May 4th, 2014

Another Piece of The Jigsaw Falls Into Place

Jane Hunt, MD, Catapult PR

Today has put another piece of the future’s jigsaw in place, thanks to someone I’ve met by chance. It’s also been a day in which I’ve realised I need to make a decision to follow head rather than heart – something that a 2 hour drive after just learning about the death of a friend’s wife sort of induced.  It makes you realise that while you’d love to hang around (well actually, that’s not true), you can’t and you have to take offers on the table while you can. You also have to go for it big-time with your dreams and I can’t take my foot off the pedal now. I shall probably soon be living alone, so I guess that’s the time to smash it.

I told my friend and client Mrs B about the death and the need to seize the day and she decided I was absolutely right and is determined to pass her final exam next month and grasp her own opportunities.  Yesterday, she actually told me about the heart attack that her colleague has just suffered – another wake up call to stop wasting time and make the most of every minute.  Not many second chances come along.

So, while it’s been a great day, its been a thought provoking one and, once again, I’m going to have to be the bearer of bad news and tell my friend Mary what I’ve just learned.  She’ll be so upset, as she really likes the person in question, though unlike me, she never met his wife.

I also met a really interesting railway employee who’s actually a psychotherapist.  She said she could see the joy in my eyes when I talk about my work in schools.  I certainly feel it in my heart, but that’s my trouble … too heart-led.

I do also have an observation about my dear self and circus performers/jesters et al.  I think perhaps my gipsy spirit (once observed by a man I was sitting next to at a function!) is responsible for this one!  It’s either that or David Essex earrings.

I’ve met some lovely kids today – I look at some and see myself at their age looking back at me.  I sold all three books in the ‘children’s catalogue’ today and it was my first opportunity to bundle and sell Befana Drama 1 and 2 together.  That made me think how right my new book mentor, Abdul, was when he told me to get a trilogy – which I was just thinking when he favorited my tweet about arranging a night out in Frankfurt (and I hate spelling favorited like that!!).

However, getting Befana Drama 3 ready by Frankfurt could be problematic.  I am spending so much time in pursuit of total awe-inspiring perfection with the new book I’m writing that I just keep going over and over and over and over and over chapters.  Today, in an odd ten minutes, I decided I didn’t like three paragraphs at the start of chapter 5, so I’ve completely redrafted and am now having to reshape the whole chapter.  I know exactly what the problem has been – chapter 4.  It was so chilling and so damn good (even if I say so myself) that it necessitated a complete revisit of chapters 1-3 and now the chapter that followed.

So I don’t even have a perfect 5 yet and have about another 28 chapters to write.  Oh dear!   I will be wrecked by the end of this book.  It’s so intense!

While I wish to minimise time spent on the road book signing, I have said (partly from a PR point of view) that I will return to Dalegarth for the Postman Pat event in October and to coincide with the Ghost Trains for Halloween – another good reason to get the trilogy sorted, although the new book would be a phenomenal Halloween read for young adults/adults (but I have a very different strategy with this book, which means I probably won’t be publishing it – not yet at least).

I have a day of rest tomorrow before getting back to the day job, although I shall probably do quite a bit of the day job tomorrow anyway.  The dreaded VAT needs to be sorted out and paid this week – oh joy!  I’ve also got several releases to write and sort out for clients … trilogy; 28 more chapters … as I said, problematic!

Still looking for the unpaid/paid in kind non-exec director and still waiting to hear when I’m off to Southampton. If only everyone were as impulsive and heart-led as myself!

Anyway, at least I’ve grown up today and used bad news to galvanise me.  Right now, the chapter 5 revisions, that I’ve scrawled all over my manuscript, need to be sorted out & added to that, Mark Selby needs me!