taste of strawberries

I went to NJ a couple weeks back to visit my grandmother and uncle. It's a thirteen or so hour trip one way from where we live, but luckily we have some audiobooks. We listened to Ender's Game and I was very impressed with the story! It made me so angry and sympathetic for the characters while the visuals the writer created with his words were amazing. Anyway, the trip was a sort of spur of the moment thing and we ended up staying for a week.

We got up to NJ and had a good time. We went to get Pizza Twists from South Jersey and were able to meet some of my uncle's friends. I would like to explain that this uncle is my dad's younger brother and I tend to look at him as an older brother rather than an uncle. We get along a lot more like siblings than uncle/niece. It was very nice to get to hang out and introduce him to new geeky shows like FM (British TV show starring Chris O' Dowd) and The Guild.

Grammy's memory is getting really bad, but she still remembers us. Unfortunately, her short term memory is completely gone. She can't remember something you tell her at all. Once you get through with the sentence she has pretty much already forgotten what you said and asks again. While we were up there she was also convinced that her mother was dying and she was going to have to call the family to let them know about the funeral. She was crying herself to sleep about it the last few nights we were up there. Her mother has been dead for twenty-one years now, so the Alzheimer's is in full force.

It makes me so angry that nature has created ways for our bodies and minds to turn against us when we get older. It's cruel. She was always such a strong, vibrant, kind and patient woman. She helped raise my sister and me and has been a huge part of my life. It just feels so unfair to see her mind deteriorate while her body remains generally healthy for a woman her age. She has to suffer this fear of losing herself. The days she has clear patches, she is sad and frustrated because she knows what is happening and can't stop it.

Anyway, enough sadness and ranting. Overall, the trip was really good and I was glad to see my grandmother again before she gets to the point where she can't remember me at all.

It's been so hectic the past few months that I've didn't even realize it had been so long since my last post here. Oops!

I've been working everything that needed to get done for Red String Vol.5 and it's finally finished. I will be sending it to the printer the beginning of next week and it will be back in mid-December. Also at the printer is the next Erstwhile issue featuring the story of All Fur. It feels REALLY good to have two projects finished and out of the way.

I have been doing a ridiculous amount of writing on Red String this past week. I completely stripped down 90% of the upcoming chapters, grabbed each characters' story/sup-plots and grouped them together. It's amazing how much that helps you see where each story is going and make it better, tighter, and more developed in a natural way. Then I've reorganized the chapters, slowing putting the subplots back in. This has really helped in keeping each chapter from covering too many sub-plots at once. I am still working on this project, but I am quite proud of what I've accomplished so far.

Also, there is the matter of the next upcoming chapter. I am hauling butt on this to get it done in time for when it has to be posted. There have been so many things that have slowed me down (graphic novel work, week long trip to NJ, etc), but I don't think that will defeat me! I will prevail.

It’s finally time! I am now accepting preorders for Red String Volume 5. This book is 224 pages and contains chapters twenty-seven through thirty-three. Bonus material: A foreword by Jennie Breeden of The Devil’s Panties, character confession booths, inner monologue theater, notes, and eight bonus comic pages extending a scene from chapter thirty-three.



I am offering Deluxe Editions that are signed, sketched, and come with a bonus bookmark. I am also offering the regular unsigned version of the book for those who don’t want the extra frills. I need to get 300 preorders in order to print the book. Don’t worry, though! I will have more books available after preorders are done. Preorders just helps me pay for the printing costs of the books. Tentative release date: mid-December 2009.

http://redstring.strawberrycomics.com/shop_rsbooks.html

Thanks everyone!!

After six years of updates, the Red String webcomic by Gina Biggs has reached it's 1,000th page milestone. Along with this news, volume four of the print edition is now available through Haven Distributors under the order code: REDSSTRT04

Have you been hoping Red String Vol.4 would show up on the shelves of your local comic shop? Now it's possible! Red String is now available to comic shops through Haven Distributors under the Order code: REDSSTRT04. Just print out this coupon, fill it in, and hand it to your local comics store.


Click to download

Thanks for your support!

Yup, we are not going to be able to get a house and not just the one we were hoping to get, but NO house at all. We returned from Dragon*Con thinking all was well. My hubby returned to work today to find out he was fired for standing up for himself during a employee review. Anyway, it all comes down to us going back to eating ramen more often and praying he gets another job before our savings (that were going to be for our house) run out. We'll probably be moving into a smaller apartment to save cash, so we'll still be moving at the end of November, just not where we expected. Anyway, I'll stop complaining now and get to work on Red String.

I thought this was so funny, I had to share!

So, I have been wanting to have posters available over at Red String, and now they are! I have three designs up on the site that you can preorder. Each of them features different characters so there's there something for everyone.... well, not everyone but I hope to have more designs as time goes on.







Unfortunately, I won't have them in time for Dragon*Con, but I hope to have some for AWA and definitely for TsubasaCon.

Things are moving along with the house. We have all agreed on a price and today Adam faxed over the adjusted offer paperwork to the realtor. She's sending it over to the bank that owns the house and once that's all squared away we can get the inspector to come in and look at it.

Since we are getting a FHA loan that will include money for repairs/fixing up the house a bit, we need a contractor to give us an estimate before the loan paperwork can get rolling. The sooner we do that the better since the paperwork for that takes three weeks to complete and with this sort of loan it takes 60 days to close. We're going to try to arrange that for this Saturday.

If everything keeps moving in a forward direction we should close at the end of October. Just enough time to paint and replace the carpets before our apartment lease is up and we have to move.

Since my last post about the "dream house" we wanted and discovering so many flaws with it, we have come across a house that fits all of our criteria. It's about the same distance to Adam's work as where we're living now except it's in a nice quiet area in the city we want to be in. It has a lot of space, a big backyard accessible by the tiny dog who is fearful of stairs. And it has enough room inside for extended family to live with us should the need arise. There are a few things that will need to be fixed up (carpet needs to be replaced and possibly the air conditioner system), but we are contacting other lenders who will possibly do that sort of FHA loan.

We received our first counter offer from the seller of the house we hope to buy. So exciting! We're going to make a new offer and see if they accept or make another counter offer. Either way, I think we'll be coming to an agreement on it soon. We're are so excited about this! If we close by the end of September, that still gives us time to fix up the things in that house that need fixing before we move in AND we don't have to do a mad rush on moving everything. We can relax about it a bit. So here's hoping our counter offer gets accepted! And then lets hope the inspector doesn't find anything bad!

So, a lot of my stress has been lifted and I am feeling much better. Adam and I had a fantastic weekend. We went to the park for a picnic and it went without incident. Last time we tried this down in Florida a few years ago, the squirrels were pretty mean. We were near the Zoo where people tend to feed the animals on a regular basis and I think that made the squirrels there a little too aggressive about human food. Anyway, we found a shady spot near a lake and watched the geese swim around while we ate. It was wonderful.

I've gotten some work done on the comic this weekend, so I am also feeling a release from the stress of not getting anything done art-wise. I just hate creative constipation.

We've looked at a few more houses and found one that comes really close to the other we liked so much with a lot of problems solved. You can get to the backyard without going down a large flight of stairs, which is great for the mini dachshund since he's afraid of stairs and stairs aren't good for the breed's long backs. It's way closer to Adam's work than the other one, even if it's not around the corner like we hoped we could find (all of those are either out of our price range or factory-made clone houses that really have no character. We might need to replace the air conditioning system, but we can most likely roll that and the carpets that need replacing into the loan since this house is not as close to our loan limit. It's big enough for my uncle and grandmother to come live if they need/want to do so. It's also in a very quiet neighborhood, very relaxing atmosphere.

So, things are all around much better right now.

I'm just feeling like crap this past week, especially the last few days. I guess it could be a combination of the stress with of finding and trying purchasing a new house before the lease is up at the end of November, Adam still being not 100% well after all these months and knowing it's probably the apartment that's making him sick (but with no way out of the lease until the end of it), and other non-comic related stress that I'm not posting about.

I need to get out of this funk and get myself working again. It's been a real challenge to pick up a pen and ink my comic pages. Having Jennie come over for some girly-hang-out time was nice. It made me feel better while she was here, but today I am just back to the funk. I just don't know how to get past it at the moment. I've tried just relaxing or stepping away, but then my mind just wanders back to the problems rather than relaxing. Last time I felt this crappy was my first "winter" up here in Georgia. I went through winter blues with all the gray, cold days I was not used to having lived in southern Florida most of my life. But this is different. I feel angry and frustrated as well (and it's definitely not all about the house). The best I figure I can do at the moment is just write about it even if I am vague and not wanting to divulge everything. It helps me sort out my feelings, I guess.


On the brighter side of things, I am gearing up for Dragon*Con in Atlanta at the beginning of September. It's a great big convention that's in town for me. I like the ones in town since I don't have to spent extra money on hotels, dog sitters, food, etc. It means at the end of the work day I can come home and relax in my own bed. There's also an awesome guest list this year; Charlaine Harris, Patrick Stewart, Tom Felton, Leonard Nimoy, and a whole bunch more.

From what our realtor said, it doesn't sound like the bank is going to accept our first offer. Hopefully, the counter offer will be acceptable. We are approved for the full asking price of the house, but hopefully they will accept a little less than their asking price anyway. Negotiating is scary. I really want this house. When I was in it, I felt like I drank pure caffeine. I was so excited and filled with love for that place. It was just what I wanted and had everything I needed. It has enough room for my grandmother to move in which is also a bonus.

So, I went in and talked to our apartment manager today. They are not going to let us out of our lease early without completely hosing us with costs. This is how it breaks down. Our lease ends at the end of November and the costs for these next three months will be $2700 in rent. If we get the house we will only be here for one of those months. If we try to break our lease, they require 60 days notice (2 months of rent that needs to be paid), an extra month of rent to be paid, plus $144 backpay for each month we had our grandfathered price (last December) because the apartment now costs $984, but we pay $840 since we were renewing. What kind of crap is that? Basically, it's much cheaper to just pay for the two months we won't be here. How stupid is that?

I even brought up all the problems we've had with this place; four ceiling leaks, carbon monoxide leak, gas leaks, the mold issue that has been making my husband sick at home for over six months now. No go. They will not budge on this.

*sigh*

So, needless to say, I am kind of losing it right now. I had myself a good cry. Now I'm trying to get it together and push forward with my Red String sale. We have DragonCon to look forward to for sales, and I am restocking on some items to sell in the online store. I really need to make enough to cover the extra rent fees we'll be paying alongside our house payments.... IF we get the house. So, if you enjoy Red String, pick up some merchandise and support the artist!

Red String SALE

EDIT: Upon rereading the letter from the realtor, it seems that it's not that the bank doesn't LIKE our offer, just that they have a standard of sending a counter offer, so not as big of a thing as I thought. Though I am still incredibly nervous and and excited and all about the whole thing! ^_^

So, Adam and I have been house hunting this past month and we have found our dream home. It's got enough space for us and for visiting family should the need arise.... which would be great since it would provide breathing room for all involved. It has a backyard for the doggie and a beautiful kitchen. We want to put an offer on this house as soon as possible.

I am having a week long t-shirt sale at Red String in hopes to raise some extra $$$ for this big venture. Merchandise sales and donations will be a huge help this week. Thanks for your support! http://redstring.strawberrycomics.com/shop.html

I will be at Otakon in Baltimore, MD on July 17-19. With me will be Louisa Roy and Robin Edwards. We will in the ARTISTS ALLEY at BOOTHS F12 & F13! Be sure to stop on buy our booth if you're going to be there. I will have all of my Red String and other merchandise with me.

So, I went to the dentist yesterday with Adam. We both really needed to get to the dentist for a cleaning and general check up. Now that we have insurance, we could actually do it. We got there early as requested so that we could fill out some new patience paperwork, but no one was at the main desk for more than ten minutes. It was more than an hour later that we finally got in for our appointments. I know you need to expect to wait when you go to a doctor of any sort, but that was a bit much considering the place was not booming with other patients.

We got our x-rays and then were taken back to get our exams. Numerous times I had people trying to sell me a Sonicare toothbrush system. However, every time I asked the price, I was told "Oh, Chris will talk to you about that AFTER the exam." Okay, let me just state that Chris never showed up and I never got a price (though later at the grocery store I found that it was a $75 product). Anyway, the dental assistant checked my teeth, then the dentist herself showed up. Checked the teeth, three cavities, three impacted wisdom teeth, a peridontal infection. Yeah, so they wanted to set me up for antibiotic injections in my gums and have me come back every three months for treatments for the infection since it will "never go away, you can only keep it in check at this point". Along with that there was to be this crazy mouthwash and more antibiotics they wanted to sell me. All this for a whopping $600 (that's with the insurance coverage). Okay, look, that's crazy. I'm just going to use Listerine and Act Floride(sp.?) wash which will be the rough equivalent to their treatment.

To top it off, they wanted to sell me a $45 Oral Cancer test which wasn't covered by my health insurance. If I got the cavities taken care of there, they were only partially covered for the white filling even though my insurance is supposed to have 100% coverage for cavities.

After all of this crap, I never even got my teeth cleaning (nor did Adam). "Oh, it's too late in the day to start anything now." This is after I specifically set up the appointment for this and a general exam. They blocked off extra time for my appointment to cover this. Adam was treated to the same. Somehow we both had this infection and needed $600 treatments, cavities that weren't fully covered, oral cancer exams that weren't covered at all.

I have NEVER been to a dentist where it was handled like this. Normally, you go in, get your teeth cleaned, then the dentist does a check up and tells you what (if anything) need to be taken care of. It was like going to a bad car mechanic. I felt so taken advantage of there. Luckily, our general exam was covered in full so we paid nothing out of pocket, but we lost over three hours of our lives in this stupid place. We need to find a real dentist. Luckily, we have a recommendation from a good friend, so we will eventually get our teeth cleaned.

I've finally sat down today to start adapting the script for the next issue of Erstwhile. It's the story of "All Fur" (AKA "All Kinds of Fur" or "Allerleirauh"). This one will be illustrated by Elle Skinner. So far I have just passed the narration intro (about four pages). I hope to finish it in the next day or so. I hope to get this one out before all our conventions are over for the year. ^_^

Also, I have been working on the writing in Red String. I've again touched up some things, moved a few things around and am considering editing more stuff toward the ending. The ending is not being changed, just fleshed out more as I get closer to it.

Starting Monday, Red String goes to a five day a week update schedule. Four days of comic pages (Mon-Thu) and a sketch day at the end of the week (Fri). I've been wanting to do this for a long while and I've finally taken that next step!

Whew! The past few weeks, well, the past month really, has been a whirlwind of comic related activity for me. But it all came together in the end; Red String vol.4 got here just in time for the convention despite being three weeks later than expected, Erstwhile: Short Tales and the reprint of the first RS artbook got here in time as well, revamped the entire structure of Strawberry Comics, and even finished a twenty page mini-comic.

Now I just need to get to work on the next Red String chapter. ^_^

I have been super busy the past few weeks. I've been dealing with a few snags with the printer for Red String Vol.4. I thought their digital press would be at least as good as the high-quality from Ka-blam or Lulu, but it turns out it was a lower quality digital press set up for printing text only style books and the artwork being too detailed and rich for the machine to handle. Since there was no way that would be acceptable/printable, we are going with their offset printer even though it is a bit more expensive. I have worked with their offset in the past with beautiful results. I have seen some sample proofs and they are gorgeous, so now we can move forward. I will be receiving the full proof in the mail today and it should be approved by the end of the day barring any problems with it. I should still have the books in time for Animazement later in the month.

I did the math and to break even with all the extra costs the book has incurred with having to go offset rather than digital, the UV coating, thicker paper, and an estimated shipping cost, I need to sell 312 total. So, according to that new estimation, I need to sell 84 more books before the book makes profit. However, that's not so bad! =D

Also, I had an absolute blast for Free Comic Book Day at Richard's Comics & Colectables in Greenville, SC last weekend. I got to meet a lot of people, hand out almost a hundred freebie comics, and hang with some really cool comic shop folks. One of my Red String fans even created a "Fear My Cuteness" Onigiri plushie based on my shirt design. I was so thrilled to get it! So CUTE! All in all, a really fun day!

I've completed a special/surprise 20-page comic project that will currently be exclusive to conventions. I hope to find a proper way to distribute it online later in the year. The next Erstwhile issue will be available in time for Animazement as will the reprinting of my first Red String artbook.