I was on Oprah last night!

Last night I was on the Oprah Show talking about my book, a travel memoir that describes my eight month trip around the world as a single mother with two young boys (even though I am haven't actually finished writing it, acquired an agent or secured a book deal). To be honest, I wasn't physically on the show...

When I was a little girl, I would lie in bed and tell stories to myself; The subject matter would generally be about boys, which as I got older changed to men. Now that there is a complete drought on that front, my bedtime stories tend to be about future book deals (yes, for the book I have not yet completed).

These stories do not remain in my head. I lie in bed verbalizing them, speaking for all the characters and last night Oprah interviewed me. It was fantastic. I was so proud of myself. I had the audience (and O) captivated. They both loved my book. I was so confident in answering Oprah's questions.

Speaking aloud parts of my story made me realize that in comparison, my writing had become too verbal and 'wordy'. I wanted my memoir to be like a conversation to a friend, not some academic essay.

So I decided to buy a Dictaphone. I would start at the beginning of what I had already written and chapter by chapter record the stories. After comparing the recording with my written word I would change any passages that seemed too stiff.

Today I recorded pages 1-4 of my book. When I played the recording back I realized that I had real potential to work as a sex-phone worker (a good option if a book deal doesn't work out). Better go and make some more 'calls'.