Blog Entry: Magick winner, house panic, and new challenges
Random.org has spoken once more, and catchmeone is the winner of a British ARC of A Most Improper Magick! Congratulations! If you send me your mailing address, I'll put your ARC in the mail ASAP.
Or at least, I will as soon as I can pick myself up again. I'm currently lying, limp with relief, on the couch, eating cheddar cheese and apple slices as a reward for great exertions. (Alas, I'm out of chocolate chip cookies. At least I'm not forced to resort to salad as my comfort food...not yet...)
In the category of REALLY COOL! events which are also REALLY SCARY!, this week I had my first-ever phone interview with a reporter, followed this morning by a visit from a photographer from the newspaper. I would normally be a little nervous about both of these anyway, since they're first-time-ever events for me, but to be honest, what absolutely freaked me out this time was the house. I've been reassured by someone I love and trust that ALL parents of young children have messy houses...well, I really want to believe that. Please don't tell me if it isn't true!
(Actually, I have to admit that I do remember visiting one or two clean houses that young children have lived in. Urk. Well, I'm just not going to let myself remember those...)
I spent yesterday cleaning frantically, but of course the problem with having a young child and a dog is that they don't actually want to live in a sterile environment where the toys stay in their boxes and never come out. (How unreasonable of them!) Sooooo, this morning when MrD left to visit his childminder, I was still in my pyjamas with bedhead and sleep-crusted eyes, I had about an hour to prepare the house, and not only was the living room just as messy as it had been yesterday, but it had the extra-cool addition of stuffed-goose innards spread all across the floor, because Maya had chosen this morning as the perfect moment to rip open her new toy.
Aaghh. Those of you on UK- or Australian-time who read my twitter account may remember the ever-so-slight tinge of mounting hysteria to my tweets...
Luckily, it all worked out in the end. The house didn't look like a model home, but the living room looked, well, reasonably tidy - by our standards, at least. The photographer was a really nice guy who told me some genuinely fascinating World War II stories that made my mind start buzzing with cool new story ideas. And he absolutely promised me that none of the electrical junk (back-up hard drives, etc.) that we'd piled in one corner would end up in the photos. Whew.
Now I'm luxuriating in the sensation of having a reasonably clean house, being nicely made-up for the first time in several months, AND knowing that I'm finished with scary things...well, at least until this Sunday, when I'm doing my first official author event at a local street party! But at least that's going to be small and low-key, and I'm telling myself not to worry about it. Not until Sunday morning, anyway, when I'm next due to start panicking and moaning about why am I not better at putting on make-up, why am I not [insert neurosis], why, why, why...
OK. I'm back to taking deep breaths and reminding myself that I used to do public recitals and concerts all the time. I learned how to deal with stage fright then, and I can absolutely do it again. This "author" aspect of the writing lifestyle is definitely a bit of a shock after the last couple years of being a stay-at-home mom and hermit-y writer...but it's also most definitely good for me.
But can I ask some advice? What do you guys do to get yourselves through nerve-wracking new challenges? Any suggestions would be HUGELY appreciated right now.