it's like I forgot I had a newsletter
not really but yes it's been a while, hello!
So remember when I last posted in February and said I thought was getting sick? Turns out I was getting VERY SICK. But some flu, bronchiospasms, and pneumonia later, I am 100% well again and back in your inbox!
First, some updates!
❤︎ The release date for Both Things Are True has changed from July 8 to September 1. I know, I know, that makes it a few months longer until you can meet Vanessa and Sam, but trust me, it’s going to be worth the wait. 💕 To soften your pain, I’m planning a giveaway of one of my physical ARCs, so stay tuned here and on Instagram for details!
❤︎ Sisterhood Above All is almost finished! I sent the revised draft to our fabulous editor a couple of weeks ago, and I’m anticipating a few more tweaks before the book can move on to copy edits and the other steps in the publishing process. That story has been so much fun to write, and I absolutely cannot wait until I can introduce you to the Gammas and the Thetas of Southern State University.
Now, real talk: I’m starting to get apprehensive about marketing BTAT. I have an amazing team at Lake Union and a fantastic publicist, but it’s still been more than five years since Follow Me came out and I feel like whatever marketing skills I might have learned with my previous books have either atrophied or become totally irrelevant. (Book marketing: Not at all like riding a bike.) Is that TMI for this newsletter? Maybe! Am I supposed to project a self-confident air of competence? Probably!
The one thing that seems consistent through the years is that word-of-mouth really helps. So, friends, if you’re excited about Both Things Are True, I would be forever grateful if you’d share it with your friends, add it to your want-to-read shelf on Goodreads, ask about it at your local bookstore and library, whatever. I wish I could say that’s the last time I’ll ask you for a favor, but we both know that’s not true. Thanks in advance! 💕
On a personal note, the fam and I went to Hilton Head recently while the kids were off school. We lucked out with some perfect beach days, and I got to lounge about with my feet in the sand while reading a book. (Bliss!) My son, whose idea of a perfect beach day is running back and forth from the water as many times as possible, broken up only by occasional stops to build a castle, observe a crab, or poke a dead jellyfish with a stick, stopped by my beach chair to ask, “Why aren’t you having fun on the beach, Mama?” and I explained that getting 5+ hours of uninterrupted reading time was having fun, lol.
I tore through Deep End by Ali Hazelwood and Fan Service by Rosie Danan — and recommend them both. I did, however, encounter two (minor) problems with Deep End: (1) I’m afraid of heights, and just reading about platform diving is apparently enough to make my palms sweat and me feel lightheaded, and (2) my son, who is a new reader and very eager to show off his new skills, came up behind me and started reading Deep End aloud, lol. The way I shut that book so fast. 😂
I also dragged my notebook to the beach and did some brainstorming on this new idea that I’ve been working on … no details to share yet, but it’ll (hopefully) appeal to readers who (hopefully) enjoy Both Things Are True. (So much hope in this stage of the process!) I would say “more soon” but this is publishing, so let’s just say “more eventually.”
Annnnnd that’s it for now! Keep your eyes open for those giveaways! Spam me with your reading recs! xo KB
Loving BTAT!