Rachel Simon's Blog, page 4
April 15, 2011
My Pre-Sale Book Tour: Toronto
Suddenly, a mere seventy-five minutes after take-off from Philadelphia, I step into an airport where the sign saying "Exit" is coupled with a sign saying "Sortie," wall-sized advertisements are for companies I've never heard of, and my most valuable possession is my passport. I make my way through Customs, trying to adjust my vocabulary. On [...]
April 11, 2011
You May Say I'm A Dreamer: A New Video Interview
When you have a sibling with a disability, as I do, you spend a lot of your childhood dreaming about a better world: one where people like your sister are treated with respect by all. When you grow up, you might decide to do what you can to realize those dreams. That's what happened to [...]
March 15, 2011
Fantastic Advance Praise From Independent Booksellers About The Story of Beautiful Girl
Yesterday I received wonderful news from IndieBound, a community-oriented movement begun by the independent bookseller members of the American Booksellers Association. Every month, IndieBound releases a list of recommended books called the Indie Next List. These are all new novels and memoirs that independent booksellers have fallen in love with and decided to promote, both [...]
March 1, 2011
My First Interview on Internet TV
Family Network TV is a new internet TV channel founded by Susan Stephens, an energetic and visionary grandmother of a boy with cerebral palsy. The shows on Family Network TV focus on families who are living with disabilities, with the goal being to unite the special needs community worldwide. Susan Stephens, Vice President Tara Ecklund, [...]
February 24, 2011
Home But Hardly Slacking: The Ascent To Publication Continues
The pile of mail that awaited me upon my return home two weeks ago has been opened. Mostly. The phone messages that were left while I was all over the country have been answered. Pretty much. The Himalayan mountain range of electronic communication that grew steeper and higher and farther until it touched the deepest [...]
February 6, 2011
My Pre-Sale Tour's Final Stop: Denver
"Do you know anything about where you're going?" asked my cab driver. It was Thursday night, and we were on the highway from the airport into Denver for what would be the final stop of my pre-sale tour for my novel, The Story of Beautiful Girl. I tried to remember my itinerary, now buried in [...]
February 3, 2011
My Pre-Sale Book Tour: Lansing, Michigan
And then came the snow. It first arrived over the weekend, as a rumor I didn't hear. I was on the San Francisco leg of my pre-sale book tour, eating dinner with booksellers, attending a packed town hall meeting, and ocean-gazing with new friends. But the people at Grand Central, my publisher, heard the rumor. [...]
February 1, 2011
My Pre-Sale Tour: Ann Arbor, Michigan
When I told friends that my wonderful publisher, Grand Central, was going to send me on a pre-sale tour to meet booksellers at fancy dinner events around the country, each at a fabulous restaurant, and I would be staying at some of the nicest hotels in every city I visited, and so many of the [...]
January 30, 2011
My Pre-Sale Book Tour: San Francisco
For all the traveling I've done, until last Thursday night I'd barely set foot in one of greatest cities in America, San Francisco. Five years ago, when I was on my way to Palo Alto, I took a hasty detour, jumping onto a BART train at the airport, dashing to meet a few acquaintances for [...]
