Sparks ~ Now I Mean BUSINESS...

...cards.

So, like, in my quest to learn all I can about romance publishing, the better to sell my mythological romance novel, I became a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA). This is a fabulous organization which provides all sorts of resources for folks wanting to go either the traditional publishing or indie route. There are local RWA chapters across the country too, so I connected with the NYC chapter and attended my first meeting a couple of Saturdays ago. I was THRILLED to be in a room full of chicks and dudes who love romance so damned much they write it. (Rock on!)

At the meeting, lots of great author news and info on smaller romance writer conferences was shared, there was a Q & A with a panel of digital publishing professionals, and then breakout sessions. The one in which I participated was a small critique group, which proved to be wonderfully supportive and inspiring. I had a fabulous time and can't wait for next month's meeting!

(Sorry I'm so exclamatory! I'm just so totally stoked about it all!!!)

Ahem.

Anyway, I wanted to exchange contact info with some folks before I left and was chagrined when a couple of them handed me their gorgeous business cards and I had to scribble my e-mail address on a dog-eared slip of paper. Ugh. I felt like such a loser. (Please understand, none of the gals made me feel like a loser—I managed to feel that way all by myself.)

But seriously, I realized that, if I want to be considered a professional writer, I should present myself professionally and whatnot. So...I ordered myself some business cards! Check out the "preview" of the front and back images:

Isn't this just the coolest?????

The funny thing is, when I selected this template, I really liked the sinuous image of the smoke but didn't see anything other than smoke, right? When I sent this pic to my sister, Star, to get her opinion, she wrote back:

i like it--but i want to check to see if this is on purpose because if it's there it should be intentional:  in the smoke on the front of the card i see something that looks like, i dunno, some kind of fantastical creature. if that's what you're going for, success! if not, do you see it? do you wanna?

And I had this Scooby Doo sorta, "Roh?" moment. Really? A fantastical creature and I missed it? I mean, how's that even possible?

So I called over a co-worker ('cause, you know, you're totally supposed to be doing this kinda shit at your day job) and she's like, "Is that supposed to be an x-ray of a leg and hip socket?" I had to LOL, but I could see what she meant.

After she left, I kept staring at the smoke and then the magic happened: I saw two figures, the one on the right taller than the other and smiling somewhat wickedly, while the figure on the left seemed to be holding a bouquet in her arm, which made me think of the hero and heroine of my upcoming debut novel, when Hades first encounters Persephone (and snatches her up).

Well, naturally, this appealed to me, but I wondered what other eyes might see. I hollered at another co-worker, who saw all of the above, plus a fetus. Surreal!

Hermann Rorschach was hawt.
By Anonymous [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Though it's not intentional on my part, I rather heart the whimsy of it—that the smoke appears as different things to different folks. It's like my own kooky Rorschach test! Dig it!!! (And ordered it!) (Well, them. 250 cards, to be precise, from Vistaprint.com.)

So what do you see
in the smoke?