Delivery day
If this arrived on your doorstep would you feel terrified? Because I did. Terrified and excited all at once. Why? Because I knew what was inside that little parcel sitting innocuously on my doorstep. Advance copies of The Invisible Thread.
Inside I place the parcel carefully on the dining room table. I pick up the scissors, and cut.
The first emotion I feel when I open it is a little bit relieved. The cover looks just as I imagined it would from the proofs, better even. The texture of Judy Horacek’s illustration invites touch. And I do, holding it in my hands like some foolish, lovesick teen.
Then I feel a little bit proud. Of all the unseen work that has gone into this book. The days, nights, weekends I’ve invested in it, sometimes even working in my sleep. And all the others (so many of them) who’ve worked in different ways to transform this book from a bold idea into a tangible object with that delicious new book smell.
And right now I’m trying not to feel a little bit trepidatious. Because copies will soon be boxed up and delivered to bookstores around the country, sent out for review. Come 22 October this anthology will be public property. In the meantime I’m trying to enjoy this private moment. To simply feel grateful that I’ve been part of such an incredible project.
It looks beautiful, don’t you think?
