So I’m halfway through with my virtual book tour and it’s been so fantastic that I don’t think I can ever go back to the old ways of traveling on planes and wearing clothes than aren’t pajamas.
Last week I got to spend time with Luvvie Ajayi Jones and Neil Gaiman and Felicia Day.
Since we’re still stuck in the plague years we’ve started doing a lot of virtual escape rooms and murder mystery boxes and recently I bought Hailey, Victor and I all copies of this book that’s filled with trivia and brain teasers and when we’re bored we pull them out and see who can do each page faster. Last night Hailey and I were doing a few pages together and she was complaining that all the questions were made for old people but then we finally hit this one that I didn’t know the answer to (identifying famous quotes):
And Hailey was like, “OMG, finally one I knew that you didn’t. It’s Peppa Pig.” And then I never stopped laughing and she was like, “FOR REAL, DUDE. Hang on.” And then she pulled up the internet and showed me this:
So tonight I’m doing a virtual book tour stop with Felicia Day and I’m feeling incredibly grateful to all the wonderful people who’ve come along with me on this strange journey. Tonight’s stop is sold out but here are three more stops coming up on the book tour (with Judy Blume, Samantha Irby and Christopher Moore) and they all have spaces available at the moment if you want to join us for ridiculousness. Also, I’m loving these virtual tour stops so much it’s sort of insane and I will definitely be doing them again in the future even after the plague years pass.
And speaking of lovely friends, want to see another card from the Broken Oracle Deck (designed by the talented Katie Gamb)? This one was inspired by the chapter titled That Time I Got Haunted by Lizards with Bike Horns and it explores the complicated relationship between Owly McBeal and Squirrely Temple, which totally makes sense once you read the book. Maybe.
I got too distracted to post anything yesterday so today I’m sharing two oracle cards from the Broken oracle deck (designed by Katie Gamb) that will be given out for free on Independent Bookstore Day by participating bookstores.
These were inspired by the chapters “Six Times I’ve Lost My Shoes While Wearing Them: A List that Shouldn’t Exist” and “And Then I Bought Condoms for My Dog.” And yes, I am also shocked people still let me write my own chapter titles.
So today is the second stop on my virtual book tour and that means I get to hang out with Neil Gaiman(!) and read from my book and answer questions from wonderful people who are watching from all over the world. Tonight is sold out but there are several upcoming stops that have released more tickets if you want to come! Click here for a list. Each ticket comes with a signed copy of Broken (in the best possible way). 🙂
I can’t thank you enough for your support and I know I’m not alone in this as so many bookstores are incredibly thankful for your support too. I saw this from Literari (where I’ll be virtually tonight) and it’s insane. And so wonderful.
So today is the official pub date for Broken, which is exhilarating and terrifying because it means I will sit here on pins and needles for the next week to see how people actually like it. My virtual book tour starts tonight with me and my amazing friend, Luvvie Ajayi Jones at Powell’s (by way of our living rooms)! A few tour stops are sold out but there are still some available if you want to join, and you get a signed copy of the book mailed to you with your virtual ticket.
So tomorrow my book (Broken) comes out and I am both excited and terrified. Preorders make a really enormous difference in books so a GIANT thank you to everyone who has already ordered one! My virtual tour starts tomorrow and I was so worried that people wouldn’t come but they actually are sold out of some events and I can’t even wrap my head around that. (Click here to see what’s still available if you want to come and join us.) And I know the bookstores would want me to thank you as well because having a virtual tour with this much support makes such a difference to them too.
Slightly related…Want to hear a story? I’ve loved Omar Rayyan‘s artwork for years and his series of lovely ladies holding terrible beasties has always felt like a perfect symbol of fighting depression or anxiety while living with it so I was ecstatic when he agreed to do my portrait for the book cover. I couldn’t sit for him in real life because we are still living in THE PLAGUE YEARS so instead I sent him a series of pictures of me holding a squirming Hunter S. Thomcat as a stand-in for the beastie and I love the finished portrait for many reasons, including the fact that I think he really managed to capture Hunter S. Thomcat’s complicated inner soul.
He’d send sketches throughout the process and I asked if he’d consider selling the final piece to me because I thought it would be fun to own but I could never get a really straight answer and I worried that he’d already sold it to someone else or that I was being a pain by continuing to ask if I could buy it when clearly he didn’t want to sell it, and then I found out that he couldn’t sell it to me because he actually had already sold it to someone else.
He’d sold it to Victor who bought it as a surprise to celebrate the book.
I’m not crying. You’re crying. (No, I’m crying.)
And then I felt incredibly lucky and happy. And slightly dumb for continually harassing everyone about a painting that no one could tell me I technically already owned.
Yay for strange and wonderful surprises that come when you least expect them.
Tomorrow the book comes out. Now I’m just going to go lightly panic a bit until then.
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