So! This Tuesday the paperback edition of Broken (in the best possible way) comes out and there’s something very special about it that I want you to know.
First, it has a whole extra chapter in it (called For Real Though, Where Exactly Are the Murder Hornets?) just to make it worth buying it again in case you already had the hardcover.
I’m really happy that I wrote that bonus chapter because of what happened when I turned it in. It went to editing and the editors were like, “We noticed that you’re using “they/them” pronouns for your kiddo, but it doesn’t actually match the rest of the book” and I explained that when I submitted the book Hailey wasn’t publicly non-binary but now they are and the editors explained that this was a problem of inconsistency and I was worried they were going to tell me they needed to change it, but instead they were like, “How about if we go back and edit the entire book so Hailey’s pronouns are correct throughout?” And then I literally cried a little.
Books are sort of set in stone once they’re published, even if you later dislike something you wrote it’s usually there for good…they’re like a slice of life of who you were at the time. So to have the entire publishing team on board with a rewrite even though it meant a lot of extra work and pushing the pub date back a little is a big deal. For me. For Hailey. For others who may see themselves in the story. It’s a small thing, but it means a lot.
The other exciting thing is…that I’m going to do a tiny tour with one actual IN PERSON READING/Q&A/SIGNING. It’s at Nowhere Bookshop (duh) and it will be very small since we want to be safe (masks are optional if you’re fully vaxxed, but I’m happy to wear a mask when I sign your book if you like. I’m quadruple vaxxed at this point and am still waiting for my second tail to grow). This will be the first ever physical book event at Nowhere and so I’m doubly excited. (And if you follow Nowhere on instagram we’ll try to show it on instagram live so it’s like you’re there even if you’re not.) Click here to get your ticket.
And if you can’t make it to Nowhere, no worries because I’m also doing a virtual event in coordination with several indie bookshops and it will be absolutely free to attend, and I’ll have links to that soon. And they have lots of books to sell (and more…see details below) so you can order from them too. I needed a moderator for that event so I went on twitter a few weeks ago to ask who y’all would most like to see me in-conversation-with and the overwhelming and incredibly surprising answer was…
Fucking Victor.
I can only assume Victor paid all of you because this is actually happening and this might be the first time anyone hears his side of the story and he is literally rubbing his hands in glee at the surprise questions he can’t wait to grill me about and refuses to tell me in advance. This will either be horrific or hilarious (probably a bit of both) but certainly something to see. I’m a little nervous because in real life Victor is the funny one and I think it’s possible people will watch and go, “Fuck Jenny. When’s Victor’s book coming out?” but it’s a chance I’m willing to take. We won’t be able to see you since it’s virtual but please wear your Team Jenny or Team Victor shirts from the comfort of your home.
And I’ve sent fabulous bookmarks and signed bookplates to a bunch of indie bookshops, so if you buy a book from one of the places hosting the event you may get one of those.
We have tons of bookmarks at Nowhere as well so if you pre-order a paperback we’ll be slipping bookmarks into your signed copies (And yes, I will happily personalize copies to send to your friends or family or even your enemies through Nowhere, and yes, of course I will write “knock knock motherfucker” or implicate you in a crime or anything else you want, and we ship everywhere.) We also just found a box of Broken oracle cards so if you pre-order soon enough it is entirely possible that you might open your paperback Broken and find that I’ve stuffed a random oracle card inside as I signed your book.
And if you can’t snag a ticket to the in-person event, don’t worry because I’m also planning an in-store signing at Nowhere sometime soon that will be open to everyone, where you can bring in your books or boobs or taxidermy or whatever you want signed. No babies please. (I mean you can totally bring your babies, but I won’t sign them because they can’t give consent. A girl’s gotta have her standards.) More on that later.
So the main point here is to say thank you to everyone who has bought a book and thank you to everyone who will buy a book. Preorders make such a difference and they help show stores if they should stock your book and I really hope it does well because I desperately want to thank all the people at my publisher who did so much to make this book release something special. It’s not been an easy time to live in Texas during this time of LGBTQ+ backlash against our youth, and this made me remember there are so many more good people out there who not only accept, but also embrace and protect others…and I really needed to see that. Maybe you do too.
Whether you buy a copy of Broken or get one from the library or just say, “That’s not quite for me” and leave it in a little free library, know that I am grateful for you. You have saved me over and over. Thank you.