For some reason they wouldn't use my original design, but this is close enough in the interests of moving the process along. The book takes place in Jim's Third, Fourth and Fifth Chakras -- thus the yellow, green and sky blue. The vertical columns suggest kundalini energy to me. But they also represent the jungle. The white lettering of OTORONGO just seemed obvious to me....
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I've been resisting reporting on the progress with self-publishing my novel lately because the whole thing has been getting rather fuzzy. I'm in the cover design phase, and have been for about three weeks, making no recognizable headway.

A word about iUniverse -- and perhaps about publishers in general, a breed I've never had any experience with, despite being of advanced age (where are the
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I've decided to go with this whole expensive, self-indulgent process of self-publishing on the theory that what I'm doing is OUTRAGEOUS!

So I'm actually into this for 10 grand, and no book has even been produced yet. I'm embarrassed to admit it. But it could be considerably more. I saved two grand during the editing process by editing it myself. I bargained my promotion package...
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Close to five months after my mom died, and within a month or so of probably being about to receive my family’s share of her inheritance, I had this dream, the first dream I've had of my mother since she died.

In the dream, part of the inheritance was going to be this entire square block right in the middle of Manhattan, which was composed...
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How much longer do you think I've got, Linsa, to entertain fantasies about Otorongo?

Probably a few more weeks, Jim.

A few more weeks? I'm up to ten thousand on this thing now. Don't you think that should buy me more than a few more weeks? I mean, the New York Times ad probably won't even appear for another five or six months.

I...
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Went for it, basically. Thanks @RISK for the encouragement! My wife is behind me too. Interesting. Guys I consulted were much more dubious and suspicious. Ladies rock!

So I've got a marketing plan that gives Otorongo exposure in a NY Times Book Review ad, Publishers Weekly ads, various Internet promotions, three critical reviews (out of which you gotta hope we get something positive to put...
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So my resolution to document my progress with attempting to self-publish my novel Otorongo has led me to the present situation, which has got me pretty fucked. Don't know how else to put it, exactly. I'm a fiction writer. The thing about reporting, i.e. nonfiction, which I have done very little of over the years, but just enough to know, is that trying to lay...
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I'm not going to stop fucking Jim when he's smoking my ass with a fucking red hot baseball bat because your dress is too tight and it's pinching your nipples, Linsa. Why don't you just take it off and get laid, girl, and stop standing there bitching?

Yes, Mistress. I could tell you really liked it when I licked your asshole. I could suck on...
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They call it Cover Polish. I've finally got the text of Otorongo submitted and they're starting to work on the design of the book. Here's some stuff for the back cover.