Jenn McKinlay's News #28
April 2, 2018
BOOK NEWS: WEDDING CAKE CRUMBLE drops on Tuesday, April 3rd! Tate and Angie are finally getting married…or are they? Be sure to pick up a copy to find out!TO CATCH A LATTE, my very first published book, will be reissued July 1, 2018!
HITTING THE BOOKS, the ninth Library Lovers Mystery, will be out on September 11, 2018!
THE GOOD ONES, a brand new romantic comedy, set in a romance bookstore in North Carolina will be released February 2019!
EVENTS: I will be signing at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore on May 5th (just in time for Mother’s Day) with eight other authors for Cozy Con. This is a must attend for traditional mystery lovers!
I will also be at the RT Convention in Reno in May since BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE has been nominated for the REVIEWER'S CHOICE AWARD! (Fingers crossed)!
WHAT'S ON MY MIND: It’s not all about you (and by you I mean me), really, it’s not.
Here’s the thing about having four to five books come out per year, you feel as if you are always promoting, promoting, promoting. It’s exhausting because there are only so many ways you can say “buy my book” without saying “buy my book” and, yet, a huge part of the writing gig is to say “buy my book”. You feel me? By the time, I’ve promoted the fourth book in a cycle, even I’m sick of me and I’m stuck in here! This is why I play with a wide variety of marketing apps, do giveaways, create new and different merch. It’s how I say “buy my book” without saying “buy my book” or at least that’s the subtext. I hope I am being subtle or at least marginally entertaining.
There are many authors, entertainers, politicians, etc., who do not even try for subtlety. They are full on up in your grill, hammering you with their message until you want to run screaming away from them. Why am I not like that (I hope)? My mom.
My mom and I are complete opposites. She’s an introvert and I’m an extrovert. She prefers managing things from the stage wings while I’m more about where’s my spotlight. Amazingly, despite our differences, she is one of my dearest friends, because real friends call you on your bologna sandwich and don’t let you get away with it.
I remember when I was about fifteen and Mom was still my driver. I worked part-time as a page at the town library and she always picked me up after my shift. Without fail, I would jump into the car and start the monologue about my day. Who I saw, what I did, what was for lunch, how my classes went, wasn’t my outfit great, you get the idea. I don’t think I even paused to take a breath. One day, we were stopped at a light and my mother turned to me, with one eye squinched up as if she was fighting off a headache and said, “I. I. I. Me. Me. Me. You are soooooo boring.”
“Ah!” I gasped. I vaguely remember clutching my hands to my chest in shock. Moi? Boring? I don’t think I spoke for the rest of the ride and my Mom undoubtedly reveled in the glorious silence. It took a bit of introspection but I got her message loud and clear. I had become a completely self-absorbed, narcissistic bore, very much like Bette Midler’s character in Beaches when she says, “Enough about me, what do you think of me?” I laugh every time that scene pops up, because I totally get it. Thankfully, my mother was strong enough to correct the self absorbed behavior before it was completely out of control.
When I look back at my teen years, I genuinely believe that this is the single greatest life lesson Mom ever gave me. It’s not all about you. From that day forward, when I jumped into the car, I asked, “How was your day?” After which an actual conversation, a back and forth of anecdotes and information, was exchanged. My mom and I have laughed about that day, especially when I called to complain that the teen hooligans only talk about themselves – incessantly. She was quiet for a bit and then said, “You know what to do.” Yes, I did.
So, my dear darling readers, enough about me and the books! Seriously, e-freaking-nough! I will be taking a social media/promotion break at some point in May or June,
so I can catch my breath. Enjoy the Jenn respite, because of course (insert Terminator voice) I'll be back!
Thanks for always being so lovely and supportive! Happy Reading!
Jenn