Galley Cat

I got five colorful, neat, smooth copies of my book in the mail today. Well, the galleys, anyway. They are my personal copies-- a few dozen others will be going out to editors, reviewers, academics I interviewed, friends in the journalism business, some famous writers I admire, and my folks.
Picking up this small object which represents a year and a half of work was a truly surreal experience. I almost don't want to look at them--I can't believe the pub date is almost here.