I have to say, this balance between having a day job and having this thing on the side is not really a balance at all. Or rather, it's a balance between those two things, without any time for this third thing called 'my life', in which I have friends and can take time off, etc. Today, I burned a day job vacation day (thank goodness I went back at my old tenure and get 25 days a year, or I wouldn't survive) and spent the entire day traveling for what was supposed to be an easy four-hour direct flight. Terry took me to the airport, leaving our place at eight a.m., and dropped me off in time to navigate the extremely long Southwest line to check my bags. Then, I got through security, had a relatively terrible breakfast, grabbed a latte, and got to my gate just as we were supposed to board - and just as they announced we were delayed from 10:20 to 11:55. Reason? FAA furloughs, apparently, since everything out of our terminal was delayed by the same ninety-ish minutes. Ugh.
So I sat around and answered day job emails until it was time to get on the plane again. The flight itself was uneventful, and I read a bit, slept a bit, and daydreamed a bit. Then I got to Milwaukee, claimed my bags, took the hotel shuttle, and was immediately in Sara Ramsey mode...I was late, but I made it in time for tonight's author Q&A, so I got to introduce myself and talk a bit about my books, which was fun. Then I hung out in the bar and forced myself to be social and outgoing even though it's not my favorite thing to do; I chatted up James Rollins's publicist, then ended up hanging out with some other historical romance authors and having drinks/dinner with them, which was fun, informative, inspiring, etc. Eloisa James was one of them, and I've interacted with her several times before, but I'm always amazed by how much *stuff* she accomplishes and how savvy she is with her promo. I also talked to Sabrina Jeffries, whom I had met v. briefly once before; she's a lovely woman, and it was fun to get to know her a bit better.
But now I need to stop being fangirl-y and get ready for tomorrow. I have no expectations for the event beyond hope that I'll sit with some fun readers. And I also hope that I can spend some quality time writing tomorrow night, beyond the other stuff I need to get done - both books are now beckoning seductively to me, and I need to write as much as possible whenever I can if I'm going to write two books this year. Yes, I'm putting that goal out there, and yes, it's stupid and terrifying and stupid again. Whatever. I know Rome wasn't built in a day, but I can't build the career I want writing a book a year, so I'm going to have to suck it up. And on that cheerful note, it's time for bed!
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