A short blog series on creating my latest book, Gardening in Miniature Prop Shop, due to be released at the end of the month. You can see my perspective as a new craft-author and I’ll show you some of the experiments that I had to go through to get the final projects.
It was a bit of a shock to see it. It brought a tear to my eye just like the first book did. I couldn’t answer Steve’s question for fear that I would break out in tears if I started talking. Lol! My Gardening in Miniature Prop Shop book had arrived while I was in Chicago and I finally got to touch it and hold it in my hands. It is just beautiful! It’s bigger and thicker than the first book and to see all the projects all at once is still an awesome feeling. “Hey, that’s me! That’s my hand! Hey, that came out of my brain!” Lol!
(Click to enlarge the photos.)
You see, it was harder than I thought. When the acquisition editor, Juree Sondker, called from Timber Press and asked if I could do a project book for miniature gardeners, I said to myself, “Slam dunk. I can do this so easily! I do projects for my blog all the time…” And then Juree asked if I could get it done in 8 months instead of the full-year they usually give writers to work out a manuscript. “Yes.” I said.
Silly me.
It was harder than I had ever thought for one or more of several reasons:
- The project was too simple.
- The project was too complicated.
- The materials were too hard to find for the average crafter.
- The project looked really stupid.
- The project needed way more research.
- The project just didn’t work out at the end.
- It was raining and I couldn’t take any project photos.
- It was too dark outside and I couldn’t take any project photos.
- It was too sunny and I couldn’t take any photos
- I forgot to include a much-needed-tool in the photo sequence.
- I included something that wasn’t needed in the photo sequence.
- I needed a reality pill.
- Or maybe a whole jar of them.
- Lol!
But, through all the whining and frustration-emails that I sent to Eve Goodman, the editor that I worked with on the book, all the good folks at Team Timber Press have really done a fantastic job of pulling it all together, from the photos to the meticulous editing, into one incredibly awesome book.
Honestly, if I saw this book in the bookstore, I would not waste my time looking at in the store, I would bring it home and savor the process of going through the pages and projects one by one. But, that’s just me. I can’t wait to hear what you think of the book!
Reserved your copy today and you be one of the first to have yours in your hands too. As with the first book, we’re doing a limited, book-plated edition with the first 100 copies that we send out and there are only a few copies left. Order yours today here.
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