Get ready for BIG BOOK NEWS!

This is a longer blog post than normal. I have big news. Are you ready?

Deep breath. It’s all happening. After years of failed starts, I decided I was going to write a book purely for fun.

I let myself drop my hang-ups about being taken seriously. I told my inner critic that I didn’t have to write a sophisticated novel to impress anyone; it didn’t have to be intelligent or literary or prize-worthy; it didn’t even have to make sense.

I stopped thinking about publishing anything, and I just wrote something that I wanted to read. To my delight, it worked. The novel I wrote is about to be published around the world!

1. THE BOOK

On May 8th, Radiant Shimmering Light is coming out in bookstores across Canada.

HarperCollins is my publisher. HarperCollins! Please preorder a copy (via your local independent bookstore, Indigo, or Amazon). The first week of book sales sends a big signal to HC; if there’s a high demand for the title, they’ll feel happy they took a risk on it. And we want publishers to keep taking risks!

There’s more.

Blackstone Audio is bringing Radiant Shimmering Light to your ears, with the delightful (award-winning) voice of Lisa Flanagan as narrator. I listened to three sample audio clips with three different narrator possibilities. When I heard Lisa read Lilian, I knew she was the one. I’m so excited to hear her bring this character to life!

There’s still more.

In August, my book comes out in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. I’m beside myself: the critically-acclaimed Text Publishing is bringing Radiant Shimmering Light down under! (And over and around, to the UK and some Commonwealth countries!)

Bloomsbury is bringing it to the USA this December — and I’m coming to the US to launch it!

I’m going to be making this American book tour happen on my own, so I’m open to opportunities: if you know a bookstore or a yoga/dance studio that would like to host a Radiant Shimmering Light event, and/or you have a spare bedroom and can host me in your book-loving city next winter, please let me know!

Each publisher wanted to design their own version of the cover art. Check these out:

But there’s even more.

2. THE GIVEAWAY

If you’re in Canada, I have a special request:

I have free ebooks to give away to the first 25 Canadian book reviewers who read this blog post!

I’m looking for early readers to give an honest review on Goodreads and Amazon.ca. Having reviews and conversations on those sites really affects how much my publishers want to work with me — and if we can cause a commotion in Canada this spring, it will make the rest of the year feel amazing.

Please help me out!

If you’d like to read and review the book, please email support@sarahselecky.com with your full name, email address, and location and we’ll get you your free ebook! Note: all review copies have been claimed. Thanks to everyone for their interest! 

3. THE BOOK PARTIES

If you live in Ontario, my first three book launch parties have been announced! I’d love to see you at one of these events. I’ll be signing books, and there will be dancing. Go here to RSVP.

4. THE MUSIC

Speaking of dancing: turn up the volume and press play on my Radiant Shimmering playlist! This is a swirling celebration for the characters, places and feelings in the novel. Expect colour, light, magic, and intimacy.

5. THE EARLY FEEDBACK

I had a great conversation with Carmen Spagnola about the book on her podcast. Have a listen!

The first review came in — a beautiful reading recommendation that made me blush:

“Radiant Shimmering Light is timely, easy to dive into, and has “summer read” all over it. But this is also a literary work that drills deep into character; it’s about as good as it gets for a discerning reader.” Read the whole review here.

These lovely authors read the early, uncorrected draft of the novel, and sent my publisher praise:

“Our online world provides endless humorous possibility and here is a book that’s witty, timely, and smart with regard to social media. But then, quite wonderfully, Selecky’s story turns more complicated than it first appeared. Bursting with energy and color, every page delights and provokes. This book is a dazzler.”
Karen Joy Fowler

“The human desire to belong is at the heart of Sarah Selecky’s radiant, shimmering novel. In the person of Lilian Quick, Selecky has created an irresistible heroine. She has once again proven that she is a writer perfectly attuned to the music of the present moment.”
Barbara Gowdy

“Warm, sharp and deceptively light, with smart things to say about the commodification of spirituality; I ate it up.”
Lisa Gabriele

“Radiant Shimmering Light is inventive and modern. Sarah Selecky delivers a cast of characters who are both recognizable and utterly unique in this novel that is as luminous as its title.”
Marissa Stapley

“Fresh and original, Sarah Selecky’s novel cleverly satirizes our insta-world but also takes its characters seriously enough to give them an ending that’s moving and transcendent.”
Kerry Clare

To recap:

1. Please preorder your copy of Radiant Shimmering Light!

2. If you live in Canada and you’d like a free review copy (ebook), email support@sarahselecky.com!

3. RSVP if you can come to one of my first three book parties (in Ontario)!

4. Dance to RSL!

And if your inner critic is currently telling you to write anything other than what you want to read, just say thanks for the advice, and move on. It can’t even see the great stuff you’re writing right now.

With love,

THE POSTSCRIPT

I’ve been waiting for this moment. It feels really good to finally share this news with you.

My novel is about, in part, an online community, and the problems associated with authenticity and connection when people know each other almost exclusively online. There are newsletters and blog posts peppered throughout my novel. Ha! I’m laughing, because this is a blog post that you’re reading right now. If you came here via my newsletter, I inserted your name in the email by using a piece of code that recognizes what you put into the “name” field when you signed up.

I use email robots to reach your inbox twice a month. And while that gives us an imperfect connection, it’s something. I’m grateful for the possibility that it offers. Because you’re a real person reading this, and I’m a real person writing this, and through this email software, we can sort of be together.

When we are writing and reading, we do not feel alone.

Thank you for supporting me.

You can always get in touch robot-free, by sending me a letter:

PO Box 6271, Picton Ontario, K0K 2T0 Canada.