Hurricanes, Deadlines, and Flat Tires, oh my!

Hi,

I want to introduce you guys to a buddy I met through some of the Dorchester loops and then we got to meet face to face at the Dorchester's party. She's witty, and a heck of a good writer. Here's Farrah...

When the fabulous Christie Craig invited me to guest blog here at Killer Fiction, I toiled over what I should blog about. Let's be real, people, I'm in the virtual living room of a group of fabulously funny writers and the pressure to entertain is high. However, the indecision over what to share with you faithful Killer Fiction readers became a moot point last week. After everything I went through, there was nothing else I could write about.

When you think of the type of life situations that make you the perfect candidate for a shopping spree at your local Godiva Boutique, dealing with a flat tire, meeting an amazingly short deadline, or dodging a hurricane should make the list.

Well, what about when you deal with all of those in the same week? Yeah. Not sure the naked lady on a horse will cut it. I’m not sure a weekend in Jamaica will cut it.

It all started with a call from my editor. There was a calendar mix-up and my book was due to production ASAP. My task? To revise a 417-page manuscript in seven short days. Sure, I could cry that it was impossible and push back the book’s release, but since I’d just had 10,000 bookmarks with a February 2009 release date printed, that option sucked like a Hoover on crack.

So, I armed myself with my trusty highlighters and sticky notes, and set out to slice my 417 pages of magnificence into something that will fit into the 336 pages already listed on Amazon.com (don’t ask me how Amazon knew how many pages the book would be before I did). One thing I didn’t count on was a little snag named Hurricane Gustav and 1.2 million people getting the hell out of dodge.

*An aside to Leslie’s heroic hubby: He has my eternal thanks, awe, and top spot on my cool-o-meter for driving into the storm we were running away from.*

Okay, so by this time, I’m figuring I deserve at least three Godiva truffles and one of those humongous chocolate-covered strawberries. Instead, I get a corner in my brother’s small townhouse in Dallas which was occupied by fifteen other family members fleeing the storm. However, I did not let that stop me. After all, there’s always a coffee house with an electrical outlet, a.k.a., my preferred office.

Fast forward several days of working tirelessly on the manuscript while also being addicted to the news. I have three days left and finally feel as if I’ve found my groove.

Enter the flat tire, a confused AAA dispatcher, and my ignorance of all things car-related. I impatiently watched precious hours get sucked away while I purchased a new tire. Of course, by now, time is flying faster than Michael Phelps in the 100 Butterfly, and the looming deadline is keeping me up at night.

It’s a good thing I’m an every-cloud-has-a-silver-lining kinda gal, because after hightailing it from a hurricane and losing a half-day to the flat tire fiasco, I still managed to get my manuscript emailed kinda, sorta within the seven days.

Now, I know it may seem as if this story has a happy ending. After all, I beat the odds and accomplished my impossible goal. But, no, there is still a dark pall over the entire situation. It has been a week since I sent that 3:30 a.m. email to my editor containing my manuscript, and I haven’t had a single piece of Godiva yet. Seriously, after going through all of that, the least this girl deserves is some good chocolate.