Completely geeking out...on a professional level, of course!

Good afternoon!

Sometimes the old email in box contains more than just home refinance offers and Nigerian lottery winnings. Sometimes there's an email in there that's so astounding you spit your coffee out onto your desk and you are nauseous for the entire day.
My cousin, whom I will call Jane, has been friends for some time with the wife of one of my very favorite sports figures. Jane and I have joked about my complete geekdom where this gent is concerned.

Very recently, I mentioned in passing to Jane, that Quinn, the hero in my newest attempt at fiction was going to be a retired professional athlete. Well, this morning, Jane emailed me said sports figure's cell phone number and told me to call him and ask him any questions I wanted to.


Is there any chance at all that I'm not suddenly a complete geek over this?

"Maybe if I stare hard enough at the phone and think about the questions, I won't actually have to dial. That could work!"

None. No chance. Nada.

Instead, I've spent the morning staring at said phone number, wondering just how likely it is I'm going to actually make that phone call. I mean, in the interest of the book, I have to, right? Meanwhile, there is the possibility that I can call him and ask my questions and be completely professional about this. Right?

Oh wait, let's go back a few months to the moment when my new friends Vicki and Wendy, did the grand favor of introducing me to Rick Springfield. He said, "I look forward to reading you book." I said,"Gerp gleeble gleck."

Well, this isn't Rick Springfield...but it's somewhat close. And it's not in person at a bowling alley...it's on the phone and I'm AWESOME on the phone. And...

And as a writer who wants to get published, I have to write the best book I can so I have to suck up the stupid geekiness and ask the questions and be completely professional. Because that's what a real writer would. That's what big time authors do. That's what Stephen King would do.

Wait, is there anyone on the planet that could send Stephen King into fanatical spasms?

Well, there. I'm going to focus on that and I'm going to write down the questions I have, and then I'm going to practice asking them and THEN I'm going to take some preemptive Pepto Bismol and MAKE THAT CALL!

So, have a great weekend all! And get back to writing!