DIARY OF A GIRL-NEXT-DOOR HEAVY METAL NOVELIST
December
28, 2004
Happy birthday, Papa
Shaw! Your daughter saw her first glimpse of the cover of her spectacular
novel today. She loved it so much she couldn't stop giggling. Her assistant,
Joe, had the same
reaction. Her publisher absolutely must put up the $$$ for this visual
treat. The world NEEDS a hip, sexy, smart Won't
Get Fooled Again cover. To celebrate the artistic masterpiece,
your literary offspring took a stab at writing the blurb for the back
of her book. She inserted the draft as the teaser on her About
the Author webpage. What was once a spermatazoa that sped past millions
of others to achieve success as a fetus, will now whollup the grown-up
world as a writer. Genetically yours, Colette.
December
29, 2004
What was I smoking last night, you ask? That's what inspiration and
a whole lotta caffeine do to a typically intelligent and professional
woman. But isn't it cool when you think about how your sperm beat out
so many others? If you don't accomplish anything else in life, you can
say you competed against literally millions in the race of a lifetime
and WON. That's a pretty impressive feat.
I am so so so close to having my manuscript done I can hardly stand to think about going to sleep tonight. My wrists ache from the onset of carpal something (just like Peter Criss!) and my eyes are twitching like palsied bat wings because I've stared at a computer screen too long. But holy hell --- I'm going to have a book soon!!!
December
30, 2004
Spent my book energy on the back cover blurb today, but I'm still not
coming up with something I love. It's one of those things that just
has to write itself. I have a feeling the inspiration will hit while
I'm in Florida next week. I just need some new scenery to help me crack
open my creativity.
Luckily, I was in great voice tonight at karaoke. "Ruby Red Dress" never sounded so fine. People were doing choreography in their chairs - the ultimate compliment.
Kurt and I are doing a photo shoot tomorrow. We have everything we need except a location. Is that bad?
December
31, 2004
Not much left of 2004. In a few hours my biggest year yet will begin.
I'm ready.
Kurt and I spent 3+ hours getting pictures. Fun, sexy, cool. Bodes well for the new year.
January
7, 2005
I just spent a week in Florida with my wonderful family. I was supposed
to spend the past 2+ weeks figuring out my future, but I'm still just
as confused. Luckily my siblings, in-laws and dad are believers enough
to carry my ambivalence. Dad took all of us to an RV superstore yesterday.
We walked through dozens of the hundreds of road warriors on the lot
to help create a vision for the Won't
Get Fooled Again summer tour. My sister pep-talked me for hours,
and my brother & sister-in-law gave me my first custom made KISSfiction
t-shirt. While sitting in an airport this afternoon, I used my layover
time to email a partnership proposition to a potential publicist. So,
I'm still making progress, even in my Dean-or-Dean-Not dilemma. Alliteration
anyone?
Tomorrow night, my favorite KISS tribute band is coming to town. KISS Nation blew me away the first time I saw them (which was the day we filmed the KISS-related segments of the "Living the Fantasy" documentary). I was crushed when the band lost two members to ZO2, but they picked up a Paul and Eric with real hair and credible asses. Pretty good trade, I would say. This will be Carlo's return to my town after providing me with the best possible "Gene" for last year's day job photoshoot. This is definitely the way to kick off 2005.
...and that's not all. You heard it here first: The Cincinnati KISS Expo is ON. Mark your calendars for April 25, 2005 to come get an autographed copy of Won't Get Fooled Again. If I'm confused about anything, it's not about the future of this marvelous little novel. I have a winner on my hands.
January
9, 2005
Little by little pyro is coming back to the clubs. Last night, "Ace"
had a spinning sparkler thingamajig on his guitar during Rock &
Roll All Nite. I also saw some other fairly explosive action. I miss
the days of the concussion mortars, which literally made me squeal,
but I also don't mind the more creative methods some rockers use.
Before the show, I spent some quality time in the coffee shop of a bookstore. Not very rock & roll, I know, but I did pick up the second edition of the official KISS magazine to rationalize my quiet time. Anyway, while I had some time alone, I made a decision about my book. I'll clear it with my attorney first, but unless she tells me to halt, I'm going to give the green light to my publisher. I already sent my editor the final version of my manuscript with everything intact.
I emailed the promoters for the two midwest KISS expos last night to find out about vender tables. I can already feel myself transitioning to sales mode. Talk about explosive...
January
10, 2005
I heard from a potential PR agent today. She is wonderful and I can't
wait to talk to her. Tonight, I worked on back cover blurbs. I'm not
sure if I'll be the one who actually writes it, but I feel like I have
to do something fairly creative. The day job started back up again for
me today, and while I was fairly productive, I really really really
just want to write. All the time. Everyday. Forever.
Amen.
January
11, 2005
Holy heck, I'm on a roll. I stopped by the Barnes
& Noble at my day job this afternoon and talked to the manager
about the potential for a book launching party. No problem. I talked
to my potential PR agent tonight, and I can tell she's curious. She
just had a baby, so she's a little on the busy side, but I think I could
help her find a meaningful balance. When I got home from work, I saw
a message online that said KISS
Nation is coming back to Lancaster county next month! I had just
listened to my phone messages and none other than my favorite rock &
roll journalist, Carlo DiFonzo, had called to see how Won't
Get Fooled Again was coming along. At first we felt a little defeated
because I'm a smidge away from having a great story for her, but then
I remembered - KISS Nation is coming back! Maybe we could do some cross-promotion.
I contacted my publisher for a progress check and told the cover artist
that things are moving forward.
If I saw fireworks three nights ago, I'm pretty sure it was symbolic of my move toward independence day. (continue)