Faking Christmas Book Tour, holiday edition
When you have a Christmas book, you do a lot of events in December!
This email is very long, perhaps too long as Substack tells me, so it may be truncated in your email!
I always feel a little guilty when I tell Hollis about my work travel. When I travel for work, I get to meet so many amazing people like bookstore owners, readers, and other authors, and almost without exception they’re exceedingly kind. I often get the chance to see friends. I am in front of a crowd (I mean, hopefully it’s a crowd…you never know!) of people who are in a good mood, and sometimes they give me compliments. I get to eat at nice restaurants and drink at cozy bars. Sometimes I’m staying at a nice hotel.
Meanwhile, when Hollis travels for work he has to pack steel-toed boots, a hard hat, and a safety vest, and he’s sometimes visiting a wastewater treatment plant. He’s literally surrounded by biological hazards. I’m always talking about work travel like, “Isn’t it invigorating? Exciting? Life-giving?” and he’s like, “hold on, I’m busy sanitizing my boots because they were around human waste.”
This isn’t to say that I don’t take my events seriously. I take them perhaps too seriously. I’m a chronic over-preparer, so if I’m being interviewed, I’m coming up with possible answers. I’m practicing my reading. I’m researching anything I can research. If I’m the conversation partner, I’m even more over-prepared than usual (at the event I did with her, Tessa Bailey asked me “how are you remembering all these questions? You don’t have written down! Did you memorize them?” and of course I did, I’m a freak). I’ve had lots of weird jobs that weren’t fun at all—factories, warehouses, retail, hospital HR departments, summer camp kitchens—so believe me when I say that I appreciate this job every second of every day and I always take it seriously if someone invites me somewhere. I will not be winging it. I don’t know how to wing it.
But book events are also fun, and this past week has been so much fun that I decided to write an entire post about it. This isn’t really about movies or television or books…it’s just a blog post. Imagine you’re reading my LiveJournal circa 2006 (except don’t, please, because I would prefer not to revisit anything I said back then) as you read about everything I did and ate (and even watched! Maybe this IS tangentially movie-related!) over the past week and a half.
First, on Thursday I did a virtual holiday romance event with Reader Seeks Romance, also known as my book club leader Liz.
Liz is so fun and funny and this was EXTREMELY festive. And as far as I know, it’s the only place where you can hear me come up with the plot of a reindeer shifter romance, despite not knowing much about reindeer or shifter romances.
On Friday, I was able to be part of Gramercy’s Romance Book Club because Faking Christmas was their December selection. This book club is exclusive and tickets are in high demand, so I feel lucky that I was a special guest. It was a packed house (as it always is on Romance Book club night), there was hot apple cider, and we had a great conversation that was mostly about Christmas movies. Gramercy is one of my absolute favorite places in Columbus and they have some of the best booksellers. It’s so warm and cozy and I’m SO happy whenever I’m there. Also, it’s connected to a bakery/coffeeshop (Kittie’s) so it’s very convenient to get your books and your hot chocolate in one place.
I left the event feeling so grateful and also VERY nervous because I was leaving for New York the next day. I’ve wanted to do an event in NYC for a long time because both of my brothers and my friend Lauren (who is essentially an honorary Winfrey at this point) live there. When The Ripped Bodice announced their Brooklyn location, I immediately emailed my publicist like, “can we…get in there?” And we did! Lauren and her husband graciously allowed me to stay at their place and everything was working out great.
Except that I was nervous. I think I’m supposed to present myself online as, like, successful and impervious to self-doubt, or at least that’s what most authors seem to do. Which I get. No one wants to look at your Instagram if you’re like, “woe is me, being an author is hard and I’m a ball of anxiety.” But honestly, I was kind of scared. One of my stress-relieving tactics is writing out a list of everything that’s worrying me, and my list of New York worries ran the gamut from “will say something stupid during event” to “will get lost and then die.”
I probably did say something stupid at some point (when you’re talking that much, it’s inevitable) but I’m proud to say I never got lost (probably because I was always with someone) and I’m still among the living. And also, I had a great time!
On Saturday night, Lauren and I went to a get-together at her friend Sarah’s place where we had eggnog and soup and watched White Christmas. I also had my first martini. What a night! It couldn’t have been cozier.
Afterwards we went to a bar with Alex where I got a drink that had an on-fire cinnamon stick in it. I’m still thinking about it. Should I add flaming spices to all my drinks from now on?
On Sunday we visited Books Are Magic. Like most authors, this was on my bookstore bucket list. I mean, are you even a writer visiting Brooklyn if you don’t get your picture by the Books Are Magic mural??? The store was great and I bought one of those BOOKS hats to wear on playground trips next summer.
And then we saw The Holdovers at Cobble Hill Cinemas and it was a top-tier movie viewing experience. The movie was seasonal (Christmas and New Year’s are big parts of the plot), it was so funny, the crowd was into it, I was with two of my favorite people, and I had a very large Dr. Pepper. When we were walking up the stairs, a tiny child was walking down and saying, “The beginning of that movie really PISSED ME OFF.” I’m still wondering what movie he saw and why he was so mad.
We had dinner at Gertrude’s: an artichoke and latkes and eggplant schnitzel and free drinks and cake because our waitress was charmed by Lauren’s husband. I’ve never received such service (by which I mean, so many free things). Can’t imagine a better dining experience.
Do you want to see a bad picture of the cake I took after I’d already taken advantage of that free drink? Here you go!
The next morning, we had breakfast at Little Egg (the cruller…divine) and then headed into Manhattan so I could visit my agent’s office. Stephen has been my agent the entire time I’ve been publishing and yet we’d never met in person (in my defense, I had a baby and then a pandemic happened). It was such a delight to visit his office and meet so many people.
The office was also conveniently located near…the big tree. In general, I don’t care a ton about most tourist stuff because I’d much rather be eating a good meal at a not-super-crowded restaurant or enjoying some relaxed time with my friends than standing in line for literally anything. However, I’d never been to NYC at Christmas and I wanted to see that tree. Well, guess what? It was big. And it was fun to be there with so many people, all of them wanting to look at that same giant tree. Surprise! Tourist stuff is fun sometimes! I also got to go inside St. Patrick’s Cathedral for the first time, despite walking past it pretty much every time I’ve come to NYC since college. This was exciting because you guys know about my interest in Catholicism.
We also saw a lot of Mariah because of her Victoria’s Secret partnership. That felt comforting.
Perhaps most exciting, I saw Faking Christmas on a display table at the Fifth Avenue Barnes and Noble! I’m usually pretty apprehensive about asking to sign my books at bookstores (most of the time it’s totally fine, but sometimes it’s uncomfortable), but the staff couldn’t have been kinder. It was great.
One of my editors, Laurie, invited me over before my event, and it was wonderful to finally meet in person. And then we headed over to The Ripped Bodice for my event (you know, the entire reason I was in New York in the first place) and it’s such a wonderful store. First off, it’s hot pink. Also, everyone who works there is wonderful. I was nervous that no one would show up to the event, but I forgot that apparently half the people I know live in or around New York so there were people there! Even some people I didn’t know before the event! Both of my editors from Berkley showed up and it was fantastic to see them. Leah and I talked about Christmas music and movies (I think I probably talked too much about movies, but as this newsletter proves, I truly can’t help it). Both of my brothers were there, which was really special, and my friend Emily Adrian (author of many books including The Second Season, which you should read if you’re even tangentially interested in basketball) came in all the way from Connecticut. We had a wonderful time! Afterward we went to a bar down the street and I ordered a quesadilla, and then Lauren, Alex, and I walked home and ate Jet’s pizza at like 1 am.
If you’re like, “Wow, Kerry, it sounds like this was a very food and drink based trip,” you’re correct. I didn’t even mention all the pastries and chai lattes I had. I eat in a sort of boring, protein-and-vegetable based way when I’m at home, so this was a real treat.
But that’s not all. When I got back to Ohio, I was able to visit the WOSU studios, which was a dream come true for a Classical 101 listener and WOSU supporter. You may remember that I initially became a supporter so I could easily watch All Creatures Great and Small, but now I’ve made my monthly pledge part of my identity. I’m a PBS person now. I got a quick tour of the station and at one point said, “I feel like I’m seeing celebrities,” which I think made me sound insane, but I hear the voices on Classical 101 so much that being in the place where the magic happens felt kind of unbelievable.
Did I get a photo beside Mister Rogers? You know I did. WOSU also serves the Bellville/Mansfield area, so this was the station I used to watch Mister Rogers and Sesame Street on! Everyone here was extremely nice. Someone told me to come back anytime and that made me laugh. Like, I wish, but unfortunately I don’t think WOSU will let me come back just to hang out.
That night, I had my final event of the year at Wheatberry Books in Chillicothe. The last time I visited was back in 2019 when Lauren was in town, and we had a great time. Since then, Wheatberry has moved to a larger location and it was wonderful to see it in person. Chelsea, who owns the store, is so great and so well-read. The event was pajama-party themed so I wore a Mrs. Claus robe, Santa slippers, and Santa earrings. Everyone was in pajamas and there was even a well-behaved dog. And hot chocolate! And cookies! The whole town was lit up for Christmas, the event was sold out, and then I bought an It’s a Wonderful Life candle. To say it was perfect would be an understatement.
It was an unreal and exhausting week, one that I’m so grateful for. But mainly, I’m grateful for independent bookstores. I always say that every book sale is good. Once a reader messaged me and apologized for buying my book from Amazon, and I never want someone to feel that way. I don’t know your life, your location, or your finances, and I would never tell you where to buy books. Whether you’re getting them from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, a big box store, the library (I just looked at my library receipt and saw that I’ve checked out $24,000 worth of materials since 2017…I love the library and I love that you get my books there!), or your local store, it’s all good. Seriously. I know smart and engaged people who work at Amazon, and I don’t want to make blanket statements.
However. I love independent bookstores. Clearly! I strongly believe that they’re why I have a career. Faking Christmas is one of the bestsellers at The Bookshelf in Thomasville, Georgia. It was also one of the bestsellers at Gramercy. And Chelsea at Wheatberry told me that it’s been their bestseller for months. And that’s not an accident…it’s because booksellers and bookstore owners are encouraging people to pick up the book. They’re including it in displays. They’re handselling it to customers. I love indie bookstores as a reader, but I’m just so grateful for them as an author. I wouldn’t be here without them!
This newsletter is already way too long (and possibly not necessary in the first place), but I wanted to give one little piece of advice for writers who have a book coming out. The whole “book release” journey is exciting, but it can also be a bit demoralizing. The comparison game can make you feel like you’re not doing (or getting) enough, and there will be countless things that will happen that make you feel humiliated or depressed. Does that sound too dramatic? I don’t know. I’ve said before that humiliation is just part of the job, so I don’t mean it to sound too intense. What I’m saying is, there will be lots of opportunities for you to feel bad about the book or yourself. The things you’re doing to promote the book might even feel pointless.
That’s why my advice is this: do whatever you can to make it fun for you. Unless you’re very, very famous, no one’s going to be banging down your door asking you to visit them. You need to do things that will make your book promotion fun even if no one shows up to your events. Look at festivals as ways to connect with other authors. Think of events as ways to form true friendships with booksellers. As much as possible, do events in locations where you have friends. Dress up. Dedicate yourself to a theme, even if that theme is “Santa, but in pajamas.” Look up bakeries and restaurants in the towns you’re visiting, and go out for drinks afterwards. If you are just starting out, it might seem like events exist to sell books. But unless you’re a big name, I just don’t think that’s always true. Events are about connections, about really and truly seeing the people who buy and sell your books, about meeting people and making friends. You can sell a lot of books at events…and I hope you do! But you need to put things in place that will make your events a “success” even if you don’t sell a single copy.
That’s it for now! In case you haven’t noticed, I am BEHIND on this newsletter, probably because of everything I just mentioned. This week I’m catching up and we’ll be getting into some holiday content. See you soon. xo
I could not love everything about this more!!! As you know, I was in NYC right after you (not my fault! I TRIED to be in NYC right at the same time! ;)), and I had fun reading through your own experiences and comparing them to mine. (I also saw the big tree and lots of Mariah!!!). And you're so right about independent bookstores and about finding ways to make things fun for YOU. A good reminder!!
I'm so glad you have fun on your tours! I would (as a person on the introvert/extrovert cusp) it would be so nice to see and meet people who like your work, like we do!