Today: A List

1) People treat you differently when you're wearing a blazer, slacks, heels, and even lipstick instead of your usual mommy uniform of a t-shirt, jeans/capris/sweat pants and sandals. They look at you different and speak to you differently. The entire attitude is something I don't get in my day-to-day life. It was very odd.

(I spent much of the day at the Whitney booth at the LDS Booksellers Convention and ran a couple of errands before and after in my more dressed-up clothes. After having several moments like this, I wanted to yell, "Really, I'm a mom! I don't usually look like this!")

Contrast that with the sweats, ponytail, and zero makeup I had on when Josi from Sundial in the Shade dropped by to pick up some Whitney stuff last week. You know you have a true friend when they don't notice (or, more likely, don't mention) that you look like a drowned rat.

2) While at the convention, I discovered a painting that I just might beg and plead for Covenant to license to use on the cover for Tower of Strength. Al Rounds, the artist whose temples grace my other historicals, has only one Manti Temple painting, and it's a winter scene. That won't work for this book. So unless he paints something new (and quick!) I might not have him on my next cover, and that makes me sad.

The picture I found would be the next best thing. It's by Cortney Lunt, and they told me that it's a brand new painting, so you won't find it online, but you can get an idea of her style at that link.

Since my editor wasn't there today (I missed seeing you, Kirk!), I dragged his colleague Kat over to show it to her. She agreed it would be great on a cover. After that, I had a ball chatting with both Kat and Rachel. They're awesome gals, and Covenant is lucky to have them on board.

3) I'm on the countdown. If I'm estimating right, I'm within 10,000 words of finishing the first draft of my work in progress. The pieces that have been circling are slowly coming together. I really hope I can pull this one off the way it's in my head. The story, characters, and entire concept mean a lot to me, but I'm not sure if it's working on paper as a whole. Yet.

4) While walking out of the library yesterday with my kids (wearing my trusty mommy uniform), a man in the parking lot stopped me and said, "I listened to one of your books and really enjoyed it."

Whoa. That's NEVER happened to me before. No one ever recognizes me unless I'm standing next to a table with my books on it at a signing or I'm at a writers conference with a name badge.

I was so (pleasantly) surprised, that I came back with, "Really? Cool. Thanks! Which one?"

He rather sheepishly couldn't remember the title or even the cover. So that leads me to a few questions:

Do I know this guy? (He looked familiar, but I couldn't place him. He hadn't seen my children before, though. Hmm.)

Did he somehow recognize me in my mommy uniform based solely on my author photo at the back of the book?

Or did he mistake me for another writer? (And it was their book he'd listened to?)

I'll never know the answers. But the moment was a nice ego stroke regardless, even if I had zits all over my face, a stained shirt, and fly-away hair.

Lesson learned: When someone says they enjoyed you work, take the compliment and move on.