The Trek to Publication
Fred and I like to say that we live in a Self-Service economy these days -
you pay someone else, for the privilege of doing the work yourself.
Whether you're pumping gas or publishing your book, it's a DIY world now.

Having thrown in the towel on the agent-publisher-bookstore rigmarole, I've had a fast education on how one produces a professional-looking book.
Doing my own formatting for an e-book was too easy - I was lulled into thinking I could publish on the cheap.
Nope.
Maybe I could've, without a print version. But I love books - not only the words, but the physical objects - and I don't want to limit my audience to people with e-readers.

The woman who'll be doing my (interior) book design, and my cover designer, will help me set Karmafornia apart in the sea of new titles.

The argument goes like this: you worked X years to polish this story - are you now going to slap a homemade cover on a cramped layout and call it a day? Why bother? Doesn't your book deserve an outcome worthy of your effort?

I'm on my way now, and I have to admit it's exciting. (Now all I need is a personality transplant, to market this book effectively.)

Ladder-style Bookshelves.

Fred wanted different bookshelves for this new house. Ever up to a challenge, I chose ladder shelves. I'd concluded the plans I found online were more equipment-intensive than I could muster. I have a circular saw, a jigsaw, a power drill, a router and hand sanders, files, saw-horses and a variety of clamps. Unafraid of imperfection, I figured I could design and build something that would stand up.

So I drew my plans then went to the local specialty-lumber yard where I bought many board-feet of red oak, different sizes. Came home and marked, measured, cut, drilled etc.

Tapered the 1 x 4's for the back legs, so the 1 x 2 front legs could be continuous to the top.
Lowest shelf 1 x 12, then 1 x 10, 1 x 9, 1 x 8, 1 x 7, 1 x 6, 1 x 4.

Broke several drill bits on the (hard) oak - I've mostly worked in knotty pine before.
Got heavier screws for the second shelf - much better.

I finished the wood with tung oil before assembly - used that on the headboard unit I built two dozen years ago, and the finish still looks good with zero maintenance (my kind of finish!).

Not going to win any prizes, but these shelves look interesting and they hold a lot.
Two down, two to go with my current supply of wood. At this point my biggest challenge is working in the cold - the last few days have been pleasant but we have snow & sub-zero weather coming - in an unheated garage that's a show-stopper.