My Baby All Grown Up

Just a quick announcement today, to let you know my book has officially been picked up by Chin Music Press (!!!), a Seattle-based publisher best known for their impeccable attention to design and presentation. I feel like my baby's going off to college! 

Seriously though, the book seems to have a life and destiny of its own that is beyond me, and less representative of myself than whatever thirst it satisfies in its readers. I was shocked to learn it was more of a bestseller this past holiday season than the one previous, and that it was among Elliott Bay Books' top ten bestsellers... aaaaaand the only title among those bestsellers to be by a local author, debut author, or local press. 

How did that happen??

It wasn't me. It was you, dear readers, being excited and supportive. For this to have gone through five print runs while only being stocked in (mostly) six bookstores boggles my mind. We were the #1 bestselling book at Third Place Books: Seward Park for their holiday season... because you're wonderful. And I'm still trying to understand how it's worthy of being taught as a textbook at two universities. 

I wrote the book because I had to. It doesn't seem like it would fit in to today's extremist, loudest-voice-wins-all climate; the round of publishers we queried in New York York certainly didn't think it had a chance. But you're not going to be able to stop humans from responding to kindness, especially in environments where there's a dearth of it. We want what we don't have, what we don't get enough of, and there aren't too many books about the humor and joy and pathos of humans of all demographics finding common ground. 

(If it sounds like I'm bragging, I promise you I'm not; you know I have to plug this thing, aaaaaand also– whispering here– I'd love to do a– whispering even more– second book– someday, and you never know which publisher might be listening, now that we've proven this thing would've actually made them money... but that's for the future, not now. One baby at a time!)

What does Chin Music taking over the book mean? Not much, if you've already read it. But you might see the book in more places, more readily available than it has been, reaching deeper within Seattle and farther out beyond. 

If you liked the book, pass the word along! Please! It's the only form of advertising that's completely truthful, and I'm grateful and honored that that's been its primary modus of expansion. 

Thank you.

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Thanks to Seattle Walk Report for the above image.