So…
This was a big week for Faith Hogan. On Thursday evening, Mr H got a very excited call from one of my favourite H cousins down in Limerick – Marcella H, (book lover, dote and all round good egg) she had pre-ordered ‘My Husband’s Wives,’ from Amazon.
Oh, how we all dashed to computer screens, tablets and phones!!! Mr. H, was very excited, ‘what did it all mean?’ In fairness, the concept of buying an as yet to be published book and then getting nothing but the thrill of hitting the purchase button being somewhat hard to explain, completely eluded him.
I, in my usual excited way, rang my mother, she who must be told everything, for she is the great oracle in my life, or so it seems. Then I went for a walk, to digest and of course, get wet.
And, it is a lovely feeling to think that the book you spent such time on has finally flown from the nest. It is somewhat surreal, somewhat bizarre and completely fan-blooming-tastic!!! Although, it took about a half a mile for the reality to set in, when it did, I was filled with that giddy emotion somewhere between wild happiness, crazed excitement and comic euphoria. You know, where you want to punch the air and do a victory dance, but you just have to hold it in, because you know, people already have their doubts about your lucidity at the best of times!
The thing is, it’s another milestone…and when I look back over the last couple of years there have been quite a few brilliant, once-in-lifetime ones, just in the writing alone. Each of them, at the time, took a little while to sink in. Which is, perhaps why I didn’t run down the street to unsuspecting strangers and pass on the news, that I had just won a writing competition. I didn’t shout from the rooftops that I had just signed with a top London agent. I didn’t tell anyone, beyond those closest for weeks that my book was about to be published by a woman who was lauded as the second most powerful person in publishing at one point.
So it was all, a very big secret (shhhhhh….)
Except, it couldn’t be a secret and it shouldn’t be a secret, because it was something to share and to celebrate and that made it worth telling people. The thing is somethings are hard to say. Like for example, ‘Oh, by the way, I’ve got a book coming out, and I’m delighted, because it’s with a really good publisher and…’
The first thing was, hardly anyone, beyond those closest to me, over the years, even knew I wrote!
Luckily, I’m married to Mr H.
Drum Roll, please!
Mr H, who it was my very good fortune to marry some fourteen years ago, is really good at spreading the word and he has enjoyed spreading it, as much as I tend towards low key. Mr H loves the excitement and the way that our lives have been transformed in terms of the goodwill extended to us since word got out. Who knew it, but somewhere in that brilliant golf playing, gardening, property speculator, there is a budding publicist!
So, on the night, the book went up on Amazon, and the lovely Marcella let us know, and I went for a walk, James got on the blower! By the time I got back from my walk, he had alerted half the country, or at least as many as he could on his ancient phone that he refuses to be parted from. Again, everyone was so nice. I am still touched by the number of people who have contacted me to let me know they’re looking forward to reading it or that they’ve already purchased it or they are genuinely delighted with the news.
So, the word is out, on Friday I contacted my publisher to let her know I loved the amazon piece and told her about the previous evening. Now, I have a publicity person or it seems there may be a whole team of people in HoZ (and they are all very nice too) – but they probably won’t be dishing up tasty fry-ups for me on a Saturday morning, so I’ll be keeping Mr H as my personal publicity guru!
Now, I wonder could I get him proficient at Facebook…