to calm people down.

Luckily Chief, the Chihuahua that lives in my bra is pretty damn cute so as soon as he sticks his head out of my shirt, everyone calms down and stops dialing 911 (or at least waits before they hit 'dial') LOL

So again.  I really shouldn't interact with strangers #ever #youwouldthinkIwouldlearn

Lent - My favorite time of year!

No! Seriously!  I mean it!

New Year's.  Smoo-Years.  Give me Lent any time!

Okay, so maybe it isn't all fun and games.  Maybe my relationship with Lent  is a little bit of a love/hate relationship.  I love giving things up for Lent.  I love committing to a sacred bond.  And then you know... the week's pass.

Dear God they pass.  And pass and pass.

Exactly how long is 6 freaking weeks anyway?  How can 42 days stretch out into an eternity?  #HOW

But for all my moaning and complaining, Lent sets me up right for the rest of the year.

A little discipline in a life otherwise filled with indulgence.

Um, how many more days of this do I have to go through????? LOL

So if you happen to sit down to a meal with my favorite foods (you know 'em... lasagna, lemon merange pie, Twix) think of me and pray this 6 weeks flies by! :-) :-) :-)

SXSW - An After-Action Report!

Yes, I survived social interaction!  #shockingIknow

I mean, there were only three or four times that I felt like running away from a group of people, screaming with my hands over my hear.  That must be some kind of record (and for those of you just joining craftycmc, I mean it is a record for how LOW that number is.  Check out my "Anti-Social blog" for the full story!)

I also made no major social gaffs (ok, there was the time @RachelintheOC and I couldn't get out of a taxi-van in high heels, but that is for another blog).

And this is going to shock anyone who has been reading me for a while.  Things worked out as planned!  I know, right?  No stranded seal pups (read here for that adventure), no shouting out inappropriate things in a crowd (read my "This is a nice rack" for that one), and (unfortunately) no Chihuahua in my bra popping out at the most inopportune times.

Nope, for this trip I was all professional and stuff!  I even wore make-up (yes, I know that is one of the seven seals breaking).

And, *gasp* I did really well on the panel.  Lots of questions thrown my way regarding self-publishing (I am the founder of the Indie Book Collective after all) and after I got off the dias I was swarmed with people (and STILL I did not run screaming away *ya*me*).  I even got a few interviews with national publications out of the deal.

So the moral of this story?  Sometimes it is worth leaving your beach home and Chihuahuas.  Of course, will that said I flew out the day after the panel and as soon as I got home put a Chihuahua in my bra, but hey, you can't expect a leopard to change all her spots in one weekend! :-) :-) :-)

*Super, duper absolutely stupendous update!!!  My article on how to better sell your books on Amazon.com has been posted on the Digital Book World site, right here!  #Imaybehyperventilating #notsure

Well... Did I do it?

Yes, there are many, many ways to take that question, however I am talking about my Bestseller for a Day with "30 Pieces of Silver" and did I land a NY agent?

Well, that story is still to be told.  Yes, Bestseller for a Day did in fact get "30 Pieces of Silver" into the hands of a NY agent.  Now we must all wait with bated breath, crossing our fingers and toes, and holding our breath (well, at least I will be :-)

The great news is that "30 Pieces of Silver" peaked at #183!  That's right out of 4,000,000 books my little ole controversial thriller was 183!  And not just that but it also captured the #1 slot for Men's Adventure last Monday, but it also popped in and out of the #1 spot Tuesday and Wednesday!

So yes, it was a pretty amazing ride!

But now on the to the next one! SXSW. #crap #Ihavetotalktopeopleinperson

I love being a social media expert.  I love being a self-publishing expert.  I even love doing conference panels.  But then all good things must end and I have to come down off the dias and mingle with....GASP... strangers!

Can you imagine?  Well, actually you don't have the imagine.  You can read this post about last year's Bloggy Boot Camp.

Luckily my partner in crime, @RachelintheOC is going with me.  Now, let's be clear. I will still say incredibly awkward things.  I will wander away from conversations because I am just done with them and I will in fact get myself into some Keystone cop impossible situation, but at the very least I will have Rachel there to explain to everyone... "Oh, she's just anti-social."

Check back next week to find out SXSW went and to see if my dream agent even knows my name :-) LOL