I was on TV tonight! If you missed it, no worries; they have the clip online here.
I need to thank my former student for thinking of me for the show. Such a pleasure!
I need to thank women everywhere for understanding when I, after waffling about it for three solid days, finally dyed my hair mostly black again before the show, despite having written and published an essay seven years ago about finally stopping coloring my hair. I’m at least half-grey in real life at this point, but this was potentially a notable professional thing, and our society is the way it is, and well, I caved. Apologies, sisterhood. You understand. It’s temporary, and will wash out by the end of the summer, at which point I get to decide if I want to color it again before the semester starts. Sigh.
I need to thank Kevin for letting me lock myself in our bathroom / bedroom for a couple hours to do hair and nails and such. I never do that kind of thing, because mostly I fail at femme, but well, it’s tv, so I had to try. Also for putting up with much crabbiness earlier today, as apparently I was more nervous than I realized about being on tv. Also for feeding the kids and himself dinner, and asking if I was going to eat anything. (So nervous I’d forgotten to eat, and didn’t really feel like it heading out the door, but I had two bites of his rice and chicken curry, which undoubtedly helped sustain me.) Also for making sure the kids got to watch their mommy on tv; they were indignant that the poor host didn’t get my name quite right the second time, but assured me that I’d done a good job.
I need to thank WTTW’s make-up artist for fixing my make-up before I went on-air. I did not terrible for everyday (see pic), but she gave me more eyebrows and eyelashes and more lip color and smoothed out my skin and ‘brightened me up’ a little for the cameras.
I need to thank everyone at the studio today for being sweet and making it not too stressful a thing. My fellow guests didn’t talk over me (thanks, guys!), my host was delightful, they were all a pleasure and interesting to talk to, and the tech guys made a point of telling me afterwards that I’d done a good job, which I really, really appreciated. (Locals, Michael Barsa will be reading from his first novel, _The Garden of Blue Roses_, at Centuries & Sleuths this Saturday @ 2. If you’re free, check it out! I’m going to try to make it.)
I need to thank SF conventions for the past two decades, for giving me so much practice at being on panels that I was actually reasonably comfortable once we got started, although if I’d realized the time constraints we’d be under, I would’ve practiced a one sentence elevator pitch for each book beforehand. I rambled a bit, but not too badly, I think.
And hey, thanks to all of you, for reading through all this. I was on TV! Whee! It was fun, and I would totally do it again. I’m just saying, universe. Call me.