Well the day definitely could have been better. I managed to laugh through most of the rough stuff (not rudely laugh, but laugh it off) but now that I'm home and the day is over, I feel like I should just sit down and shut up.

Some of my words were taken out of their context today and in so doing, were used to make what I hope is a tempest in a teapot. But it meant extra stress on several people who were totally innocent of wrong doing, and it hurt me. It hurt that my words could be so bent from the original purpose as to cause harm when they were intended to encourage.

It just hurts.

I hurt tonight, Jesus.

And I didn't mean for any of this to happen.

Spatterings, Part 2

I could not make this stuff up. It really is stranger than fiction. Here's the other half of the story from earlier today.


So, after not having a particularly restful night, I go into work cranky.

Yes yes, go ahead and feel bad for my poor coworker. I feel bad for her.

Anyway, after doing a few maintenance type things in the store like ordering books, talking to customers, ringing sales, and filling holes in displays where people have bought things, I slipped to the back room, and pulled up the information in the computer so I could call Thomas Nelson and make sure that my paranoid little self was just being paranoid. I'd been feeling like I should call anyway, even though the boss-lady assured me that she'd bulked up the order with TN and that I didn't need to worry over the books.

Let me tell you, I felt like an idiot of the first order (a paranoid idiot) as I sat there at the desk listening to the phone burring as I waited for the rep to pick up. I decided that I'd be honest with her (Her name's Paula and she's really nice) and when she told me everything was as it should be, I'd just apologize and say that I was jumping at shadows. Paula wasn't there. I left a message, felt more like an idiot, and went about my day.


~'~


Not The End.

Yeah, the story's not over yet. Here's where it gets interesting

Paula called back. We chit chatted a little bit, I hammed it up so that she was smiling into the phone as she checked on the status of our order, and then her tone changed. Here's how the conversation went:

"I'm only showing 4 of The Curse of the Spider King on order for His Way." Paula said slowly.

"WHAT" I choked into the phone "But boss-lady bulked up the order! She said she bulked up the order WEEKS ago"

"You are one of the launch stores, right? Having this signing?" Paula mused.

"Yeah, us and B&N down the street, they're going to be there on Friday. We follow on Saturday so it'll be a smaller bunch of people I'm thinking. But more than FOUR" I said, pieces beginning to slip together in my mind. "I've pre-sold eight copies all ready. I need more than FOUR."

"Well, I can take the order now" Paula said and I told her I'd call back. I needed to talk to the boss-lady.

Not The End.

~`~

Oh no, there's more. This is where it starts to get good.

I called the boss-lady, who was taking some personal time to be with her family.

"Uh, boss-lady I called Thomas Nelson, and um, we only have 4 of The Curse of the Spider King on order with them." I waited as the cell phone crackled, only to have the boss-lady yelp and then say darkly that the order should have been more than that. Much, more than that. Someone had dropped the order.

It happens, it happens more than it should, really. In fact we've been having issues all week with things being dropped from orders and we're in the middle of a catalog. But the boss-lady didn't hesitate.

"Get into the computer in EC and get our road rep's number, call Gary, do this right, I want him to get the credit for the sale."

"Yessem" I said, and sighed as she hung up, my head still swimming with half wonder and half doubt.

So, I called EC and got Gary's (another really nice guy) cell phone number and bothered him about it. Gary is now working on getting us the books that we need for the signing.

And the kicker with all of this? *THIS* week is the last week we could have solved this problem, comfortably.

So, I don't think I was paranoid. I don't think that I was listening that well to the Holy Spirit either. He was nudging me to call, and discover this. When I kept being distracted, well, He had to raise His voice and I got to dream an interesting dream three times in a row.

The wondering wild part is that He cares. Christ cares that I not look like an idiot at a signing with no books, He cares that the fans coming to the event have a chance to get the books that they want. And more important He cares about the story that Christopher and Wayne have created, and the themes embedded in it. He cares enough about their work, to make sure that they have a chance to share it in a little town in Maryland.

The End--almost. For all of you who read this, I would ask that you pray. Pray specifically for Wayne and Christopher and the people they are going to meet on the 16th and 17th of October. Friday night is going to bedlam for them; they're at Barnes & Nobles and all of Wayne's students will be popping by I'm sure to pick up their copies and meet him and Christopher and have a rousing good time.

Saturday, our launch day is going to be quieter. For one, we're following a signing at Barnes & Nobles which is our largest competitor, and for another we have the authors in the store for a shorter period of time.

I'm thrilled that they're coming, I'm the one grinning ear to ear when I tell the fans about it, but logically, it's going to be much smaller than Barnes & Noble's event.

I don't care.

Why don't I care?

Because at smaller events, Wayne and Christopher get to talk to and minister to their fans. Barnes & Noble is going to be noise and lines and laughter, His Way is going to be laid back and more intimate.

I truly believe that the shenanagins that have started, have started for a reason. Our Enemy isn't happy about something that is going to happen on the 16th and 17th. I'm sure the staff at the B&N down there are being harassed. They just don't know it. ;)

Pray for Christopher--pray that he be rested, pray that he have just the right word to speak at just the right time.

Pray for Wayne--pray that he be refreshed, pray that he have ears to hear and eyes to see that night and that whatever appointments that the Lord has set up for these two and those coming to meet them happen.

Pray that they don't lose their voices.
Pray that they don't lose their luggage
Pray that their families are blessed and safe (Our Enemy doesn't play fair)
Pray that they have fun too
Pray that they have time to eat
Pray that they stay healthy

In short, pray. Pray now. Pray often. And don't stop.

~Scribe

Splatters

So last night I kept dreaming that we had the signing at work, and Christopher was there and Wayne and lots and lots of fans, but no books. Some snag at Nelson had twisted things up and I had lots of people who had pre-bought the book and other who had come down from upper state New York to support Christopher who wanted to buy books and we had none. *Ugh* it was not a nice dream and it was the kind that won't let you go? You know, the kind that just keep cycling back and you only half wake up and you're still dreaming the same dream?

So, I'm going to call Nelson when I get to work today and make sure that the books ordered arrive on time for the signing. My boss had them on order anyway and was just going to 'beef up' the amounts for the signing and I need to make sure that TN knows that we are doing a signing on the 17th.

It's amazing how many things need to be checked when we do a book signing. TN is one of the best publishers to work with for prices, shipping, and speed on an event, but everything has to be in place for it to work. One little thing out of place, and you have disaster. I don't want disaster. I don't want my dream to become reality.

I mean CH and WTB were doing their best in my dream to prevent a riot. They were hamming it up and promising to sign books when they came in and taking pictures with their fans, like the good guys they are, but I was ready to melt into the floor, change my name, and go to Australasia to learn underwater basket weaving. So, when I get in to work, I'm calling TN and making sure all the links are where they should be, and that should make the dream just a dream.

In other news, I had a cool thought about my character who is a courier. He gets roughed up and thrown around because people don't like the messages that he carries. You know the old saying "Don't shoot the messenger" well in his case, they do. And I can tie that in to the whole spiritual side of things with Aram who is my sage/prophet character who also gets kicked around alot because people don't like the message that he's bringing either. So, I'm happy. :)

Infestation

You know, at work we try to keep on top of the dust bunnies, cobwebs, and general dirt and grime that can infest a store. Buuut. . something out of the ordinary is going on back in the youth fiction section .



The webbing is very fine, almost like cotton candy .. .but the ones that are laying it down. . .ah ..

they are definitely not carnival barkers or candy booth workers or ah. . anyone I want to make friends with anytime soon. There are lots of them, and I swear I heard them laughing as they moved up and down, spinning out their ultra fine netting. Just look!


The Rise of the Wyrm Lord's cover is ominous enough without the . . .ah. . .visitors adding their own special touches. Christopher's Rise of the Dibor may have frightened them a bit, I mean it does have a gentleman wearing armor on the cover. I don't think they like people much. They hissed when I was taking these photographs.

I didn't know that spiders could hiss. Or chuckle, or make any noises at all. These I'm thinking aren't from . . .around here. I wonder why in the world we've been targeted? Jerry's next door doesn't have a spider problem, and Fast Frame hasn't reported any issues either. But look!



They just won't leave this endcap alone! I wonder. . I wonder why they are so upset and determined to deface our property back here in the youth fiction section. Everywhere else is fine.




Ohhhhh. Maybe that's why? Somehow they found out about the signing and the pre-buy deal and this is their way of protesting? Or maybe they're trying to frighten folks away? But, apparently they weren't the only ones that decided to drop by for a bit. Look what else I found today. Wonder who left it behind.

Off To Work Riddled

Someone told me yesterday at work that they found I had a genuine heart, and that they loved the way that I was positive and upbeat and found the best way to look at hard circumstances, and genuinely found me to be a lover of Christ.

My heart was down in the bottom of my shoes while this person sang my praises. And I have no doubt that they meant to build me up and to encourage me, I'm positive that was their desire.

In actuality, it did the opposite. I kept thinking "If you only knew, if you only could see all the crap inside me, all the doubts and fears, but you can't. If you only knew what my thought life was like, or how many times I sin during the day, you'd see that I'm more of a hypocrite than anything else."

So it's the next day and I'm off to work again riddled with insecurities and doubt with my self esteem somewhere down around my ankles. I really wish I knew why that hit me the way it did.

Maybe because I really do want to be what she sees, and in my heart, I know I'm not.

*Sigh*

Rejoice with those who are Rejoicing

I love working where I do for a variety of reasons, but today, today I love it because of the customers who came in and talked with me.

One, came in to tell me that the man she'd been dating had told her that he definitely saw her as more than a 'perpetual girlfriend' but that there were some obstacles he needed to take care of before they became man and wife. I'm not going to go into the details here but I about leapt through the roof, yelping for sheer joy.

I've watched this lady go through all kinds of hell, and I've watched her draw closer to Christ, I've watched her depend on Him and rely on Him and give up things I'm not certain that I could give up if I were here. I've watched her die to herself, and struggle to live for Him. She's not perfect, but Jesus shines through the cracked bits of herself in really loving ways. And to hear her good news made me want to do cartwheels!


The second good news of the day was that a family that I've gotten to know and be rather fond of for several years now, is no longer going to have their father/husband on the other side of the world! His job took him to Hong Kong and other places and now, he's coming HOME and he isn't going to be scattered to the four corners of the Earth! I did jump up and down on that one a bit. Just a little bit. Lots of rejoicing done today.

And the cricket is still in the fireplace. I'm pretty sure it's male, I don't think females fiddle. Play on, little buddy! Play on! It's time to make joyful noises.

I Have Paint On My Hands

And while this isn't technically news worthy, I thought I'd blow the dust off this blog and start popping thoughts down here while I'm doing other things this week.

Oh wow, there's a cricket in the fireplace. Dude, I bet that he or she is having the time of their little insect life, the acoustics in there are really wild.

Huh? What? Oh, focus, you wanted me to say something cohesive here? But there's a cricket in the fireplace. Right, cohesive.

So I'm gearing up for another book signing at His Way, which is why I have paint on my hands. I don't randomly smear paint on my fingers, all though I do like the way paint feels on my skin.

This will be the ninth one that I've done, no, no I think it might be the tenth. Wow, that's sad that I can't remember whether it's the ninth or tenth signing that I've done. Anyway, I've done quite a few. They are always exciting and stressful, and before this one I've always set aside all my own writing time and done what I wanted to do for the signing, and then come back to my writing when everything's all over.

I'm not doing that this year. This year, it's writing first, props and other things second. Part of it is because I've got a feeling that it's going to be a smaller turn out than in years previous, and part of it is because Wayne and Christopher are gentlemen and will be grateful for whatever it is that I come up with for their event. It's nice to feel "broken in" with authors and not have to worry about impressing them or impressing my boss. I also think it might have something to do with the fact that the things I've chosen to highlight are a little easier to create than in years past.

Whatever the reason, I can smile as I look down at the paint on my hands and know that whatever time I have left in the day is for goofing off with friends. My writing time was completed and I made progress on my projects.

Life tonight, is sweet. Both for me, and for the cricket in the fireplace.