The Weekly Catch Up

I’m in Italy!

I’m not going to write too much today because I’m living la dolce vita. For reals! I’ve never done this before—taken a vacation in the week and a half leading up to book launch. But my husband and I haven’t been to Italy since we were broke and sleeping in hostels in our early twenties. With the kids and their summer schedules, this week was the only time we could go. Plus, this is a big year for us. It’s our twenty year anniversary and we turn fifty. That calls for a big trip to mark the occasion.

I also thought it might be smart to live with a sense of optimism, calm and excitement in the same time period that I tend to torture myself about book launch. Last year when All the Summers in Between was about to come out, I think I checked my email 1000 times a day looking for updates from marketing or my publicity team. Then I was always emailing someone looking for coverage and self promotion is just so awkward. I wasn’t sleeping well. In other words, I made myself crazy. (FYI. Most writers are like this during the lead up to pub day!) This time around I refused to do that to myself.

For me writing is a joy. I want publication day to feel just as joyous.

Right now I’m getting joy from watching my kids play together in Lake Como, holding hands with my husband as we walk to a trattoria for dinner, drinking cappuccinos for breakfast, playing word or trivia games at the table during long, leisurely lunches and today, I did a cannonball into the lake with my 10 year old. This video is my idea of work right now ;)

I’m also reading the BEST BOOK EVER. I picked up The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater in my local indie bookshop and I love it so much I want to shout it from the rooftops. It’s set at a luxury hotel modeled on the Greenbrier in West Virginia during the Second World War and its staff who was forced to care for enemy diplomats and their families. Maggie Stiefvater is my new writing hero. Def check this one out.

Just in case you forgot: You still have time to order a signed copy of OUR LAST VINEYARD SUMMER! I will personalize it to you if you order it through Bronx River Books. Woot! I’ve been signing these books for so many of you and it feels so good to know that my words will land in your laps, dear reader.

OH! Don’t forget the goodies you’ll get too: A curated travel guide to The Perfect Vineyard Summer, a feminist summer reading list (books picked by The Whiting sisters and myself), and my recipe for a Vineyard Spritz! My publisher printed this awesome mini magazine and it’s gorgeous!

Have a great week, everyone. Remember to count your blessings. When the world feels tough, I remind myself what I’m grateful for.