A Great Face for Radio

Well, it's finally here. My official book tour for Mama Does Time. I'm in Tampa, Fla., prepping for my debut signing, Thur., 10-16, 7 p.m. at the wonderful Inkwood Books. I'm staying over with a good friend, who is supplying me with ample cups of herbal tea to calm my first-time-author anxieties.

I did my first "media'' . . . an interview on Tampa's WUSF-FM with Bobbie O'Brien, public radio reporter par excellence. Radio's super, because you can just relax and talk. There's no stress over hair, clothes, crater-sized wrinkles ... At nearly 55, I've got a GREAT face for radio!

Tomorrow's the big day: a morning interview on WFLA-TV (Gulp! Hope the turquoise-colored jacket, the same color as Mama's convertible, looks OK. (Second thoughts: Will I look like I'm wearing a Realtor's blazer?)

Silly concerns, I know. And not very literary. But there it is. Wonder if Denis Johnson worried how his hair looked when he accepted last year's National Book Award?