Countdown to The Hidden Summer

I am now slightly under a month from the release date for my first middle-grade book, The Hidden Summer. Come one, come all on June 13th to get your copies!! (I once went to a Dolly Parton concert where she said she was hawking her wares, and I think of that phrase–in her voice–every time I start promoting a book. And hawking also makes me think of circuses, which makes me say things like “Come one, come all!”)

Super short summary of The Hidden Summer: Two 12-year-old girls decide that if they want to run away, there’s no better place to do it than an abandoned golf course.

Or there’s a more official summary here.

This is a slightly alternate version of Birmingham, Al., one with a an overgrown golf course called the Lodema Golf Course and Tennis Club which includes a putt-putt course with giant fiberglass dinosaurs and waterfalls. There are plenty of familiar Birmingham touches, plus a few invented ones. And–clever segue way–if you’re in Birmingham, come by Alabama Booksmith on June 13th for the book party. Cookies, lemonade, a hole-in-one putt-putt challenge for kids. And lots of great signed books by EVERYONE, not just me. If you haven’t been to the Booksmith before, that alone is worth the trip.

Here’s one thing different about kids’ publishing and adult books–NO BOOK TOUR. Which is good and bad. Frankly, I love how low maintenance this is. No baby stuck in the back of a car for hours. No sitting at a table looking at empty chairs and wondering if more than two people are going to show up. On the other hand, I have no excuse to travel and catch up with all the friends I usually get to see on a book tour! No excuse to stroll through Fairhope or eat Cuban in Asheville or have a drink at the local pub with the great bookstore owner in Charlotte or stay up late with friends in Atlanta or Nashville. And no chance to hang out with an actual fun audience of more than two people.