Rogue Books on the Loose!

Plus a book club brainstorming request

So, I’ve gotten texts from at least eight people telling me that you got The Dignity of Dependence in the mail in the last few days.

• The book is out Oct 1.

• It’s early September.

• I don’t have it yet!

It sounds like… this is a known problem/benefit of Notre Dame Press’s direct distributor?? As far as I understand it (and I don’t fully understand it) once the press tells the distributor to start sending final copies to reviewers, etc, the distributor also starts fulfilling at least some preorders.

SO. I want to give everyone a heads up that if you wish you had the book right now, you might well get your wish if you order directly from Notre Dame. (I can’t promise this will work, but I can promise you 20% off with the code 14FF20

I remain deeply confused, but please drop me a note while you’re reading, if you’re holding an early copy. And maybe take the mysterious arrival of the book as a sign to leave an Amazon or Goodreads review by Oct 1.

I’m planning more official stuff for the official release day, but it’s impossible not to take pleasure in people having the book in their hands at last.

For everyone awaiting a copy (now with more suspense than you expected), you may enjoy my recent podcast with

Haley Stewart

for Word on Fire’s Votive.

Haley runs Word on Fire’s Votive imprint of children’s books. My husband has published one book with her (with two more in progress!).

The focus of her podcast is how we’re shaped by children’s literature (and what we owe to children). This may be the most I get to talk about Les Mis on my book tour.*

*(Look, for anyone who is saying it’s not children’s literature, ok yes, technically yes, but we’ve been listening to the cast album with our kids and now our 3yo is begging her 5yo sister at bedtime “Let me carry you away from the barricade!” a la Valjean and Marius).

Finally, I’d love your help brainstorming the final reader reward. The preorder bookmarks are still available, and I’m sending out the Mutual Dependence Bingo rewards by the end of this week.

I’d like to do a special reward for people who host a bookclub!

And I mean bookclub broadly construed. So anything goes from getting a single other person to read the book with you (including your spouse) to assembling a full on, book club with crudites and 15+ people.

I want the book to be something that helps you shift norms around dependence in your community, and that’s easier if someone else joins you from the start.

What would be an appropriate reward / make you more likely to invite a friend to read with you? A few ideas that occur to me:

• Discussion questions for a group.

• A note from me with a few favorite recipes for hosting.

• You send me a question or two prompted by your convo, and I send you a postcard answer.

• A mini scavenger hunt of offering/asking for help a la the Bingo challenge, and… I dunno… a sticker or magnet I mail to you if you complete it?

I’d love your proposals!