The Vapors is only one week away
Friends, it’s time.
It’s been nearly four years since I started writing Letter from Hot Springs. When I started, I thought it would only be a year of dispatches from our sojourn to Arkansas. But the book took a lot longer to finish, so I kept the letters going, even after I returned to New York. And you’ve stayed with me. Some of you only joined me recently. But the point is, if you’re here, you probably have been as anxiously waiting the release of The Vapors as I have. And in just over a week, it will be here. The Vapors will be available nationwide on July 7th.
And now I need all of your help.
We want this book to debut as strong as possible. And with all of your help, we can do it. I need everyone who subscribes to Letter from Hot Springs to not just buy The Vapors - I need you to preorder The Vapors.
Preordering the book helps in lots of ways. But one major thing it does is tell booksellers that people want to read it, so they will stock up on it. I’m a first-time author that nobody has ever heard of, so I could use some help getting the attention of bookstores. That’s why calling your local store and preordering will make a big difference. But it also means that your purchase will count towards the book’s first week sales, which will also help the book pick up the buzz it’s going to need.
If you haven’t preordered the book yet, what are you waiting for? Stop reading this and do it right now.
If you’ve already preordered, thank you! But you’re not completely off the hook. Now I need you to tell all your friends on social media to preorder the book, too. You can post a link to preorder it from whatever bookstore you want, preferably your local independent brick and mortar bookstore (though if you don’t have a local independent store then consider using Bookshop, because they give a portion of their profits to local independents). If you tag me in your post, or send me an email with a link to it, I’ll choose a few at random and mail you an actual, legit casino chip that was used at The Vapors in the 1960s!
If you’d like to give your friends a taste of the book, you can always direct them to the archive of this newsletter, or you can show them this excerpt that ran this week at The Ringer: The Casino that Time Forgot.
I know that you just want to read the damn book and not help sell it. I get it. And it kills me to ask you for this. But we’ve been through a lot together these last four years, you and me. And I think we both want to see The Vapors become a big hit and eventually a prestigious HBO limited series starring Mary Steenburgen as my grandmother, right? So we all have to do our part. And you know I’d do the same for you if you asked.
So let’s get out there and pester our friends and loved ones to PREORDER this book!
With gratitude,