BOOK EVENT DAY

AUTHOR'S CORNER;

BOOK EVENT DAY WITH QUESTION & ANSWER VIDEO

After months of agonising diets; in which I lost a whole stone would you believe?  After reading out loud an extract of my novel over and over again to my poor, Godforsaken family.  After practising daily in front of the mirror, until a small hairline crack could be detected on the glass, if one was to look sideways from a certain angle.  After going into the red with a Toni & Guy hair cut and a rather fetching outfit from Wallis (yes, I happen to like Wallis) and a brand new handbag, not to mention a pair of unnecessary shoes!  After hiding my bank statement from my husband and looking for cheap cuts of meat which to serve up for the family dinner, I finally found myself on the brink of my book launch day.......

I was struck by sheer panic!  OH MY GOD!  There was nothing I could do, except turn into a blubbering mould of jelly!

THEN CAME THE ACTUAL DAY OF BOOK EVENT!

I woke up feeling slightly detached from the planet, my eyes seemed hollow and my hair (my expensive T&G haircut) seemed to resemble something from Planet of the Apes.  I seemed to have mysteriously aged overnight, and resigned myself to spending the better part of the day pottering around in my pyjamas (which shocked the postman to the core) and food and drink did not seem to make it past the preparation stage.  In short, I was a nervous wreck!  

Yes this is how I actually looked!!

Help was needed...

It came in the form of my Poor family; they force fed me, they made me endless cups of coffee and walked me around the house like a demented drunk after a night out on the tiles!  A shower was run and I was dragged upstairs and plunged into it and was not allowed to emerge until my confused brain cells reassembled and came together to form the woman they once knew!  I managed to compose myself, and my hair, once washed and blow dried took on the glory that Toni & Guy had originally intended for it.  My face was accepting of make-up and my outfit did me the service of actually fitting me (I had not actually tried it on beforehand) and the new shoes were not too tight!  

I ARRIVED AT WATERSTONES WITHIN AN INCH OF MY LIFE; THE TRAFFIC WAS TERRIBLE!

 But once there, and after much trembling, I looked across the room at the assembled chairs and realised with much great relief, all the chairs were filled and everyone was waiting for me to speak.  The lovely young man who organised the event introduced me and....fear evaporated....I heard myself reading from my own book! 

And I surprised myself, at how easily I read, and how quickly I remembered the sentiment behind the story and how much I enjoyed it!  And after the reading, I answered questions, and found that it was actually very easy, because when it came down to it, they were all questions about me, how difficult could that be?  

And I signed books and spoke to people and unlike the normal humdrum of everyday writing....I felt alive!  And I left feeling happy and with much sense of achievement, knowing that I have learned a great lesson - nerves are not an indication of failure, but a perception of a great happening!  I would do it again and again!

So here I am baring my soul again, to you, my blog readers and sharing with you a video clip of my Q&A at my book event.....enjoy!