It's Over!

Oh, my goodness, I can't believe it's all over. Sorry I've been out of touch since Friday: it's just been madness here. The book sold like hotcakes: people are congratulating me on the streets since the newspaper article came out (once again, cheers, Taylor Reed), and the TV interview will be airing soon on Channel 7. (I'll put a link to that interview on here as soon as it becomes available.) I want to say thanks to all those people who tell me randomly how much they enjoy the book: you may not think it's a big deal to say that, but it's a ginormous huge deal to hear it, and I can't tell you how much it means to me that people are liking it. I always say that when you write a work of fiction, it's like putting a piece of yourself on paper (one of the reasons revisions mandated by an editor can hurt), and when I hear that you guys appreciate that little piece of me, it makes me want to write more. Thanks :)
My mentor Beth Kanell and the wonderful jacket art designer Jacob Grant (as well as my parents and Michael) both turned up to the presentation wearing T-shirts with the front jacket on as a surprise for me, which touched me beyond words. Thanks, guys, that was really sweet of you.
Those T-shirts are actually available for sale, if anyone's interested: feel free to leave a comment so I can test the waters vis-a-vis T-shirt sales.
Wow. I can't believe the presentation is over. I've spent the last three months working on this, and now the book's written, the PowerPoint is done, and everything has finally calmed down. I almost don't know what to do with myself, except that I've already started to write the sequel. (No, I haven't thought of a title yet, but I think you're going to like it.)
So: anybody who's finished the book or is in the process of reading it or was at the presentation on April 29th, what'd you think? Who's your favourite character? If you could have any of their powers, which ones would it be? What's your opinion on genetic engineering, human or otherwise?
Forgive my lateness: it won't happen again. Any comments, reviews, or criticisms are welcome.

--Caleigh x

P.S. That joke? The one about the drummer's car? Yeah, it's the one with the pizza delivery sign on top.

P.P.S. Did anyone else watch the royal wedding? What'd you think?! I loved Kate's dress. Princess Catherine just sounds so elegant. Her sister Pippa Middleton looked great too.

Capstone Eve - new holiday?

Hi!
I've decided this should be a new holiday: Capstone Eve. To honour the occasion, I've included a poem I wrote in the car while I was stopped at a red light on the way home today:

'Twas the eve before Capstone, and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even the mouse
The students were kept up, scared as can be,
by the thought of a failure from an angry Big V

The crowds will go wild when they read out our names
We'll stand up and hope they can't see our hands shake
We'll take a deep breath and give them our best
When tomorrow is over, we'll be able to rest

Pretty bad, I know, but my palms are too sweaty with nerves to do a really good Capstone Eve poem. I'm celebrating with a cup of my best Scottish Breakfast tea and finishing the accounting and reservations for tomorrow. The TV interview today went pretty well (or at least that is what I like to think). It rained, so of course my hair chose today to explode with humid curls, but there was nothing for it. The crew is filming the actual presentation tomorrow, as well as the book talk I'm apparently giving at the bookstore when Until the End of the World hits shelves. At some point this next week, we'll have a guest blog post from the greatest writing mentor in the world, Beth Kanell, so there's something to look forward to.
I feel like I've been eating Styrofoam, I'm so nervous. I guess I'd better go and finish the reservations so I have something to sell tomorrow. Wish me luck...!

--Caleigh x

P.S. I'm a musician, so I can make this joke: How can you tell which car belongs to the drummer?

Suspense builds...

Hey! It's getting kind of late: sorry to anybody who was anticipating my daily post. I've been putting the finishing touches on my presentation: the speech is now written (if I don't have my talk down to a T, I freak out and get sweaty palms and start talking about anything that leaps into my head, which is never good, trust me there.) The PowerPoint is done, and I really hope it won't bore anyone to death: I absolutely cannot stand it when people read their slides aloud and expect me to be enthralled. Pet peeve for sure. So that's all done: my practice run is tomorrow, and after that, it's the Big Day.
Although actually, tomorrow is going to be pretty exciting too: I've got a television appearance scheduled on Channel 7. I'm being interviewed tomorrow morning, but I have no idea when it will air. I'll let you know.
I desperately need a distraction. Answer me this: has anyone out there ever dreamed of flying, or is it just me? How did it feel?
Unrelated: would you rather be able to fly or turn completely invisible at will?

--Caleigh x

P.S. The Royal Wedding is April 29 as well...I'll get up as early as I have to to watch William and Kate tie the knot. Anybody else getting up with me?

Meet the press

Today's hero is Taylor Reed, the staff writer for the Caledonian Record who did the lovely article on Until the End of the World that appeared in this morning's edition. Even I have to admit the picture looked great, and the article was really well written. I'm afraid we may have bored Taylor during the proceedings with Gatsby yesterday - it took about two hours to fully remove all that glue from the works, and our gathered audience left after about half an hour (I can't really blame them). *Sigh* Touche, Gatsby.

Anybody who's reading the blog after reading the newspaper article: hi! Welcome aboard. Great to have you here.

Yes, the rumours are true: Until the End of the World has a planned sequel coming out at some point late this year or perhaps early 2012, we'll see.

Anyways, must dash today, I have a PowerPoint presentation to do for the Big Finale on Friday. Hope to see you all there! Taylor, thanks so much for a terrific article.

--Caleigh x

P.S. Only three more days until the book hits shelves! Anybody who wants to reserve a copy before the rush should post a comment here. It retails for $17 USD. Cheers!

Jacket art

Me again. Just thought I'd show everyone the fantastic job Jacob Grant did with my book cover. I think it's the most beautiful thing I could have asked for. I only gave him a week to do the job, believe it or not, and this is what he gave me - several days early, no less.

Anyways, that's all I have for you guys right now, but I'll keep you posted. They're printing my base order of 50 copies down at the shop right now.

--Caleigh x

P.S. Terrible joke time, just because I'm in a good mood...can a cross-eyed teacher control her pupils?

I'm published!

Hey!

So guess what? I finished the book. No joke, it's all published and everything. Instead of going to school, I went down to Boxcar and Caboose to watch the very first copy come off the press. That was a process in itself, let me tell you. It was way cool.

The Espresso Book Machine has a personality of its own. It's even got a name: they call him Gatsby. If you look over to the right, you'll see a perfect shot of Gatsby...on a good day. However, today he chose to be temperamental...what does this mean for Until the End of the World? It means the first time we tried to print it, we ended up having to physically remove the book from the machine and spend two hours gutting Gatsby and taking care of all the excess glue...I was left with something that vaguely resembled the screenplay for a movie. (Maybe that's a good sign, I dunno...)

Anyways, so that little side trip took two hours (I could not be any more grateful to Joelle Beck and Paul Scavitto if I tried. They literally worked their fingers to the bone to get me my author's copy. There were more injuries than I bet they'd admit to...at one point we had an audience of about seven people quite literally watching glue dry. Hey, it beat going to class.) After that was done, at long last, I got my book. I have it right now, hidden in my purse, awaiting Friday to be revealed. I'll post again in a few minutes with the front jacket art: I can finally let you guys see that, at least.

Well, I'm back in class again (I couldn't stay away forever), so I guess I should get off the computer and get back to work, maybe finish that guidebook or something. I really am almost done now.

Thanks today go especially to Joelle Beck, Paul Scavitto, and, yes, the wonderful, if mercurial, Gatsby. I couldn't be happier with the result.

--Caleigh x

P.S. Until the End of the World will be available for purchase on Amazon.com, at Boxcar and Caboose, and perhaps other places too (I still need to think about distribution.) The countdown begins again...T minus 4 days. Only 4!

Hard copy!

Hi! Caleigh again (obviously). I know, two posts in one day, but I do have a life, I swear I do. Just posting to tell everyone the good news: Boxcar's printing a hard copy! Right now! The ISBN and Library of Congress registrations came through and it looks like today's the day. Hopefully later on I'll be able to drive over there myself and take a look at what they're doing (I'll be driving with the sunroof closed, in case anybody was wondering.)
I'm just waiting for the call now. I'm going to bring a camera and take some pictures, so everyone can see what it's like.

Ridiculously excited,

--Caleigh x

P.S. My grandma is following this blog, and I think I should tell everybody how cool she is. She's quite proficient at surfing the Internet, as it turns out, and resents the shock on the faces of everyone she tells about the latest YouTube craze: "You did that all by yourself?!" they say. They really don't know who - or perhaps what - they're dealing with. (She recommends Sassy Gay Friend and the "I Like Turtles" kid...if you've not seen them, you know where to go.) Grandma, you rock.