Cal-i-for-nia Here I Come!

On my way way out tomorrow for the annual Cat Writers conference, held this year in Foster City, California. People chuckle when I tell them there is such an event but think about all the cat books out there- care for kittens, medical books, breed specialities, etc. and you'll get an idea of how broad the field is. I'm in the minority as a feline humor writer, which suits me fine. I've attended the conference for the last 2 years and am always amazed at the number of assignments I leave with.

My schedule is packed the 3 days I'm there so I'm not even bothering to take the laptop which likely means no new blog posts until Monday.  Plus it's just another item to lug along. I always convince myself I'll pull my laptop out on an airplane and do work and it has yet to happen. I read, I eat, I sleep--usually in that order.

I'm a backup presenter for the event but am hoping I'm not called upon. I've presented the last two years and am looking forward to attending this year as a nameless, faceless guest. But if someone cancels last minute, I'm going to take my "Johnny Can't Brand" book and walk the group through a rough-and-tumble DSI exercise.

Changing topics completely, I finally had a good run last night - 7 miles and went strong to the end. I was getting worried as my last 4 runs have been horrid.  But I wore a brace last night on my left knee which helped with stability and I woke up today with no pain--unusual for me after a longer run. 

And that's all in the life of Dena. Calm...unruffled...it's a nice change of pace.  Say a prayer my luggage doesn't join the land of the lost. This 3-oz rule (which for the record, I find close to useless--I think our country has gone WAY overboard on the panic route) is killing me. My face creams alone are 8 oz. and don't even get me started on hair care products. These days, lost luggage=bad hair.  Yikes!!! =)

Dena

More DSI Work

I'm eternally grateful for everyone's response to my DSI question a few posts back.

A few of you confirmed what I had suspected--that the "Your Procrastination is My Priority" tagline could be read as insulting. The tagline came about because one of my friends lives by the saying, "Procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part." I laugh every time she says it in reference to a client and was trying to tweak it to fit here-- a no go.

 Margot made a comment on the DSI post where she tossed out the phrase "Rapid Response Writer."  Hmm... kind of catchy. Makes me think of a medical alert team though. But it did spark some new ideas that I'd like feedback on. Anyone care for these?

• The Ready Writer
• Ready to Write
• Ready to Write Now
• Ready Write Now

I'll bias my polling and admit I'm kind of diggin' "The Ready Writer." Sounds much more "me" than "Dynamic Communications."

My friend Bernie made a comment in the prior DSI post about the danger of stating my speciality as being last-minute projects in that I'll be inundated with impossible deadlines. She's right, but my thought process was that if people trust me to do a bang-up job on rush jobs, there will be the assumption that I can of course submit superior work within a normal time period as well. But such logic may not translate as I hope.

So I'm thinking if I go with The Ready Writer, I'll point the DSI less toward  last-minute projects and more toward that I'm ready to work to go to work when you are.  So where my prior sample speciality statement read:

Dena Harris is the first choice for last-minute writing projects. That’s because Dena offers the fastest turn-around time on high-quality work of any writer in the Triad.

The new one might read:

 Dena Harris is the first choice for on-time, superior quality projects. That's because Dena offers the fastest and most reliable turn-around time of any writer in the Triad.

I'm not sure that's enough of a speciality though. I would hope most freelancers would respect deadlines and be on time. So I'm still muddling with it. Any additional thoughts/comments/guidance is always welcome.  As with Margot's post, you never know what comment you post may spark something bigger for me. 

Heart of Living Holiday Showcase

I forgot to mention a great big THANK YOU to the Heart of Living Art Gallery located at 5588-A Garden Village Way in Greensboro. This stunning gallery that showcases local and international artists held an open house this past Friday to kick off their "Art of Giving" campaign for the holidays.

 Let me tell you--these people know how to throw a party. I was one of 10 local authors featured in the gallery (along with glass art, pottery, hand-crafted jewelry, and paintings) and the decor was to die for. Models from South of 7th strolled the floor in gowns that made every woman vow on the spot to lose 20 pounds.  Wine and gourmet cheese and spreads and crackers and sauteed vegetables...the food went on and on...

I loved their author set-up and am going to suggest it to other retailers in the future. Instead of having each artist behind their own table, there was one long table, dressed to the nines with art and food and displaying on top of the table the author's works. Every author was given a nametag and we milled around the gallery, sometimes near the table but sometimes not. This allowed people to circle the table, looking at each book without feeling the pressure of the artist staring at them with that "please buy my book" desperation.

I sold 15 books and am thrilled. Given the elegance of the gallery and high-end clientele, I wasn't sure cat books would go over. But people grabbed them for Christmas Gifts and most of my inscriptions were along the lines of "For Dan, Melissa, & Mr. Bonkers--Enjoy the book."

Heart of Living will donate a portion of all proceeds from Nov. 10th - Dec. 23rd to the Greensboro Urban Ministry. So if you're in the area and have a chance to stop by, please do. They have fantastic gifts for the holidays.

11 Miles, Krispy Kreme, & Fish

I ran 11 miles today but I'm not feeling joyous. I crapped out about mile 8 and walked/ran the last 3. My running partner Royce said this is called "running it out," and as long as one still finishes the run, it counts.  I suppose, but I'd be a lot more pleased if I had managed to run the whole thing. Kiawah is in 4 weeks and I want to run the half-marathon, not run/walk.  I've had some bad runs lately.  That's because I'm not getting enough pavement time. It turned cold here the last couple of weeks and I found it hard to make myself leave the house in 40 degree weather (and the dark) to run.  But I'm going to have to step up my game plan if I want to finish this race with a respectable time.

The bright side of today's run is that Blair picked me up afterward and revived my spirits by feeding me Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Nothing like a doughy lump of sugar to get your blood pumping again. We indulged in the seasonal limited availability Pumpkin-Spice doughnuts. I strongly suggest you swing by and pick some up.

Had a lot of fun in Krispy Kreme watching the kids. One little girl about 5 walked in with her family and brother, who was maybe 7. She raced to the doughnut window, turned, and with an urgency in her voice one might hear from an adult if the home were on fire and they were trying to get everyone out called, "JOHN!! HURRY!...Sprinkles!!" 

A lot of dads were there with their kids and I eavesdropped on conversations about the best way to wear the paper KK hat and whether jelly doughnuts were better than chocolate. When we left, I mentioned to Blair how sweet it was to see dad's spending a Saturday morning, taking their kids out for a special treat.  Blair pointed out the majority of those  dad's weren't wearing wedding bands, begging the question if this was the dad's "weekend" visit with the kids. Still a nice outing for everyone but kind of makes me sad...

Okay. Fish. We have heard your words and are dramatically scaling back our plans. We'll start with a small tank and freshwater fish.  No mortgaging the house to buy an 80-gallon tank until we're sure we're in it for the long haul. Thank you all for putting the fear of God into us.

And that's it. My reward for having run 11 miles is I don't have to do jack for the rest of the day. (Hey--maybe there's the motivation I need to get outside and run more often.)  

Hope everyone is enjoying stellar weather like we are...close to 80 today. It's one of those days that make you happy to be alive.

Although that could also be the sugar from the doughnut talking...