My manuscript

I got an email yesterday from a nice man/editor called Jeremy at a publishing company that said: “Looking forward to your manuscript!”

Before you get too excited, it’s not the manuscript you might be expecting me to write.

It’s a commissioned gig via Drinks Digest.

But it still sounds exciting don’t you reckon? My name will be on the front of a book.

I can’t say too much at this stage, but that’s why I don’t have any time at the moment. I just do my day job and my night job at Drinks Digest, plus somehow squeeze in the manuscript and cooking dinner.

Thank heavens an old friend has put her hand up to help me. It’s someone I’ve known since I worked at The Newcastle Herald as a teenager and when she heard I was in a tight spot she offered to lend a hand. Bless her.

Even with the help, the manuscript is due next month and I will be a shell of a human being by the time it is done.

So please forgive me if I haven’t answered a text message, organised to catch up, replied to your comment on social media etc

Book pressure aside, there are many moments when I wonder why the hell I am slogging away at Drinks Digest each night when I haven’t got the time to monetise it. But it gives me a thrill.

It is all mine, I can post when I want about whatever I want.

I know the industry and have established extensive connections to it.

I enjoy checking my Google Analytics stats and seeing which posts are most read. I love seeing the subscriber list for my newsletter grow each week.

I get excited when big news happens that my subscribers will lap up.

It’s a thrill when people share Drinks Digest stories on LinkedIn … and also fun when I tickle my sister’s fancy – she shared an article yesterday on Facebook: VB sends warm slabs of England Bitter to UK

The media release landed in my inbox at about 5am yesterday, I woke up, checked my messages as I walked the dogs and went “Holy mother of …” and raced home to publish it because it was a laugh.

CUB has created a limited-edition run of VB called England Bitter that it was shipping to the UK. They gave them the tagline: “You can get it not protecting your stumps, you can get it ignoring the umps.”

Bwhahaha.

Less amusing was the sound of heavy machinery revving up again at 9pm last night outside my apartment. If the book doesn’t kill me, the roadwork noise will.

OK, gotta go, so much to do. Have a fabulous weekend and think of me madly typing away …

Song of the day: The Beatles “Help”