What I Wish I Knew about Your Heart Missing a Beat

No more sleeps, it’s finally here. Huzzah!

Big thanks to everyone who’s emailed saying they’ve snapped What I Wish I Knew about Love up already. After living in the UK for 7 years I’d have to say I’m “well chuffed.”

Firstly another quote that hit the cutting room floor – this time by Nigel Marsh – author of the bestseller “Fat, Forty and Fired.” (A brilliant book by the by, if you happen to be in a bookstore, you know, soon. Like real soon.)

I think when I was young, what I called love was really lust, infatuation, or at best, “she’s a good pasher.” I’m desperately glad I married a bit later in life, when I had some idea of what “real love” was. Nigel’s quote above really pins it down. Granted, we often we make the decision to behave in a loving way because you look at someone and go all week at the knees, but that’s part of the deal. I was interviewed by Clive Robertson on 2UE yesterday and he said “I just look at Heather Graham and lose 50 IQ points.” He’d still be pretty sharp, but we all know what he means.

So, on “launch day” a big thanks to Sam & Jenny who saw the book at the airport. Thanks to Antonio who picked up two in Canberra and tried to convince everyone in the shop to buy it too. And thanks to Ian who’s onto his local Borders for not having it yet. For everyone who gets the book early, please go to www.whatiwishiknew.com and follow the link to the extra content.

To find it you’ll need to decipher a trail of clues, each more fiendish than the last, that will lead you… It’s pretty easy actually. Just open the book at the quote from Jennifer Barker who  says “Love is (something)”, then type in the web address http://www.whatiwishiknewabout(something).com and all the extra pages are there.

Thanks very much to everyone, and “Emm-aaahhh, I love youse all.”

More coming soon.

Marty

What I Wish I Knew about the Director’s Cut

Here’s my last newsletter before the book hits the stores. Firstly have a look at this gorgeous quote from comic Cal Wilson. (And how awesome is her Fred Flintstone outfit?)

How nervous and shy and desperately keen to never ever ever be rejected are we when we’re young? And how little did it really matter? If you had your time over again, you’d just ask anyone out, wouldn’t you? “Hi, would you like a drink? No? Okay. What about your best friend there?” If you knew just how incredibly nervous everybody else was too, you just wouldn’t care…

The reason I chose this quote is that it’s actually one that “hit the cutting room floor” so to speak. Cal’s quote in the book is just as great, but totally different. And this is the perfect illustration of why I love doing the interviews for this series, every single person gives me at least three or four bits of advice that you just know would hit home. It’s so freakin hard choosing each person’s quote.

So I’m going to put a whole heap of exclusive, easter eggy, director’s cut type content up on www.whatiwishiknew.com and send out a clue from the book to access it. This will only be available for two weeks or so, as a thank you to everyone who nips out and picks up a copy nice and early. (Gratuitous hint hint)

On an incredibly self-serving personal note, of course I’ll never know if you buy the book or not, but if you do want to could I please beg you to pick one (or eighty) up in the next week or so? Early barnstorming sales get the bookshops talking and re-ordering…

Because I’m not above being a big dag myself, check this out. I was in Dymocks in Bondi today, and just happened to notice my book in a counter pack near the till (you can see it in the bottom right corner). Of course, I stayed really calm and cool and blurted out “That’s my book. That’s my book. That’s… MY… BOOOOOOOOOK!” The lady being served offered to take my photo (when I’d handed her my phone and said “Can you take my photo please.” And here it is.

Thanks very much for all your great feedback to my emails and blog, I really enjoy reading them. And if you happen to be in a bookshop in the next few weeks, ask if they’ve got What I Wish I Knew about Love. If they don’t, give them a false name and order ten copies.

Thanks again, I’ll drop another line on Monday with “the clue” to the behind the scenes stuff.

All the best

Marty

What I Wish I Knew about Missing Someone (a bit)

I’m up at Shoal Bay – on the coast about three hours north of Sydney – on a self-imposed writer’s boot camp retreat sort of thingy. Getting a whole heap of authoring type stuff done before What I Wish I Knew about Love hits the shelves next week. Churning through loads of work, so as a writer it feels great. As a hubby and father, not so hot. The best family holiday we’ve ever had was at this spot in January so, sigh, I’m missing them bad. And feeling a bit guilty about being up here – here’s the sunrise yesterday.

However, speaking with my wife, Allie, last night and she said – as she had many times when I was often away as a Stand Up: “You know, we do miss you, but it’s actually really smooth, and nice, and easy much easier you’re away. The house just works.”

I don’t know whether to laugh, weep, or just get on with the work without the guilt. Harrumph. Can other wives (or hubbies) tell me if this is normal when one parent goes away?

I’m going for a swim.

What I Wish I Knew about Byron, Tom Hanks and the Wallabies

Why didn’t Byron or Shelley ever write “Ode to Compromise”? Why isn’t there a Meg Ryan-Tom Hanks Romantic Comedy called “Give and Take”? There should be, because accepting — even adoring — someone’s quirks & faults, and doing things purely because the other person likes them is the truth about how to make love work.

Tony Harris is a fantastic bloke I met through speaking whose quote probably sticks with me more than any other. It helped me realise how deeply besotted I am. I don’t shave most days and wear after shave because I want to, I do it because I know Allie loves it, and it makes me feel fantastic knowing that I’m only doing it because she loves it. And she enthusiastically watches Bledisloe Cup matches, even though she’s English, just because she knows I love it. (And I think she may have the hots for the All Black Dan Carter)

I don’t want to blather on too much because this quote says it all to me.

Only two weeks until the book hits the stores. Huzzah! Stay tuned for some exclusive “Director’s Cut” type of stuff in the week it comes out.

What I Wish I Knew about Getting Kids to Clean Up

Just did a great interview for What I Wish I Knew about Motherhood and learned a fantastic new word to help with kids who just don’t get the whole “tidy your room” idea.

Lynette Argent said “I have a 9 year old boy who has a wardrobe, and a 7 year old girl who has a ‘Floordrobe’. And I just have to get used to it. My girl doesn’t even get why there is a NEED to tidy up”

This conversation slapped me around the chops a bit – having totally ruined the morning in my household by tyrannically making my 3 year old tidy a few toys – by threatening everything from a smacked bot bot to taking his “Nelly” away. Tears and frustration all round.

I think I should have remembered my own floordrobe as a kid and relaxed a bit.

What I Wish I Knew about Why Mums Lie to Each Other

I’ve been interviewing loads of wonderful mums for my next book, What I Wish I Knew about Motherhood, and O my (expletive deleted)!. Almost every mum I speak to says words to the effect of “Why do we all lie to each other? In those early months particularly we drag ourselves out of bed, sloth around the house in our PJ’s for 3 hours, finally make it out the door, then act like we’re cruising along with everything peachy keen. And we can’t even blame the fellas, we do it to each other.”

I’m going to write a book called “The Motherhood Secret. It’s F@& king Hard.”

I’d love to hear from any mums who violently agree/disagree. But have a rest first, don’t make it yet another thing on your to do list for the day.

What I Wish I Knew about The Greatest Love of All

Firstly, let me make it clear that the subject line isn’t referring to Witney Houston, whose fans these days are all sadly shaking their heads, walking out at half time and saying “I’m sorry, but I won’t always love you.” and “What happened to your septum?” I’m talking about this fantastic quote from Author, Nikkie Gemmel which beautifully describes what she calls “the finest love”. I know I’ll be accused – not for the first time – of being a big girly man, but Allie and my love gets better and better with every triumph, every hiccup, and every downright bare naked god awful disaster we live through together.

Call me old fashioned, call me grumpy, you can even call me curmudgeonly if you like, but I reckon our youth obsessed culture could get a lot from Nikki’s quote.

I knew I had to interview Nikki for my book on Lurve because Allie and I were given her best seller, “The Bride Stripped Bare” to read on our honeymoon in Corsica, and it was perfect for a couple of loved up newlyweds. Some deep mushy stuff, the main character examining why we all tie the knot in the first place, plus some superb raunchiness as well. As Molly would say “Do yourself a favour.”

(And it’s a cracking photo of someone who ends up being a writer too)