On Galleys and Walking Naked in Public

 ADOUR AT THE ST. REGIS, EARLY THURSDAY EVENING

Oh the joys of good French food, but since its not my daily diet I forget about the marvelous hallucinogenic results it can produce. The dreams I had last night!! ... following a delicious dinner at Adour with my pal Aubrey Sarvis. There will be more about the meal in the "Dining" column on New York Social Diary next week. For now, my dream. 

I don't recall the particulars of how I got there but at some point I was out in the street--downtown, lots of people--naked. Stark naked. No shoes, no hat, and nothing in between. My forearm was across my breasts and my hand acted as a fan of sorts down there, but otherwise the passersby got a good glimpse of all of me. Some stared, some didn't. Some smiled. Some waved. No one offered me a coat. I don't recall where I was coming from or going to, but I did have a destination. An unknown destination.

Some armchair analysis:  What was this dream about? After a good wake-up cup of Kona I may have it figured out. Yesterday the galleys of my book arrived in New York at the offices of Crown, my publisher. This was big news, and one of the reasons for the festive dinner with Aubrey. In the next few days the galleys will be mailed to a variety of people, but mostly in the media. Outside of my agent, editor, and a very few others It will be the first look anyone has had at the finished book.

Stark naked. Get the picture? It doesn't require a degree in psychoanalysis. In fact, when friends ask me for my inner feelings about the eventual publication of "Innocent Spouse" I tend to say the same thing: 60 years old, holographic nakedness, no airbrushing. It is what it is. It will now be up to the reading public to love, hate, embrace, reject, enjoy, abhor ... who the hell knows? I have great faith in my editor, Suzanne O'Neill, who has been such a shepherd. She also did memoirs with Tommy Lee and Adam Carolla, among others. 

I've watched the reaction to "Tiger Mother" and become somewhat unnerved. Not the part about having a runaway bestseller (geez, can you imagine that dream coming even nearly true??) but the part about the vitriol and hate that has been aimed at Amy Chua, the attacks, the anger. Errrr. Intimidating. I suppose I'm ready if that should be part of the reaction to "Innocent Spouse." There's nothing I can do about it. The story now feels separate from me. I did live it. It's what happened. But since Nathans closed I've been able to move on, like being on a life raft that sailed away from the Titanic.

I want readers to like my story. That's what every writer hopes for. In a few months, we'll know.

In the meantime, I'm honored to say the Women's National Democratic Club have invited me to speak on May 24. I believe this luncheon event is open to the public. When booking is available I will post it here. I'm eager for lots of chances to speak and appear. On June 9 or 10, ABC's John Donvan will do an interview with me at The Q&A Cafe. I'll have more on that soon. 

Now, its time to put on some clothing.