The Journey has Begun

Last night, I saw Unveiling's "interior design" and cover art concepts for the first time. It doesn't matter that the "design" needs some slight changes, and the cover art needs to be substantively reworked. What does matter is that - for the first time since I began writing Unveiling in 1996, I saw an external rendering of it - an example of how it will look when it finally comes out from the publishers.

How absolutely amazing!

What an incredible journey!

Unveiling: An Inner Journey helps women of all ages to understand themselves and their life journeys, and to chart their way forward. At the same time, as one colleague suggested, there is always the "story behind the story." The "meta-story" if you would, which literally means "the story about the story."

And indeed, there really is a meta-story to go along with what is presented in Unveiling itself.

I'm working closely with my design team and my production team to get Unveiling out to you before Christmas. We'll have a launch party (here in McLean, VA), multiple book-signings (in the local area and the nearby region), and much, MUCH more! Lots and lots of press, publicity, promotion -- all the sort of thing that helps get the word out. Even this blog is part of the "promotion."

However, this particular blog is something special.

I typically do my blog-writing very early in the morning, right along with the first cup of tea or coffee. At this hour, it's still dark - both inside and outside of the house. The cats are active, the humans are still asleep. Being a morning person, my mind is fresh and clear - I'm full of energy for the coming day, but my attention has not yet been "dithered" by multiple little tasks and activities. Whatever it is that has come up as "most important" - whether from my subconscious during sleep, or brainstorming as I shower and put on cosmetics, or even from a conversation or email over the previous day - is all "grist for the mill" of the morning's blog.

I suspect this blog will be pretty active, at least for a while. I had done a bit of a "blog-push" back late last spring; starting to invite people in as Followers, and doing a lot of diligent people-connecting. Then, as I focused more and more on the last, final push to get Unveiling done, I withdrew my attention from everything except that which was absolutely necessary (and sometimes even failed to address even that).

But I submitted Unveiling to the design team two weeks ago yesterday. And though there is still Unveiling "work" to be done -- more reviews and edits, for both text and design, and a whole great, big index to create -- I can (and will) reconnect with humanity once again.

Pushing the "upload" button was both climatic and anti-climatic. As I went through the last few days of nearly round-the-clock work to get the final draft edited prior to submission, I felt strangely calm and clear. Yes, nervous during the actual upload process itself -- it was indeed the "big moment"; the one I'd envisioned for months. And yet, as that moment came and passed, it was more a step in the continuum rather than the mountain-top experience. Although, I must admit, it felt very, VERY good.

More to come -- I'll try to make this a daily one.

yours in dance - Alay'nya