Hi everyone.

This will be my last blog as an unpublished author.

On July 5, my debut novel, CHARLIE JOE JACKSON’S GUIDE TO NOT READING, will officially be unleashed upon the world, courtesy of Roaring Brook Press.

I can’t wait.

I can’t wait for the band that’s going to be performing in my front yard when I wake up.

I’m so looking forward to the ticker tape parade that’s going to be following me as I drive to the train station to commute to work.

And then on the train, I’m fully anticipating that all my fellow commuters will stand up and serenade me with “For he’s a jolly good author.”

Once i get to work, I’m pretty sure everyone is going to announce in all the meetings, “Can we please just take a moment to pay tribute to Tommy Greenwald, published author?” And then if I had to guess, I’d say people will stand up and applaud.

When I get home from work, I’d be shocked if my kids Charlie, Joe and Jack don’t immediately put down their video games, cell phones and television remotes, and then come running over to me and give me a huge, long, published-author-worthy hug.

And then after dinner, a huge cake in my honor will probably have been baked in my honor by my wife Cathy, if I know her. And she’ll follow that up with an hour-long back-rub, probably.

Finally, I’ve heard a rumor that at the end of the day, after all the hoopla has died down, my two dogs, Moose and Coco, will offer me their nighttime snacks, in a show of gratitude for having me as their master.

I can’t wait for all of that fantastic stuff!

But just in case none of that happens? Just in case Tuesday, July 5, 2011, turns out to kind of seem like any other day? I’ll know in my heart that it’s not. Because that is the day I become an author. And that’s pretty awesome.

I could really go for that back-rub, though.