I was supposed to be interviewing author Camilla Gibb and a friend asked me if she could tag along. We got to the hotel, and I excused myself to go to the loo. And when I got back to the coffee shop, there was Camilla being interviewed by my friend instead of me ... and I was incensed!
When I finally sat down at the table to begin the interview, I realized that I didn't have a single pen in the big bag I carry around, my little cassette recorder had no batteries, a tape in it that was all tangled up, and a nest of ants living inside it. And when I thought things couldn't get any worse, I found I couldn't remember the titles of any of her books, couldn't find my notes and heard myself asking the most inane of questions.
I woke up in a huff at five a.m. If that was the way my dreams wanted to play it, I wouldn't give them room. You have to show them who's boss. Change the channel.
As it happened the interview on Monday went fine (apart from a mix-up about the time which meant it got rescheduled for later the same day). The piece should be in Sunday's StarMag. If you see me posting erratically on this blog over the next day or two it's because 1) the Litfest is on and I'm chasing stories and talking my heart out about books and writing, and 2) because I really need time to work on the article and my best writing time is also my best blogging time i.e. the crack of dawn.
Hope to see some of you around this week.
(My picture of Camilla taken at the interview while the pixman from the Star was going his stuff).
14 comments:
"You have to show them who's boss. Change the channel."
Thanks for the reminder. Time to do same for my working life. It's been a nightmare for far too long, and the monster reared its head again yesterday.
"So this was the dream I had Saturday night."
Talk about having an anxiety dream! Hope there won't be any more of the sort for you in a while!
That would qualify as a nightmare, methinks. But you certainly showed it who's boss! :)
The most interesting part of this piece is the revelation that you write best at the crack of dawn. An early bird, then? Me, I'm more a midnight fowl...
every writer's worst nightmare! and the most horrifying bit was the nest of ants. i would never have been able to go back to sleep after that dream!
i'm with you kenny. am a nocturnal creature too. how some people can get their brains revved up before sunrise is beyond me.
Sharon - too many sticky "melting in the heat" sweets inside your red leather tote?
what a nightmare..! but thank God everything went well..;o) my ideas for writing always come to me when i'm boarding the train...i shud probly keep a pen and a notebook with me. heheh...
Hello Sharon Baker =)
I am a student from UiTM Melaka and for one of our (many many many) assignments, I have decided to do on the topic regarding "banned books in Malaysia". If it is alright with you, I would like to ask your your opinions regarding the topic- is it possible that I do so through a phone call, a face-to-face interview or by email this weekend?
I would be honoured if you could help me with my assignment- seeing that you are a self-proclaimed bookaholic, your opinion and thoughts regarding this topic is greatly appreciated. Please contact me at my e-mail address (aliasjunee@gmail.com)!
Thank you for your time.
Junee Yusoff
chet - you know me too well. damn those mentos! and fight that monster!
ystl - am a born worrier of the anything that can go wrong school
grace - trains are good places to right. toby litt says he wrote the whole of his first book of short stories while commuting.
starlight (- hello!), kenny i hadn't used to be a morning writer until i started blogging. maybe its me age too. i don't enjoy sleeping as i used to and wake up v. early these days quite naturally. i feel i have energy spurts after a snooze so an afternoon nap is helpful too
junee - all my opinions and thought are in my blog posts
http://thebookaholic.blogspot.com/search?q=banned+books
http://indexbiblioblography.blogspot.com/2006/09/index-on-censorship.html
http://freethebooks.blogspot.com/
also read the article currently on kakiseni about burgess and there is one more article (unpublished) that i can send you a copy of if you want
you can use these sources - just attribute sources like a good student!
if you have any specific questions you can call me next week when i have a bit more time
i am a bit worried about being the only person with a big mouth on this issue ... fei interviewed me for her newspaper the other day too. next thing i know i will be clapped in irons and deported
Oh Sharon, I'd do anything to be a morning writer --- I used to be quite an early bird and get up in time to enter the gym as it opens at 6:30am sharp!
Now I merely lurk past midnight...
P.S. I copied most of your Poetry Slam entry to publicize it on my blog, with some minor adjustments. Hope you don't mind. I'm telling all my readers to come here for KLILF news --- it can't get any better than this! ;)
the abalones last night were good for digestion.
i'm still laughing at the pic i took of your fed-up face. must post it. and must make it a rule never to attend functions like this ever again, abalone or no abalone.
I think the lesson here is, don't insult the person you want to interview by calling her "self-proclaimed". :D
So many people have the language down but not the nuances.
Dear Sharon,
I'm terribly sorry Grace and I had to leave before having a chance to catch up with you tonight @ Benjamin Zephaniah's reading but she had to catch the last train to Seremban -- but the poetry performances were excellent. I think you only missed the kid's wayang kulit and Jerome Kugan's acapella singing.
Thanks for letting us know about this event --- would have slipped under my radar otherwise.
P.S. Met Philip Tatham of Monsoon Books earlier in Bangsar --- it's a small community we live in! ;)
hi kenny - it was nice to see you and grace tonight. i was late 'cos i went to find food and it took about 40 minutes to get my fried rice at the bau-bau cafe. rahmat was wonderful as was benjamin. will blog it later.
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