Standing Still Trailer

I Screamed Like Nikki Blonski

You know that clip of the girl from Hairspray overturning her coffee table when she won a Golden Globe? That's pretty much what I did when I saw my book review in Entertainment Weekly. They gave it a B+ and praised its invigorating prose, and the cover was pretty damn big, and it was mentioned in the same breath with a lot of macho/testosterone thrillers . . . maybe I'll get some more male readers now. It was reviewed by Ken Tucker, who, can i just say this, is like a God to me. Thank you Oh God of Culture, thank you!!

Bookless in Seattle

If it weren't so pathetic, it would be amusing. The people who pre-ordered my book from Amazon have received it before I received my author copies! I need lots of copies for the PR firm and I should have had them weeks ago. I tried several methods: asking, purchasing from the warehouse, begging. Friday morning I even considered buying them from the miscreants who stole them and put 'em on eBay. My agent's amazing assistant Adam, and my hard-working publicist Kim seem to have straightened the situation out -- but i won't believe it till I see it!! Of course every other day people I work with or know vaguely say things like "aren't you going to give me an autographed copy"? and i just have to burst out laughing. As if I could!! No way, honey, you'll have to buy it just like I do!!

I Need Martin Short

from Father of the Bride. I need a wedding planner with a crazy accent to organize all the details of the parties, promotions, advertising and PR i've set in motion surrounding this book. I can't even throw a dinner party, let alone a launch party. SIGH. This, my friends, is why wealthy people write books. Because only they have the money to launch them with the help of Martin Short.

The 250-Page Baby Has Arrived

Yee-ha, the book arrived in the mail today! Yes, the real book, the actual book, not the galley, not the first pages, the real four-color bound thang. I immediately put it in a zip-lock bag and told everyone who wanted to see it to put on gloves!! (Maybe I'll just make everyone wash their hands and sign a confidentiality agreement . . .)

Oh Little Starred Review of Bethlehem!

Yes, it's true: a starred review from Publishers Weekly. (And just when I'd stopped obsessively checking their website.) Among other nice things, they called STANDING STILL an "electrifying debut" and "the perfect read for a stormy night." I have been officially sound-bited!!! And how much do I love the word 'electrifying'? I'm going to shut up now because I sound like Sally Field.

Oh Blurber, Where Art Thou?

Before I went on vaca, I got the underwhelming news that no blurb would be on the back cover of my beautiful book.
(Kids, this is what happens when you don't get an MFA from a school with famous teachers/mentors, don't go to Breadloaf or Iowa or anywhere but soccer and gymnastics with your kids.) I only had a few "friends of friends" relationships with the kind of authors they wanted quotes from, so it was like flying blind. We put an excerpt from the book on the back cover instead, and luckily my agent helped me. It was just too much pressure, all the worry over the jacket. Now, we're waiting for reviews . . . and i'm living on bitten fingernails.