November 17, 2010, I put it out there – I said I was going to start working on a book and just see where it took me. In November 2011, I had a book contract in hand from Thomas Nelson.  In November 2012, I’ll be at my first book signing.  Totally insane.  I finally have my book, Inspired You, in hand.

I posted it on Facebook, but haven’t mentioned it otherwise.  My friend Barb Blair texted me last night, asking why I didn’t call her screaming when I got it in the mail and she called me a stinker.  Once I got the giggles out about a grown woman calling me, also a grown woman, a stinker, I thought about it.  Why didn’t I?  I’m in love with the book.  I’m proud of it.  (I can, of course, see tons of things I would do a little differently, but I think that’s totally normal.)  So, why didn’t I?

 Well, first of all, it was a quiet moment.  I literally hugged the book and got all teary.  A bunch of myself…dreams and stress and work and ideas and effort were all wrapped in that binding.  I just wanted to soak it in.

Second, it’s still very surreal.  It’s sort of like when I brought my first son home from the hospital.  I knew I just delivered a baby, but it still wasn’t real that I was a mom.  I would wake up to a cry in the wee hours and have to remind myself that it was my job to feed him.  It took a little while for it to sink in and for motherhood to become a role I felt comfortable in.

I’m not very comfortable with the idea of being an author.  Not yet, anyway.  I’ve never, ever thought of myself as a writer and I still don’t, really.  The idea of going to a book signing feels very awkward to me.  I will be a total dork when I see my book at a store.  I’m not sure what total dorkiness will look like, but I’m sure I’ll embody it.  (I get all tingly just looking at my author picture and bio.)  It looks so legit.  It is so legit and I’m just not used to it, yet.

 So, what is this book all about?  It’s not a bunch of posts patched together, so even if you’ve read every single blog post, there is a lot of new information, projects and ideas for you.   At least 80% of the photographs have never been shown on my blog.  I wrote all new tutorials including how to make an ottoman from scratch and pleated drapes.  There is also a lot of encouragement and inspiration.

Here’s a video about it…

 And, like my blog, it’s very real.  Real home, real budget, real family, doable projects.  All real.  I even did a photo shoot using paper plates.  Oh, yes I did.

The official publish date is November 6, 2012, but I will be selling books and doing a signing on November 2-3, 2012 at Lucketts.  It’s the Lucketts Holiday Open House, which is a big deal, so it’s a great time to put the book out there.  I’m slightly terrified at the idea of sitting at a table with a Sharpie expecting people who not only want to buy a book, but want me to sign it.  I’ll have to get over that.  (I’ll also have to practice what I’m going to write.  I told you.  Dork.)  I’m planning to do some milk paint demonstrations, too.  It’s worth coming for the Design House alone, anyway!

If you can’t make it to the Holiday Open House at Lucketts, you can pre-order the book from Thomas Nelson, Amazon (the “Look Inside” feature is available) or Barnes & Noble.

 I’m working on scheduling some other book signings/milk paint workshops with some of my retailers.  I’ll definitely make an appearance at the shops that are local to me, but I’m still figuring out the rest.

Once the book is out, I want to share lots of behind-the-scene stuff and some of the process of writing and photographing a book.  It was a lot like writing a really, really long blog post, but I’ll get into all of that later.

** OH!  And I almost forgot.  I am giving a copy of the book away!  I might even throw in a t-shirt, some glitter, some milk paint…   ***

If you’d like to win, just leave a comment.  (You must be over 18 to enter, International readers are welcome to participate.)   The giveaway closes Friday, October 12, 2012, at midnight PST.

 Disclosure: The links to Thomas Nelson and Amazon in this post are affiliate links.