Teddy Radiator

The last few days have been such a roller coaster ride for us. Once we decided to close the shop, we were, of course, inundated with friends and customers, all clamoring for tea and, of course, to scavenge a little. We are giving everyone the chance to do that on April 16; we are having a 'Yard Sale', at the shop, and everything will be for sale.

We have laughed and cried over it; now I feel a peace about it. I know it's time to go. A lady always knows when to leave a party, and the Victoria will be no exception. It's ironic that the last two days have been record sales, since everyone is coming by to say their farewells.

Monday night, I had a long chat with mimimanderly on emails about all the things that interest us; a little while later, the phone rings and it's sempraseverus . I was more excited than if Alan Rickman had called! We talked for over an hour - what a neat, wonderful  person. I just felt like I was speaking to someone I'd known my entire life. It's the same with Mimi darling. Just kindred spirits. I can't wait to meet these two beautiful ladies in person - we've decided to have our own con on Sempra's farm! It was a wonderful moment - and one that shouldn't have happened - I never keep my phone handy, but for some reason it was right by my side. Karma. I'm a big believer in it.

These two ladies, along with so many of you, have inspired and encouraged me, and I am just blown away by the talent of the friends I have here. Just today, bulletimescully has posted a new manip on dA for my fic "As Morning Falls" . You can see it HERE. just another example of how people like her, and Tally and Sempra and Mimi have graced me. If you are not familiar with Bulletime, check out her work, friend her, and you will be blown away by her stunning writing and art. She's on Ashwinder, TPP and other archives as well.

So many of you have been so generous to me.  I have just adored Sempra and Mimi's work from day one; they were the ones who got me into fanfic. Others encouraged me to try, and it has made me a better writer quickly. Up until then, it was all original stuff. Which segues into the next point.

At the end of March, I sent 4 Chapters of my original fic Her Minder to a publisher, as you do, and on March 25th I received a note saying they usually took 6-8 weeks to get back to you. On Sunday, I got a request from the publisher to review the entire book! I'm very thrilled that they wanted to look at it. So keep fingers and toes crossed.

As I have said, it hurts to have a dream end, but I'm at peace with it. We got to build it, we did it on our terms, and hopefully we will end it the same way. The shop is the reason I met my best friend, who turned me onto fanfic, which encouraged me to start writing again, which encouraged me to find visual references, which led me to Sempra and others, which led me to fanfic, which led me here. If for no other reason than that, I will always be grateful we opened the Victoria.

The Hubs will be rehearsing 5 nights a week starting next week for a play, so I'll be all alone for almost two months in the evenings. I'm probably going to be writing my face off here. I apologise in advance if you start getting sick of me!