The Girl Most Likely To...feel perceived
Thank you to everyone who celebrated the cover reveal for THE GIRL MOST LIKELY TO (TGMLT) with me. Cover reveals are so fun because it’s the first real introduction for the book and it’s a time to appreciate the cover art (thanks again Debs Lim!). The high from the cover reveal was so potent, that I had the energy to film a Reel/TikTok. But after a week or so comes a crash. Several worries have crossed my mind since, like how do I keep talking about my book when it’s coming out next year? Or more specifically, how do I keep talking about my book without feeling perceived?
What no one tells you about being an author is that a big part of the job is managing your own emotions and expectations. Over the last few years, I’ve felt the highest highs and the lowest lows. It’s hard to bounce back from sometimes. There are a host of contradictory feelings going on at all times. Like yes, I love my family and friends for reading my book. But no, I don’t want to know that they listened to an open door scene on their commute to work.
This probably goes against everything Marketing would tell me to do, but I’m going to get some TGMLT-specific worries off my chest and maybe delete this newsletter later:
Will anyone like the one-night-only teen movie structure (think Superbad or Can’t Hardly Wait) layered with millennial existential crisis from a down-on-her-luck overachiever? I think TGMLT is both sillier and more serious than my previous books but you know, ymmv.
That *ahem* certain *ahem* scenes took more pages than usual and I really don’t need anyone I see regularly to tell me that they’ve read it. (this is a recurring worry.)
That for a book about online friends, I’m very afraid anyone I may have talked to in an AOL chat room 20+ years ago will find me. I will die from cringe!
I don’t really know what to do with these concerns, besides ignoring them lol. If anyone has tips, I’m all ears.
I want to end on a more positive note, so one thing I hope to share more of in the upcoming months are the songs that made it in TGMLT. You can expect an early 2000s mix of songs, but one group gets mentioned early in the book and that’s Kai. One thing that came out of the AOL chat rooms in the late 90s/early 2000s for me was exposure to Asian American media and so the reference to Kai was my small hat tip to that era.
What I’m Reading
I’m trying to read through my TBR before buying new books (what a concept!). My most recent read is The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen. I met Megan last year at Romance GenreCon and she’s so lovely. After chatting with her, I just knew I’d love her writing. I’ll be honest and say that zombies and funeral services are not usually my jam, but I loved all the characters in this book. Hart is a gruff and lonely demigod zombie-killing marshal. Mercy is a middle-child trying to save her family’s undertaking business. They don’t like each other in real life but they’re actually pen pals and their letters are delivered by a talking owl and potty-mouthed rabbit (I don’t know if I’m doing them justice but they’re great). I really enjoyed this book. It had lines that had me spurt out in laughter.
I just started The Partner Plot by Kristina Forest. One thing I like about Kristina’s writing is the way it naturally unfolds. Her voice is patient, but the story always moves along at a nice pace. As with her previous book, The Neighbor Favor, I root for her characters early on. I’m looking forward to reading more.
One more thing…
(or things, I should say)
Preorder for Steamy Lit Con: The last day to preorder books from Meet Cute Bookshop is 6/30! Here’s more details about preordering: https://meetcutebookshop.com/events/steamy-lit-con-2024. You can preorder my books here: https://meetcutebookshop.com/browse/filter/t/julie%20tieu/k/keyword. I plan to have a few fun things at my table at Steamy Lit Con, so I hope you stop by and say hi!
$1.99 Fancy Meeting You Here eBook: Okay I really don’t know how long this sale goes, but the FMYH ebook is still $1.99. Get it here, here, or here.
$3.99 FMYH Audiobook: 6 more days of this audiobook sale from LibroFM.
Besides Steamy Lit Con, I have a couple more events this summer. I’ll share more soon, but if you’re in the OC , this is your heads up.