I think it’s a few minutes past 9 pm and I’m beat.

Just thinking of the schedule ahead is making me seriously reconsider my sanity in saying yes.

Bangalore was amazing. Or I should say the people were amazing because I actually didn’t get to ‘see’ that much of the place.

Oh, I spoke to the white lady who was sitting through the author meet and greet with that horrified look on her face.

We met last night at a lovely little dinner that one of the hosts had arranged.

I told her that I had blogged about the horrified look on her face and we got to talking.

Basically it came down to she just didn’t think all the racist and bullying anecdotes I was relating were funny.

She really was horrified.

LOL.

Oh well, can’t win everyone.

But isn’t it funny how as a performer, I tend to always focus on the people who ARE NOT getting it, rather than all the others who are!

Yesterday was utterly gruelling! I don’t know when I’ve been that tired!

This is what happened. Because I had to wake up early for the first journalist interview, I didn’t sleep very well. Got up early anyway, got ready for breakfast at the dining hall only to find out that breakfast didn’t start till 8 am.

Rushed through breakfast (it was actually quite tasty! They had this lovely halwa with bananas in it!) Then rushed back to the reception area so that I could wait for the journalist to show up.

She was a tender young thing. How many times did her eyes get glassy with tears while I was telling her the back story of Wanting Mor and why I wrote it? I can’t even tell. Partly because when I get really tired, I actually get weepy.

Anything will set me off! It’s not good!

So here I was dripping tears while I was relating this very emotional stuff, and constantly apologizing for losing it, and yet she was crying too, because yes, darn it, it was emotional!

The interview went way too quickly!

The lady who was taking me to the school visit showed up then, I glanced at my watch and realized we’d been talking for close to an hour and I had to go!

But it was lovely to talk to her.

Then I got into the car and we dialed the next journalist for the next interview. And while the taxi was navigating the rough streets of Bangalore, I answered her questions the best I could.

I think doing that leaves you pretty disoriented.

I’m lucky I don’t get car sick that easy because with all the motion and the concentrating on what I was saying…it sure wasn’t easy.

It was supposed to take an hour and a half with traffic to get to this school but somehow we got there quickly and since I’d told the lady who was escorting me that I hadn’t slept well, she told me to go ahead and take a nap right there in the car.

Wonder of wonders, I actually slept! Quite well. And awoke feeling quite refreshed.

Went inside the school, did a good presentation if I say so myself, had many of the students quite emotional–some of the teachers were even in tears–but luckily, alhamdu lillah, I wasn’t!

At the session there was a journalist from the Times of India, the biggest English daily paper in the country! And afterwards came interview number three.

He was lovely, and then he asked if I could answer some more questions he’d send me by email, which I just finished answering tonight (Wednesday night).

Then I got to the library where I was going to give a two hour workshop on picture book writing. And at 3 o’clock we phoned in the next interview.

Luckily the library had internet so I could catch up on my emails, but maybe I should have taken another nap, because by the time the two hour workshop was winding down, I was ready to drop!

The nicest thing was when one of the audience, a storyteller himself, came up and said how many authors hold back when they do a session like that but how I had actually revealed a lot of the tricks of the trade.

He’s actually right.

I gave them a LOT of nitty gritty practical steps they could take to not only break into the market but write really well!

I pointed out the techniques I’d used in some of my picture books.

But the neat thing was the whole two hours was like a standup routine for goodness sakes! They were laughing really hard!

Afterwards the host librarian was kind enough to invite us back to her house for dinner.

I had said yes, but I really should have politely declined.

I tried to be good company, but honestly I was talked out and all I wanted to do was crawl into bed.

And then I had to get up early early this morning to catch the flight back to Delhi.

And tomorrow I have to get up early to catch the flight to Amritsar. I return to Delhi on the 8:50 pm flight, getting into Delhi around 10 pm, and then I have to get up early on Friday to catch the flight to Pune.

Yikes!

My publisher said it best. She said that when she saw my schedule she shuddered, or something like that. Wouldn’t you know I’m too tired to remember the exact wording!

But the one thing that’s good is that they seem pleased at the results of all the presentations.

I’m giving it my all, and I think they can tell.

Over and out and exhausted in Delhi!