TODAY’S 32 CANDLES ASK: Come Out And See Me [Pictures of You]

Hello Darlins,

I am loving all the shelf elf stories that I’ve been getting on Facebook. So please keep on shelf elfing and if you can take either a shelf elf pic or a pic of yourself with the book, as the lovely “other Ernessa” Sapper is in the photo the left, that would be even more awesome.

You probably thought that pic request was Today’s 32 Candles Ask — but it’s not. Oh no, today’s request has to do with you coming out to see me, specifically at one of two events that I’ll be at this weekend.

First up: The Leimert Park Book Fair on Saturday, June 26. I’m moderating the 12:30pm panel on black love complete with a tribute to E. Lynn Harris. AND I’m doing a small book signing. Sooo if you can’t make it to my first book event on Monday, do stop by. More info can be found HERE.

Second up: My first official book event is happening next Monday (June 28) at the Grove’s Barnes & Noble, so please, please, please come out for that. I’ll be reading from and signing the book, and perhaps most importantly, we’ll be gathering for drinks afterward at the nearby Whisper Lounge. You don’t have to RSVP, but it would be nice to get an approximation of how many people are coming, so if you’re so inclined please click on the invite below to let us know if you’re coming.

100% Best
etc

THEN and NOW: Tamara L

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then:

Did you consider yourself an ugly duckling in high school?

I definitely considered myself an ugly duckling in high school – I felt that I didn’t have the right clothes, hair, skin color, or politics. My mother put her salary towards the education and day-to-day necessities of her children/family. I had hair that quickly transitioned to its natural, nappy state at the first spray of moisture, to my continual dismay. I lacked the light to white skin tone that the boys (no matter their race) at my high school preferred, as well as a mane of long, straight or wavy hair that seemed to guarantee attractiveness. To top it off, my liberal views did not go over well with the evangelical, conservative private Christian high school that I attended (in Orange County, CA) either. .

Now:

When and how did you officially “swan?”

In my view, I officially became a swan in college. I went to a fantastic college – Smith College, where I met many women who were just like me or what I would be upon graduation: smart, thoughtful, confident, and outspoken. Women who shine. I started wearing natural hair styles that complemented my facial features. My liberal politics became broader and more well-informed due to college study and interactions/friendships with a broader range of people. I studied economics and political science, and could more than hold my own in debates about public policy. I started down a path for a successful career that would enable me to be financially independent and intellectually stimulated. I refused to settle when it came to dating and, while in college, I met a wonderful guy who loves and respects me – we have a great partnership that is 14 years strong.

Advice:

What advice would you give to the Before you?:

Hang in there. You have a well thought-out plan to study your way out. Don’t ever be ashamed to ask for help, or afraid to continually push yourself out of your comfort zone in coursework. The point is to push yourself intellectually as hard as possible. Your successes in high school will lay the groundwork for future opportunities to propel yourself in many different ways. You will leapfrog to a completely different and vastly improved trajectory (economic and social) for success if you hold on. Follow your heart, and do not let anyone lead you down a path that feels wrong. Take your stand and do not waver.

TODAY’S 32 CANDLES ASK: Shelf Elf Help Needed

Okay, I’m still reeling from all the people who supported 32 CANDLES yesterday on Facebook, Twitter, and through email blasts. I seriously can’t thank you enough, and I just want to hug all of you right now.

That all squealed, has anyone else ever heard the term “shelf elf?” Author Carleen Brice introduced it to me after she was kind enough to shelf elf 32 CANDLES for us as pictured. She used shelf elf as a noun, but I kind of like it more as a verb. As in, “I’m taking my two nephews to shelf elf around the city after lunch.” This simply means that we’re going to a few bookstores to make sure that 32 CANDLES is facing out as opposed to turned sideways, so that it may catch the casual browser’s eye much more easily.

Anywho, you’ve probably already figured out that Today’s 32 CANDLES ask is a shelf elf request. If you’re in a bookstore for any reason, please find 32 CANDLES and if it’s not already facing forward, then do us the favor of turning it around, so that customers can really see it.

Thanks so much in advance,
etc

THEN and NOW: Roya Hamadani

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then:

Did you consider yourself an ugly duckling in high school?

I attended a very blonde, blue-eyed kind of school system. From the time I was very little, I remember feeling different, and not different good. Kids asked if I lived in a tee-pee or wigwam, for example. Rather than the girl boys got crushes on, I was the girl they asked to deliver their messages to the girls they got crushes on. By the time I reached high school, the idea of myself as a genderless nerd had firmly entrenched itself in my mind. I had very little concept of myself as a beautiful girl, and forget about sexuality. It was unthinkable. Like a yeast, I assumed I might one day bud.

Now:

When and how did you officially “swan?”

It’s been a long road. I started to realize I was beautiful in my twenties, but it was not until I turned 33 that I finally felt comfortable with myself sexually. The “swanning” was an entirely mental process – it was never really about how I looked, it was about how I felt about how I looked. Now whenever I look in the mirror or catch my reflection in a shop window, I make a point of looking for something I like, not searching for so-called flaws.

Advice:

What advice would you give to the Before you?:

You are not fat. I repeat. You are not fat. And also, you are not fat. You are beautiful. Those high school boys, they don’t know a damn thing. Just wait. You don’t have to be afraid of being beautiful. It’s okay to be beautiful, not shameful or dangerous. Those news articles that your mother keeps showing you about rape and murder are not the whole story. You can hold your head high. Oh and, please think about wire frames for your next pair of glasses.

Your Life In One Sentence

As someone who never did manage to come up with a good one-sentence pitch for her novel, I found agent Rachelle Gardner’s advice on one-sentence pitches fascinating. She advises using specific, non-confusing language and not sounding like a downer.

For example if I were pitching THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, I might say

A guy learns many lessons while aging backwards in Louisiana before disappearing into the ether.

But I SHOULD say something like

Benjamin Button is born under mysterious circumstance in New Orleans, and learns many lessons about life, death, and love, while aging backward from an old man to a newborn baby.

Hmm, well, that’s still confusing, and maybe not specific enough, but like I said, I’m not particularly good at the one-sentence elevator pitch. I’ve gotten 32 CANDLES down to small paragraph, so I’ll take that.

But this all got me wondering what our actual lives might sound like as a one-sentence pitch. Mine might go…

Ernessa T. Carter grows up bored in St. Louis, goes on many exciting adventures all over the world, only to settle down in California and write a novel about something else entirely.

If I was allowed more than one sentence, I would definitely put in a “Go figure.” But I’m not, so, I guess I’ll leave it at that.

I want to hear about your lives though, in one-sentence, and I’m excited to see what you come up with.

Meanwhile, let’s congratulate the winner of our last online totebag giveaway… EVERYONE. We only got three comments and it was our last online tote bag giveaway, so I decided the more tote bags the merrier. You can see all the comments on the the “What Book Has Changed Your Life?” post here.

Interviews & Early Reviews [Hey, That Rhymes!]

First up, rolla the drums, please! Our final 32 CANDLES online T-shirt winner is … [ridiculously long American Idol pause] … [now a Project Runway pause] … [Top Chef Masters you are the worse of them all further pause] … ANGELA VISCA!!!

Angela, not only are you getting a 32 CANDLES T-shirt, but we’re also sending you a tote bag, b/c you won on the day of the 32 CANDLES book release. For everyone who either didn’t pre-order or pre-ordered, but didn’t win, there are still three rather easy ways to secure your own 32 CANDLES T-shirt. Read all about them HERE!

Meanwhile, a number of sites have been kind enough to come out in early support of 32 CANDLES with Interviews and Early Reviews. So for today’s official 32 CANDLES ASK, I asking you to give them some traffic by visiting and/or commenting on their 32 CANDLES items. Here’s the list!

INTERVIEWS:

1. Fabulously-coiffed, fellow St. Louis native, Curly Nikki, helped us get out the word about 32 CANDLES and it’s be-afroed heroine. [CurlyNikki]

2. Cynthia Hawkins from The Nervous Breakdown did a fantastic right of the interview, in which we talked about roller derby, Star Trek, and oh yeah, this one book, 32 CANDLES. [TheNervousBreakdown]

3. Kristin Gray went deep into the text for our interview in the DC Afro American. [Afro.com]

4. Carleen Brice inspired me to say the words “multi-dimensional time machine” in our interview for White Readers Meet Black Authors.” [WRMBA]

5. I had a total blast talking to Danielle Kwateng from one of my latest favorite websites Madam Noire. Make sure to check out the About Us page for her headshot pic, which I would copy in its entirety if I had my druthers about me (which I never do — pouty-face). [MadamNoire]

6. LaShaunda Hoffman from SORMAG basically got me to admit that I have an extremely dull author fantasy life. [SORMAG]

7. And Halie Rosenberg got me all gushy about the gourmet classes at Writing Pad. [TheWellFedMuse]

EARLY REVIEWS:

“This is one of the funniest, smartest books I have read in a long time.” — Toni, Sew Transformed

“I’ve shown a lot of restraint waiting this long to say I loved 32 Candles. Its ridiculously good. Its my favorite fiction debut of the year.” Doret, Color Online

“32 Candles is sure to resonate for those who thought themselves unworthy of true love…” -Wendy Coakley Thomas, Examiner.com

“This would be the perfect book to pack in your beach bag or bring along on vacation this summer.” Abby, Me and My Boys!

“

THEN and NOW: Monique K-V

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then:

Did you consider yourself an ugly duckling in high school?

Yes. All throughout school I thought I was ugly. I did not like my nappy hair and I hated my dark skin. Up until my first year of college, I wore makeup that was two shades lighter than my actual skin color. It is funny and sad all at the same time as I think back on it now…

Now:

When and how did you officially “swan?”

I met women in college, particularly women of color, in all different shapes, sizes and colors. And they loved who they were and embraced their differing looks with full force. By senior year I had stopped wearing makeup and cut off all my hair into a very short natural. Today, I rock a lock mohawk with my business suit (still no make up) with my head held high as I strut into meetings with colleagues.

Advice:

What advice would you give to the Before you?:

Today you hate your dark skin and nappy hair. Believe it or not, tomorrow you will love it. Today your closet is full of an assorted collection of foundations, lipsticks and eyeshadows. Tomorrow, putting on lipgloss will seem like a big deal. Today, you look into the mirror and struggle to love yourself. Tomorrow, you’ll look in your son’s face and see yourself and be so proud that he is the spitting image of his mother.

32 CANDLES Is In Stores Now!!!

I tried to resist putting exclamation marks in that subject line, but alas, it proved impossible. I managed to sleep three whole hours last night and the only thing I’m running on right now are exclamation points and this large cup of Starbucks Instant Coffee (which I would argue is better than their in-store drip — but that’s another blogumn for another day), so you’ll have to forgive me.

A few notes about 32 CANDLES:

1. Thank you all so much for all your love and support. A few of you just got here, I know, but so many of you accompanied me on the journey from unpublished to published author and I know that I wouldn’t have made it here without you.

2. For those of you who have sent me kind notes about receiving your copies. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for pre-ordering. If you could do me the further favor of leaving a review on either (or all of ) my Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or GoodReads pages when you’ve finished the book, I would be extremely grateful.

3. For those of you who haven’t purchased the book yet, please do me the favor of doing so by this Friday. That’s when the NYT tabulates their bestseller list.

4. Please let any networks that you’re affiliated with (sororities, alumnae groups, book clubs, church groups, et al) know about 32 CANDLES. I’ve attached a letter for you below to make your email blast easy.

5. If you have a friend who might enjoy 32 CANDLES, please buy her or him a copy. People love unexpected gifts!

Again, thank you so much for all you’ve already done. You’ve made my dreams come true, and I could not be any more grateful.

100% Love,

etc

Dear Friends and Family,

Please forgive me for the mass email. I just wanted to let you know that 32 CANDLES, a book written by my [family member/friend], Ernessa T. Carter goes on sale today. In short 32 CANDLES is about Davie Jones, a girl growing up poverty-stricken and unpopular in Mississippi. She sees the movie Sixteen Candles for the first time and decides that she wants her own “Molly Ringwald Ending.” Much drama ensues, and sixteen years later she has to answer the question, “Can someone achieve a Sixteen Candles ending at the age of 32?”

You can find out more about the book and watch the trailer at www.32candles.com.

Best,

YOUR NAME

TODAY’S 32 CANDLE’S ASK: Make 32 Candles Your Facebook Profile Pic!

Dearest Readers,

First of all congratulations to Monday’s T-shirt winner, Rosemary Tran Williamson. We’ll be pick our final pre-order T-shirt winner tomorrow, and the prize will be extra sweet, b/c I’ll be throwing in a 32 CANDLES tote bag, just because that’s the day 32 CANDLES actually comes out. Thanks in advance to everyone who pre-ordered the book. You’ve helped us tremendously with our first week sales.

Speaking of good first week sales, we’re running a two-week-long series called “TODAY’S 32 CANDLES ASK.” Basically we ask you to do one thing to support 32 CANDLES the next day, and you can either choose to do it or not to do it. But if you do it, we’ll be all kinds of grateful. So that all explained, let’s get into today’s ask:

On Tuesday, June 22, please change your profile pic to the 32 CANDLES book cover. You can save the image in this post, which is small enough to be uploaded to Facebook. After you upload, please either caption or enter a comment with the following Amazon order info: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0061957844?tag=fierandnerd-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0061957844&adid=1MQPW0TS5Y25QG258TNQ&

That’s it. Please keep the 32 CANDLES cover as your profile for the entire day, and feel free to take it down on Wednesday. Thanks so much in advance!

100% Grateful,

etc

THEN and NOW: Amy Robinson from “Tall Drink of Nerd”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then:

Did you consider yourself an ugly duckling in high school?

Oh heck yeah. I was an Ugly Duckling in giant plastic-framed glasses. .

Now:

When and how did you officially “swan?”

Probably “swan”ed in my Senior Year. I think that’s when I realized that I would be getting out of the small town that I grew up in very soon. Suddenly, what the other kids thought of me didn’t matter as much. (I still had my moments though!) I think that was the year I grew into my limbs too. I never grew into those glasses..

Advice:

What advice would you give to the Before you?

First I would give her a hug, because being a teen is HARD no matter what. After that, I’d tell her that the reason she’s crazy is because all those hormones mess with you, but not to stress. Everybody around her is trying to find their own place in the world, too. I would tell that girl to have confidence because she is smart and beautiful, she is surrounded by family who love her, even if they don’t quite think the same way she does. I would tell her to be strong, speak up, to not be afraid and that absolutely anything is possible. With hard work and determination, she can do absolutely anything. Oh and that it’s okay to be dorky/nerdy, because the most interesting people usually are.

Amy Robinson blogs every other Monday at Fierce and Nerdy. Check out her blogumn “Tall Drink of Nerd” here.