Last night a cardboard box showed up. Inside: my heart, my typos, and the first printing proof of Echoes of the Lost World: The Hidden World (Book 1).
Good news. It’s a book. Bad news. It’s my book, which means the cover blues are moody in the wrong way, the spine is leaning like it skipped leg day, and a couple chapter breaks wandered off to start a band. It is gloriously imperfect. I can’t stop smiling.
I opened it and did the thing where you sniff the paper like a weirdo. Not a PDF. Not a doc. An actual object that squeaks a little when you bend it. Then I saw my name on the cover and had to sit down before gravity filed a complaint.
Here’s the wild part. The flaws made it feel more real, not less. This is the exact moment a dream stops being theoretical and starts being fixable. It’s the same energy my teen heroes get when their magic sparks for the first time. Scary and confusing and loud. Also a rush.
So yes, I’m excited. I’m also armed with a pencil and the determination of a goblin who just discovered margin notes. Next up: circle things, tweak files, run another proof, try not to pet the cover like a cat. Every little fix gets us closer to the version you’ll hold.
If you’ve been cheering, thank you. If you just got here, welcome to the chaos. We’re close.
Want updates, sneak peeks, and the second I flip the preorder switch. Join the mailing list or hang out here. I’ll share photos, some behind-the-scenes oops moments, and maybe a deleted line once I stop hugging the book like it might bolt.
Imperfect, yes. Real, finally. I’ll take it.
