Meg's Diary

Quarantine Queen

It’s barely a month into the new year – and almost a month until The Quarantine Princess Diaries is released – and so much has been happening, I can’t even keep track of it all. Fortunately I still have this blog, which has served as a calming anchor (and To Do list) to me for all these years. So let’s goooooooooo:

First of all, thank you so much to those of you who purchased my books as gifts for the holidays! I signed/personalized so many copies that you bought through Judy Blume’s non-profit bookstore, Books and Books, here in Key West! Thank you for supporting indies (and Judy, who is having a great year so far, with both a documentary about her life and the movie of Are Your There God It’s Me, Margaret coming out)!

And thanks too to all of you who purchased books through this link on Bookshop.org, where funds go to help support the workers striking at my publisher, HarperCollins!

Keep in mind that the union is NOT asking readers to boycott books from HarperCollins authors! Only that authors not sign new contracts with HarperCollins until the strike is resolved. (I did sign a contract for new books with HarperCollins, but well before the strike.)

So if you haven’t yet, PLEASE pre-order The Quarantine Princess Diaries (out in e-book form in time to celebrate International Woman’s Day on March 7, and in paperback March 28), because you can not only support the strikers (if you order here) but VowForGirls.org, the organization founded by Princess Mabel van Oranje of the Netherlands (now working in alliance with Michelle Obama’s Girls Opportunity Alliance) to end international child marriage, and to which I’m donating 10 percent of my English language author royalties!

Now, as to why I feel like I’m feeling slightly stressed:

No, it isn’t because of the contracts I signed for more books (two of these books are already turned in—and no, The Quarantine Princess Diaries isn’t one of them).

No, it isn’t because I’ve had bad news about Princess Diaries 3, the movie! The movie is still on track, and Anne Hathaway is thrilled by your enthusiasm for it.

It’s because with barely six weeks to go before the release of my new book about living under quarantine due to COVID, I GOT COVID.

Yes, for the first time. And yes, I’m fully vaxed. And yes, I’m fine.

But still. I was honestly starting to think I was one of those people who had already had it without experiencing any symptoms, OR that I had special immunity, like the girl in HBO’s The Last of Us. 

Don’t mock me. I’ve written TONS of books about girls with special powers specifically because I’m so disappointed that I HAVE NO SPECIAL POWERS.

“Finally,” I thought. “Finally, HERE is my special power: I AM IMMUNE TO COVID!”

But no, I was wrong.

Anyway, I got COVID, and not to brag, but I DO have a special power: I sneezed my way through four boxes of Kleenex in three days. He Who Shall Not Be Named In This Blog (who did not get sick thanks to my immediate self-isolating) asked, in amazement: “Are you living the #VanLife? Why is there a giant garbage bag next to your bed?”

Reader, that garbage bag was filled to the top with used Kleenex.

Pearl was my constant companion during my time of not-so-extreme illness, though because apparently cats (okay, tigers) can catch COVID, I did not touch her. Instead, she made me feel even more sweaty by sleeping heavily on me at all times.

Now that I’m feeling better, she is back to mostly ignoring me (in between crying to me piteously for food even though she already has food).

During my brief illness, I watched so much streaming television that I can’t remember any of it. I could not read because my nose was too swollen and stuffed up to wear glasses, and obviously I could not write, either. Although they say that creativity peaks during a cold, I myself did not feel particularly creative while having COVID. In fact, I never felt less creative. This might have been due to all the NyQuil I swilled straight from the bottle (make that three to four bottles).

None of this will affect any of the books I have due, however, because they won’t be coming out in the U.S. until the year 2029 (this might be a slight exaggeration).

But until then we have The Quarantine Princess Diaries to look forward to!

And now that I’ve had COVID, I know how truly wise Princess Mia was to put all of her subjects under lockdown in Genovia for all those months. If only the rest of us had that kind of luxury and privilege. In the meantime, however…we can read about it!

Stay safe out there!

More later.

Much love,

Meg

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