Nesting

A friend of mine is seven months pregnant. One day I came into the office and her desk was neat and organized.

I noticed this because both of us tend to have very stream-of-consciousness explosion type messes all over our desks. I like to blame mine on being a creative mind. And for those of you saying "BS, P, you're just a slacker when it comes to filing," I say, touche and live and let live.

But, her desk was so clean I had to point it out. I mean, why on earth did she clean her desk? It made mine look twice as cluttered.

She said she found herself nesting. The instinct started when she was home, prepping the baby's new room and clearing the house of clutter, then simply extended to the office.

I'm quite envious of her desk. It looks so pristine. Sadly, I have no urge to delve through the multiple piles of paper on my desk. Besides, it will completely ruin my filing "system."

However, I too have begun to nest for my baby due to arrive in March. The last week I've awoken, each day, with a burning in my gut to get moving on marketing and PR strategy.

For months I've tried to ignore this component. Editing can be difficult when my mind is wandering towards school visits and book fairs. So I've managed to keep thoughts of marketing at bay until now.

On Monday, I began thinking about book reviewers. On Tuesday, actively seeking more teen reader friends on Myspace invaded my thoughts. By Sunday morning, I was up at the crack of dawn writing down how far out I'll focus my primary marketing and PR efforts.

I'm chomping at the bit to speak to my editor about such things. For the most part, I'm sure my pub already knows what they will and won't do from a marketing perspective. So my urge to have a discussion about this is less about my influencing their decision and more about ensuring that the thoughts in my head will indeed supplement their initiatives.

And while my book is certainly not a newborn child, my instinct to nest is very, very real. It wakes me in the morning (just like my novel used to when it was begging to be written), nags at me mid-day and lingers at the edge of my mind at night.

I find myself writing random notes of potential activities and researching more than ever to link up with the right organizations, people and places. It's a comforting feeling, makes the whole process real.

I'm about seven months away from book release and the call of PR is as strong as the call of the wild for Marty in Madagascar (sorry, I watched that with the Princesses last night for like the billonth time). It's about as good analogy as any.

I imagine, the way I feel is similar to how an animal feels around mating season - so attracted to a notion that you wander toward it, never really knowing what you're walking into until you're in the middle of doing it.

I may wake up in March standing in a classroom talking about creative writing with my book in my hand and think, "Hey, wasn't it just July?"

Let's just hope it's not one of those crazy naked dreams. Just me and DRAMA in our birthday suits.

Look away, kids, look away!