The wait is over!

Guess what?

My book is here!

I received the author copies from Loyola Press on Tuesday afternoon.  I was dying to open the package, but I’d made up my mind to wait  until Scott got home  – his support was a crucial part of getting the book written in the first place, so I wanted him to be there for a big moment.  Problem was that he taught a class on Tuesday night, so he didn’t get home until after ten.  Believe me, the suspense was killing me.  I was like the preschoolers with the marshmallows in that famous psychological experiment about delayed gratification.

But finally, he got home, and it was time for the unveiling.

It looks amazing.   That Loyola design team is the bee’s knees.  (Bubbles, by the way,  figure prominently in two chapters, so it’s the perfect cover.)  It feels great, too – and it has that amazing new book smell that I adore.  If they could bottle the smell of this book, I’d totally dab it behind my ears.   I just keep burying my face in the pages and inhaling.

It’s hard to believe that this book, a project I’ve had in my heart and on my hard-drive for about the past three years, has finally been born.  It  feels good.  And I hope people like it.   It’s now in stock on BarnesandNoble.com, Amazon.com, and on the Loyola Press website. (The Loyola site lets you read the introduction and some of the first chapters, in case you want to check it out.)

Thanks for letting me gush.  I’ll go do some more of my happy dance now … after I take another look (and sniff).