Readings, Canada, LitChat & Early Reviews
There are more early reviews coming in from booksellers who’ve been sent advanced copies of the book, which is great. I can’t quite find away to thank these people enough. You can read them here.
I still receive rejections on short stories almost every day, though. It’s a good thing, probably. A bit of karmic balance in my otherwise self-absorbed universe.
I’ve decided that one reason it takes so long to publish a book — the full year from when the publisher buys the manuscript to the book actually being available in bookstores — is that it gives time for essentially non-self-promotional people like me to develop the ability to turn every email, conversation and interaction into a not-so-subtle pitch for their book.
Necessary, I know, but still vaguely uncomfortable.
As I like to announce to Elizabeth on a fairly regular basis, “Hey, it’s been at least 30 minutes since we’ve talked about Shimmer.” (To which Elizabeth usually responds, “So, what are you making us for dinner?”)
Thank god for Elizabeth.
Some of the initial dates and places for readings and signings are set up:
Davis-Kidd, Memphis – 6 pm, June 30
That Bookstore in Blytheville, Blytheville, 7 pm, July 7
Third Place Books, Seattle, 7 pm, July 14
Powell’s Books at Cedar Hill Crossing, Portland – 7 pm, July 15
More to come….
And it looks like I’m going to the Canadian Booksellers Association’s Summer Institute in June. I’ve never had a bad time in Canada. It’s just a deeply pleasant place to be. The book, by the way, is being published by McArthur & Company in Canada in partnership with Unbridled Books, the US Publisher.
Lastly, if you’re on Twitter, take a look at #LitChat. Or here’s their Blog. They were nice enough to have me host a discussion about Shimmer last week. It was great, strange, and all about the book. Questions from strangers and not so unknown strangers about when I wrote the book, what I think about Madoff, how the timing of a book about Ponzi schemes could not have been better, and so on. Thanks to LitChat and everyone who participated.
