Taxonomy of an Idea: BABY TEETH

I was recently asked to write an article for Amazon, and I went from having no clue what to say to relishing the opportunity to really dissect how BABY TEETH settled in my brain as a story-worthy concept.

I got so into this "taxonomy" - of pinpointing the elements that ultimately influenced my book - that I may very well write similar articles in the future for whatever else I may write.

Where does an idea come from is a very complicated question, but this Amazon article let me dig deep into how BABY TEETH came to be. Read it here.

WESA Radio Interview

I did my first radio interview this week. I'm not gonna lie - I really wasn't feeling that well and I was afraid I'd done a crappy job. But this, my friends, is why I've agreed to do taped radio/TV and not live, because then they can edit together the best parts. ;-) 

When I read - and listened to - the final product I was pleasantly surprised: it was all just completely fine. Another truth: I tend to be pretty hard on myself, but... So much of this is new, and I don't have other experiences to gauge things against.

So without further ado, this link will take you to WESA, where you can read the article or listen to me talk about BABY TEETH. 

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Review

This review appeared in my local paper on July 17, the day my book was released!! (To see photos from Pub Day and the Launch Party, check out my feed on Instagram!)

In case this is too small to read, here is the online link.

My Agent, Swag, Seven Days & Counting

Hopefully my agent, Sarah, doesn't mind that I'm posting this pic of her:

Sarah Bedingfield

I made some BABY TEETH swag and sent her one of everything! Sarah is the reason that I'm on this journey - she plucked me from the slush pile, and changed my life. I know it sounds cliche, but sometimes the stars really do align, and that's how it's been for us. I guess she knew early in her reading of my manuscript that BABY TEETH was a project she was seriously interested in, and I knew during our first conversation that I wanted her to be my agent. It all just clicked: polishing the manuscript, submitting it, selling it. And here we are, seven days from publication!

I got to meet Sarah for the first time - almost a year and a half after she first contacted me - when I was in New York City for Book Expo America. She was as kind and smart in real life, and just as easy to talk to as she'd always been on the phone. And as I got to listen to her I realized she is a fearless person. And I love that. She lives her life passionately and adventurously in a way that I not only respect, but sort of envy. BABY TEETH is not only my debut, but it's Sarah's as well: the first book she sold as an agent. It has made everything about my experience as a new author even more meaningful as all of my milestones are also hers: truly, this book has been our journey.

I sent this swag as a little thank you, but of course it's just stuff. I am so grateful for her wisdom, patience, friendship, collaboration: it isn't too much to say that this is one of the most meaningful relationships in my life... I can't really express that with a mug or a bookmark. Hopefully our journey will go on and on and I'll have a million more chances to express my gratitude. 

After talking about it for almost sixteen months, in seven days it will be real: I'll have a book in the world. I'll be a professional author. So much of the past year has felt a bit unreal - and it still does. But in an amazing way. Sometimes I can't believe where we've come in those sixteen months. I'm sitting here on the couch that BABY TEETH bought, in the apartment that BABY TEETH pays for. I have no idea what the future holds. There's been a lot of buzz about the book, but I am a fundamentally cautious person in certain ways, and have learned not to celebrate the hypothetical. But next week BABY TEETH won't be hypothetical anymore, and we will embark on the next stage of our journey. This element of the "unknown" is quite tantalizing: what's going to happen??

We'll see. It is a comfort to know that I am not alone. My team at St. Martin's Press has been amazing - I have a team, I have people. We're probably all holding our breath a little, wondering how BABY TEETH will fare in the real world. Next week Sarah is coming into town for my launch - our launch. We're launching - I really feel that. The stars have aligned and we're in our rocketship, ready to go exploring.

BABY TEETH Updates: Audible, IndieNext, Publishers Weekly

Hello Readers!

As I write this we are EIGHT DAYS away from BABY TEETH's official publication date!! I fully admit that I have been remiss in posting updates. But let me try and fill you in...

- BABY TEETH has been selected for many amazing "Best of July" lists, including: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, PopSugar, Entertainment Weekly, and BookBub. (Instagram and Twitter are better places to follow me if you need daily info.) 

- I was very honored to be interviewed by Audible while I was in New York City for BookExpo. You can watch the video here.

- BABY TEETH was selected for the August 2018 IndieNext List!

- I was interviewed for Publishers Weekly: Writers to Watch, alongside some other fabulous debut novelists. Read it here.

- I was also honored to do an interview for Writers Digest (sorry, I don't have a link to that one).

- There's also good news on the UK front, where my book is being published as BAD APPLE. Beginning on Aug. 9 - launch day in the UK - BAD APPLE will be available as a promotional title at Tesco and ASDA stores!!

Library Journal Interview & Cover

I was incredibly honored to be interviewed by Library Journal for their Mystery Preview 2018 issue. And I was somewhat flabbergasted to be sent out on a photo shoot so I could appear on the cover of that issue. (It is starting to dawn on me that having a career in publishing is not just about being a hermit and wearing pajamas to work.)

An excerpt from the Q&A:

Truth, and the manipulation of it, are two tropes that work so well in Baby Teeth. How did you sustain the suspense when there’s knowledge the reader has about Hanna’s behavior and yet Suzette’s retelling of that same behavior isn’t always met with sympathy or acceptance, even from her own husband?

Many people don't know this about me, but I am a theatrically trained actor. One of the most indelible things I learned from an acting class was in regard to playing "evil" characters. The advice we were given was to never think of a character as evil, but to see their motivation as a natural consequence of their life, their experiences, their desire. This changed my thinking in many areas, but in regard to Baby Teeth it meant that I was always focused on each character's truth. I think the tension actually comes from the reader, and their awareness (and frustration) that there is a disconnect between one person's truth and another's.

Read the full Library Journal interview here.