King Author

Last week was one of ups and downs. My apartment ceiling started dripping, then raining, and then eventually collapsing. Things at my day job were a bit on the mad side. And to top it all off, I had just gotten back from a gloriously relaxing Florida vacation and wasn't ready to be so unceremoniously dumped into the harsher New Yorkness of New York.

But then some amazing things happened, too. The most amazing was that I got called author multiple times. First my editor sent a mass e-mail to all her "authors" (and that included me!). I got listed on a couple of Twitter lists that involved the word author. And my copyedited manuscript had all sorts of queries for something called an AU. It took me a little while to realize that that did not stand for Australia but rather - you guessed it - author. (Although, now that I think about it, perhaps I would like to hear Australia's views on the merits of scientific kitchen concoctions that use chili beans vs. chili powder).

Ever since the second grade, when we learned all about authors and illustrators, I've always thought that the 'a' word was absolutely beautiful. It just sounded so elegant and regal, especially if I tried it out with my fake British accent (my secret's out - I've been nurturing that accent for a while. Sadly, it hasn't shown much improvement over the years).

I've tried to get used to calling myself a writer over the last couple of years. In college, one of my favorite screenwriting teachers once said, "Don't ever say you want to be a writer. If you write, you're a writer. It's not contingent on whether your work is produced or published or not." It took me a long time to get up the nerve to follow her advice.

But I never even thought about calling myself an author. That, to me, was most certainly reserved for those elusive chosen few who got their work published and on a bookshelf, who had jackets and cover art, acknowledgments and blurbs.

I can't believe that gets to be me now. I'll take a collapsed ceiling in my bathroom any day if it means I can really and truly have people call me an author and mean it.

Because, let's face it, one of the beauties of being one is you don't really have to bathe much.

Look at the pretty colors. Oh, and the 'AU' is me!