Look Mom, I've got friends

Book status: I'm in the middle of a round of revisions that are due April 1st. And all I can say to that is, "How did it get to be March 15th already?" Warning: if you see me in real life sometime in the next couple of weeks, don't expect me to be able to form coherent sentences. In fact, you may want to turn and walk the other way because I won't be able to guarantee that I've showered within any socially acceptable amount of time. . .just kidding . . .possibly.

Weird things my kids do status: Every time KidA finds a strand of my hair on the floor, he brings it to me and demands, "Put it back on, Mommy! Put it back on!" And he keeps hollering until stick the loose strand of hair back on my head.

On with my post: Mostly I wanted to take the opportunity to tell you about a couple of really neat blogging communities I've joined in the last week or two.

The first is called Fangs, Fur, and Fey and was started by best selling author Melissa Marr (of Wicked Lovely fame). It's a community for authors and fans of urban fantasy and paranormal romance. After a rigorous auditions process (I had to prove that I'm a nationally published author of either UF or PR with a reputable house) I was granted "member status" in their community. This means I will occasionally be posting on their site about things that are of interest to writers and fans of the genre. Whenever I do that, I'll be sure to link to it from here.

The second group is called 2010: A Book Odyssey (a.k.a The Tenners) and is a community for Middle Grade and Young Adult authors who will debut in 2010. Oh, hey, did I mention that my book has been slated to hit bookstores in Spring 2010 (which is more like February/March ish)?

Now before some of you go asking why my pub date is so far away I would like to note that this is actually pretty fast timing for the publishing world (and why my revisions need to be done by April 1st). The average amount of time it takes for a book to go from being purchased by a publisher to actual publication is typically anywhere from 1 1/2 to 3 years--so yes, 1 year for The Dark Divine is fast. There's a lot that goes into making a book, from revisions to copy editing, jacket design to interior layout, approving proofs, more editing, sending out advanced copies for reviews, getting blurbs from other authors, showing the book to buyers from B&N and Amazon to get their feedback. It all takes time. And looking at the mountain of revisions I have to do in the next couple of weeks, I honestly wouldn't want my pub date to be any sooner than next Spring. And don't worry, I'll be sure to announce the official date over and over again as soon as I know it.

Anyway, the Tenners is a great place to discover new authors who will be debuting in 2010 along with me. A lot of the discussion happens in locked posts that are for members only, but there are still a lot of posts for the general public to follow. So far, they have been a very friendly bunch, and I am so excited to get to know other authors who are in the same boat as me.

Yesterday, I posted my bio on their site along with a synopsis of The Dark Divine. Head over there and check it out--you'll even get to learn five random things about me (you know, since I never found the time to fill out 25 random things about myself on Facebook.) Note: if you can't find the bio by scrolling down, then click on the tag "bree despain" and that should pull it up.

Have a great day!