Bread & Wine: Last Call for Early Readers

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Oh, heavens. This is happening! I got an email from my publisher this week, and at one point it said something like, “since we’re inside eight weeks from release…” And then I passed out just for a second. 

You know that I don’t agree 100% with the writing-a-book-is-just-like-having-a-baby thing, but it is absolutely true that in both cases having been through it before and knowing what to expect helps so much. The second trip to the hospital to deliver is so much less stressful than the first because you know, at least in some ways, what to expect. And the same is true with a second, or in this case, third book. 

I know now that once the writing is done a whole different kind of work is required. I know now that as the pub date nears, the amount of emails between author and agent and marketing director and publicist reaches absurdity, and that the deadlines for every little thing become really tight! and really urgent!

Yesterday the final cover design popped into my inbox, and I love it. Every day, it seems, there are two or three urgent things—proof this, sign off on that, write some copy for this. It’s exciting, and it’s busy, and as much as it feels familiar in a good way, there’s something about this book that’s totally different than the other two. 

I don’t know if you’re even allowed to say this, but this is what’s true: I’m SO excited about this book. I’m so excited about what happens around the table, and I can’t wait to share these stories and recipes with you. 

With Cold Tangerines, I was clueless. With Bittersweet, I was afraid that the small but very kind group of readers who liked Cold Tangerines wouldn’t necessary be down with a book about heartbreak. And I wasn’t at all sure I was ready to talk about our heartbreaks so openly. With both those releases, I was sort of excited but mostly terrified. My shoulders were tensed, my eyes squeezed shut, waiting for impact. 

And now Bread & Wine. I have no illusions that everyone will love it—Amazon quickly disabuses writers of that myth. But I love it. There. I said it. I love it, and I’m excited about it, and I can’t wait to connect with you all when you’ve had a chance to read it—what recipes did you try? What parts spoke to you, reminding you of your story and your table? 

There are approximately one million things that need to happen before the release, and there's one that I’m more excited about than any other: we’re mailing out a huge stack of early copies to readers who want to post about Bread & Wine on their blogs. 

Loads of you have already emailed with us about this, and we’re so thankful. If you sent us an email in the fall, you should have received an email from us this past week with all the details. If you didn’t get an email from us this week, or if this is the first you’re hearing of advance reader copies, and you’d like to post about the book on your blog, send an email with your mailing address and a link to your blog. If you want to be a part of this, we still have plenty of spots, and we need to hear from you by Friday, February 8th. 

We’ll send out advance reader copies mid-February, and we’d love for you to post about the book between March 15 and April 15. The actual release is right around April 1st, so you’ll be getting in on the action six weeks before anyone else, which is always fun.

Again, if you’d like to be a part of this and haven’t yet emailed with us about it, it’s not too late. Send an email with a blog link and your mailing address, and we’ll send a copy of the book and all the info you need. 

Thanks times one thousand for walking with me through the wild world of publishing. It means more than you know. 

Wishing you lots of love & bread & wine, and lots of time around the table with people you love. XO