Sick of Me Yet? My Pre-Release Weekend

Hee. Well, on the eve of my debut, I have a few Q/As and links to post.

Check out Mia King's fabulous blog (and fabulous book, Good Things - it's in its THIRD print run!) for a fun Q/A with me, as well as an ice cream recipe that ties into the book.

Then head over to the wonderful Larramie's blog, Seize A Daisy, for a few of my inner-thoughts just before the book officially hits stores.

From there, move on to Kerri Campbell-Fivecoat's, Write For You, an awesome blog about the ins and outs of the writing world, for another Q/A on my writing habits and ideas behind the book.

More Q/A links tomorrow!

So, this weekend, I prepped for the book's release in a few ways.

I started Saturday morning at the Revlon Run/Walk. While I run a lot on the treadmill, I've never actually done a 5k, so I was really pumped for it. I got off the subway just in time to spy my girl-crush, Mandy Moore, perform her new song, Extraordinary, and I was rapt. Love her! And was within 20 feet of her too, which thrilled me to no end.

The race kicked off, and I ran it with no problems - though I'll admit to crying through parts of it while I ran. All around me, people wore signs memorializing loved ones they'd lost or who were battling the disease, and it was hard not to get choked up.

But I raised nearly $6,000, and this year, my husband and I promised to match all of the donations with a donation to The MetaCancer Foundation, a foundation that was established in Lizzie's memory, so even when I hit a big hill, I kept powering through because I knew that what I was dealing with was nothing compared to what Lizzie had to go through. And it was a pretty cool feeling knowing that I'd helped raised 12k just by doing this little run! From the beginning, I'd always wanted to give part of the proceeds of the sale of the book back to charity, but donating a portion of the sale of each book is complicated, so this was my way of giving back. I've been very blessed, and I really believe in putting some good out in the world for no other reason than putting it out there.

So that was Saturday. (Topped off by seeing a fabulous movie, Waitress. Keri Russell is one of my all-time faves - I've already spoken about my Felicity adoration - and the movie didn't disappoint. Even my husband admitted to really liking it.)

On Sunday, we walked down to the Border's at Time Warner Center. I was shocked (and a little thrilled!) to see a giant picture of my mug in the window! My son ran up and squealed, "Hi Mommy!," which I think was just about the highlight of my life...all of the joyful elements of my life come together for one perfect moment. Then we went inside, and bam! My husband spotted my book front and center on the new release table. I signed some copies and did my best not to accost book buyers and shove the book down their throats, and then we all left to get some ice cream and with big smiles on our faces.

Very cool weekend, and certainly, a first-in-a-lifetime experience. Oh yeah, and a friend emailed to tell me that the Literary Guild called me "a writer to watch" in their newest catalog! It doesn't get sweeter than this.

More tomorrow, when, on release day, maybe it will!