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I?m sitting at my desk drinking green tea. I?ve finally found one that doesn?t taste like grass clippings. Celestial Seasonings, Tropical Grapefruit. Just the smell of it is invigorating, and helps lift the mood on this, the first cold day of autumn. I need a little pick me up. Why?

I?ve done essays that were needed for various publicity opportunities for SWALLOWING DARKNESS. November 4th maybe election day for the rest of the country, but my big focus is that the next hardback comes out. The paperback of A LICK OF FROST hits stores a week ahead. I?m going to be doing a reading and recording it, of the first few chapters, then you can read the next chapters after that in the back of the paperback. My way of giving you a little more sneak peek, a little sooner. Enjoy. I do still have to record that reading, so don?t look for it, yet. I haven?t done it, yet. I will, I will, honest.

I?ve signed copies of SWALLOWING DARKNESS. I?ve signed book plates. I?ve got a stack of signings of other of my books that need to be mailed out so we can clear out some of the waiting boxes in the signing area. Jon and I had our nails done for the ballet on Sunday. Dracula as a ballet, it just seems perfect, doesn?t it? I still have to write my little talk that I?ll be giving before, and if it?s short enough a little Q & A, but only if it?s short enough. We?ll be having a meet and greet afterwards and there will be drinks and snacks and copies of A LICK OF FROST, and copies of SWALLOWING DARKNESS. So, for those of you attending the ballet this Sunday matinee, we?ll be giving away copies of A LICK OF FROST, and doing a raffle for copies of SWALLOWING DARKNESS.

I?m working on the newsletter piece, because Darla wants to get the newsletter out before Darkness hits the shelves. Perfectly reasonable that, but . . . I?ve worked on publicity and the like all day. I have not got a single page on the book I am currently writing. Even when I have an hour here and there, I can?t clear my mind enough to sink into the world and write. I know that I?ll be interrupted. I know that other things are piling up. I do not know how to manage it all. There, that?s the truth. Things are piling up and falling through the cracks, and we are working to reorganize how we manage the ever more complex schedule, but we?re like a small business that has grown beyond our original mission statement. We have to grow, adapt, figure it all out. Growing pains aren?t just for children, ask any adult who has a high powered career, or a new personal relationship that stretches them outside their comfort zones. Either one, will put you back into that feeling you had as a teenager, when you didn?t quite know how to do everything. Though, as an adult, I?m willing to admit it.

On the plus side, Jon did feel well enough to go for the nail appointment, but he was very tired when we got back. The crutches, the pain, and he was happy to be back home. When I first said yes to the ballet, Jon wasn?t scheduled for the operation. Now, I?m a little worried how much of a toll it?s going to take on him this weekend. We also have our daughter?s birthday party coming up, and it?s like a James Bond film. How to top last years, or at least not fall behind. Jon and I have discussed the fact that neither of us ever had a party with friends invited to the house, let alone anything else. Ever. But most of us try to give our children the childhoods we never had. Human nature, I guess.

I?m going to sip my tea, breath in the scent of it, and try to take a few deep breaths. I?m an hour away from a conference call, so I?ll do the blog, then try to finish up the newsletter piece. I?ve given up on actually working on SKIN TRADE today.