As might be expected, the book has taken over my life! I guess all our
creations do that? The kids, the house, the book... in a good way of course, but still. I've been answering interview questions (see JUF News profile), following up on events, updating my website, writing blog posts and articles, responding to readers and reviews. This week I seriously have to prepare my talk for next week! A good writer friend of mine, who published a novel last summer, warned me that I was going to be "riding the rocket," and indeed I am! But I am not complaining, I am really happy to be juggling all these duties of the author's life. The best, by far, is interacting with readers and hearing what they have to say; it
immensely broadens my perspective on my own work and, because it's memoir, on my own life. It's really a blessing!
Reviews are rolling in from the book bloggers my publicist sent advance reader copies to; here are two:
One consistent feedback I'm getting is that readers find the book suspenseful and can't put it down--apparently it's been ruining sleep! I'm super happy to hear that because it's something I could not gauge myself, or, as my daughter put it so adeptly (she was the main editor of the revised version), "We know the story, so how can we tell if it's suspenseful?"
I'm happy to report that my book launch party at the Book Cellar was a smashing hit: We ran out of chairs, and we ran out of
books.
The Book Cellar blew me away with this cake they made for me and served up once the official program had wrapped up!
Many thanks again to all who attended, and to my cohost Amy Davis of the Writers Workspace; it was great to have you by my side! Since it went so well, I organized my insights into this Behind the Book blog post on She
Writes: How to Plan a Successful Book Launch Party. The Book Cellar reordered copies of my book and I went up there to sign them this week, so if you're
looking to buy an autographed copy, please order from them.
I've been busy cooking for Passover these days--the special dietary requirement of not eating any
"Chametz" has me in the kitchen more than usual as the rest of my family claims they "don't know what's going on." Of course I made gefilte fish again, following the method Aunt Rachel taught me (see the "Gefilte Fish" chapter in my book). I'm happy to share that Tablet Magazine excerpted that chapter and ran it as "Becoming a Proper Jew in the Kitchen" this Passover week, when most of us Ashkenazi Jews make and eat Gefilte Fish.
Speaking of cooking for Passover, Kveller also published my essay on our
Passover Picnic tradition. I am so looking
forward to being back at the Hemingway Birthplace Home on April 27 to teach my two-session workshop "Shaping Family History into Compelling Stories." If you're in Chicagoland, please consider attending! Just sitting in the Hemingways' 1890 salon is worth it! And of course I'll
share how I grappled with some of the challenges of turning my family history into my book.
Also, if you write short stories, please consider submitting to the Hemingway Shorts contest.
It wraps up tomorrow, April 17! So much from my from the book-having-been-launched front! I hope your writing and creating
endeavors are going well and wish you a productive spring.
Greetings, |
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