TPS Book Tour: Delayed—Post from the Plane

✈️on board — 7:56pm PST for the TPS book tour

Befitting the opening flight to my debut book tour, the trip is filled with a bit too much drama.

Due to thunderstorms in NYC, our 11:40 am flight out of SFO was delayed at the Delta gate—-sat on the plane for 3 hour and 45 minutes.  We left at 3:15 pm.

Gruesome. But time passed, as it always does, and in addition to The Peach Seed, Rob and I had excellent reading. We’ve both read my novel enough times to hold  us awhile, so we turned to two classics, thanks to Langston Hughes and Robert Conrad. 

Over a decade ago, when I began writing The Peach Seed, good thing I had not yet read Conrad’s impeccable renderings of sunsets, or I might never have ventured to describe one. ✨Thanks @clvme for the loan✨

Hughes’ pocket-size stories of “humor, pathos, terror and satire” made it an easy choice for Rob in his usual quest to pack light, and of course, no matter what color you are, one can never go wrong with Langston. 

A week from now my novel will claim a spot on the terrain of literature, and I am in awe. The very idea is more than a notion.

When people ask how this feels, I keep saying the same: “So many feelings!” but now I finally have a sharper image to share.

I rose at  6AM to water the school garden @marinoakshighschool, and as I shot a jet of water along side an adolescent Sweet 100 tomato plant, I gained greater respect for my publishing event: it is truly is out-of-body: I see my name on the mesmerizing cover; I glance at the red glasses on the back jacket and that all seems out in front of me, in triangulation, with my family of two at the opposite point.

This is good, I think. I’m able to stay grounded (thanks family!) and almost experience this as an outsider — almost! — but certainly as a very grateful first time author who is taking nothing for granted. 

🛬11:29 pm EST 

We landed at last. Hallelujah🙌🏾