First - My Submission
Well, what in heaven's name was I thinking going ahead with launching my first book in the middle of a Global Pandemic and one week into a national lockdown?! Yet here I was putting up my first post about the book on Instagram on the 1st of April.
I was terrified at the very thought of it.
I mean none of this made any sense, not on the face of it anyway.
I had a major wobble once the lockdown was announced and I had to have a discussion with my family who were helping with planning the soft online launch.
I was so concerned it would seem insensitive to go asking people to buy a book when we were in the middle of a pandemic. However, I was quickly convinced that it was okay to go ahead and launch as planned.
I wouldn't ignore the fact that the pandemic was happening. I would acknowledge it but I would also draw attention to the value that the book might bring - it would be a welcome distraction from all the Covid-19 news we were all consuming far too much of!
It was also a story of triumph in itself as it had been such a long time in the making.
So we went ahead and I am so glad we did. I think the lockdown meant people had slowed down somewhat and were in need of some light, nostalgic reading which they found in Memoirs of a 'Lazy Korfa'.
I would never know if the book would have done better (or worse) if we weren't in a pandemic but that's okay. It has had an amazing run so far with some fantastic reviews too (see here and here) so it looks like I needn't have worried about publishing in a pandemic.
Next - My reflections
I love being associated with the King's College London's community as an alumna, a former member of staff and now a visiting lecturer, there are so many amazing opportunities available for students, staff, alumni and the wider community to get involved.
I was having a snoop around the website and social media pages and came across the King's Reflecting Together call for submissions. It immediately caught my eyes and I thought what a great idea it was so, of course, I had to get involved!
The blurb on the website read:
"As part of the university's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the cultural community at King’s crowdsourced reflections, experiences and creative outpour of life in lockdown to create the King’s Reflecting Together time capsule. Over the past four months staff, students, alumni and expert patients have contributed personal reflections of this historic moment, reaching beyond King's walls (and sometimes across seas) into homes, gardens, towns and cities. The openness and creativity of the contributions are a testament of the disruption of daily routines and life as we knew it but also new beginnings emerging."
It all makes for such a fascinating and eye-opening read so definitely head over to King's Cultural pages' archive to read the other submissions in this Covid19 time capsule!
The plan is for all the reflections that have been collected for the 'time capsule' to be shared in a physical space when the campuses are reopened.I cannot wait to go along and see these symbols of resilience from the King's Cultural Community through these difficult times.
Buy the book Memoirs of a 'Lazy Korfa' and get away on Tunmise's adventures with her!