When RA Flare-ups Are a Good Thing

I crawled into bed Saturday night completely wiped out. My joints screamed at me in a way they haven't for a good long while, and fever chills sent me grabbing for an extra blanket--all the symptoms of an RA flare-up, but never was pain more satisfying. One of my huge triggers is stress, and the days leading up to the flare overflowed with it--the good kind, though!

Tuesday, I spent the day on Robins Air Force Base at the Home Business Fair. I babysat my display table and talked about my books the entire day. It was Military Spouse Appreciation Day, so there was a free luncheon that I happened upon. The city went way overboard in their donations. There must have been 50+ drawings for give-aways that ranged from free oil changes to free donuts. (Thanks, Warner Robins!) Yours truly won a $10 gift card for lunch at the base enlisted club. Woot, woot! Free is ALWAYS a good thing.

At the luncheon, a soloist sang "Wind Beneath My Wings," changing a few words to apply to military spouses who keep their men inspired to fight (or type, as applies to my computer nerd warrior). The lady sang the piece as if it were a gift, straight from her heart to ours. There might have been a few dry eyes in the room, but I'm not sure.

I met dozens of super sweet ladies who let me ramble on about my books. Wasn't allowed to sell any (base policy), but it hardly mattered. How often does an author get to talk up her books all day?!

Wednesday, I spoke in my daughter's second grade class. Her teacher asked me to come chat about being an author, and of course, I jumped on it! Since I'd been volunteering once a week during their writing hour, I knew what they'd covered this year and the angle I should take. They'd just done their first bit of research, so I keyed in on how research for my Lizzie book was so important. I even let them listen to my taped interview with Ruth, the lovely lady whose life the book is based on. (Hat's off to you, Ruth!) We finished off with Chapter One of my kid's book, Lizzie and the Guernsey Gang, and, I swear, they held their breath through the entire reading. :-)

I haven't had that much fun in...I can't remember how long. It's inspired me to do the same in other schools--if they'll have me! I've got the whole summer to prepare...

Wednesday night, right before bed, I found out Lizzie won the Selah Award. Super yay!! But I already posted about that, so I'll move along...


Thursday, as an indirect result of winning the Selah Award, I was extended the opportunity to talk to an agent. Amanda Luedeke, of the MacGregor Agency, was kind enough to spend 45 minutes of her day counseling me on my writing career. After months of standing at a crossroads, undecided and begging God for direction, I finally got a clear word. I know what to do, where to invest my time. Thank you, Lord! And thank you, Amanda. Your wisdom was God's gift to me!

Thursday night, the family and I drove to the Macon Barnes and Noble for their annual Local Author's Night. There were three other authors, one of which--a local rabbi--drew the masses like RJ from Swamp People at the Swainsboro Pine Tree Festival. OK, maybe not that many, but the synagogue really loves their rabbi! Thanks to their devotion and support of his new book, I managed to sell quite a few of my own--a rarity at book signings. The rabbi was a Messianic Jew, so the long line of people waiting for his book--and standing right in front of my table--were my target audience. Just about everyone I talked to was happy to learn about my Creek Country Saga. All except for the one lady who said the end of the world was near, so fiction was a petty waste of time. Yes, she really told me that. The words that came out of my mouth were "thank you for your opinion," but my brain blurted a whole lot more.

All that to say, stress is a bad thing for sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis, but in this case, I'll take it! It was an amazing week and one of the most productive, career-wise, I've had for a good little while.

Now, where did I put that pack of steroids...