Kimberly Menozzi, Author

As I start to write this, it is 10:30 in the morning. In twenty-four hours I'll be waiting to board my flight (a whole two-hour journey) to London out of Bologna.

My bags are almost completely packed (just a few items to go).

I've read and re-read my excerpts for the readings until I'm nearly sick of seeing 'em.

I've decided on my outifits for the launch and the readings. (Dressy, not fussy; quite "me", really.)

When Alle and I arrive in London, we'll find my mother and my friend who are waiting for us there (their flight gets in earlier), and we'll get them to the hotel. We'll rest, have dinner, and then?

My nerves will start kicking in and I'll become a chattering, blithering idiot, most likely. LOL! Not that anyone can tell the difference, I reckon.

No, I'm sure we'll have a quick toddle around our neighborhood before we retire to our rooms, chat and then get some rest. Thursday morning, to one degree or another, my London adventure will begin. I hope things go smoothly, and that I don't actually make a fool of myself in front of anyone.

To quote the Grateful Dead (and when you think London, don't you just think of Jerry and the gang?) "What a long, strange trip it's been..." I mean, I started out writing this little short story which I initially meant to be just for me and mine, and instead it became something much, much bigger - both literally and figuratively.

In the end, a story about Bologna is taking me to London, and then back home again where the real world will intrude once more - and regularly at that. I'll have to look on the next ten days as something out of the norm, and cross my fingers and hope and wish and pray that all goes as well as it can.

And then I'll have to knuckle down and get to writing again. I want to see where the next story takes me.

and then I'll be in London to prepare for the launch of Ask Me if I'm Happy! That I'm excited is no surprise to anyone, I'm sure. This is my first published novel, and so I'm experiencing a lot of things for the first time:

Interviews - initially by my Diiarts cohorts, and soon by others.

Guest Blogs - I did one a couple of years ago for Shelley Munro, but now I've done two for Diiarts, as well. You can read them here and here.

People asking for my autograph - Honestly! It's so strange, even if they are/were friends and/or acquaintances before the fact. I'll be doing a lot of signing in London, too, on the pre-orders of Ask Me... and of course at the launch.

Public readings - I did one here in Italy last June at the End of the School Year party at the language school where I work, and that was fun - and a little nerve-wracking, too. In November, I'm scheduled to do three readings: one at the launch and two in Oxford (at the Oxford International Women's Festival Poetry Competition and at the Into the Desert Live event, respectively)!

I was in London one year ago, too. I went for the launch of Diiarts' first four titles and I had a wonderful time. Alas, it was only for an all-too-brief weekend, but Alessandro and I had fun with our friends while we were there.

This time around, my mother and my best friend will be in attendance, and with a little luck, many of my online mates will be there for the launch, too. I'll get to meet my cp (critique partner), Nell Dixon in person for the first time, and I can't wait for our lunch date together!

My appearances in Oxford were facilitated by a longtime supporter, too - the lovely and talented Dan Holloway - and I can't wait to meet him, too!

With luck, I'll also be meeting many of my longtime Authonomy and Facebook friends, and I think this event will be even more exciting as a result of finally getting to be with them, in person.

All the good wishes I've received so far, all the encouragement from friends and acquaintances are only now starting to make this feel real. I can't even begin to imagine yet how it's going to feel once I'm actually there, in London, sitting behind that table and signing copies of Ask Me if I'm Happy - and, yes, answering that very question over and over and over again - but I'm sure it'll feel good.

And I know what my answer will be.