I've been doing a steady stream of school and bookstore events, reading and talking about my hardcover debut, Wonder Light: Unicorns of the Mist. Here are a few of the lessons I've learned so far:
1) Friday-Flip-Up Day rules still apply, even if it isn't Friday. I was getting ready for a school visit, and my husband laughed when he found out I was wearing the same shorts I wear under my judo gi underneath my flowery skirt.
"You never go into a school with a skirt on and no shorts underneath!" I said.
"You're not in elementary school anymore," he countered.
I kept my shorts on and made my way to the old, stuffy building on a hot spring day. Guess what the teacher had blowing full blast in his classroom? A huge floor fan. Marilyn Monroe, anyone?
I rest my case.
2) Watch out for limes. When killing a couple hours between school visits and a bookstore event, by all means, go to the food court and grab something to eat. But if you choose pad thai, you might want to skip the limes. I picked up a juicy wedge of lime and began to squeeze it over my noodles.
And got a stream of lime juice right in my eye.
My eye clamped shut and tears ran down my cheek. It stung so bad, I headed straight for the restroom to wash my eye out. I barely managed to make it to the bookstore looking put-together and not squinting like a pirate who'd lost her patch. That brings me to my next tip:
3) Wear waterproof mascara (prepared—and allergic, watery-eyed—girl that I am, I always do). You never know when a group of fourth-graders might present you with a beautiful book of their unicorn drawings, bringing tears to your poised, Professional Author eyes.
8 comments:
I seriously loathe public speaking and when Amarok was released I toured several schools, including three sessions at one high school.I got through it but it wasn't easy! Thank goodness I had great kids in the audience. :)
Awe... that sounds awesome! Great interactions, not-so-fun-and-yet-memorable-lime-issues... and of course the wonderful book they made with TLC! What a great experience! :D
Great Tips and I always follow the shorts under skirt rule because it only takes once. :)
Even if it's not an issue with floor fans, you just might end up with a curious young boy in the front row like I did at a storytelling performance. Felt a draft, and looked down to see he'd stealthily lifted up the hem of my long skirt to have a peek!
It surprised me how much fun it was talking to kids, even though I'm and introvert. Then again, I haven't had to brave High School. Eek!
It was great!
My thoughts exactly!
Hahaha! Wow, Angelica, that's one bold kid.
When I was in pre-school, my teacher was passing out Tootsie-pops for someone's birthday. We were all sitting on the floor and her skirt ended up over my head. I was tiny and the skirt was big. I still remember sitting there in a panic under that skirt-tent, afraid to move, while she handed out the candy.
Post a Comment