Table-O-MercuryMay 28, 2007

First Edition. First Copies. First Signed., originally uploaded by missmarypotter.

Corrections & PostersApril 28, 2007
Hey ya'll. I am not perfect, I am well aware of this. I am doing a last run-through to make sure things are right and I noticed that there were several mistakes in the chapters presented. Missing words and comma abuse in the first chapter, double sentences and weird wording in chapter two and some missing words, wrongly italics words in the third. I think I got them all.
I have updated the chapters to reflect the corrections made. I would like to apologize for those of you who had to endure my mistakes. After seeing this book for the 20th time or so, things get missed, looked over, weirdly placed... and sometimes doubled... and sometimes doubled. :D Just kidding. The thing is, this is a learning experience for me, and I am doing the best I can. I feared sharing the pages with you all, because I knew this would likely happen. I have reviewed the files and corrected what I saw. I have tired to make them as good and as perfect as I can. Thank you for your patience.
Here you go...
» Pre-Ordering, April 20-May 12
» Re-Read Chapters 1, 2, & 3
» Cover Art » New Posters At Zazzle.com

Pre-Orders, Excerpts, Cover design April 20, 2007
Here you go...
» Pre-Ordering, April 20-May 12
» Read Chapters 1, 2, & 3
» Cover Art

Text Edition of Website Launches April 16, 2007
As you can see the text edition of this website is up and running. This way you can stay up-to-date with all the Mercury Brightman info without all the fancy designs I made. Like Mercury herself, this is the cut-to-the-chase version of the website.
General Updates
Cover design is in and is being completed for display at the end of this week along with the first three excerpts of the book. With any luck, pre-orders will begin on April 20th and end May 12th. All orders will be shipped Priority/Global Priority Mail. All Pre-orders will be signed, and come with a letter of authenticity and a bookmark. If I can afford it, I may through in a sticker too. :)

Official Cover Artist March 23, 2007
I am very pleased, honored, privileged, and humbled to announce that Meredith Dillman (click on butterfly on the home page) is the artist commissioned to illustrate the cover of my first book. This is sort of a "well you already knew about it," annoucement. As soon as we are able to, we will show it to you when pre-orders will be able ready to be taken... in about a month. Read the Full Announcement Here
General Updates
Book is still on schedule. Pre-orders are hopefully still on schedule, aiming for April 20.
New Designs in Shops
The Zazzle Shop
The Cafepress Shop
I am working on a Text version of the website.

Preparing for Release Jan 1, 2007
Five years since I had my vision, and it has all come down to the next five months. In efforts to stick to the release date I have set my review team to work. As soon as I get the edits back, I will make the modifications, and then typeset the entire book by myself. Yes, I can do that, I am a graphic designer and all. From the moment I get the edits back I am looking at about 176 hours of work time stretched out over a one month period or shorter, while working a full-time job. I think I may be insane, but hey, I am going to try and meet my date. Meeting my date actually means meeting it earlier because of the pre-orders. I hope to have pre-orders up around April. Until then, enjoy the new site design. Yes, I did that all too. Phew!

Release Date and The Latest News Nov. 21, 2006
It's official, Mercury Brightman: The First Sign is scheduled to be release June 2, 2007. It will be available for online ordering only through Amazon.com, BarnsandNoble.com, and Lulu.com. You will also be able to pre-order copies directly through me. Autograph requests can be made, but only on the books ordered directly through me. The first edition of the novel will be a Printed-On-Demand. It will be produced by MISSMARYPOTTER BOOKS and published by Lulu, INC.
Countdown Widgets have been made, along with a temperamental RSS feed that keeps mysteriously deleting itÍs contents. I am replacing it when I see that my code is missing on a daily basis. Forgive me when it disappears, I am working to fix the problem. A Mac Dashboard widget has been created to house it regardless.
An official newsletter has been created too via Yahoo Groups!. I am running a one-woman show, so please be patient if I forget to update a blog or newsletter, however I am trying. Thanks all! More news to come in the coming months!

Query to Agents Mar. 3, 2006
Loads have happened since I last reported. I went to England, visited Salem, and moved to Arizona. The fourth± draft of the The First Sign has been edited and reviewed and I am now seeking out literary agents. I have deleted all the "Idol" pages and have updated my profile. LilRedGEO, Ink has now become June Second Designs, and I have a new job I love. I will try to keep you posted. The guestbook be under an approval system due to spamming. Till then just check the Forums for consistant updates.

Progress Report May. 17, 2005
I have nothing to say except today was a very nice day. I was in a good mood all day. Why? Well one of my top secret reviewer's on my review team has finished reading my novel. She has told me good things, and she has told me things similar to my father's injections, spelling and punctuation and what not! I shall not name my special reviewer at this time because I do not wish to have any of you hound her for the 411, she knows who she is and she knows I love her for it. ANYHOW, what does this mean? This means as soon as her copy and my father's copy return to me I will begin editing it down and fixing it. This should take me three months... but alas the next three months are going to be pretty busy for me, so I am looking at a ready to shop for a literary agent around late September. I will make a deadline then. September 9th 2005, I will have completed edits to the book as far as I can humanly imagine and start shopping for literary agents.
Why the 9th? Well some of you may know but that is Mercury's Birthday and it is a good date to set. I find that if I don't give myself a deadline I will slack and slack and slack. I imagine once I am able to hire a literary agent, it will then have to undergo a professional edit before a publisher can be obtained. Who knows how long that will take? I donno. We will see. This is my progress, and this is where I am headed.

Four Titles Thought Up Feb. 18, 2005
Your author has gotten a part-time job as a cashier at Meijer. So far news from one of my first reviewers is positive (but my sentence structure needs some work, shocker--not). While waiting, I am composing a Character Bible. I have had scattered notes on my characters for some time, and have had a chance to organize them into a notebook I am toting around with me these days. I have written the outline for book 2, and decided upon a working title, but at this time I am not going to share it. While creating the outline for book 2, I crafted the titles for books 3 and 4 as well. I like them and they are something to build on. Granted they all may change by the time they are written an ready for publishing, but alas it is a start. Other than that I have a third reviewer who is going to recieve The First Sign in a day or so (as soon as I get my rear to the post-office) who has enthusiasticly requested to be apart of my review team. An extra eye is always good. Until then, that is my progress.

Third Draft Out for Review! Jan. 18, 2005

Second Draft Typed! Nov. 28, 2004
At 11pm I completed typing the Second Draft of the Novel. It is typed and printed. It will be combed over with some my own edits, before handing it to my two guest reviewers. Once they have reviewed it and given me the edits and suggestions, I will incorporate their feedback and then decide to either self publish or hire a literary agent. That is the news!

Happy Birthday! Mercury Brightman! Sept. 9, 2004
Today Mercury's birthday. To celebrate her birthday, I will start typing the 2nd draft of her first story this evening.

Personal Deadline Set
This deadline, December 31, 2004, is my personal goal. I have set a deadline as to when I would like to be finished with the TYPED second draft!

Draft Completed, The First Novel Manuscript July 2003
The first manuscript, first rough draft, of the first story Mercury Brightman: The First Sign©, was completed.
What Does This Mean?
Well, it means that I got from the beginning to the end, and now it is a matter of going through the story, character mapping, timeline construction, and the most obvious of course will be to construct and type up the second draft. Until then, that's it. This is the place to be to get the latest news on my novel. More magic to come!