Margaret Hastings-James

Recently new news:

I finally had my first book signing at Chapters Bookstore, Bayer’s Lake in Halifax and God, I am so glad that weekend is over.
 
It all went really well but I’m exhausted. I came home from dropping the kids off at school the day before the signing and fell asleep on the couch until eleven! I wish I hadn’t as I had dreams about rats eating a cookie in a bathroom, then losing my purse, my sight and the ability to walk and breathe… lovely. I think it may be Pre-Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome!

After having wasted the entire morning on the couch I stayed up until three a.m. finishing the Complicated Cocktail Extravaganza gift draw poster to put on the table in the bookstore. After that I had a million other really important last minute things like reading/answering e-mails to do before I could fall into bed.

Saturday morning I cleaned up the house and hid a mountain of paper in bags that I’ll never find again. Then I took Alexander to his basket ball game at one (the team won and are now in the finals). Kimberly (official friend, photographer, and cheerleader mom) and I had fun screaming and whistling. Acting like an insane basketball mother is such a great break from life.  On the way home, we picked up Chauna and Kyla (sister-in- law and niece) as Chauna wanted to be able to drink at Official Complicated Cocktail Party that evening and not drive. Got back to the house at three and had to leave by three-thirty to get to Chapters to set up book signing table.  I still had no makeup on and didn’t know what to wear.
 
I called Eve (friend and volunteer caterer for Complicated Cocktail Party, seven to nine that evening) to discuss final details re: setting up of food. I’m talking to her on the phone and watching Molly (our dog) and Riley (Chauna’s dog) outside on the deck. Molly squats to pee and Riley lifts his leg and pees on Molly. Scream and have to cut phone call short. Clean up Molly and then I hear daughter freak out because there is blood in the rat’s cage that she hasn’t cleaned for a week. I look at rats to see if they had a fight and Rascals innards are hanging out her ass. I still haven’t got make up or clothes on yet. So we put rat who’s still eating and not suffering into smaller cage.
 
I then throw on make up and jeans and get stuck in traffic to Bayer’s Lake. Make it at four on the dot and Kimberly is not there with Complicated Cocktail Extravaganza, Beautiful Basket of Books, and Moral Support. There is just the table with a small pile of my books sitting forlornly it. Call her on cell and her daughter Kiley tells me they are stuck in the same traffic we were.  After 5 minutes of rearranging my small pile of books, Kimberly shows up and things get underway. Despite the rocky start, it was a lot of fun.
 
All different kinds of people came out for the signing: people from Beaubassin – the kids’ school,  friends, friends’ families, friends of friends, the woman from my bank, my physiotherapist and her friend – my old personal trainer from when I used to be in shape, and even a prefect I had at school when I was 6! I actually even sold some books to people I don’t know!

Juliette (my beloved daughter and tormentor – she’s 13) and five of her BBFs walked around the store and handed out posters and a bookmarks. Kiley wandered around with some books to show people. Chauna got tea from Starbucks. Marianne (fellow school mom and friend) and Brenda (old friend and realtor) took photos.  Although I hate having my picture taken I must admit that it was fun sometimes when we had a group of people surrounding me and the table and strangers stopped to watch as the picture was taken. I had a brief glimpse of what it might be like to be a celebrity.

I had an email from Andrew Roode, Consignment King at Chapters Bayer’s Lake, saying that the staff said it was an outstanding book signing and that we sold 29 copies. I must admit that I didn’t notice the time fly by, I had a great time seeing everyone, and I wasn’t too embarrassed by the attention.  So all in all I have to admit it was a success. Although, on the other hand, does J.K. Rowling have to go through so much just to sell 29 books?
 
We got back to the house at six forty-five to find Eve had been dealing with our guard from Voxcom who wanted to kick her and Eric (her husband/chef) out because I forgot and put the alarm on when we left and they didn’t know the code. I didn’t hear my cell phone at the store because it wasn’t next to me – and most of the time I don’t hear it anyway, even when it’s in my pocket!  In the end the guard let them stay because they had a key and a ton of food that they were obviously bringing into the house and not out!

We must have had about thirty people show up for the party.  Although there was a mixture of very different types of people, everyone seemed to find someone to talk to. At least they all ate, drank and seemed to be merry. I tried to talk to everyone and felt like I didn’t talk to anyone. I couldn’t even have a complicated cocktail as I still had the rat and her innards to deal with.
 
Everyone was gone by ten at which time the kids and I took Rascal, the rat, to the emergency clinic about a half-hour drive from our place ($107 just to walk in the emergency door! – Don’t ask how much it all cost in the end. Suffice to say we didn’t sell enough books to cover the rat). The innards were her uterus and so we had to leave her overnight to get them shoved back in. We got home at midnight. The kids fell into bed and I cleaned up until one-thirty and then prepared for a workshop on building this website at the Writer’s Federation the next morning until three-thirty a.m. 
 
Went to workshop on Sunday morning and stayed until one-thirty. Excellent workshop, as you can see, because here I am writing on my “What’s Happening” page and I now have a domain: www.margarethastingsjames.com  I love the sound of having a domain. It’s like having a home. I exist!!!

After the workshop I took Juliette to get new foundation at Shoppers as I felt bad because she had missed skiing with her cousin because she had to babysit Alexander. This weekend was totally about me, poor thing.  Came home made supper, drank a glass of wine and fell into bed at seven-thirty!!!
 
So here I am: another book signing is set for Indigo Spirit at Sunnyside Mall in Bedford for Saturday February 28.  I’m not organizing any kind of Extravaganza or anything Complicated. I plan on just showing up and sitting next to my little pile of books and see if anyone not related or connected to me somehow will actually buy Star Crossed!!