January is usually the slowest and dreariest month of the year, but this time, it passed in a blur. Maybe because the line edits for 24 Hours in Italy were due on January 5th. I made the deadline and the relief that followed simply zipped by, days that felt delightfully calm—despite still having a full-time copywriting job and plenty of book-adjacent tasks to do (plus some socializing...dry January? Not for me)!
24 Hours in Italy
During this brief period of recuperation (I received copy edits yesterday so I’m back on on deadline), I've started getting my ducks in a row for all that's to come for 24 Hours in Italy before launch day on July 18th. It still seems far away, but I have no doubt it'll also pass by in a blur.
Speaking of which, I want to make this pre-launch period as fun and engaging as possible for subscribers and social media followers, so that is what I’ll endeavour to do!
Here's what you can expect, now, soon, and in the coming months:
Last year I made a playlist for 24 Hours in Paris (you can listen to it on Spotify), and recently I made one for 24 Hours in Italy. What happened this time around, was that each song tied in especially well to the events of the book, right down to specific lyrics. And so, I thought it would be fun to drop a playlist song per week in my Instagram stories, with some context to how it relates to the book. I call it "Playlist Tuesday" (groundbreaking name, I know!), and you can follow along every Tuesday by watching my stories on Instagram (@romimoondi).
In March, I’ll start something similar (also on Instagram) which will be even more directly tied to the book. This one will be called "Quote Wednesday" (another groundbreaking title, I know)! For this one, I’ll share a quote from the book each week (in chronological order, but without spoilers), along with some context of why that quote has rom com weight and meaning. This is a long and juicy series that will run until June, and by the time I'm through, you'll have gotten a lot of little previews of the book, and will hopefully be feeling amped for the release!
Tomorrow (Thursday Feb 2nd), I’ll be attending the largest library conference in Canada, the OLA Super Conference! I’m in awe of and appreciate those working in the library system, and how they support authors and handle the many challenges they face, so I'm looking forward to supporting them back, by signing free copies of 24 Hours in Paris! By the way, if you're like me and you've never been to a library conference before/are curious of what it's all about, follow my Instagram stories tomorrow and I'll give you a sneak peek!
Sometime in the next two months, the first 4 chapters of 24 Hours In Italy will be free to read! Are you curious? Excited? Keep an eye on my Instagram feed and newsletter updates, so you don't miss the announcement.
24 Hours in Italy will include some extras, like itinerary tips for Amalfi, and....a recipe! I'll preview some of that before the book launch; stay tuned!
I'll be doing a preorder giveaway (maybe two)! Stay tuned for details, and in the meantime, save a screenshot of your preorder so you can be eligible to enter the giveaway (and you can preorder 24 Hours in Italy here)
Finally, there will be even more fun stuff—including lots of cool Marketing/Events/PR things organized by my publisher!
For the day-to-day updates, follow my Instagram, as that's the social media account I use the most.
Finally, speaking of preorders...
If you've been subscribed to my newsletter since before the launch of 24 Hours in Paris, first of all, thank you! Secondly, you may have heard about preorders. As a little refresher, preordering the book before its launch (i.e. buying it online before it comes out and having it show up at your door (or on your e-reader) on launch day) is hugely beneficial to authors like me, who could only dream of ever being on a Colleen-Hoover-dominated NYT bestseller list. For us non-Hoover-ites, we're constantly trying to get noticed in the hyper-competitive romance book genre (a genre that, to this day, lacks cultural diversity).
Preorders really help us with this challenge, because not only do they count as part of first-week sales to give a book's launch a boost, but they indicate to retailers: "hey, there's demand for this rando no-name author's book, so maybe they're not such a no-name after all, and maybe we should order more copies to be ready for the launch. And maybe we should feature it more prominently when it arrives." To libraries, preorders indicate: "maybe we should order more copies and let readers know about it.” And libraries are a huge and beneficial part of the book eco-system!
For all of these reasons (and the fact that there will be a preorder giveaway forthcoming), it would mean a lot if you preordered a copy of 24 Hours in Italy (and voilà, all the handy "buy" links are here). Many of you have told me that you've already preordered the book, to which I very enthusiastically say: thank you!
You can also let your friends know they should preorder the book, because even if they haven't read 24 Hours in Paris, A: they still have 5.5 months to do so, and B: 24 Hours in Italy can actually be read as a standalone, as the book will begin with a little recap, and readers can always go back and read 24 Hours in Paris afterward if they like, as a prequel of sorts! If they're still on the fence about it, you can let them know this book is a second-chance romance with dual POV (I love dual POV), and it's also an armchair traveller book, as it'll transport you to the Amalfi Coast (as well as Rome and Tuscany), making it the perfect summer beach read, don't you think? You can also tell them 24 Hours in Paris got a Publisher's Weekly starred review (see here), so hopefully that gives them a little confidence that I'm not a garbage writer ;-)…
Anyway, thanks for reading this long rambling thing. There are many fun tidbits to come, and I'm looking forward to sharing them with you!
Stay tuned...
R