Hummingbirds

Hi friends.

Greetings from a soft, low hotel bed in Boston. My book is out today and everything feels like a poem right now. Thanks to those of you who have already shown up to events. I promise you it is deeply meaningful to me to have you there. We are all long-lost friends.

I spent a few intense minutes trying to capture the beautiful light in the hotel room this morning. A surprise, this light. A thrill for me, someone who is always chasing it. I had never been in this hotel room before, how could I have expected it? Maybe I would never be here again. Move quickly, I thought. I kept pulling the curtain back further. And then all of a sudden the light was gone.

At my book launch in New Orleans on Sunday, it was just as I had pictured it would be when I planned it. A beautiful outdoor party in a place important to me in my community, talking with my friend Tricia about books, with the sun setting behind us. Surrounded by so many wonderful people. What I didn’t know was that there were hummingbirds there, flying and playing just above our heads as we spoke. Afterward, guests at the party came up to me in my signing line and told me about them. Everyone was so delighted. One after another, they told me. “There were hummingbirds!” What a thrill, what a surprise.

These are the best parts of being a writer, living this kind of life. The making of things. Creating interesting spaces for people to intersect. Being captivated. Being open, being curious. Letting the world unfold around you. Looking for the light. Showing up where the hummingbirds might be.

None of these pictures are perfect but I liked them anyway

This weekend PEOPLE magazine published an excerpt of my novel.  Also there was this incredible review of it in The New York Times Book Review where the reviewer said, “From her, I’d take 10 more chapters of unhappily ever after.” If you like, you can listen to me chat with New Orleans icon Susan Larson for a while. I also talked about our 1000 Words project and writer’s block with Connecticut legend Colin McEnroe. And you can find out more about the book in general here.

Please, wander forth into the world and pick a copy up at your local beautiful independent bookstore or wherever you shop online. I’ll be signing copies later at Books are Magic where I’ll be appearing with Mary H.K. Choi—hope to see you there if you’re in Brooklyn. And tomorrow I’ll be in Washington, DC with Linda Holmes.

Everything feels gentle this morning. I am just going to sit still a while longer before I head out into the world. Stay with the light in the room.

Thanks for being here.

Jami

You are reading Craft Talk, the home of #1000wordsofsummer and also a weekly newsletter about writing from Jami Attenberg. I’m also on twitter and instagram.