What I'm grateful for March 22...

March 22:
It's been 10 days since I wrote my gratefulness blog but every day I remind myself of all the wonderful people and things I am blessed with. I had a full-on schedule in Melbourne and Brisbane last week and here’s the highlights of what I am grateful for:

* TOM: I made my debut on the Channel 10 morning show, The Circle. It replaced 9am with David & Kim and consists of four women sitting on the couch talking about a whole range of issues. I got my five minutes of fame chatting to Denise Drysdale and Gorgi about Manhattan Dreaming and Indigenous literacy. In terms of the experience there I was most grateful to the Producer I dealt with, let’s call him Tom. Tom was a gem, making me feel comfortable, relaxed and gorgeous. That’s how producers are meant to make the talent feel, and he was / is GREAT at his job. Kudos to Tom who also had a deadly sense of humour. If you missed the episode and would like to see the dress I wore :) then you can watch it on-line here just punch 'Anita Heiss' into the search engine.
* MELBOURNE FRIENDS: Being in Melbourne as part of the Manhattan Dreaming book tour gave me the opportunity to catch up with some friends. I was grateful for old school friend Marianne, writerly friend Lollie Barr, Koori sista Michelle and Twitter follower Samantha, who trekked into Chapel Street to see me for a yarn and cocktail.
* THE LONE FAN: I was booked to do a signing at Borders on Chapel Street which hadn’t been advertised or it seems promoted in the store itself, with a tiny table hidden in the middle of the massive space. I didn’t mind though. I sat and before too long my loan fan arrived, not to see me thought – he didn’t know I was there - but rather to buy the book having heard me earlier in the day on the Conversation Hour with Jon Faine. The Lone Fan, let’s call him David, was happy to see the author as well and sat and had a yarn with me for a while. That alone made my night. I’m grateful to the Lone Fan! Thank you.
* SLQLD: Well, the highlight of the week truly was an evening at the State Library of QLD doing an in-conversation with the multi awarding-winning author Dr Kim Wilkins. Kim and I first met on the Gold Coast and I was so inspired by her output of daily word count updated on Facebook... 1000s of words being penned while Facebook friends like me just looked on in awe. Kim and I are tiddas now, and she generously offered to do the SLQLD gig. Only problem was I was sick and so my protagonist Lauren had to go instead. Half way through the evening Lauren channelled me to answer some questions, and I can’t tell you how much fun it was. It's recorded so you may want to check out the SLQLD website for the podcast. I'm going to so I can hear what Lauren said about me! I’m really sorry I missed the after party also; apparently there were some very un-PC young men serving drinks wearing only cuffs and collars, oh and pants. There’s a pic above of Lauren with the boys and one with Kim Wilkins and Lauren with Janine Dunleavy.
* VICTORIA POINT LIBRARY: Have you been to Victoria Point in the Redland Shire? I hadn’t before this book tour. But boy, was I grateful for the invitation to visit and talk to their local community. I had a blast from the moment I walked in the door and saw a foyer display of my books. How excitement! And the locals were so friendly and warm. Perhaps the warmth came from the bubbly they consumed with their cheese plates before I started. I don’t mind what the reason, I was just pleased I made the one-hour trek there from Brisbane to meet Liz and the crew and Lynne from Angus and Robertson.
* GRAHAM THE DRIVER: Yes, I was a lucky gal on Thursday with a gorgeous driver and comfy car to take me around the city to do my duties. I’m not used to all the star treatment and had myself out of the car before Graham had a chance to open the door for me. Perhaps if he were wearing a cap I would have let him open the door. Not sure. I think we were both grateful when I asked him to come into the Victoria Point library for my gig. It meant that I was guaranteed at least one person in the audience, and he was guaranteed a cheese plate! Thanks Gray.
* COMING HOME: Ah yes, I’ve said it before, there’s nothing like my bed, lounge, bathroom, kitchen... and waking up to the familiar sounds and smells of my own suburb. I’m grateful for living in the burbs after staying in busy city hotels. At home, I feel safe and secure and always content.