You can get my first chapter two months early!
Plus, two book recommendations.
Hi!
Below, I have info about how you can get the first chapter of Maine Characters two months early, but first, a few other things:
Last week, I moderated a book launch at McNally Jackson — You Between the Lines, Katie Naymon’s delightfully angsty debut about literary rivals trying to not fall in love with each other at an MFA program. Katie is hilarious. I had the best time.
At the event, I met Gabi Ambrose (hi, Gabi!), who found her circle of writing friends through my Facebook group. If you’re looking to find beta readers, get advice, or make local writer friends, this is the place for you.
I saw the world’s best Lady Gaga impersonator, Nick Gaga, perform at Playhouse last Friday. Since then, I’ve been listening to a lot of vintage Gaga and eagerly awaiting Abracadabra.
I made an ambitious attempt at a boxing class (Rumble), and though I was excited to escape with zero broken nails, two fell off the next day. Alas.
I have one more episode left of Love Is Blind. No spoilers, but Dave is wrong.
What I read this week
Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson: I loved her first novel, Black Cake, and this one also revolves around a beloved family tradition — this time, a jar that’s been passed down through six generations of a prominent Black family in New England. it’s about a woman who witnessed her brother’s murder as a child. Twenty years later, after a scandal, she escapes to France.
I liked the variety of POVs, the deep sense of history, and the stunning poetic language. While I did prefer Black Cake, I recommend this for overly-sentimental people (it’s me, hi), history nerds, art lovers, true crime fans, and anyone who desperately needs a mental trip to the French countryside.
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab: As in, that V.E. Schwab, author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, the book that sucked me in with absurdly gorgeous prose and emotionally broke me and over two million other people. I got my hands on her latest galley at a tea party the author hosted last month, where she described Bury Our Bones as a “toxic lesbian vampire love triangle.” It jumps from Spain in 1532 to modern-day Harvard, stopping in various times and places along the way.
Every line is LUSH and DARK and MOODY. She makes drinking blood in 17th-century Venice sound as lovely as enjoying an aperol spritz on vacation. Even if you’re not typically a fantasy reader (I’m not), I recommend this if you like sinking your teeth (ha) into a saga. I am deeply sorry to report that isn’t out until June 10, but you can treat yourself to a preorder.
Meet Vivian from Maine Characters
The thing about writing a novel is that you are hanging out with figments of your own imagination for years. I remember one Friday during the revision process when I didn’t have any plans, and truly, I thought, hmm, maybe I’ll see what Vivian and Lucy are up to tonight, before realizing they don’t exist.
So, I’m very excited to introduce you to Vivian Levy. On the left, my publisher’s profile of her. On the right, my moodboard.
She is…
🚖 a diehard New Yorker who’d rather not touch grass
🍷 an ambitious sommelier
🖤 a strong-willed, passionate Scorpio
👀 a prickly cynic — for good reason
I hope you love her.
Coming soon: Lucy Webster.
Get the first chapter two months early!
The rumors are true: If you’ve preordered Maine Characters, you can enter your purchase info here to instantly get access to the first chapter. It doesn’t matter when or where you bought the book. The first pages will be yours!
You can preorder a signed copy from Strand, or buy regular copies through…
The book has been out in the world, kind of, for editors, bookstagrammers, etc., for months now, but sharing it widely with readers feels different. I had the first scene in my head long before the rest of the novel came together, and it’s barely changed between 2020 and today. I’m both excited and nervous.
Until next time!
xoxo