Names

I have had a very exciting 24 hours. I am exhilarated and energized. It is possible that I am now a Writer. I have a Literary Agent. I have signed a contract. I am going to be Represented and I am going to be Published. I keep pinching myself. To make sure I am actually awake. It feels as if I am caught up in a wonderful dream. It is very surreal. My arm is bruised. 

It is sore. 

From the pinching.

The excitement has bought on my asthma a bit. I have been wheezing all day. The humidity isn't helping either. I am a bit breathless. I am finding it difficult to smoke as well. Don't worry Mum. Chill out. Calm down. I am not really finding it very difficult to smoke. It is just my breathing that is labored. The smoking is easy.

My Agents are English. I might just write that again. It has some resonance. It makes my heart flutter. My Agents. Yes it feels very good. I would very much like to say to someone. "I think you had better speak to my Agent". That would be nice. It would be sensational.  The owner of the Agency rang me last night. Singapore time. His name is Charlie. He told me that he had read my blogs. His colleagues had too. These ones. His colleague's name is Val. They both seem like very nice people. They like my writing. I was very flattered. 

I still am.

I checked the Agency out via their Web Page. I did a bit of due diligence. It is very impressive. Val has been in the Publishing game for quite some time. Charlie too. Val has worked with some big names. We talked for a while about how electronic media has changed the world of literature. I confessed that I still liked old fashioned books. The ones with paper pages. I like their feel. I love their smell. I fold little corners to mark my where I am up to. To keep my place. I sense that Val does too. Likes books with real pages. However I do now own a Kindle reader. It is very convenient when I travel. I spend a great deal of time on planes. And in airports. At the end of the day though words are words. No matter where they are written. 

I like to read them. 

I love to write them. 

I really do.

I have just returned home from a drink with the boys. After work. It was a head wetting. Carl and Zeina have had a baby. Her name is Maisha. She is adorable. Carl is about my age. He is an old dude. Zeina is in her late twenties. Good one Carl. All kudos to you. Carl already has two kids. A boy and a girl. They are from a previous marriage and both live in London. His daughter is twenty and his son is seventeen. So there is quite a gap. Between them and the new baby. This is Zeina's first child. She is going to be a wonderful Mum. 

She already is.

I spoke to Carl for a while at the head wetting. I bought him a beer. He looks exhausted. His eyes are all glazed and hollow. But he is very happy. He told me that he loves being a Dad. He loves Zeina. And he adores Maisha. I have never heard the name Maisha before. Nor Zeina for that matter. Babies names are quite strange these days. They are unusual. My children's names are Thomas and Charlotte. They both live in Melbourne. With their mother Sandi. I miss my kids a lot. 

I adore them both too.

While I am writing this I am listening to music. On my iPod. It is on shuffle setting. So the music is random. I quite often hear songs that are relevant to what I am writing. While I am writing. It is bizarre. It is eery. I just heard the song "Levon" by Elton John. It is quite an obscure piece that I like very much. 

The lyrics include, "Levon called his child Jesus. Coz he likes the name". 

The next song to play was Neil Young's "Horse with no name". 

Neil sings, "I've been through the desert on a horse with no name - it felt good to be out of the rain". 

And here I am writing about names.

These are strange days indeed.