I’m still in the thick of book release week, and my brain is currently made of mush.
But it’s Friday, and I write to you on Fridays!
I’ll recap the events of this week—the highs and, perhaps, the lows—for you soon, once I’ve had a chance to get a little distance and perspective. The Thirteenth Circle is out in the world, and I’m so thrilled! There’ve been interviews! A school visit! Signings! An event! And…not all of it has gone according to plan.
But like I said, more on that later.
Today, I want to focus on a highlight. It’s not something huge, but it’s a first for me, as an author. Firsts (the good ones, obviously) are always worth celebrating.
Here is a book I (co)wrote, on a featured display table at Barnes & Noble:
I’ve never had a book make it onto a Barnes & Noble display table before.
As a shopper, I always scan these tables. In fact, they’re usually the first place I browse, before checking out the larger shelves. Those face-up titles just call to me!
And now my book has been there.
Back when my debut novel released in 2015, I would sometimes, oh-so-casually, leave a copy sitting face-up on one of these tables. Like—oops! I was browsing and set this down and completely forgot about it, but maybe someone else will spot it and pick it up! Subtle, right? A few years later, someone mentioned that booksellers hate when people rearrange the tables, because it creates work for them to have to put everything back. Long story short, I wouldn’t do that anymore. Pinky-promise! But it was definitely something I tried, because, well…those books get more eyeballs on their covers than the ones that are spine-out on the big shelf.
On Tuesday, MarcyKate and I stopped by a Barnes & Noble near her house in Massachusetts, and we signed the five paperbacks they had in stock, and then the bookseller took them straight to this table. “I’ll just put these out here,” she said, quickly making space. “Congratulations, you two!”
To say I was delighted would be an understatement. Honestly, I was probably excited out of proportion to what had actually occurred. But it really felt good, to see The Thirteenth Circle stacked proudly at the entrance to the children’s section, right where everyone could see it. It felt like…a win.
We all need wins sometimes.
(Especially in publishing, which is chock-full of rejections and failures…)
So! That’s something small that made me happy this week. And like I said, soon I’ll tell you more about all of the other stuff that MarcyKate and I have been doing to celebrate our new book. We just have a few more events to get through!
Speaking of which:
If you’re in the NYC area, we would love to see you tomorrow, Saturday 2/3, at McNally Jackson’s South Street Seaport store, at noon! We’ll be answering your questions, signing your books, and talking about all things scientific and strange. Also, there will be cookies!
HERE is the link to the event page. You can even order and pay for your book in advance, if that would make it more convenient for you to stop by. (You can also order a signed copy even if you can’t stop by in person! We’ll be happy to tuck some launch swag into the book for you.)
That’s it for now. Happy reading!
~Kathryn