Wednesday, May 11, 2011

pub date

I had mixed emotions as I headed for the airport this morning to start the first leg of my book tour.  I'm happy that the official publication has finally arrived of course, and the idea of doing publicity is kind of exciting, in the way that novel things are exciting.  But another part of me is kind of sad, leaving my kids for six days.  I know six days isn't a hell of a long time, but that's all relative.  And for a two year-old that lies in bed every night clutching a hank of my hair, brushing the wisps against his cheek while murmuring, "Hair...hair..." it might seem like an awfully long time.

(Does that sound creepy?  He's a baby.  Not creepy.  But if he was a grown-ass person, yes, kind of weird.)

Even as a resident, I never spent more than 36 hours away from my kids (well, singular "kid" at the time), and the first time I spent even more time away than that was a few weeks ago when I went to Iowa City for 48 hours.  So this is...a longer trip.  Six days.

But I really wanted to do this and I think it's important (or at least, I hope it is) to do some in person events in big medical cities and at least start to thank some of the many, many readers that are generating good word of mouth for the book and making sure that it's going to be a success.  So let's make it count!  Come on out to the book events, tell your friends, drag along your relatives, whatever.  Or else I'm going to have to tell my kids that I spent six days away from home in order to sit on a series of folding chairs in various bookstores while pretending to check my email.





See you guys at the Columbia University bookstore (116th and Broadway, thereabouts) at 6:00pm tonight, and for a drink and some giant haggis-looking burritos at The Heights afterwards.  And if you're in Philly, join us for the event this Friday the 13th at the Penn Book Center.  FRIDAY THE 13th.  Like I said before, I can't promise that the reading won't prevent you from being crushed by a falling piano, but IT MIGHT.  Not worth the risk either way--just go to cover all your bases.

Oh, and you know the book has finally gone live for the Kindle and the Nook, right?  Oh good.  Also, the bookmarks giveaway is officially closed, thanks to everyone who e-mailed me and who pre-ordered the book before today.  I'm working on getting those bookmarks out in a timely way, but there are a lot of you guys, and that's a lot of notes to write and envelopes to lick.  But never fear, I'll get them all to the post office eventually.

13 comments:

  1. Congrats on all your hard work!

    Your line in the book about the Hasidic dads knowing how to put in a carseat cracked me up. After 6 kids, my husband is skilled in the ways of carseat assemblage (but he learned at the police station).

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  2. Aargh! you're actually coming to Philly & I'm going away for the first time in months.

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  3. Anonymous4:12 PM

    You know, Chicago is a BIG medical city too... Just sayin'.

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  4. Congrats on the pub date and the great ad in NY Times! I hope it sells a ton of books!
    Best wishes on the book signings, too. I swear it's like having a party and not knowing if anyone will show up. So stressful, but soooo satisfying when there is a good crowd. I'm sure you will wow them!

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  5. Anonymous5:48 PM

    Ack! Its on Sony Reader now too, after I've gotten my hardcopy edition from Amazon! It's all good...have fun on your press tour!!

    Julia

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  6. Six days is a long time to be away from your kids - for you and for them. I was gone for 2 once and I was so happy to be back home after. But I hope you make the most of an amazing experience that not many people get to have. I sooo wish you were doing an event in Ann Arbor or Detroit. In any case, I've put in requests for your book at all my local libraries, so I'm trying to do my part, even if I can't make it to NY.

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  7. I was born on Friday, the 13th! It's definitely lucky! Glad you had such a fabulous turnout in NY...bring it, Philly!

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  8. Anonymous4:24 AM

    Do you know when the kindle version will be available for the Asia & pacific region? Currently unavailable :(

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  9. jandjsmomrn8:05 AM

    Hey Michelle-
    Have a great time. I so wish I could join you at the bookstore at my alma mater. I finished the book yesterday and wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed it. It got me through two long slow night shifts (somehow defeating the normally true saying that if you bring a book it will be too busy to read) - other nurses were looking at me funny when I laughed out loud - which was often.
    Susan

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  10. Kindle, baby! I'm ordering now.

    Tell me - do you get, like, a number back from the publisher of more or less how many copies sold? Do you have any idea? I'm so curious how it works.

    - Sara (the same one from the last post)

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  11. It's possible someone out there knows how many copies have sold across all the different e-retailers and brick/mortar bookstores (and also in e-book version), but it sure isn't me! Would love to find out, though :)

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  12. Anonymous1:50 PM

    I really really want to attend tonight at Penn but I am late call today, so I will leave straight from the hospital if I get out before 7. Looking forward to it!

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  13. Anonymous3:56 PM

    Michelle,
    Any hangout plans in Philly tonight? I will miss the book signing; but may be able to meet up later. How late might you be out?

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