4 things that happened 3 months from my debut pub date

74 days.

That's it!

As of this writing, we are well under 3 months until my novel Dad Camp hits shelves.

This is officially crunch time. You know it's crunch time because I just walked in to my local library branch and awkwardly introduced myself. I've noticed that when you do this, people's first reaction is that you're self publishing and trying to get them to carry your book, and they try to wriggle out of the convo as quickly as they can. No shade to self-publishing at all, but I've been trying to drop the PENGUIN very early on in these conversations — I'm super legit I swear!

Let me get you caught up on everything that's been happening.

One. Full and final jacket

I'm really pumped that Dad Camp will be published in glorious hardcover.

There are pros and cons to choosing hardcover vs paperback. I think when you envision holding your book for the first time, you see it as a hardcover. But hardbacks are a lot more expensive (almost twice as much!), which could potentially put some people off from buying it.

I think hardcover is the right choice — it makes Dad Camp a much nicer Father's Day gift that way, which is a thing I'm hoping will really catch on.

And this past month I finally got to see the full jacket, courtesy of the Dutton art team.

Look how freaking cool!

My editor, agent, and I collaborated on the descriptive copy for the book, and we went back and forth on the little details like the placement of the blurbs, how the fonts were used, etc.

I LOVE IT. Seeing the themes and colors and font from the main cover continued throughout the rest of the jacket is just incredible. This is going to be one beautiful book to behold.

(If you're trying to zoom in to read those blurbs, I've been slowly rolling them out over on Instagram.)

Two. Audiobook intro and auditions

OK, this was a VERY cool surprise that just popped up in the last day or two.

I've been waiting for news on the Dad Camp audiobook, and out of the blue one day I get an email from the producer from Penguin Random House that will be spearheading it.

It's an introduction, along with some really, really kind words about the book (thanks Dan, if you're reading this!) from a fellow girl-dad.

And then, the coolest part: PRH has already held auditions for narrating Dad Camp, and they've sent me ~10 candidates to weigh in on.

I can't explain how cool it was to listen to professional voice actors reading a passage from my book. It's similar to seeing the cover art for the first time, seeing the work come alive in a new way through someone else's lense.

I really savored listening through all the samples, and I appreciated little touches that all of the actors brought to the reading. There were some really fun choices when it came to voices, comedic pauses, inflection — things that were never explicitly called for in the text but added a lot.

I've sent in my favorites from the list, so we'll see what happens from here.

This is definitely going to be one of those "debut author moments" I want to remember.

Three. Early media rumblings

We had our marketing and publicity kickoff a few weeks back, and some of the early pitching and awareness campaigns are starting to get traction.

I have an interview coming up next week with a local magazine, which I'm really excited for. And reviews from early readers continue to pour in.

There was one review I noticed on Goodreads from a dad that really spoke to me. There haven't been too many of those just yet. That's the audience I'm REALLY hoping we can reach and connect with. Would love to see more of that!

Four. Book 2

I still can't say anything about this, but I've been working on it, and I think it's going to be special.

That's it, that's the update!

What's next?

I don't really know what April holds just yet. But I would expect:

• Working on launch event plans at a local bookstore
• Possible early trade reviews
• More press and media interest
• Next steps in audiobook production

And who knows what else!

As always, let me end with a plug. You can pre-order Dad Camp here or add it to your Goodreads here — it all helps.