Caffeine Analog Intros

D’you ever just wake up, rattle through your mental Rolodex of tasks for the day, and think, “…wh-what is my life?”

I’m sitting here, on the backend of my currently-unpublished website, obsessing over font style (Is Garamond too pompous? What does Arial say about my level of professionalism?). And as little as typeface nuances actually matter, the fact that the website domain is actually my name is making me scrutinize my scrutiny.

Here’s the deal: I’m currently writing my debut book. A non-fiction book, actually. One about science. And, if you’re unfamiliar with my nonsense to this point, it’s inspired by an Instagram-based web series I created called, “60 Seconds of Science.”

I feel like there is probably this grand, misinformed notion that book ideas are brought about when the author is in a deeply meditative state, surrounded by shamans, and fully tapped into their subconscious, transcendent Creative. By stark contrast, I think I was in my postage stamp-sized apartment, clumsily fishing around in a soapy sink full of dishes, mulling over science communication. A vague idea came to me and I thought, “Someone should write that book,” followed closely by the epiphany of, “….I should write that book!”

After much manic clacking at my keyboard, sketching and re-sketching, weeks upon weeks of tedious research, and pitches piled upon proposals, something awesome happened: a literary management team reviewed my vision… and they actually loved it! And after months of pouring my heart into this project, I find myself – like a little amorphous ball of newbie-author clay – in the hands of a seasoned agent.

So, here I am! Writing and illustrating this long book about science. It’s silly and a little weird, but completely factual and totally me. And, more importantly, it’s the book that I want to write: something to help bridge the disparities in science literacy; something relatable that, hopefully, makes readers laugh and triggers new excitement for science in a few of them.

…still can’t believe I can say this: I’m an author.

Ok, time to go hunting for some midday caffeine. And decide on that font style.