I nervously talked into the microphone as strangers looked up from their IPAs and worn copies of Catcher in the Rye…
So, this is surreal. I’m an author. My book got published. It’s a real thing, paper bound together with my name on the front and my words on the inside. It’s weird to hold in my hands after years of rejection, editing, rejection, emails, reading, more editing, making friends with small press professionals, and then publishing. But hold it I did, at a local bookstore, reading to my closest friends, family, and strangers over two days in February.
How many hashtags can you use for a Book Release? Oh, the social media madness. Check out my Instagram if you want to see all the pretty photos (okay, mediocre for the most part but some are really cool).
Saturday February 15th I read aloud from the physical paperback to them at a small “book pub” in Northeast Portland. My smile showed a mixture of nervousness and pride. And gratitude. So much fucking gratitude I wanted to cry. Many of the people who are IN the book (casted as celebrities) came to support me. And my family. And some strangers who wandered in to have a beer and read a book.
Friday Feb. 14th I had beers with some close nursing colleagues - friends and fans the same - and after two pints of 9% stout they got me talking about what I want to write next. And encouraged me to go after it. That next morning while my 7 month old son and amazing-and-exhausted husband were napping, I seized a quiet moment on my laptop to open a new document and start brainstorming.
Pure research so far. The document subtitles read: Books to read; Articles to save; People to interview; Subject matter to become an expert on; Order more books; Drink more coffee. And the baby cries are heard on the monitor and I put the laptop away.
This must be how author moms write. During the in-between moments when a nap, or a shower, or an 11am glass of wine, or a 10 minute yoga session is forgone for the chance to sit and produce content at a glacial yet passionate pace.
I like it. I think I’ll keep doing it.
Ah shit the baby is awake (sips down rest of lukewarm coffee) off I go!
