Henry, Alice, and Jay make their bookstore debut with Playing the Game (Neighborly Affection #1) at Books-A-Million. Is it creepy if I stand in the aisle and pet them? Yeah, that’s probably creepy. We’re good with hugs, though, right?
I’ve been flailing like a madwoman all week with nervous energy for the trade paperback print release of Playing the Game (Neighborly Affection #1) in Books-A-Million stores.
My mother-in-law (unlike the stereotype, we get along fantastically) sent me the first proof of the book on the shelves, a quick snap of Playing the Game in the romance section at her local Books-A-Million.
I promptly ran to my husband and shook him back and forth while shouting, “Come look, it’s my book! It’s at the store!” (This is more comical when you realize my husband is a foot taller than I am, and I have about as much hope of budging him as a lone ant does an oak tree.)
Henry, Alice, and Jay have made a lot of electronic friends, but I want them to be successful in paper, too, and go home with nice readers who’ll carry them into the bathtub and dog-ear favorite pages. I want them to get battered corners from being tossed in a bag and carted around town and to have sleepovers on unfamiliar nightstands when they get passed to a friend with a smile and a whispered, You have to meet these characters!
Pristine books lined up on the shelf just aren’t going to cut it — I want Henry, Alice, and Jay to be loved. Eyes-rubbed-off, stuffing-falling-out loved.
I know, I don’t ask for much.
Contribute to my insanity by coming out to the Books-A-Million store in York, Pennsylvania, from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8. I’ll sign your copy, you’ll get a free cookie, it’ll be a whole thing.
Or pop over to your local Books-A-Million and snap a picture of Henry, Alice, and Jay in the wild (keep your eyes open for a contest; more on that later). Or get your print copy at Books-A-Million online.
Mostly, though, if you love Henry, Alice, and Jay, please tell a friend or two. 🙂