The Pub Date Cometh
Less than a week to go before the book hits the shelves, and I’m up at 5:20, ruminating…
…Last night the heavy shelves above our desk in the study collapsed, bringing down with it all manner of folders, notebooks and small work-related tchotchkes. The iMac hurtled to the ground, knocked down by the lamp above. As I ran to the bathroom to get tissue for my bloody nose, I kept repeating, “Please don’t let this be a metaphor, please don’t let this be a metaphor…”
Luckily, my friends on the Book of Faces put it in perspective: “A new way of thinking has occurred – not an omen; a harbinger,” wrote one. “Old ideas and limitations, crashing down,” posted another. Yes. A much healthier way to look at the situation.
If you’re not on the Book of Faces, by the way, Doug had a good idea about the Virtual Signing I’m doing now through August 15. Instead of emailing me a screenshot of an invoice, you could just take a photo of you with the book! I may even post some of them…
…Just returned from a quickie vacation in New York. Spent some time in the Hamptons with family and a good book—
—went to the City, saw a couple of shows—
—met with my literary agent, who was full of reassurances (authors must be so needy at this juncture), and visited the good folks at St. Martin’s Press. Got to meet the marketing team—three savvy, put together, young women on top of their game. And they were ridiculously good-looking; it was like I was appearing in an HBO series about publishing. I felt like such a Bosley next to them…
Then off to lunch at Eataly (having a publisher in the Flatiron district has distinct advantages) with the most excellent editor Sara Goodman. We mostly discussed child rearing.
… I haven’t written too much about my experience doing the audio book for Still Life, but I have an essay about it at FSG Book Keeping!
…Someone has flipped a switch in Ben’s back, and he has become a full-fledged adolescent, suddenly recessive and unknowable. The other day he was describing some teen angst he was experiencing, and when Doug tried to offer his opinion on the matter he stopped him cold by saying, “Don’t bring your little circus in here.” P.S. I am absolutely going to be stealing that phrase in the future.
…Trying not to obsess about the food at my book launch at Vromans. Spring rolls? Proscuitto? Cookies? You know I can’t help it. Doug says I am forbidden to cook or bake, probably a wise idea…
Finally: I’ve just finished a most amazing graphic book. I’ve never read anything quite like it. It’s called Here, by Richard McGuire. How to describe it… The book, which has very few words, is a look at the corner of a room in a house, but over hundreds of thousands of years, and simultaneously.From its time as a primordial swamp to the house’s construction to its many inhabitants over the years, many small events in its history layered on top of each other and forming a narrative that you yourself construct. Imagine being able to look at all the previous owners of the place you are living in right now, the way they lived in the place you all called home. It’s really fascinating.
And there you have it. I guess it’s time to get up.
Topics: Book Keeping • Curious Incident • Fun Home • Hamptons • Here • Richard McGuire • St. Martin's Press • Still Life Las Vegas • Virtual Signing • Vomans