From Wonderland to Oz, Mad Hatters to Winged Monkeys by Debra Sanders

"You, my friend, are a victim of disorganized thinking. You are under the unfortunate impression that just because you run away you have no courage; you're confusing courage with wisdom"
Oz to the Lion.

In writing Panache, I likened myself to Alice, tumbling down a rabbit hole only to find myself in a bizarre world where time stood still and ran backwards; and where mad hatters and queens were not helping me very much as I tried to find my way home.

Now, in the marketing and promotion end of this book process, I find myself likening myself to Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, where each character is symbolic of some part of me, and the ever present monkeys are continually threatening to overtake and lock me up before I reach the end of the yellow brick road.

In my quiet cave of words, the one in which I spent two years writing the book, I thought my brain had done a lot of healing. During that time, I was quite sure that I both knew and accepted the limitations of my new brain; and I compensated as needed. My world was quiet; it did not involve extraneous conversations, new experiences, interacting with others, or venturing outside the comfort of my picket fenced world. I slept as needed without shame or embarrassment because, other than my dogs, few were privy to the configuration of that world. I often did not return phone calls; I made excuses for not joining in on activities to which I was invited. I knew that to do so would be at great cost to my ability to remain on task and move forward. After all, every time I detoured, when I returned (a day later, two days...a few hours later) I had to reread everything written and sort of start over, because I couldn’t remember what I had said unless I read it all again.

Some seemed to think I was a social butterfly—too busy to return phone calls and never initiating them. Some probably figured I was just antisocial. And some people simply stopped thinking about me at all, as I drifted away from their consciousness and into the role of someone from their past.

No matter. I was accomplishing what I had set out to do and I understood what it required. And when the book was written and in its final stages of revision, I knew I had to undertake the study of marketing and promotion. Again, there could be no distractions. Not only because it was impossible for me to hold on to new information if I allowed other stimulation and experiences to take place; but because it was humiliating enough just in front of myself to discover that in spite of the CD disks beginning to warp from overuse, every time I listened to them, the information was new. I would just keep at it until I got it, and then when I was all ready and my plan was in place, then I would leave my comfortable lair and go about the task of selling the book, getting my message out there and recouping the enormous amount of money this endeavor cost.

I was fairly confident, though perhaps a bit intimidated,to venture forth. After all, I had studied hard; I had a written plan that would guide me down the road; I knew the destination and I had all the tools surrounding me to help me reach it.

Well, the beginning road of the destination is here...this coming Tuesday, November 18th, the book will have its public launching.

Just as Dorothy would not have reached Oz without Toto, Scarecrow, TinMan and Lion...I would not be here without those who have surrounded me. The surprise is not just how incredible this supportive crew has been, but in the shock of my discovery of just how Much I have required of them.

Come back tomorrow and find out more about what the winged monkeys are doing on my own yellow brick road. The answers might surprise you.

"What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist, or the dusky dusk? Courage! What makes the Hottentot so hot? What have they got that I ain't got? Courage!"
Lion