Speeding toward Lost in France’s pub date on June 23… and 500 other things
Lost in France’s pub day – June 23
This is fast approaching – like a bullet, actually. I’m excited and a bit terrified, and whenever terror sets in—especially around things that are supposed to be a celebration—I wonder why. It’s an act of bravery, I think, to put a new creative thing into the world and not worry about how people might respond. But boy, am I ever good at worrying.
I was thinking recently about that seminal book we all read in the 90s, The Power of Now, and how the author, Eckhart Tolle, asks us to be present in the now rather than live in fear of the future and regret of the past.
Easier said than done, Eckhart! But here I am, committing to it in public. That’s my goal. Say it with me now.
The thing is, I think Lost in France will be a fun, delightful, frothy respite from the stresses of the currently very complicated world. And when I focus on that, I feel less, as Anne Lamott puts it, like I’m selling you a Speedy Muffler oil change or set of Ginsu knives along with a book.
Lost in France book launch party, Toronto - June 30
The funny, smart, incomparable Nathan Whitlock is joining me to host the book launch for Lost in France. Fun fact: aside from being a great author himself, and coordinator for Humber College’s Creative Book Publishing Program, and hosting the fab author podcast What Happened Next where he puts out interviews with Canadian authors every Monday (you can see Nathan is a total slouch), Nathan is also the drummer in a very fun band called The Approximators. Check out their appearance schedule here.
So join us on Tues June 30, 6-8pm, at Noonan’s Pub, 141 Danforth, very close to Broadview TTC Station. Nathan will not be playing the drums at the book launch. He’ll be chatting with me and then raising a glass and eating French cheese with us all. Who doesn’t like French cheese?
Pre-ordering Lost in France in hard cover, soft cover, ebook and audiobook.
Lost in France is available now for pre-order in all the formats: hard cover, soft cover, ebook and audiobook. The audiobook will be released on the same day as the book itself. It is being narrated by Kate Udall.
Here’s a bit about Kate: trained as an actor at Yale, the University of California at San Diego, and London’s Central School of Speech and Drama, she has appeared on stage, television and film. Recognized with two Earphone Awards and an Audie nomination, she has recorded over 150 audiobooks for Harper, Doubleday, Tantor, Macmillan, Brilliance, and Audible. Her base is in her professional home studio in New Mexico.
Also – get this: she has been a park ranger in Arizona, a college professor in West Virginia, a chef in Oregon, a whitewater kayak guide in California, and a paralegal in Manhattan. She has also hiked and kayaked in Nepal, Italy, Spain, France, Corsica, Chile and beyond—all of which (aside from the fact that she’s a great actor) made her such a strong choice to narrate Lost in France.
Call for Book Club sign-up.
One of the things authors need to do when launching their book is to reconnect with book clubs who had us in the last time we published, and also connect with new ones. Are you part of a book club, and would you like to make Lost in France one of your books (or my first novel, At Last Count, for that matter)? If you live within driving distance of Toronto, I’ll come and join you in person. If you aren’t within driving distance, I can meet with your book club over Zoom. These conversations are always so engaging and fun.
Bookstore appearances.
I’m also in the midst of organizing bookstore appearances, author signings and chats.
For example, mark this for your calendars if you live in or near Stirling, ON – I’ll be at the wonderful Stirling Book Company on July 16, 6:30-8:30pm, hosting, along with bookstore owner Tracey Starrett, an Evening in France. There will be French refreshments, a make-believe-you’re-in-France photo booth, a make-your-own French bookmark station, and an author chat and slide show where I will regale the audience with stories of the fun and unpredictable adventures Kirk and I went on to research Lost in France, during which he really, really hoped we weren’t about to buy a one-euro house that needed tons of reno work like Marlow does in the book. Kirk will be there too, hanging out, knitting, and rolling his eyes liberally. Please join us.
What I’ve been up to while promoting Lost in France
I was a featured author at Canadian Independent Bookstore Day at Blue Heron Books in Uxbridge, Ontario on April 25.
Blanket obvious statement: independent bookstore owners are the best. They support authors, know their books, offer real humans to talk to, and make neighbourhoods.
Appearing at Blue Heron was very fun. I got to chat with customers, recommend romance books like Lost in France, and learn what people are reading at the moment.
I even met a young reader and gymnast who bought the book I co-wrote with Elfi Schlegel, The Gymnastics Book: A Young Person’s Guide to Gymnastics. This book is now in its third edition, and if I have my calculations right, it has sold well over 30K copies. It’s pretty thrilling to have a book that continues to earn royalties 25 years after it was first published.
If you know anything about Elfi, she is a gymnastics star, and I am, um, not. Life has its unpredictable turns, doesn’t it? We had such a great time co-writing the book, it was the book that got me published, and I’m so grateful to Elfi for inviting me on the ride. The balance beam? The uneven bars? Oh Claire, stop.
The Poisoned Pen Podcast
I had a chance to appear on the Poisoned Pen podcast alongside author Jennifer O’Brien whose first book, The Summer I Found You, is also published by Lost in France’s publisher, Alcove Press. If beach reads are your thing, her book’s a great romantic fit. You can listen to the interview here.
And lastly…
Something that stuck with me this week.
"Your first task is to find what feels effortless to you. Your second task is to put maximum effort into it." - James Clear
Until next time… 42 sleeps until Lost in France is in the world. Not that I’m counting or anything.
Claire