One Stray Word

Well, I had hoped to have two good things to share with you, but I guess I’ll have to settle for one.

Back at the beginning of February I submitted Fruitbasket from Hell into Amazon’s Breakout Novel contest. I didn’t really expect to win, given that last year’s winner was “serious literature,” but I had hoped to at least make it through the first round. But, I didn’t. Yes, it’s sad, but I still get the last laugh every time I sell another copy of Fruitbasket from Hell and I do sell them. Every day.

*****

My second bit of news is actually another entry in the Krumbine’s House Hunting Adventures.

After looking at almost fifty different homes and placing bids on six, we finally got a house!!!!

Except, maybe not.

We’ve been under contract with this house for last two weeks and it has been an emotional rollercoaster. One minute everything’s great and the next, everything’s falling apart. The rules keep changing on us from minute to minute. I want to say that we’ve probably almost lost the house at least twice. It is draining.

Our financing has been the biggest hurdle that we’ve had to overcome. Not that we can’t get it, but it’s that people aren’t sure if we can’t get it for this house. Thank you, Obama, for making this process as complicated as inhumanly possible.

As of this writing, we’re on an upswing. Our financing does finally seem to be locked in and we’re waiting for the home inspection to get done. If all goes well we’ll be closing at the end of March. Don’t worry, Rupert & Me is done far enough in advance that there won’t be any noticeable break as we move.

Fingers crossed, everything’s smooth sailing from here on out. Now that I’ve said that, I’ve probably jinxed us. A giant dinosaur will undoubtedly rise up and crush our house, leaving it in a billion, tiny pieces and we’ll still be forced to buy it.

And it is a nice house. Completely remodeled. 1400 square feet. Secret passageways and hidden underground tunnels. It’s everything I could hope for in a home.

I’m sorry, my wife’s giving me a look. I have to tell the truth now. There really aren’t any hidden passageways.

I have no doubt that this entire experience will be documented in great detail in future Rupert & Me strips. I foresee Jason and & Alice having to move….

*****

Speaking of Rupert & Me, I reached two hundred strips! This may not seem like a big thing, but it is. A lot of start up webcomics don’t reach two hundred this quickly, without missing a single update. That’s right. Not one single update missed. Go on, check the archives. I’ve actually increased my update schedule. Plus, Rupert & Me has been consistently improving every month. I mean, go back and look at the early strips and then look at today’s. April’s strips are even better looking.

Sorry to toot my own horn, but I’m very proud of myself and no one else is giving me a pat on the back.

That last sentence sounded more bitter than I intended it to. Allow me to elaborate.

I started Rupert & Me back in June of last year. I didn’t know anything about drawing, writing a comic strip, character design or website design. I have been literally learning everything on the go(Quick sidebar, shout out to my former boss Tammy Fuzz Face who thought learning by doing was retarded. Well, Tammy, you’re retarded. And fat. I’m sticking my tongue out at you.) I haven’t gotten as far as I would like, but looking back at where I started, I’ve come a long way.

So, yes, I’m feeling very proud of myself.

I’m totally taking tomorrow off.