What A Week.

So, after the emotional rollercoaster that has been this week, I'm determined to get back to living life the way a certain friend of mine would have wanted me to. Joelle always had so many things on the go, was so lively and fun, so I'm going to get the hell out of bed and channel her to the best of my ability. I hope everyone else feels this way too. One of our favourite things to quote to each other was the infamous "Be excellent to each other, and party on, dude!". They are words to live by.

In the spirit of being excellent to people, I will be lightening my news to try to bring some inspiration and cheer to the world. Here's a picture to make you smile:

As Ashley has taught me, there is no power on this earth that cheers me up like Yoga Kittens.

That being said, one good thing came out of my extensive stays in bed. I finished Vivid 2. Not exactly sure what happened, I was just farting around on my computer and suddenly went "hey, I'm gonna write", and then the characters that I've known and loved for many years decided to finish the second episode of their journey.

In four hours it was complete, and I was a little flabbergasted, as I've been stuck on episode 2 for about a year and half now. But it felt really good to finish, and editing stuff also makes me super happy, so it was win/win. I'm in the process of typing up the second draft after editing the crap out of it, and then it's on to other editing (ie, Emerald and my wonderful father), then a final draft will be crafted for publishing.

I've made my release date March 1st, to give me ample time to do this but also a deadline so that I don't get slacking. It's an exciting time, and I want to keep the pressure on now. I've also decided that once it's up on the Kindle store, I'm going to make episode 1 free to purchase. It's a novella, and really just the prologue to the whole series, so I thought I'd share it with everyone for free. So March 1st is going to be a big day. :)

I also have something else to do before March 1st, and that is a book cover. As a self-proclaimed photographer, I take very meticulous steps with my covers. I am a firm advocate of "don't judge a book by it's cover", but only in the metaphorical sense, as in when it comes to people, or other things in life. In the literal sense, with books, they have to have an awesome cover. I feel like it adds to the whole ambience of the story. Also I've totally bought random books in the bargain section of Chapters just because they look cool, without even reading the back. I figure I can't possibly be the only person that does that, so if one of my covers happen to hook just one random person, then yay!

Anyway, I'm getting off track here. (That happens a lot, which is why I let other people edit my shit even after I've done it myself.) I have an idea for a cover in mind, it's loose in the sense that I'm not sure of exact framing and posing, but specific in the sense that I want it to focus on my main character, Moxie. I need Moxie's face.

For episode 1, I wanted the sandy-haired man's face. I spent a lot of time staring at random people in the street (creepy, I know, but we artists are eccentric by nature), and found him in a young temp at a factory I was working at at the time. Thankfully he didn't freak out when I asked him if he'd be interested in modeling for my book cover, and we became friends. After much talking, planning, an extensive makeup session with my very talented cousin Edith in Missisauga, and some photoshop, I ended up with the cover of my dreams.

Jay Seiler, amateur model, kickass dude!

It's awesome how things come together, and I'm hoping that in the same fashion I can find the perfect Moxie face. So, if anyone is interested, you can let me know via email. If you have any female friends that you think would be into being on a book cover, send them my way. Don't be shy, I am accepting submissions from anyone, and the more I have the wider my options for finding Moxie!

My email is caitlinszinegh@gmail.com, and if you could please send a picture of yourself, that would be great. Any photo will do, I don't care about resolution or editing as long as I can see your face. I will provide a model release, and just to be clear if you're under 18 I will need to meet with your parent or guardian, have their consent, and have them sign a model release for you. I pay cash (with receipt) based on length of the session, and depending on how many perks you would like in return for the shoot. These include professional makeup, a CD of edited photos from your shoot, and a free download/hard copy of the book. I will be using CafePress to get a few hard copies, so if you'd like a monument to your awesomeness I can provide you with one. Also, hair. Moxie has platinum blue hair. I can do this in photoshop, but if you're interested in realism and want to dye your hair this colour, I will  purchase all of the materials and do your hair for you the day before the shoot. I must note that being willing to do this will NOT sway your chances over someone who doesn't want to dye their hair, I'm concentrating on the right candidate. I just wanted to throw that out there, that if you want cool hair out of this, I am totally game for doing it for you.

With all of that out of the way, if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment here, email me, or send me a message on facebook. And spread the word! I don't have an exact deadline for the shoot, because I want to be meticulous in finding Moxie, but with my deadline of publishing on March 1st, I'm hoping to do this mid to late February. Of course, the shoot date will be chosen once I get in contact with my candidate, and I will work with their availability.

Whew. I'm terribly excited. I'm going to get back to typing the second draft so that Emerald doesn't kill me for making her wait so long.

Just before I do that, I just want to let my readers (love you guys) know that I'm all about networking and helping people out. I'm actually getting more views on this blog than I thought I would, and as such wanted to extend a helping hand to anyone else out there that's trying to gain some views on their stuff. I'm on the street team for The Boss (which I will be reviewing and pimping chapter two tomorrow, yay!), and would love to help out anyone else trying to get hits for their blog, portfolios, or whatever else they're trying to market.

So, if you have a slice of internet creativeness that you'd like to share, shoot it my way and I'll take a look and pimp it for you. :) I'm rather enjoying this whole blogging thing, it's a nice outlet for me, and if I can be excellent to someone in helping direct traffic to their own outlet, that would be salubrious.

Kay, Emerald, I swear I'm done this post.

P.S. If anyone wants to get in touch with Edith for her awesome aesthetic work, or with Jay for modeling, shoot me your info and I will get it to them!