If you’re wondering what it’s like to have a book come out these days, well, it’s still a bit strange. The world is certainly not back to normal–we’re just now getting back to a few in-person book events. (And since I’m fully vaccinated, I’m happy to do those events, by the way!) Media coverage of books is still down from a few years ago. For those reasons, FAMILY LAW has felt like a much quieter release than FIERCE KINGDOM. But it’s still a pleasure to watch a book make its way into the world–to hear readers’ thoughts and to have the book be a shared experience instead of a solitary one.
Here are a few thoughts from this first month…
I’ve been so happy to get back to doing in-person book events. And one of my absolutely favorite things? I love when someone raises a hand and names a town in one of my books and asks me about another nearby town. So you set your book in Carbon Hill…do you know anyone in Dora? Have you been to Brilliant? Do you have any family in Guin?
It turns out that’s where the reader grew up. Or her grandmother grew up. Then someone else calls out that her sister lives in Brilliant. And someone else says their brother got a speeding ticket there. Soon enough the whole room starts naming various towns and relatives, and THAT, my friends, is something that never happens on Zoom.
Here’s another thing: when a new book comes out, you always anticipate what people will want to talk about in interviews and book clubs. Sometimes you’re right, and sometimes you’re wrong. With FAMILY LAW, one topic that I didn’t expect to surface so often is Lucia’s joy in her work. It’s interesting to me that readers find a woman’s joy in her work to be an unusual thing in fiction. And you know what? They’re right. It really mattered to me to convey that Lucia’s both good at her job and that she finds pleasure in doing it well. She’s not wracked with guilt or full of self-doubt—she just loves her work. It’s a scenario I think we grant male characters far more often than we grant it to female characters.
I, personally, do find great joy in my work.
And, hey, did you like FAMILY LAW? Don’t forget to leave a review wherever reviews can be left. 🙂
