In the Limelight

And some writerly news

In the early 1800s, according to Vocabulary.com, “theater stages were lit by heating a cylinder of the mineral called lime—the result was an intensely bright white light. The word limelight came to have its figurative meaning of ‘at the center of attention’ in 1877.”

I’m one of those introverts with an extrovert streak. Too often, I shy away from a social occasion or even talking on the phone, hiding out in my cave (otherwise known as my bedroom), happy to be left alone with my thoughts, the written word, and an unjustifiable amount of screen time. But I do like to get out and see a friend. And despite the low-grade anxiety that’s bound to precede it, mostly centered on how I’ll get there and not being late, I enjoy reading my work before a live audience.

Compared to the free fall of a long-ago stint doing standup comedy—where it was always possible you’d bomb—reading at a literary event is an easy and absolute pleasure. Your delivery still needs to be good—not too singsong or too flat, not too slow or too fast—and you hope any funny bits will get a laugh. I mean, people are gonna be drinking, but no one’s gonna heckle you. At least that’s been my experience so far!

Publishing, let alone writing a book, is so fraught with ups and down, with hopes and fears—the whole megillah of potential joy and disappointment. But once it’s out, having a hushed roomful of people listen to the words you wrote, and rewrote, and rewrote, until they rang true with all the life and emotion you meant to convey . . . well, there really isn’t anything like it.

---

And speaking of the limelight . . .

On Monday December 11th, I’ll be a part of this lively mid-Manhattan event sponsored by #YeahYouWrite. I hear the tacos are excellent, so come on out for the good lit and some early holiday cheer. Doors open at 6:30pm / 7pm start. TacoVision - 244 East 53rd St. Email lisa@yeahyouwriteevents.com to reserve a spot.

In other writerly news, Giving Care, my chapbook of short essays about caring for my mom, is now also available for Kindle HERE.

---

A nerdy aside

The word megillah, according to Merriam-Webster, “derives from the Yiddish megile, which itself comes from the Hebrew word mĕgillāh, meaning ‘scroll’ or ‘volume,’ and is defined as slang for ‘a long involved story or account.’“ Anyone else ever make the jokey connection I just got to the 60s cartoon show character Magilla Gorilla?