Personal Digest Saturday: May 23 – May 29

Life news this week: 

• Wow, everything happened. First, let's not forget that Drink and Draw was Saturday, and I got to eat at Taco Bus with Eric first before heading over there. It was good timing because I needed to get my webcomic done before heading out of town, so I did it!
• Sunday I mostly spent packing. I hate packing. So that's why I do it early.
• Monday was Memorial Day so I had off work. I used the day to get some things finished before heading out of town, but I also unexpectedly met Jeaux for food at Moe's even though it was not Jeaux Day. (I would be missing Jeaux Day by flying to New York, ya know.) And hahah, when I got there we were both wearing Steven Universe tee shirts so we are both nerds.
• Tuesday was my last day of work before the vacation. I knocked out a bunch of important business and left notes for my coworkers on how to handle stuff while I'm gone. And then I just spent the night relaxing and blogging about cartoons and reading comic books. But I didn't get enough sleep because I couldn't fall asleep that early. :(
• Wednesday at 5 AM my dad came to pick me up to go to the airport. We did so--had breakfast there--and had a good flight to New York. We went our separate ways at the airport so we could settle in at our respective places for the week--I went to John's. And tried to take a nap but could not do so because there was a loud person repairing something in the bathroom. :(
• That evening my dad and I met up in the city--except, well, I got super lost and he had to come find me--and we went to two awards ceremonies. I got my picture taken a bunch and received two medals. They're really heavy! I got the gold at one (Next Generation Indie Book Awards) and the silver at the other (IPPY Awards). And we ate hors d'ourves and I had champagne. :)
• Thursday I got up early to go into the city to meet up with my Pitch Wars alternate mentee from last year, Natalka. I hung out in the Argo tea shop near the Flatiron building--didn't get lost this time!--until she got there. And we had a great time eating pizza, shopping, and talking about writing and publishing. Such fun!
• Then I met my dad at the Flatiron Building and we wandered over to an Italian restaurant where we met my aunt and had dinner. Yum! Seriously the best fettuccine I've ever had, and it wasn't a ridiculously large portion either. Then we had coffee at a shop while we waited to see a Broadway show, which we did. We saw A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, which is the show my host John won a Tony for last year. We got friends and family tickets to see it. :) Unfortunately I also tripped in the street on some messed up pavement and skinned my knee and twisted my ankle, so my life is fun now.
• And then Friday I got up even earlier and rode the train out to go meet my agent at a really nice breakfast place. She and I had brunch and had some great conversations about my book and the awards and publishing. Then I went back home and rested my ankle all day while doing some catch-up blogging, posting of my webcomic, and reading of comic books. :) It's been ice to have a breathing day. And tomorrow is John's birthday party. Huzzah!

New reviews of my book:

• "Educational first half": Audible.com review from Shaun. Three stars.
• "This book needed to exist!": Audible.com review from Anthony. Five stars. (No I don't know why I suddenly got 2 Audible reviews in the same week.)
• Goodreads review from Maia Robinson: Four stars.

Places featured:

• Savage Love: My book was mentioned briefly in Dan Savage's column, recommending it to a potentially asexual questioner.
• Reading of the Day: Someone on Tumblr is listing quotes from my book while reading, apparently.

Reading progress:

• Completed reading: Transmetropolitan: Volume 1 by Warren Ellis. Three-star review.
• Currently reading: What Not to Say! by Linda J. Beam.

New singing performances:

Here I'm singing "Sweet Surrender" by Sarah McLachlan.


 
New drawings:

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0524: "All My What-Ifs."






New videos:


Critique of Romance Tropes

New photos:  


I just posted a lot of the New York photos, so I'll just send you there if you want to see those. Here are the ones I didn't include there, though.

Obligatory Drink and Draw selfie

Eric reading something to the group when he should have been drawing.

My irritated coffee face.

Trying out hairstyles!

Jeaux at Moe's wearing his Cookie Cat shirt from Steven Universe.

Social media counts: YouTube subscribers: 4,647 for swankivy (39 new this week), 473 for JulieSondra (5 new). Twitter followers: 655 for swankivy (3 new), 952 for JulieSondra (1 new). Facebook: 277 friends (no change) and 164 followers (1 new) for swankivy, 566 likes for JulieSondra (5 new), 54 likes for Negative One (no change), 105 likes for So You Write (1 new). Tumblr followers: 2014 (7 new).