Goodbye 2018--You've Been a Right Buddy.

Monday, December31, 2018
Bombay

Goodbye 2018--You've Been a Right Buddy.

     Namaste from Bombay!
     So the last day of 2018 dawned for me at 5.30 am when I awoke with another gratitude prayer on my lips for the year that was! Such a mixed bag! Joys and sorrows waltzing hand-in-hand through the months evoking every sort of human emotion imaginable. The Fulbright Fellowship (deep joy!) and Russel's fall (such a shame!). Incredible travels--Llew and I visited five new countries (Iceland, Peru, Ecuador, China and South Korea)--and the heartbreak of a child's divorce. The publication of a new book and the death of a beloved pastor...I could go on and on. Still...the French have a brilliant phrase for it: C'est La Vie! By the time you get to my age, you learn to roll with the punches because in life, as we all realize sooner or later, you win some, you lose some...
     Up for breakfast (three slices of multi-grain bread with Nutella, Peanut butter and salmon cream cheese) and coffee (taking a break from my muesli!) as I try to finish up an old loaf. And then I showered and got down to work.
     And I worked and I worked and I worked till I felt as if my sore butt would be unable to carry me around for the rest of the day. I had begun sending out query letter directly to the publishers yesterday--today, I scoured lists of literary agents here in India who manage manuscripts for authors. I began with a list I found online on the Hachette India website and I just took off from there.  Each agent had different submission requirements: some wanted two sample chapters, some wanted three.  Some wanted a bio note, others wanted a prospectus; still others wanted a chapter synopsis, and some wanted a cover letter. So, first I made sure I had all the different elements in place for each submission. And then I started to create correspondence with each agent while attaching those elements for which they asked. As they left my laptop, I whispered a prayer for their safe delivery and the return of good news. I have to cool my heels now as most of them say they will take 3-4 months to reply! Yes, there are no short cuts to getting published! It went on all day until I had to stop for lunch before Russel gets anxious if he is forced to break the rigid regimen of his days.
    At Dad's, we had lunch together: black-eyed peas with ground meat, white ridged gourd, more ground meat with potatoes. Dessert was fresh papaya.  I did not stay long. I was determined to get through the entire list of agents.
     Back home, I returned to my laptop and just got on with it. About a half hour later, I stopped for a nap and then I went right back to work again. At about 2.00 pm, Dad surprised me with a visit to my studio. He brought me some baked goodies (that I had meant to carry with me to my place but had forgotten). When he left, since it was Me Monday, I did some personal grooming chores--main-pedi, eyebrows...
     I stopped at 5.00 pm for a pot of tea and the neat baked goodies from Theo Broma--they were okay--actually looked better than they tasted. And then, lo and behold, I checked my email and...and...get this! I had already received a response from one of the agents thanking me for my initial submission and requesting me to send her the entire manuscript! In less than four hours! You could have knocked me down with a feather. Now, I know this means nothing...I know that there is no indication at all that this will translate into a publishing contract. But...it is a start and I am not sneezing at my success!
    Of course, this meant that I had to look at my manuscript again. On the recommendation of my very successful author friend Susan Hood, who had read the manuscript just before I left Southport for Bombay, I made the fifth chapter the first chapter of the book. She had said that it was hilarious and suggested I start off the book with it. Okay. Who am I to argue with the experts? So...that was it. I had to do some rearrangement of chapters and then make sure that the links from one chapter to the next still worked. I also had to tidy up the Table of Contents page...it went on and on.
     But finish it all I did at 8.00 pm.  And before I knew it, the last day of the year had slipped by.  Indeed the year had slipped by!
     Wasting no more time, I packed up an overnight bag that included the clothes I would wear for the Holy Hour Vigil followed by Midnight Mass in our parish church that I would be attending with Dad and clothes and toiletries I needed for the night as I was spending it at Dad's. I had no intention of walking along the streets of Bandra at close to 1.00 am on New Year's Night when every drunk and lumpen element in the city is strutting his stuff!
     And so we had dinner at Dad's--pretty much a repeat of the afternoon's fare. I was feeling terribly drowsy (possibly from having toiled so hard on work all day and because I am still dozing myself with Crocin as I continue to do battle with a cold) and so I excused myself for a lie-down before we left for church. I actually did sleep for a good half hour before Dad roused me up and we got dressed to leave.
     The Holy Hour was conducted by the nuns of Priti-Kunj who did a nice job. It wasn't very well attended. But by the time the hands of the clock crept to midnight, the church was full. Mass was said by a visiting Jesuit priest, Dean of the Theological Center at Poona, Fr. Francis Miranda, who did such a nice job with it too--his homily was sensible and inspirational and completely commanded my interest. After Mass, there were a number of people to wish as we munched on a slice of cake that the church provides during the Meet and Greet session that follows every Mass with coffee (which both Dad and I passed as it would keep us awake).
     Back home at about half past 1.00 am, we took one picture together and then went straight to bed.
     The year had ended with a good response to my query letters and I fell asleep knowing that 2019 will start for me on an optimistic high.
     Happy New Year All! May you all be blessed with health in body and peace of mind throughout 2019 and beyond! And thanks so much for following me and being such faithful readers of the goings-on in my life.
     Until tomorrow...