Dear Friends,

I’m dreaming of spring. Perhaps that’s because it’s -11 degrees outside, with artic wind gusts of 35 mph. “Cold” doesn’t even begin to describe it. How are the rest of you winter dwellers handling the deep freeze? Bread-baking? Movies? Wood fires? Since today is the Super Bowl maybe some of you are clustered around a coffee table of chips and guacamole and warming yourselves with beer. (Football is beyond me but I’ll be catching up with Bad Bunny on YouTube!)

So, yes, there’s the weather, but the other, bigger, better, bestest reason to yearn for spring is that the SURRENDER book tour will take me to YOU. I can’t wait!

The best part of publishing my debut novel, THE LIMITS OF THE WORLD, were the events at bookstores, libraries, community centers, and colleges. I was honored to be given space to talk about my characters, my reserach and writing process. After years of working behind the scenes of contemporary literature as an editor, I got to take center stage as an author, and it was a glorious feeling. I was so moved to see all of you who came out to say hello and buy a book. (And boy was I lucky that my novel wasn’t published a year later in 2020 when we were all terrified, isolated, and at least six feet apart.)

Events warmly remind me that writing is fundamentally about connection and communication. We write because we have something to posit, something to solve, and it’s a gift when readers complete the equation. In hopes of seeing you at an event this spring, I’m laying out some key dates of the tour schedule. Please mark your calendars! I hope to be able to return the favor of your presence with a little bubbly, maybe a spread of chèvre, and definitely some goat stickers (I’ve been stocking up).

More events are being added here and there, but since some of you have been asking for dates, I thought I’d provide what I have so you can plan ahead and book the baby/dog sitter. As Kirkus Reviews said in my first pre-pub review of SURRENDER:

If you’re in one of the above cities and would like me to visit your class or book group, please reach out! And if you have ideas for other events or collaborations, I’m all ears. Events exemplify the beautiful community that surrounds books and literature. They require not just the author (who is supported by an agent, editor, jacket designer, and publicist), but often a conversation partner, a bookseller, the books themselves with blurbs by generous authors, and of course audience members. (Hi, Mom!)

I’ve been thinking a lot about behind-the-scenes work recently, in part because of my friend Ada Tseng’s great new book Breaking Into New Hollywood: A Career Guide to a Changing Industry, which focuses on all the creative ways to be part of the movies (dialect coach, stunt woman, costume designer, to name a few).

I also recently published a new personal essay on Sari Botton’s Memoirland Substack about how my mom has labored by my side to support The Common over the past 15 years. Working with family isn’t always easy, but at least they accept hugs in lieu of a paycheck.

My computer is by the drafty window, and it’s time for me to move closer to the fire. Stay warm out there. If we all dream hard enough, spring will be here before you know it! To stave off the winter gloom until then, I’m hosting, with The Common, the 11th annual LitFest at Amherst College. Come see Pete Buttigieg and Jamaica Kincaid (plus many other wonderful writers). Full schedule is here.

Yours,
Jen

PS: Here’s my monthly reminder to pre-order SURRENDER from Bookshop or Amazon so it arrives in your mailbox on publication day!