Bad Reviews

You know, writers -- real writers -- tell other writers not to read their book reviews. They know they're whistling in the wind because who can't go check out what people think of their work? I have to learn to do that. Not read the reviews. I got another dud. More about the ugly layout and not being able to take my work seriously because of the ugly layout. It sucks, man. But 'anonymous' -- yes, the dreaded anonymous -- is right about the layout -- the old layout. That's why the newer books are properly formatted, and cheaper than the originals, as an apology of sorts for my misbehavior in thinking that my work had value beyond the font. This is a huge learning curve for me, this self-publishing thing, and I am determined to get better at it.

I've been away for a while -- away from home, away from the computer, into my head and creating little tin pots of creamy scented deliciousness. I've got a line on some super gorgeous frankincense tears from Oman that I'm going to be making into Kyphi incense sticks over the autumn. A friend sent me a huge bag of Hawaiian sandalwood chips that I need to powder. Probably burn out my spice grinder. Santal chips are one of the hardest raw materials to powder in a mortar and pestle, though I will try, just to get that energy in there. I think when the Omani frankincense Kyphi is attached to the bamboo sticks, it'll get rolled in that Hawaiian santal powder. I can hardly wait to get started on it.

The custom work keeps flowing in. I've been questioned a time or two about the change from organic grape or grain alcohol to oil-based perfumes, and I can only say that winter is coming. Okay, that's not the real reason, but sort of. Winter is coming and oil-based perfumes work better on dry winter skin than alcohol BUT also because shipping alcohol-based perfumes is an enormous pain in the bum!