Ann Leary, author of The Good House
Author of The Good House
Emerging from the bed-desk
Hello Blog, it’s been awhile. Actually, a very long while. I’ve recently received some emails expressing concern about my health and well-being, which is so sweet. I’m doing great. I think I pulled back from blogging, posting maniacally on Facebook and tweeting my brains out on Twitter after the book came out because I was making myself sick with all the self-promotion, and I took it for granted that I was making everybody else sick as well.
Today I head back to Massachusetts for a reading in Marblehead at The Spirit of ’76 Bookstore. The reading and signing begin at 7 PM and I hope to see some old friends while I’m in town. I’d like to thank my old friend, journalist Laurie Fullerton, for writing this lovely piece in the Marblehead Reporter.
I am not going to be able to sign books at The Hickory Stick Bookshop as planned today. Roads in Connecticut are closed. Gomer and I will be there on Sunday, March 3rd at 2:00 PM.
Today we’re out playing in the snow.
Photo courtesy of Lynden Sculpture Garden
Yesterday, I was driving from Chicago to Milwaukee with my beloved sister Meg and my dear friend Jane. We were heading to Milwaukee, where I was scheduled to speak at the Lynden Sculpture Garden as part of their wonderful Women’s Speaker Series.
On the way, we stopped in Racine, Wisconsin and after much driving around, finally found a home where Meg and I had lived when we were children. Meg and I were just giddy recalling our friends, the places we had played, the pets we had owned, you know, all our adventures. Jane was very polite and didn’t yawn too many times. Then, we were back on the highway, heading toward Milwaukee, when my editor, Brenda Copeland called. Brenda asked, “Has anybody ever called you a bitch?”
Posing with Mary Beth Hurt
On Wednesday night, I did a reading/book signing at the Manhattan Upper West Side Barnes & Noble. Well, I should say, I did the signing and the amazingly talented Mary Beth Hurt did the reading! Mary Beth is the narrator of the audio version of The Good House and I’ve blogged before about how thrilled I am with her rendition of Hildy. So it was wonderful to sit back and listen to her read from my book on Wednesday night. Then I answered questions from a wonderfully packed audience. So many friends were there, and so many people that I had not yet met .
People’s “Pick of the Week”
On Tuesday, the day, The Good House was published, I woke up at 4 AM, which was, of course too early. I tried to go back to sleep because I needed to be my sharpest self that day. I had a radio interview with Leonard Lopate at 1:00. A live interview. Yes, it would be broadcast live to a million listeners all at once, so I needed to get sleep.
Sleep, I ordered my jittery brain. Go the f%^$ to sleep.
Tomorrow The Good House will finally be available in bookstores everywhere! I hope I will see some of you on Wednesday, January 16th at the Barnes & Noble in Manhattan (Broadway and 82nd Street).
In the meantime, Redbook Magazine chose The Good House as it’s February “Must Read” book and included this very kind review in its February issue. They also posted a Q&A in its online edition, and I am reposting it here Thank you Redbook!
If you don’t follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you’ve been spared my brag announcement about my first magazine review of The Good House.
I am just thrilled that Boston Magazine likes my book, especially since it’s set in Massachusetts. Having the very kind reviewer, Matthew Reed Baker call it “one of the best works of Massachusetts fiction in recent memory,” was thrilling. Anyway, it’s always frightening waiting for reviews and you always get some good and bad reviews, so this review was a great Christmas surprise.
I loved this morning’s Writer’s Almanac.
For those who aren’t familiar with The Writer’s Almanac, it’s a website and also a radio podcast that offers a daily poem. There are also literary birthdays and milestones mentioned each day, which are always fascinating. It’s a product of American Public Media, Garrison Keillor reads the poems on the podcast and you can subscribe and receive the almanac free, every day. If you like it as much as I do, you may wish to send them a few dollars to help support them. But you don’t have to. You can still subscribe.
Do any of you belong to book clubs or reading groups? Because I’ve added a new section to this website called “Book Clubs.” It’s right at the top of the page there. If your book club is interested in reading The Good House, I’d be happy to Skype in for a visit with you. We can chat about the book, and then I’ll post some information about your group and there will be an area here for you to post your own comments as well. What do you think?
