With each passing day I grow increasingly grateful that I have a full time job, and one that is intellectually demanding. A Darkness Forged in Fire hits the stores in three and a half weeks and I should, by rights, be a bundle of nerves and in need of sedation…more so than usual. The beauty of it is, though, is that I can’t afford to dwell on it. I have a never ending pile of mss to read and a thousand other things that make my job as an editor incredibly fulfilling. It also saves me from obsessing about the book launch. I just don’t have the time or energy to spend worrying about what’s going to happen, and that’s a wonderful thing. Worrying gets you nowhere fast anyway. What ‘free time’ I do have goes into writing the next book, running, exploring a little more of New York and trying – valiantly if not brilliantly – to date in this city. I try to save my worrying for the really important stuff, like should I order the Nabeyaki Udon or the Lobster Itokanyaki for dinner?

Now that I think about it more, I’ll just order a pizza. Who needs the worry?

Last night my running class (yes, I take lessons on how to run…er, faster) went up to the 1/5 mile track near the 106th Street entrance to Central Park on the west side. We did something called pyramids where we ran as fast as we could for one lap, rested, then fast for two laps, rested, then fast for three laps before working our way back down. I’ve been running for over a year now, but it’s only in the last few weeks that I’ve run full tilt. It’s an exhilarating if surprising feeling when you’re no longer in your twenties to zip around on full afterburners. Well, it is if you’re a writer and an editor and spend most of your day parked on your butt.

In other news I am happy to report that I have, thus far, refrained from taking to the subway with my book and pretending to read it. Thus far. I make no promises, however, about what might transpire should I ever see someone reading my book on the subway. Naturally the cool thing to do would be to say nothing at all. I’m rarely accused of being cool. And after all, the motto of the MTA (Metro Transit Authority) here in New York is “If you see something, say something.”

…and her name is Emmy. A friend of mine going back to my days in Ottawa came into town for the Technical Daytime Emmy Awards and he won for animation. We went out to dinner with his fiancé then afterward I got to see and hold his Emmy. So very cool. His fiancé took a picture of him holding the golden statue and me holding my book. Oh! That’s right. A Darkness Forged in Fire has been printed! It came off the presses late last week. I met my editor for lunch where he handed over the first copy in what we are planning to make a tradition. It was all a bit surreal to finally see it and hold it. The ARCs were definitely a thrill, but seeing the actual book was something else again.

It’s slowly dawned on me that this will be my first and only debut as an author. After this book I’ll no longer be a rookie. I will hopefully be building a career, but whatever happens this one is the first, and I want to do something to acknowledge that. My problem is I really don’t know what to do. I’ve never been one to make a big deal out of birthdays and anniversaries, so I’m a bit lost as to how to approach this. Part of it I think is that I still have trouble drawing attention to myself. Ok, when you’ve stopped laughing I’ll explain. I revel in the role of editor, beaming proudly from the sidelines as one of my authors gets the spotlight. Now that it’s my turn, I’m suddenly reticent. Not shy exactly, just a bit perplexed I suppose. I’ve never been on this side of the equation. I am, I finally realized, out of my comfort zone. And now that I’m out, I don’t want to go back.

It IS the heat, and it IS the humidity. Most importantly, however, is the air conditioner humming along nicely. When I began this journey the day I defended my Masters thesis I was living in Kitchener-Waterloo, ON in an apartment with a southern exposure and no air conditioner. It was warm. Sauna warm. I sat at my computer writing in my boxer shorts, drinking gallons of water and wondering if all that suffering would ever lead to anything beyond building my character.

Speaking of saunas, I did the 4 mile loop in the park this morning before the worst of the heat and have been puttering around the apartment the rest of the day waiting for the thunderstorms due to roll in this evening.