What nobody tells you about publishing (or maybe it’s what everyone tells you, hehe) is that there’s a lot of waiting. But now that we’re just three months away from The Distance To Home hitting bookshelves, it’s starting to feel . . . well, real. Reviews are coming out (in both this month’s Kirkus and School Library Journal) as well as other assorted news. It’s also available for request on NetGalley and continuing to make the rounds through several ARC tours (#bookjourney).
I was thrilled to learn a few weeks ago that The Distance To Home has been named a Junior Library Guild selection! As a former librarian, this honor means a lot to me, and I am so happy to know that my book will be making its way into so many schools and libraries thanks to this selection.
In non-publishing news, something extra special and long-awaited is happening next week. Yup, OPENING DAY! While I’ve enjoyed tuning in to the occasional spring training game, it’s just not the same as regular season baseball, when all the games count. Come Monday afternoon at 4:10 p.m., I can guarantee that my television will be tuned to NESN and I’ll be glued to David Price’s first official start for the Boston Red Sox. I’m really, really hoping for the Red Sox to pull themselves out of the basement this year and get back to playing great baseball. I’ve got some serious concerns about our starting pitching beyond David Price (should Rick Porcello still be a major league pitcher? will Clay Buccholz stay healthy? can Joe Kelly keep up his spring training excellence?), but I believe in the youth of our team. My prediction: this is going to be a huge (yuuuuuge?) year for Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts and (fingers-crossed on this last one) Jackie Bradley, Jr.. Hoping the boys can put together a great season for Big Papi’s finale.
