The Sporting Life
My novel comes out in 9 days!
Yesterday a friend told me to stop working on my new novel. She didn’t use those words exactly—she talked about rest, that I needed to stop working so hard all the time, how I should just enjoy my debut coming out—but she said these things when I told her how I was trying to wrap up a draft of the new novel before How We See the Gray comes out on May 15. She reminded me that deadline was self-imposed and told me to set the new novel aside. “Rest, Rachel! You need rest!”
She’s not wrong. But when I explained my logic for wrapping myself in the new project, she told me that sounded healthy and to keep writing, just not with some arbitrary deadline. Here’s my logic: I want to immerse myself in the next novel so I don’t get caught up in the reception of HWSTG. It’s just one book, my first of several, hopefully—and that perspective feels grounding. All my writing dreams aren’t riding on how this single book does.
Last week I recorded a song with a friend.** (I’ll probably share the song in my summer solstice newsletter, so if you’re not signed up for my seasonal musings, you can do that here.) The only thing that rivals my love of writing and reading is my love of music, and the recording session got me interested in writing and creating music again.
It’s made me think about my creativity and how I’ve always been drawn to many different modes of expression. In addition to writing, I have a visual arts background, I’ve written songs, I’ve danced… Tapping into other creative projects reminds me that I’m a creative person beyond writing. Not putting all my creative eggs in a single basket.
Which isn’t to say I’m not excited about HWSTG coming out next week. I’m thrilled that after so much time—15 years!—this creative baby of mine will be available for people to read. It’s pretty wild. (Also, humbling.)
I’d love to see you at an event! I hope it goes without saying, but if you were kind enough to preorder my novel (thank you), you don’t need to buy another copy if you come to an event. (Or even if you didn’t—buying is totally unnecessary; just come celebrate with me. In-person support is super meaningful.) I’m still working on arranging more events and have a few July events scheduled, but here is what’s scheduled for the next month.
LAUNCH EVENTS:
My Rockford launch will be at Maze Books on Friday, May 15th at 5:01pm. (IYKYK.) I don’t plan on reading for this one, but there will be giveaways, snacks, likely more cake than attendees, thanks to a generous donation from Nothing Bundt Cakes, and live music by two of my favorite musicians, Phil Goudreau** and Kevin Schwitters, performing La Historia songs from the album Low Mimetic (which is basically the novel’s soundtrack). Plus, I’m cooking up a storytelling game so my coworkers and I will tell some of our wildest work stories. It’ll be FUN.
I’m thrilled and honored that Chicago Review of Books is sponsoring my Chicago launch, which will be at The Understudy on May 21 at 7:30pm. Doors open at 7pm. I’ll be in conversation with the inimitable Megan Stielstra. It’ll be your traditional literary launch event at a super cool place full of people I love— i.e., the literary launch of my dreams!
OTHER EVENTS:
I’ll be reading at Sunday Salon Chicago on May 24 at 7pm at Roscoe Books with some very cool writers.
I’m reading at Rally Reading Series on June 4 at 7pm at Pete’s Candy Store in Brooklyn. (Two more NYC events are in the works, tentatively scheduled for June 7 and 8. Stay tuned.)
I’m reading at Read Some Shit Chicago on June 10 at 6:30pm at AliveOne.
I’ll be in conversation with Alison Kinney about HWSTG and Alison’s fantastic book, The United States of Rejection, at Pilsen Community Books on June 15 at 7pm.
I’d love to see you at any of these if you can make it!
(**Okay, a little more context about the song recording now that I’ve established I love Phil Goudreau’s music—he’s the friend I recorded the song with. And I’d be remiss not to mention the whole thing was thanks to my dear talented friend Melissa Massiel Blanco, who worked some sound engineering magic to create 3 versions of the song!)
Signing off with this song that somehow felt like a fitting title for this post:
Wishing you a beautiful month that includes plenty of rest but also lots of creativity, in whatever form that takes. <3