If you see my head go bouncing down the street…

I always expected the weeks surrounding the release of Making Waves would be a bit hectic. What I didn’t count on was the degree to which I would feel like my head might actually spin off my body if I didn’t routinely reach up and hold it in place.

The fact that the book shipped early from Amazon and Barnes & Noble threw me for a loop, as did reports that Making Waves began appearing in bookstores across the country a full two weeks before the intended August 2 release date. 

Not that I’m complaining, and not that it’s unusual in the book world. Still, I have to admit I literally squealed in shock when I spotted my book at the Bend, Oregon Barnes & Noble this past Sunday. Every bookstore patron within a 20-foot radius turned to see who’d been stabbed.

There’s been a lot of other excitement, too. I’ve already mentioned the 4.5 star review in RT Book Reviews that noted, “This delightfully witty debut will have readers laughing out loud,” and the article in Writer’s Digest that praised Making Waves at one of ten “notable debuts.” I think I forgot to tell you about last week’s news that Booklist magazine wrote a wonderfully glowing review that included the line, “Fenske’s off-the-wall plotting is reminiscent of a tame Carl Hiaasen on cupid juice.”

Which is great, since I adore Carl Hiaasen, and I also adore how deliciously filthy “cupid juice” sounds.

Let’s see, what else is making my head spin? All the wonderful, amazing pictures people have been emailing and tweeting and posting to Facebook as they receive Making Waves. This one of my cousin’s five-year-old was particularly adorable:

Then there's this photo from regular blog reader, Jason, proving that not only do male readers enjoy Making Waves, but so do dogs:

Then there’s the amazing series of posts and pictures assembled by Teri Anne Stanley. You may recall, she won a contest on this blog to receive an Advance Reading Copy of Making Waves by promising to show it a good time. Her posts spanning July 18 through July 26 prove she took the job very seriously. I’m particularly fond of this photo:

Thanks to everyone else who’s sent wonderful photos and notes as you’ve received and read the book. It means the world to me!

Um, what else?

Oh, yeah. There’s still time to get a free bookmark (plus a chance to win a great prize package) for sending poof that you pre-ordered the book. Details about that are right here. Deadline is July 31.

I’ve also been hearing from a lot of you about wanting me to sign your copy of Making Waves. I’m sure smarter authors have a better method than I do, but here’s what I’ve done in the past when I wanted an author to sign a book for me: I buy the book, take it to the post office, and I mail it to the author. Weird, right? Mailing the author his/her own book? 

But before I seal up the package, I have the postal worker weigh the book and a return envelope I’ve addressed to myself. I slap the postage on that bad boy, stuff it in the package with the book, and mail the whole thing to the author. That way the author has a pre-paid envelope to send the signed book back to me.

I swear it makes sense if you’ve had a couple glasses of wine. If you want to give it a shot, feel free to mail your book and your self-addressed, stamped package (snicker) to Tawna Fenske; PO Box 573; Bend, OR 97709.

OK, what else am I forgetting?

Right. Breathing. And eating. And sleeping. And sex.

Kidding, obviously. 

You know I wouldn’t forget that last one even if my head did fall off.