Me & my first novel

Me & my novel

Originally uploaded by Katharine B.

Last week, a box of real, true, honest-to-god hardback copies of Alcestis appeared at my house. My lovely editor Katie had told me that the final copies were printed before Christmas, but I didn't know how long mine would take to arrive. My official publication date is February 1, and with the holidays and all, I didn't know when to expect them.

I was in Philly last week for MLA — a trip that went remarkably smoothly, despite the whole...