A book is a magical thing conjured when the imagination of the author meets the imagination of the reader. For The Rosemary Spell, the magic begins today–December 1, 2015, the official release day. Advanced review copies have been available for a few months, which means a fair number of readers have already had this book in hand, but today is the day the book can be purchased by anyone. Today, the book is released into the world.
Authors commonly liken publishing a book to having a baby, but today, I find more apt the metaphor of pushing a young bird out of the nest. I’ve done all I can for the fledgling, and, with considerable help from family, friends and all the wonderful people at Clarion/HMH, I’ve readied it for its journey out into the world. Now, it flies free, out and away from me. It flies into the arms of readers who’ve been waiting for it and readers who don’t know yet this book is gliding in their direction. I hope it will still be fluttering around many years from now and will perch on the fingers of readers who aren’t yet in the world themselves.
As The Rosemary Spell leaves the nest, it leaves me, in a way. It soars outward and becomes a thing that belongs to its readers. Each person who turns the pages of this book will find something unique inside and will thus make the book his or her own. Some of these readers will share their impressions with me or with the world, but most will not, and I will never know exactly where my book flies and lands and maybe even makes a nest of its own. So, today, I hold my breath and watch The Rosemary Spell go.