Friday, 05.15.2015 - 8:49 pm.
Today's my 6-month anniversary with Andrew. We've been married for six months and it's been wonderful, I'm so happy and grateful. I didn't really think of ever being with a man like him...I mean, yes, I did, I wished and hoped for that, and I know there are men like the one I had in my head. But he's all that and even more. He's just perfect for me. And I am perfect for him, if I do say so myself.
He came home for lunch with roses and blueberry pie. It made my heart explode, especially the pie. And I ordered sushi for dinner. And here it is that we both make a living out of researching food-related life.
More happy news: MY SHORT STORIES GOT ACCEPTED BY A PUBLISHING HOUSE! A few months ago I submitted a bunch of stories that I've written and rewritten for years. I thought they were decent and, again, I hoped and wished to be accepted because that'd mean they were in fact decent. But I was bracing myself for rejection, it was my first time submitting something on my own, nobody gets a yes the first time. The greatest stories are supposed to be made up of a string of rejections.
I have two other books, one self-published thanks to the writer father who was so proud of his scribbling daughter, and the other published by an international cooperation agreement. In the second case, it felt like I had people working on every detail of my book. They contacted me, asking me if I had something available for publication, and they took care of the cover, the design, editing, all that. It felt nice. They even paid for my rights, although that was a bummer because they never actually paid me. As it happens with these international cooperation fundings, the money can stop at any time. But still, I got "out there" and that mattered. It was nice indeed.
Anyway! This time around it won't be cheap. The publishing house has been amazing since I first contacted them. I got all my questions answered and they explained in detail how they were out of budget for the rest of the year, but we could talk options. In the end it's not so much as if they're getting me published, I am in fact paying them to do so...but screw it! They thought my work was good enough to back it up with their name. And they're not such a small publisher.
And since I do not depend on their budget, I don't have to wait until next year, the book can be out by September! I'll be buying a couple of hundred copies to finance the printing and distribution of all of them. I have savings and I think it's worth it. Those copies will be mine and that is also great, I can send them home and all over the world and give them away to people I love and like.
It's a secret for now though, only Andrew knows. Well, and you now. The first nights after getting the acceptance letter I couldn't sleep, I was so excited. I'm still excited. My friend Ana, who currently lives in Mexico, will write the prologue. She was such a great addition to my life back in the day when I was getting back on my feet after getting dumped. She recently got her PhD, writes in the newspaper in our home country and writes poetry and short stories. Above all, she's one of my kind, and it's always great to have a project with friends. Funny, we went to the same school and university, she was one or two years ahead of me. We only met after university, brought together by literature (we were both invited to read our work at some event) and blog-writing.
I still have to make a few changes to my final manuscript. Actually, there's still a lot of paperwork to do and perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself here, getting all excited and talking about it like it's a fact, like it's a done deal. Signed, sealed and published. Not yet. It has to be though. The book is called "Before" in Spanish and for a reason. And while Andrew does know about its existence, he doesn't know it will be dedicated to him, "to the one who came afterwards".