A Bad Day…

A bad day might begin with a coffee maker that gurgles and sputters and then spews boiling water all over the counter and floor, while brewing nothing. On a rotten day, this happens only minutes before an author needs to hit the road to drive to an early morning presentation.

A bad day might also include a cat throwing up on an author’s presentation, as well as on a batch of shiny, new bookmarks for both BUCK FEVER and DOG GONE. At least kitty doesn't read novels, so the hurl couldn’t possible be any sort of critical review… Right?

A bad day could get more frustrating if an author returns home to another mail delivery without an expected check or missing in action, overdue, important documents. On an especially cruddy day, an author might even think that mail consistently not being delivered to its destination is a wee bit funny, as in suspicious. Said author might wonder, briefly, if some mail delivery people have deep-seated issues with authors of novels for young readers.

A bad day might also include a manuscript that won’t play nice, revisions that refuse to gel, and a crashing computer or uncooperative copier. That’s about when the bad day turns into the “&*%@#”! day. That’s about when an author might drink tea (because there is no coffee) out of an Eeyore mug while relating to the wisdom and insights of a certain curmudgeonly donkey.

Happily, though, bad days end. Sometimes, they even lead to better days.