To Fly or Not to Fly.....

I'm in a quandary. As usual. I'm faced with the prospect of flying to Phoenix, AZ to do a radio program promoting my newest book, Once a Brat, Always a Brat. It should be released any day, now, and coincidentally, BratCon Radio contacted me about coming out to give away six signed copies to call-ins. Not only for this book, but its companion novel, The Women of Camp Sobingo.
So why am I posting this news on my Lupus Blog? Well, I'm sure I'm having a bit of a flare right now. Who know what shape I'll be in on Nov. 17th, the day I'm flying out of DFW for Phoenix. I ache all over, as I usually do when flaring; I'm worried about the nosebleeds returning; my vision gets double on occasion; and my balance leaves a lot to be desired, since I'm kind of dizzy occasionally. I went to my office chair, preparing to slide into it, and nearly ended up on the floor. The desk chair swivels, ha ha. My head knew that, but my body forgot, so I stumbled a bit and fortunately recovered myself before I went splat on the floor. I did spill my insulated cup of ginger ale all over the desk; fortunately, none of it touched the laptop.
So no wonder I'm a bit apprehensive about going off somewhere and adding more stress to my life. I could have said NO. But I'm a writer, you see, and part of the writing experience is making public appearances, radio and tv shows, etc.
And admit it: It's an ego trip, to think that somebody WANTS you to talk about your work, and is willing to pay expenses for this unknown writer to add to his radio show. How could I not go?
I thought about contacting the Phoenix chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America, and I might still do that. But I already contacted a fellow Military Brat who used to live in this area, but who has moved to Phoenix. She says she'll be glad to hang out with me, and introduce me to her husband. This will no doubt remove any pre-show jitters so I'll be reasonably coherent when the red light goes on and we begin to air.
So, fellow lupies..... am I being too risky? Would you do it? I think I'm able to handle this flare, and maybe even recover from it before I board the plane, but I've been wrong before. In fact, I feel so bold at this point that I've signed on with a speaker's bureau which will involve out-of town travel. Must be the Military Brat in me, heh.
Okay, so far in this blog I've managed to write not only about lupus, but also about my newest book about Military Brats and my novel, which should have gone on other blogs. But it all intertwines,somehow.
Life is like that. Especially when you're a writer who has lupus and is a Military Brat and is learning the promotion business, too.
Yep, I'm going. Wish me luck.


Lupus