Wrapping Up Launch Week and Kicking Off Promotion Month

It's hard to believe that after all the waiting and anticipation, launch week for my new book has come to a close. And what a week it was! I could not have asked for a better release party this past Tuesday here in Tucson. We had about 100 people attend, the food was amazing, we sold 42 copies of Border Insecurity, and guests were thrilled with the cool giveaways--including a DVD set for the second season of NatGeo's 'Border Wars' series autographed by friend and series producer Nick Stein. Honestly, I felt like it was my wedding day all over again, minus my husband! It was sad that he couldn't be there since he's currently deployed to Central America. However, I had fun talking to all my guests, meeting fans from Twitter and the community, and just soaking in the entire experience of becoming a twice-published author. The introduction from my managing director at Breitbart Texas was awesome, and I was so grateful to have the support of so many members of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce!

In addition to the party, the entire week was filled with non-stop promotion and media appearances. Monday morning I was up at 5am and giving an interview in my bedroom closet (so as not to wake anyone up) for the Mike Church Show on satellite radio. Tuesday morning I spoke with a local radio news program on KQTH at 7:30am, went in-studio once more with the Jon Justice Show at 10am, then did another live radio show for Mid Day LA on KABC in Los Angeles at 12:30pm. Wednesday morning I recorded an interview with Blog Talk Radio, and Thursday morning I had a producer/reporter from local news station KVOA come to our house to interview me for an investigative special they're airing on Tuesday night. I don't know how my body managed to deal with everything, considering I got very little sleep on Sunday and Monday night. However, I got through the launch party just fine and was able to get around without any mishaps.

Here's where the insanity of my dual life creeps in. My week was already overwhelmed with book launch and promotion stuff, but I had other things to work on and commitments to keep. My son's school held a big fundraising event this weekend, and I was in charge of putting together a basket of donated baking-themed items. Wednesday morning our nanny and I headed with our son to his school early to put the finishing touches (meaning jamming a gazillion items into one basket and wrapping it) on the basket, which I think turned out pretty well. Monday afternoon AND Wednesday afternoon I had to testify in two immigration cases, in which thankfully both applicants were granted asylum by the judges because they were likely to be killed by drug cartels if deported to Mexico (for different reasons). Thursday morning I had my monthly IV infusion of Tysabri to treat my MS, Friday morning I had my semi-monthly MOPS (for Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) meeting, and Saturday afternoon I had my weekly acupuncture treatment to help alleviate some of my MS symptoms. Let's just say I was incredibly grateful to have just a little bit of down time whenever I could!

But any down time will be short-lived this month. This morning I'm getting ready to head to Los Angeles to tape an episode of the Tavis Smiley Show on PBS Monday afternoon, which will air on Tuesday evening (or afternoon, depending on the market). I'm sharing the episode with Emmy winner and Golden Globe-nominated Harry Hamlin, and I'm freaking OUT about the possibility of meeting him in the green room! Younger people know him from recent episodes of 'Mad Men,' but I know him from 'Clash of the Titans' and 'L.A. Law.' I'm a fan :). Tuesday night I'll be taping an episode of 'Arizona Week' for Arizona Public Media (local PBS), conducting business meetings, and taking my kids to tae kwon do. And all week, I'll be waiting anxiously for the first reader reviews of the book to get posted on Amazon, and for any other media reviews to roll in. Just another week in this crazy life of mine!