Random Thoughts From a Wandering Mind

It's so close. I approved the cover photo, back photo, illustrations, text, and even the dedication and thank you pages. It's almost here. It's an amazing feeling to finally have Tommy come to life. But at the same time it's a scary one. I've never tried to sale a book before. I'm entering unknown waters. BRING IT ON If there is anything Tommy and this whole process has taught me its this: Do it and its not that bad. Just like Tommy, I am courageous

So I have decided to try my hand at investing in the stock market. Not much, I want to invest a little (so if I lose it, I won't miss it) and get use to how everything works. I am now in the middle of teaching my self what all the jargon means and what would be best for me and my family. I have been obsessed with learning all I can the past week. I think I have barely scratched the surface though. Any ways hopefully I won't make too many mistakes!

 500 Days of Summer is a movie that came out in 2009 that stars Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Needless to say that both my fiance and I love the movie. Seeing as how it was shot primarily in Downtown Los Angeles and we live 45 minutes away from DTLA, we decided to make a day of seeing where some of the popular spots were shot.  Bradbury Building  We started by going to the Bradbury Building where Tom meets Autumn, at the end of the film, while waiting for a job interview. The building itself was built in 1893 and has been the home of quite a few movies. The building itself from the outside doesn't look like much but once you are inside it is absolutely beautiful. The intricate detail, that is present every where, really has to be seen in person to truly appreciate it. The picture I took to the right just doesn't do it justice. When you first walk in it almost feels like you have been transported back in time and you tend to forget that it's still ...

Since the day Tommy was successfully funded I have been trying to figure out the best way to say 'thank you' and to convey what it was like to go through the whole Kickstarter process. Unfortunately I have not found the words in the English language that sufficiently conveys both of those things. But here goes my best effort. For anyone who backed this project one HUGE thank you is coming your way. Without you Tommy would still just be an idea and not a reality. Your generosity is what made this whole process worth it. It was an incredible feeling having all these friends, family, and strangers show their belief in me and my story by donating towards it. I cannot say enough times how much it meant to me. The entire proccess was a true blessing that I won't soon forget. I also don't want to forget everyone who tweeted, liked, posted, pinned, shared, and/or told someone about the book. You are all angels in my book so thank you too! This will probably be the close...

Today I got the story board (in pencil) back from the illustrator for Tommy The Courageous Bird. When I first saw the email my initial reaction was excitement, I couldn't wait to see what was in the .PDF file. But that was quickly followed by a sense of dread. What if I didn't like it? What if it was nothing like what I imagined it to be? Luckily it was none of those things. It's not perfect but it was pretty damn good. It was crazy to see what I created through the eyes of someone else. Amazing in fact. So now to add a few notes and hopefully move on to coloring. Woohoo!

So I am half way through my Kickstarter project and the donations have slowed to a trickle. It's kind of hard to see your projections not look good with so little time left. But I do know that a lot of projects pick up the last two weeks so I hope that is true of mine. Tommy The Courageous Bird Kickstarter Project Page

I love telling this story. It's the story of how my idea for a children's picture book was saved by a co-worker who decided to go trash digging. Let me explain: A few years ago I came up with a story about a bird that was afraid of heights and thought I might be able to turn it into a children's picture book. I thought it was a good story but you never know how people will react. So I decided to give it to a few friends to read, including some friends at work. After I received some positive feedback, thoughts started to creep in my head that maybe my friends were just being nice. I mean, what else would they say? It's rare to have someone tell you the complete honest truth. So after a co-worker of mine read the story one night I threw the copy of the manuscript in the trash can. At that point I wasn't sure if I wanted to pursue trying to get it published. Now let's flash forward a couple days. I am back at work and I hear one of my co-workers named June (...