HAVE YOURSELVES A MERRY LITTLE HOLIDAY
Lainey Cameron (the best hostess ever) and fellow 2020 Debut authors Leah Garriott, Samantha Verant, and Tessa Wegert during our #BookFriday holiday event.
Has it really been three months since my last blog entry? Inconceivable!
As I reflect on this past year, I feel an enormous sense of gratitude: for my readers, who have embraced A Good Family so warmly; for my family, who’ve put up with my endless silly selfies and searching for Little Free Libraries and hours wasted on Canva and social media; and most especially for my fellow authors, who have shared the ups and downs of this unique debuting-during-a-pandemic experience.
There’s no better way to support the author community than to BUY BOOKS, particularly by a debut or lesser-known author and from your local bookseller. For those of you still looking for holiday gift ideas or recommendations for your next great read, I urge you to check out the Debuts 2020 Holiday gift guide, which pairs books with fun themed gifts, or the Writers Grotto Holiday gift guide, which includes books for all ages and interests.
For more holiday inspiration, you might want to watch the Debuts 2020’s #BookFriday event, in which over 40 different debut authors gathered on Black Friday to talk about their favorite holiday movies, foods, traditions, and more. My super-fun panel starts at the 1:30:30 mark and includes Leah Garriott (Promised), Samantha Verant (The Secret French Recipes of Sophie Valroux), and Tessa Wegert (Death in the Family, The Dead Season), and is moderated by Lainey Cameron (The Exit Strategy) with surprise “cameo” appearances by host Annie McDonnell of The Write Review.
Finally, if you’re wondering what books I’m giving to my own family members this holiday, watch my conversation with the lovely Sarah McCraw Crow (The Wrong Kind of Woman) at A Novel Bee (due to technical difficulties, our convo starts at 4:00 and our gift idea discussion at 16:30). Family members: please do not watch!
As 2021 approaches, I already know at least one new year’s resolution: to spend less time on social media and more time actually writing. My goal is to get another book finished and under contract in the next year. Fingers crossed!
Members of the Writers Grotto gathered via Zoom to celebrate the 22 books published by Grotto authors in 2020 - so many that we couldn’t capture them all on one screen!