Dose of Happiness: Coffee Dates!

Readers of my blog know that I'm a simple fella. As a minimalist, I don't need a lot of stuff. Things don't make you happy. Piles of gizmos, giant houses, massive quantities of anything won't put a dance in your step, nor lighten the burdens in your heart.

In fact, given time, those things will bury you.

Too much stuff!

Aaaaaaahhhhhh!

Sure, I have my weaknesses. I'd be lost without my computer, phone, and coffee maker, but the items themselves aren't what make me happy. Simplicity and making memories are where it's at.

I've talked about Fryday--the one day a week Erin and I share a small Wendy's fry and a pizza--well, this goes hand-in-hand with Fryday: Coffee Dates!

Coffee Dates

Easily some of the most overlooked joys of life are simple times like grabbing a cup of joe down at the local coffee shop. Usually we walk to our local Starbucks--a trek that's five miles round trip. Then when we arrive, we chat it up with our favorite baristas. Every time we go in we learn a little more about them, get a little more familiar with their life stories.

For me and Erin it's more than just coffee, it's about connecting. Connecting with each other and those around us.

And of course, it's about drinking coffee, which come in all flavors and types!

Erin's favorite, Ice Cinnamon Almond Milk Caramel Macchiato

When we aren't Starbucksing, Erin will go for a Califia

Parents say, "Don't play with your food." Bah! Who can resist Starbucks in sunglasses?

Gimme your coffee and nobody gets hurt!

LOL! The baristas know me well. DOUBLE whipped cream!

Peekaboo!

Hangin' with my best friend!

In the end it's really all about hanging out with my partner, my best friend, my beautiful bride.

Deek and Erin - Brewin' Togetha!

So, go out, get some coffee--or whatever floats your boat--and make some connections!

This is Deek, with a little dose of coffee happiness!

Adventure on, my friends!

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Dose of Happiness: Book Happiness Part 2!

Book happiness? Didn't I just blog about that a couple weeks ago? Why, yes, yes I did.

Again and Again!

If you missed it or don't remember, check out Dose of Happiness: Book Happiness.

This week, we're talking:

Formatting!

122 Rules Cover Page

Sure the covers on your favorite books rock, but what about all the pages in between? Someone had to spend HOURS meticulously laying them out, finding the right fonts, the right headers, the right chapter breaks.

Oh, and let's not even get into "widows" and "orphans."

No, not those widows and orphans, I'm talking about trailing little devil lines at the end or beginning of a page.

For print book layout, we use Adobe's Indesign. Erin has always done our book layouts and is smashingly good at it, but it was time for me to take the reins. So, she used The Prophecy's template to springboard the 122 Rules set up. She did the heavy lifting of setting up the master pages, fonts, headers, so on and so on.

She also worked with our cover designer, Anita Carroll of Race Po!nt, on the dimensions, page count, and things random sounding things like "gutters" and "bleed." All of this mess requires more precision than a mission to Mars or KDP will chew your book up and spit it out.

Then it was over to me to clean up the content. Compared to all that other stuff, cleaning the content doesn't sound like a big deal. I've got this.

Okay, maybe not as much as I'd hoped.

I've worked in programs that seemed to have been designed by drunk monkeys, and while Indesign wasn't quite that bad, the tipsy primates sketching the buttons and menus were clearly feeling prankish. Within the book itself there are a TON of things that you have to get just right--not only the widows and orphans--to make a book look polished and clean.

While it took a lot longer than I thought, with Erin's guidance, I think the results speak for themselves.

122 Rules - Cover Page

122 Rules - Chapter One

122 Rules - Rule #73

122 Rules - Chapter Break

And while I messed up a bit and asked a ton of questions, my amazing bride was profoundly patient and worked with me through all of it.

Next up, we tackled the Smashwords and KDP ebook versions. Those have their own, completely set of rules. Smashwords will upload your book to places like OverDrive, B&N, and Apple IF you are in their premium catalog, but to get there takes a whole lot of work.

Fortunately, Erin knows the 128 pages (yes, 128!!!) of rules and guided me through the process. Happily, Smashwords accepted 122 on the first try!

My bride is a brilliant editor and a total pro at book design layout. She even has her own company for just this service.

Erin Rhew Editing and Design.

As a side now, 122 Rules is now available under its new Tenacious Books Publishing home!

122 Rules on Amazon!

I'm incredibly lucky to have such a talented, patient bride who's willing to help me learn the ropes. 

Erin is a total pro all the way!

This is Deek with another Dose of Happiness!

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