Hello, friends! I have some great news and not-so-great news. Does this feel like déjà vu? That’s because IT IS!! I wrote a similar thing with the release of The Paper Kingdom two years ago… *sigh*
Let’s begin with the not-so-great news…
The pandemic impacts yet another book launch! Due to supply chain and shipping issues, the release date of Rosa’s Song has been pushed to JUNE 14, a week later than originally planned.
Okay…so what’s the big deal??!
Well, it means my in-person events in L.A. & NYC have been canceled (but replaced with virtual events – I’ll get to that in a bit). Since the books won’t arrive until a week after the (previously) scheduled events, it doesn’t make sense for me to stand in front of empty shelves talking to myself. ARGHHHH!! I should be used to pandemic-related complications, but I feel terrible for the folks who worked on scheduling and promoting the events. And I was SO looking forward to seeing friends and readers in person!
I mean, look at this fun graphic that a lovely bookseller made in preparation for an event in NY, only to have it canceled!! (I removed the portion with the event’s date & time so that nobody would be confused.)
Alas, such is pandemic life. *le sigh*
Okay, enough whining.
Now for some GREAT news…
The canceled in-person events have morphed into several virtual events. I’m glad that people located anywhere in the world will have the ability to join – yay! See below.
EVENT #1: Register for this free virtual AAPI event here — after registering, you can stream the content anytime starting on May 11. I’m thrilled to speak with NY Times bestselling authors Kelly Yang (Front Desk) and Dan Santat (Beekle; After the Fall). This event is hosted by Children’s Book World (my local independent bookstore) and TeachAAPI.org.
EVENT #2: If you’re anywhere near Pasadena on Saturday, May 14th, please join us for LitFest! It’ll be a fun in-person event to chat about writing, books, life — if you or anyone you know is an aspiring author, this discussion is for you. The creator of Boss Baby (Marla Frazee) will be on the panel, along with talented authors Dana Middleton, Andrea J. Loney and Michelle Markel. (I recently read Michelle’s picture book about French artist Henri Rousseau — LOVED IT.)
A couple of virtual events will also take place in mid-June around the launch of Rosa’s Song:
EVENT #3: Friday, June 17, 2022 – 4 p.m. Pacific – Virtual story time event with the Los Angeles Public Library. Free to all. Every attendee will have the opportunity to win a book. More details here.
EVENT #4: Sat., June 18, 2022 – 10:30 a.m. Pacific– Virtual book launch event with Children’s Book World. Free to all with a book order. This one will be a great event for those who are interested in writing/publishing children’s books. More details here.
The pre-order giveaway will continue until June 14 (details here), so do participate if you’d like a free gift from me.
For a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the making of Rosa’s Song, here’s a video that my publisher asked me to put together for the sales team at Penguin Random House. These author videos give the sales force more context for the book when they go out to pitch new titles to libraries, bookstores, retailers, etc.
Oh! In case you missed it, my personal piece about the L.A. riots was published in the Los Angeles Times. April 29th marked the 30th anniversary of that awful event, and I wanted to commemorate my cousin Louise (whom we lost too early to a heart attack) with my essay.
Click here for the full article.
After the piece published, I received an outpouring of lovely emails and social media messages from readers around the world. And then, after I’d had lunch, I was contacted for an interview with…NBC!! They wanted to chat that same evening. WHOA. I expected it to be a pre-recorded interview that would be edited for broadcasting later. But then the producer announced, “You’ll be on air after the commercial break in two minutes.” WHAT?!? They didn’t even tell me what questions to anticipate!! Good thing I’d put on a clean shirt and brushed my hair.
My portion begins at the timestamp 26:25 and ends around 35:00.
And just today, I saw this amazing entry in the Letters to the Editor section of the L.A. Times:
Omg, THANK YOU! For a writer, it’s immensely gratifying to know that your words have moved someone, and that you’ve made a real connection. I love this letter, and will read it again when I’m filled with anxiety/insecurity about my writing (in other words, I’ll read it again tomorrow!).
Other Cool Happenings:
- Author Linda Sue Park is one of my heroes! She maintains a very cool page of Korean American authors giving their AAPI book recommendations.
- I’ve received some requests for more Sherwin content, so you can now join him on Tiktok, as well as a YouTube channel!
You’ll see plenty of this guy — sound up!
I’ll be back in June with the launch of ROSA’S SONG. Some more fun things are cooking, so stay tuned. Until then, enjoy springtime and be well!
