The Letter That Never Gets Written
June 21, 2011
Today’s Special: A fresh whitefish fillet sandwich, corn on the cob, and a dish of ice cream.
So summery… I love the smell of whitefish and lemons.
It’s been a busy day, and a good day. People have seemed happy. It rained hard. I made peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies and oatmeal raisin cookies, too. Paid a lot of bills–a whole fat stack, which is always satisfying. Got exciting book news: I’m going to be interviewed by Linda Wertheimer for an upcoming Sunday Weekend Edition. This is staggeringly wonderful. Tonight I have an interview with Write On! Radio, a literary program that airs in the Minneapolis St. Paul area, too. I’m really looking forward to it. It turns out, a little to my surprise–that I love to talk to people about SOUTH OF SUPERIOR.
There are a lot of good and exciting things happening, and I’m happy. At the same time, I feel more and more behind on the things I want to write and remember. It’s like that that letter to a friend that keeps getting put off, until there’s so much news you know you can never do any of it justice, and the letter never gets written.
I know what to do about that: just pick up wherever you are. Don’t let the impossibility of getting it all done stop you.
I can’t write about every event I did on my opening week book tour like I wanted to right now, but I did the next best thing (in this new modern world, anyway): I made a photo album on my Facebook fanpage (Ellen Airgood, author). There are more albums to make–the entire madhouse scene at the diner party, for example–but it’s a start.
And suddenly, I must rush off again–people to wait on, ice cream to scoop. Bon nuit, and happy solstice, everyone. Enjoy this longest day of the year!
Category: Today's Special | Tags: letter writing, National Public Radio, SOUTH OF SUPERIOR, Weekend Edition, West Bay Diner, Write On! Radio, writing 20 comments »
June 21st, 2011 at 11:06 pm
Ellen, you’re going to be on NPR!!!! Wait until David hears this! I am so excited for you that I can’t restrain my punctuation!!!!!
June 22nd, 2011 at 1:39 pm
Pamela, I know what you mean about the punctuation. Every time I turn around I’m using another exclamation point, and in general that is Just Not Me. But then I look over whatever I just exclaimed over and I think, “Yep, it stays.” I’m so happy about all of this, for the characters in the book and all they mean to me, more than anything. They are having their day, and I’m loving going with them along the way.
June 22nd, 2011 at 1:42 pm
Mmmm. Whitefish and ice cream. It doesn’t get much than that.
And congratulations on the great interviews you have coming up. I can see that your success is putting a strain on your schedule, but it sounds like you have a common sense approach to dealing with it. It was sure a pleasure to meet you and attend your reading in Northport.
June 22nd, 2011 at 5:48 pm
Karen,
It was wonderful to meet you. Thank you so much for coming to the reading at Dog Ears. I had a wonderful time there. Thank you for all your good wishes. I appreciate them!
June 22nd, 2011 at 11:13 pm
Linda Wertheimer is a woman of taste and discrimination. Also a smart cookie. This is all so exciting and so much fun that I am tempted to use many exclamation points, but I hear that there is a shortage, so I’ll just leave some here for the next time they’re needed, shall I? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 23rd, 2011 at 12:15 am
You’re really going to be interviewed by Linda Wertheimer on Weekend Edition? I can’t believe it! This is the big time!
June 23rd, 2011 at 3:33 am
It seems I have my best thoughts for writing a letter, e-mail, or even an essay while driving or doing other mundane tasks like cutting the grass. I almost have a draft written in my mind, but my the time I get to a pen and paper (or computer) it all slips away. Then, I never get back to it.
I was listening to NPR yesterday (while driving to Dundee) and they were interviewing an author and I was thinking how great it would be if you had an interview on NPR, and now its happening! How wonderful.
June 23rd, 2011 at 2:40 pm
Thank you, Rich!
June 23rd, 2011 at 2:40 pm
Thank you, Gerry! Oops, another exlamation point slipped off the pile. I guess it’s a big pile.
June 23rd, 2011 at 2:41 pm
It looks that way, although maybe I shouldn’t have said anything until it had actually happened!
June 25th, 2011 at 12:07 pm
Hi, Ellen. Pamela just sent me a link to that New York Times article. That was very cool. OK, now I am excited to read your book~~I really like your style of writing. We live farther west along Lake Superior, in a little town called Aura in the middle of the woods, near L’Anse (between Houghton and Marquette.) Wishing you BIG success with the publication of your book.
June 25th, 2011 at 1:46 pm
Kathy, THank you so much. I’ve been through L’Anse many times on the way to Hancock. A beautiful area.
June 25th, 2011 at 9:54 pm
I went to Barnes & Noble this afternoon (Ft. Wayne, IN) to make a big deal about requesting your book. Lo & behold, there it was; right up front on the “great new books” display! Woo hoo! Will bring it for your autograph!
June 26th, 2011 at 12:06 pm
Jana: : ).
I would love to sign it for you!
Ellen
June 26th, 2011 at 6:32 pm
I LOVED your piece in the NYT today. (Modern Love.) WOW! So wonderful I pushed the paper aside and went straight to Google to look you up.
June 27th, 2011 at 1:15 pm
Thank you Linda!
June 28th, 2011 at 4:55 pm
USA Today, NY Times, and now NPR? That’s so great!! (wonderful, fantastic . . . .). It’s all fabulous and so richly deserved (it’s nice to have a reason to say that in a positive sense about someone
). But I do have to ask you: what would Gladys think about all this high-falutin’ fiddle-faddle? (Secretly pleased, I bet)
Umm, maybe I should go write a letter . . .
June 28th, 2011 at 11:08 pm
Thank you, Lisa!
July 8th, 2011 at 2:32 am
Enjoyed South of Superior and have enjoyed food at the West Bay Diner and Earl of Sandwich in G.M. – we’re longtime fans of G.M and now your book. Congratulations on a good read.
July 8th, 2011 at 3:50 am
Thank you, Joe!