Danielle D. Smith: Look, An Alien Shrimp

 **** The random drawing giveaway winner is Katrina!
She's received her gift certificate for Danielle's ebook. ****

 
You know you're in for something different when you see the words "alien" and "shrimp" together. This guest blog is guaranteed to be just what you want/need today, whether you knew you were craving it or not.

Let me introduce the multi-talented Danielle D. Smith, who excels as a paranormal fantasy author, an artist, an illustrator, and a great person. All that creativity is hard to find in four separate people, but Danielle's the total package.

Listen to Danielle's radio interview on The Romance Radio Network!

*** Giveaway! Tweet, blog about, or post on Facebook or another social medium and leave a comment below to enter a random drawing to win In the Neon! You'll receive a gift certificate so you can obtain the ebook for free. Last day to enter the drawing is May 22!

Here's my tweet if you want to copy and retweet it:
@DaniDSmith's guest post and giveaway for In the Neon, her sizzling illustrated fairytale: http://bit.ly/ipXzGW

Now, Danielle's words:

It is so funny how one's life can change in an instant.

Let me tell you my story.

On April 8th, I met with a friend for lunch. It was quite pleasant—good raw sushi, cold Sapporo beer. My third book, In The Neon, had been released in electronic format by Solstice Publishing that morning, and the print edition would soon follow. Sitting in a nice Japanese bistro, chatting about life in general, how my new writing and work on my new graphic novel version of Black Dog and Rebel Rose was going. How my husband was doing getting ready for the state bar.

Less than an hour later, I would find myself in a bathroom stall, clutching a home pregnancy test. Two cobalt blue lines staring up at me, glaring, announcing in no uncertain terms, "I'm here, so get used to it."

Well, good thing that Sapporo had hit the spot so nicely—it would be the last beer for quite a while. Nine months, to be exact.

Funny thing is that I didn't take the pregnancy test for any specific reason—it simply "felt right," and since I had a home pregger test in my purse for "emergencies," I thought, why not? My boobs had been tender for a few days, and I just felt wonky. Within five minutes of unwrapping that test, I was sitting on a public toilet, shaking and crying, feeling this odd tumultuous blend of extreme joy and insane trepidation. I dragged my friend into the bathroom, and she confirmed what those two little blue lines so strongly evinced: I was pregnant, expecting the first child that this tattooed artsy fart had been dreaming of since she was 12 years old.

The weeks since have been a whirlwind. Family has been called, tears of joy and worry have been shed. My parents are practically jumping for joy at the prospect of this first grandchild—in his early 60s, I think my dad was starting to wonder if he'd ever be a grandpa! There have been some very worrisome times—I have been in the emergency room twice with unexplained bleeding, where I awoke in the wee hours with red blood pouring down my legs in a torrent. Every time, the sonogram has found that precious heartbeat, throbbing with a hardcore will on the murky black and grey screen, a sure sign that my unborn child is alive and well. Bed rest has been ordered from time to time, sometimes for up to 6 days at a time, leaving me sore, cranky, and bored.

The fear remains, and praying for a healthy outcome continues.

I now face that strange state that many creative women might find themselves in at some point, be it sooner or later: Artist/Mother. As I nurture a new life due to make its entrance in December, I continue to try and nurture my creativity: keeping a stack of drawing paper and my laptop by the bed, plugging away when the creative need strikes and the muse is allowed to break through the fog of morning sickness and exhaustion.

Humor has gotten us through a few of the rough spots: my husband, Aaron, and I have come up with a list of new nicknames with every sonogram. When I discerned the blip that was our offspring on the first sonogram picture, I thought, "Oh, look, an alien shrimp." As the weeks have passed and our lil' bub has grown to look a wee bit more human, a slew of nicknames have cropped up like moss on river stones: Shrimp/Shrimpie Smith, Krill Smith, Escargot Smith (a personal favorite), Pulpo/Pulpito (octopus/little squid). My husband lovingly hogs each new sonogram image, trying to come up with yet another nickname for what the baby looks like at that point. I'm beginning to picture a baby book detailing "how your mommy and daddy continually referred to you as edible."

Ultimately, I have begun to look at this little miracle sprouting in my belly as the greatest artwork that I have yet brought to life—as a fellow author told me, "the act of natural creation is worth a thousand published novels."

I couldn't agree more.

Danielle D. Smith is an artist, illustrator, and paranormal fantasy author writing angel and demon themed fiction outside the mainstream. She has three books currently on the market from two separate publishers, and several more novels in the works, including her five-book Psyche’s Gate Saga and her first anthology. Her most recent book, In The Neon*, is her first fully illustrated adult fairytale, available now in all formats from Solstice Publishing. Visit her online at www.danielledsmith.com.
*Graphic sex and horror

Other links for Danielle:

Blog: http://www.theangelsgate.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://on.fb.me/jcdNGw

Twitter: @DaniDSmith

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/dani_the_artist

Sending good vibrations in your direction and Happy Mother's Day waaaay in advance, Danielle!