Thursday, March 08, 2007

ARC-ology -- Jay

ARC-ology - n. The scientific study of Advance Reading Copies.

The plan: Eve and I were to meet at Robin’s for a night of brainstorming through the story and characters of my second novel.

What happened: I went with Robin to pick up her son at pre-school. Upon returning to Robin’s house, my wife called from our house. “You just got a package from Penguin!” I told her to open it, which she did immediately. Then she started screaming and almost hyperventilating and I told her to calm down because I wasn't fluent in Dolphin. The Advance Reading Copies of Thirteen Reasons Why had arrived! Then my wife turned to the dedication page and started crying (which made her even harder to understand). Even though our house was forty-five minutes away, she really wanted us to see them immediately so she drove on up and we all became ARC-ologists.

Right now, even though I’m not a fan of clichés, I honestly feel like a sponge. I’m making sure to soak up every emotion a first time novelist is allowed to experience. And Razorbill did such a cool job designing the front and back covers, the spine, and the chapter headings that I…well…my sponge overfloweth with emotions.

When I finally left Robin’s at 11:30pm, I was so ecstatic that even getting pulled over by the police couldn’t bring me down.

- Jay

14 comments:

Lisa Yee said...

I do believe that the photos I have of you in drag are going to be worth money someday.

Congrats on your ARC!!!!

Laini Taylor said...

So exciting! Yay! For me, getting the ARCs was finally the moment it all sank in. I felt like I'd been holding my breath for a year and a half, and that was finally my "I'm allowed to be excited now" moment. Congrats!! And I hope you didn't really get pulled over!

SilberBook-Blog said...

This is so much fun - riding shotgun with you on your trip!

Thanks - and congrats Jay

alan

Anonymous said...

So. cool. And I love that all three of you managed identical expressions. Congrats on yet another step in the journey!

Disco Mermaids said...

Lisa - there are more pics to come, I'm sure.

Laini - yes, I did get pulled over...but no ticket!

Alan - right back atcha, regarding your journey

Kelly - sometimes I think the three of us were separated at birth...then I remember they were born half-a-decade before me

- Jay

Disco Mermaids said...

That's not really a cliche, Jay. It's more like a simile, yo! And what's wrong with cliches? You know I love them. And "half a decade older than you"??...HA! I'm only as old as I feel. Or act. Or something.

THAT'S why you called my phone at midnight...you got pulled over! Did you need me to verify that you just got your ARC's and you were freaking out and couldn't pay attention to the road because you were reading very closely for typos? That's what I thought.

Congrats! Another wonderful chapter in the DiscoMermaid epic journey. Such a fun night. But, aren't they all?

Evie

LindaBudz said...

How fun! Glad you are pleased with the (almost) final product.

And, yes, definitely immerse yourself in this. I've never had much patience for those who feel they must always suffer for their art. Life's too short. Enjoy the moment!

Anonymous said...

JAAAAAAY!

HUGE congratulations on your ARCness. :)

Anonymous said...

Jay,

We are all sooooooooo proud.

When is the launch scheduled for? I want to mark it on my calendar.

Tina

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on not getting ticketed!

Oh, and the ARC thing's good too.

Greg Pincus said...

The arcane science or ARCology is best practiced at an arcade, I believe. But then again, I don' have your first hand experience! Congrats. So, when do we get a chance to win one of those suckers?????

LindaBudz said...

Ooh, I like Gregory's idea ... a contest! Would love to have a chance to read your book sooner than later!

Disco Mermaids said...

The contest is coming!

And the winner will receive a whole smorgasbord of Disco Mermaid paraphernalia.

Stay tuned...

Don Tate II said...

Congratz! Once again. I can't wait to get my copy. I hope they have advanced copies at TLA next month.