Holy cross-purposes, Batman! Here I am, gearing up to get The Mumbo Jumbo Circus into the world. I finished copy-editing. I'm working on a variety of illos and putting together several different directions for the cover. (I'll hold a public vote for best cover sketch in the near future.)

BUT, and I'm sure I'm not alone in writer-land on this, I am encountering huge psychological resistance to the actual public baring of my heart and soul. Oh, I'm still going to do the pants-down-in-public thing. The book should be available by April 1. Fool. Fool. Oh, shut up, you imbecilic inner-critic.

Okay, I'm back. Yes, I'm going to self-publish my book. The journey is just a lot harder than I figured it would be. I'm alone here. I don't have a team saying, "This book is great!" I believe in the worth of my book, I do. And I'm not the only one. There is, however, a whole list of editors who turned it down. Perception being the greater part of reality, perhaps that's not the smartest thing to put in my blog. But it's the truth. 

I'm forging ahead on what I hope is the stronger truth, my inner faith that others will want to share my stories. My writing comes from a place of honesty, strength, certainty, and magic. The world I inhabit is a magical one. Magic creates more problems than it solves, but it's wondrous all the same. The only feedback I received from editors via my agent is that they wanted my book to be either wholly in a fantasy world or wholly in a realistic one. People, that is not the point. And that is not my world.

So, while I step on a few inner-demons around here to get the job done, allow me to share with you (in 360 degrees) my room where all the magic happens...

To my mind, one of the wonderful elements of this DIY adventure is that I get to share parts  of it with you instead of having everything be hush-hush. 

Like most projects, the first in my circus series has undergone a parade of titles. The most recent moniker, and the one which it last wore publicly, is PICKLED PUNKS. If you don't know what a pickled punk is, you're not alone. So, while I consider that title brilliant (my DH came up with it) and a wonderful metaphor for the unwanted teens who end up at my circus, it may not be the best for the noisy DIY world. I have chosen THE MUMBO JUMBO CIRCUS, which isn't mysterious but at least tells the potential reader something about the book.

If you madly prefer PICKLED PUNKS, let me know about it! I'm all about the feedback being part of this here adventure.

So without further ado, here is a preview of some of the work going into this project:

(The photos have an eerie green glow because everything I touch is just that magical, har.)













Yes, there is an actual minor character who happens to be a pickled punk, although he's more like a psychic George Carlin in a jar.

Here we have our protagonist, Evan, knocking for the first time upon the door of the Ringmaster's converted train car trailer. She has something important to tell him, but she's reluctant to share this particular news.

The title graphic that will appear on the book cover and all of the circus trucks etc.

Help me out here, is it better with the B's shortened, or not?


Time for me to get back to work!

So tell me, what circus imagery would you most like to see in THE MUMBO JUMBO CIRCUS?



All artwork Copyright 2011 Jane George