THE DAY
Oh, my, where to start?
Well, first off, I must be getting better because I woke up at 2 a.m. and my mind was already going on about the book. The problem, of course, is that I am then awake and can’t get back to sleep, and then I usually wake the husband to keep me company. Being the sweet soul he is, he usually tries to get me to calm down, although he must’ve been pretty tuckered out because he mumbled something about needing sleep and promptly went back to snoring. So I fretted, alone and listening to the damn sump pump go off every ten minutes (it’s just the way it is here), for about another hour or so. Finally dozed off but awoke a little grumpy and out of sorts.
Buckled down and got to work, though, on all the stuff I’d promised myself to plow through today. The mind was willing, the body was semi-not, and then my schedule conspired against me. Believe it or not, I spent five minutes dithering about whether to swim–which would mean knocking off an hour early and then maybe working in a coffee shop before meeting a friend at 4–or staying here for the extra 90 minutes to work then going to the gym and then to meet my friend. So my joints are saying, swim; my mind’s saying, work; and then my executive secretary is trying to figure out just where I would work downtown, if I could get comfortable and settled enough to work; if . . .
You get the picture.
In the end, I blasted down to the pool; got my mile and a quarter in; blasted back home; worked for another 40 minutes; then turned around, went down the mountain, and met my friend at 4 for coffee and gossip.
I fully intended to get BACK to work when I got home because I knew the husband would be a little late; we have leftovers; and there’s the book to keep cranking on.
EXCEPT…
I had not counted on Facebook’s messing up my life.
Here’s the deal, short and sweet: Facebook apparently takes it upon itself to filter your friend requests. Often, that’s a good thing; you don’t get crap. But if you’re getting a lot of messages from people overseas, this can be bad–particularly if they are fans and you’re an author and they want to tell you how much they loved your book. So I go into this folder because I see a filtered request (which turned out to be very legit and from some kid in the States), only to find that I have requests and messages going back . . . wait for it . . . five bloody years.
FIVE.
Most are from Turkey, Germany, etc. But an awful lot are from the U.S., too, and from kids whose schools I visited.
So I was pissed. And mortified. And upset because, honestly, I try to answer every email from every fan unless it’s overtly abusive. I have said–and often–that I think it takes a tremendous amount of courage to reach out to someone you don’t know but whose work you admire. It’s only polite and gracious to acknowledge that.
Which means I spent the next two hours going through all these messages and responding. I still have about 60 or so to cull. I’ve also posted on Facebook to let people know that it’s not been their breath. Some people have already responded, and they’ve all been gracious. One suggested that I start a newsletter to let folks know when a new book comes out. A very good idea, too: now I have to produce the bloody book.
WRITING OUT LOUD
Dark Side of the Moon
Day 1: 4326 Day 11: 2500 Day 21: 1800 Day 31: 745
Day 2: 2085 Day 12: 500 Day 22: 0 Day 32: 0
Day 3: 3011 Day 13: 1000 Day 23: 2700 Day 33: 4000
Day 4: 2652. Day 14: 3700 Day 24: 3500 Day 34: 2800
Day 5: 3210 Day 15: 5630 Day 25: 1500 Day 35: 4500
Day 6: 3450 Day 16: 1060 Day 26: 0 Day 36: 4800
Day 7: 0 Day 17: 130 Day 27: 0 Day 37: 0
Day 8: 2756 Day 18: 0 Day 28: 380 Day 38: 450
Day 9: 4580 Day 19: 3000 Day 29: 390 Day 39: 1000
Day 10: 2670 Day 20: 2600 Day 30: 380 Day 40: 2500
Day 41: 2600 Day 51: 1000 Day 63: 4800 Day 73: 1500 (edit)
*Day 42: 830 Day 52: 1600 Day 64: 3300 Day 74: 250 (sick)
Day 43: 3600 Day 53: 2600 Day 65: 2500 Day 75: 3000 (edit)
Day 44: 5000 Day 54: 3600 Day 66: 1200 (edit) Day 76: 2500 (edit)
Day 45: 2600 Day 55: 3200 Day 67: 1000 (edit) Day 77: 2500 (edit)
Day 46: 3000 Day 56: 4000 Day 68: 3000 (edit)
Day 47: 2800 Day 57: 1200 Day 69: 1000 (edit)
Day 48: 2500 Day 58-60: 0 Day 70: 1000 (edit)
Day 49: 1000 Day 61: 3500 Day 71: 1500 (edit)
Day 50: 4600 Day 62: 3000 Day 72: 2500 (edit)
Blog Post: 1180
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What I’m Watching:
Nada. Swam.
***
What I’m Listening to:
No audiobook today; my head was too busy with my own stuff. But I did listen to an interesting interview on Fresh Air. Gross interviewed Susan Jacobi, who’s an atheist and written several books. I found her to be . . . a little weird and stilted. Not her beliefs, just her delivery, but I also got a little ticked when she spouted off about how she was this cultural Jew because she identified with her dad’s Jewishness even though he converted to Catholicism and her mom’s Catholic–but, oh, she’s cultural because she’s lived in New York for the last thirty years.
And I’m like…wuuuuh?
I only sort of get this. It puts me in mind of a person here who’s appropriated some Jewish symbols and turned them into kitsch (trying to sell mezuzot as “good luck” charms for houses because, oh, the Angel of Death flew over the house and spared the Jews . . . some drivel that’s just so ridiculous it would’ve been laughable if I also hadn’t gotten quite so livid about this goy turning a fairly important symbol into something New Age-y. Honestly, this would be like me putting up a crucifix because I like the way Jesus hangs.). Anyway, I didn’t tear her a new one, though I pretty much told her off, and she defended herself by saying that she considered herself a Jew because her stepfather was a Jew. Mind you, she knows nothing about the religion or anything–or matrilineal descent–and even less about cultural Judaism, but–piffle–don’t confuse her with all those inconvenient facts.
She’s also a narcissist, histrionic, a little borderline-ish, and a drunk (hey, that’s not just me talking; I have a friend who’s decided the same thing and never seen this woman sober at a large gathering.). But that’s all beside the point.
Anyway, I felt the same way with Jacobi. Like…say that again? Even Gross seemed confused. I think it’s one thing for someone who’s been raised Jewish to hang on to the cultural part. I think it’s another for someone who’s not been raised Jewish, not considered a Jew in even the most liberal interpretation of the law, and claiming Jewishness by virtue of living in New York . . . well, it just boggles the mind, as it clearly boggled Gross. (OTOH, there is a very fine book by David Desser on American Jewish Filmmakers: Traditions and Trends, where he talks about New York as a kind of Jewish city. So I get it…but only sort of and only if you’re talking Manhattan. Okay, Brooklyn. After all, Brooklyn gave us Bernie Sanders, who Jacobi mentioned as being culturally Jewish. Well, I don’t know that one way or the other, and I’ll bet she doesn’t either. It was a weird interview.)
***
What I’m Reading:
Pet Sematary. Might as well; I’m at the point where it’s more effort to put it aside. Do I REALLY care? No. But I’ll finish the book. King still tells a better bad story than I do a good one.
