The TV show

It's been a couple of very difficult weeks for me, but I'll give you an update one step at a time. :-)

So, two weeks ago I got invited for an interview on the popular talkshow "Goedele" on the Flemish commercial television. Needless to say that I was thrilled about it, moreover because all of my travel arrangements were paid, airport pick-up and drop-off were included and I received a hotelroom for the night. They had sent me a list of no less than 15 questions, to which they wanted my answers already beforehand, probably in order to be able to plan the timing of the show. Of course, I was not the main act, but I was only asked to support Thomas, the autistic boy I told you about. Which I gladly did because I admire that boy a lot.

- "You are my inspiration!", Thomas shouted at me when we first met in the TV station's dressing rooms. How about that? It made me feel inside like a chocolate toffee in the hot, summer sunshine. My heart melted away... I could only smile and replied that he had done it all by himself. Shortly the minister of education will come to visit him personally, so that's quite an achievement, isn't it? Anyway, Thomas insisted that I'd sit next to him during the show and so it happened. In the mean time we've become close friends and now I know truly everything about Minecraft, his favourite computer game. :-) After a brief rehearsal and make up, we were accompanied to our chairs at the big, centre table in the studio, surrounded by a live audience of about a hundred people. Then Goedele, the talkshow host, entered the stage and she immediately tried to reassure little Thomas and... probably anticipated on some unexpected remarks that he might give. The table was in fact a bit wobbly...

- "Yes, I know that it's only plastic and not real wood, but that'll remain our little secret, ok? Don't say that out loud!"

And she made a similar comment on her false eyelashes too. :-)  

Then the recording of our part of the programme started. It was only ten minutes and out of the 15 questions I'd had to prepare, in the end I only got asked 2 or 3. But I think I did rather well, which was confirmed later by the many, very positive reactions I received. My message apparently came through very well and that was the most important bit.

I still haven't seen the show on TV yet; the TV station was going to send me a copy on DVD which I'm yet to receive. So I'm very curious... :-)

In the end, all of the publicity I get for my book through newspapers and now this TV appearance is starting to bear fruit. After a rather sloppy start of the booksale, things are now running like a train and according to my editor already 900 copies have been sold in these 3 or 4 weeks and orders are still pouring in daily. The sloppy start was mainly due to a kind of boycot from the biggest chain of bookstores in Flanders. They're not really interested in new, unknown authors and only buy books from the established ones. But after all of this publicity they've changed their minds and now offer my book in their shops too. So I'm very happy indeed.

I've also been asked to write a few columns for the newsletters of the Flemish Autism Association, which I'll gladly do... later, because for the moment I think I need a lie-down... :-)