a celebration & a new era
Tonight is the first stop of my book tour! I begin at my local bookstore, the utterly charming Blue Willow Books, on the west side of Houston. Blue Willow has been a wonderful steward of my books for over a decade, so naturally, I’m thrilled to be launching not just In Defense of Dabbling, but also my book tour, from a place that feels like home. If you’re in Houston, I hope you’ll join me tonight. If you’re not in Houston, I hope you’ll join me at other stops on the tour: these events allow me to thank you in person for supporting my work, and I’d love the opportunity to express my gratitude to as many of you as possible.
In Defense of Dabbling is my fourth book, which means that this is the fourth time I’ve had a book tour. A book tour is a bit of a strange thing: the closest event I can compare it to is a graduation ceremony. On one hand, friends and family all come out to celebrate a lot of hard work, and it’s public and joyful and maybe a little embarrassing, but overall, wildly encouraging and heartwarming. But there’s also a more private and introspective side to book tours: it’s an acknowledgment of the ending of a project that consumed much of an author’s private life, one that prompts consideration of who they were before putting pen to paper (or, more accurately, firing up that word processing software for the first time). By the time a book tour begins, an author isn’t the same person they were when they first started writing their book, because how could they be? So a book tour, like a graduation, isn’t just a celebration of an author’s past work accomplished, but also a sort of “checkpoint” before facing a future, embodied, transformed.
I mean, I say this like it’s true of all authors — I could be wrong. But this is how it feels for me.
Given this, I felt like marking the occasion of this book tour with my dear friend, Soniya. For over a decade, I’ve visited Soniya’s beautiful, calming henna studio to mark milestones — birthdays, mostly. When I go, I usually give her my budget, along with a word or phrase for inspiration, and let her do whatever comes to her. I’ve always been delighted by the result. When I arrived yesterday, I gave her the mantra that has been running through my mind for the last few months:
kindness is a power move.
I also decided to have the henna on my hands, so that as I sign books and hand them to the lovely people who support my work, maybe some of the love I feel for them, as well as the soulfulness behind Soniya’s work would somehow be conveyed to them.
Here’s what she created:
According to Soniya, the right hand is for giving, and so she chose to create a mandala based on an open lotus flower on my right palm. The left hand, she says, is for receiving, and so she made an intricate design based on a closed lotus flower. I deeply love the symbolism, and am so grateful to have her work with me as I begin this tour.
With that, let’s go! If you’re in Houston, please join me tonight at Blue Willow Bookshop to get this party started! I so believe in this little book, and would love to celebrate with you. Click here or the image below for more information — the party starts at 7!
Also, if you’re in central Texas, join me this Friday! I’ll be celebrating at the vibrant Nowhere Bookshop, hosted by proprietress and New York Times bestselling author Jenny Lawson. Jenny is a delight, and her bookstore is a wonderfully inclusive, welcoming space — both she and her establishment live by “KINDNESS IS A POWER MOVE.” Click here or the image below for more information — the party starts at 6!
And to those of you who have already purchased the book, thank you, thank you, thank you. There are more stops ahead, so stay tuned. I can’t wait to thank you in person.
An early blogging inspiration and colleague is gone.