Or at least it’s almost over. I have ONE MORE DAY of my temporary day job, and then I’m finished. I survived all the craziness of starting grad school, going to the week long summer residency at Syracuse (and almost not being able to get my plane ticket because financial aid took so long to come), coming home to jury duty (thankfully I never got called in), working a full time job while finishing up classes, and dealing with a tax issue that almost prevented me from getting financial aid. *PHEW*

And did I mention finding out that the Renegade X paperback got cancelled? There was that, too. And then there was also a brief scare where I thought there weren’t going to be any more Monstrumologist books, but luckily they came through!

So there were good things this summer, too, like Disney renewing the film option. And I got a new critique partner, who’s been giving me wonderful feedback and also giving me the swift kick in the pants I needed to get back on track and start writing every day. I’ve been putting in two hours a day five days a week (though I’ll admit to slacking during the past two weeks of day job exhaustion), and that’s worked wonders on my productivity levels. I have a book out on sub, and I’ve got two more that I’m working on. And the residency at Syracuse was amazing. It was one of the best experiences of my life! I made a ton of new friends, got inspired by teachers passionate about their work, and visited their special collections section of the library. Which was, ZOMG, the best thing ever.

I specifically signed up for a distance program so I wouldn’t have to move, but then they went and showed me their collection of 4,000 year old clay tablets, and an old map book written in Latin where what would eventually be the U.S. is a giant blob, and a piece of papyrus from Cleopatra’s time, and many more amazing artifacts, most of them written in either Latin or French (when they weren’t in English). Um, dude, I totally have a background in that. And the school totally has a certificate option where you combine library classes with museum classes and get qualified to work with these objects. There’s just one catch–most of the classes are only available at the school.

You can guess what I’m thinking about doing next year.

And as for the cancellation of the Renegade X paperback, it’s unfortunate, obviously, but I’d like to say that I have the best fans ever. The responses I’ve gotten to this book have been SO wonderful, whether it’s been through positive reviews or from readers emailing me to tell me how much they loved Damien’s story. And having that kind of support makes this business so much easier to deal with, so if you love a book, tell the author.

And if you love Renegade X and want to help spread the word, you can blog about it, post a review on Amazon, or even just tell your friends. And you know what else? Tell your library, especially if they don’t already have a copy. You don’t have to spend money to support a book. Obviously sales are awesome, but spreading information is just as important, and it’s free.

So if you loved the book, tell your friends. And if you hated it, tell your enemies. ;)