Leslie Anne Tarabella Southern With a Gulf Coast Accent

Just over 90 people showed up for my launch party for my new book, We Don’t Push in Fairhope. What a incredible feeling to be so loved by those who love their hometown. – Hey, that’s kind of what my book is about!  People kept coming in the back door as I was speaking and I was so happy to see each one! 

When I awoke the next day, still buzzing with excitement, I checked the Amazon rankings. As much as I love to support Independent bookstores, Amazon has taken over so much of the market, it’s important to keep up with their metrics. It really does help authors reach people in far-away places that wouldn’t normally know of or be able to find my book, so I’m learning to monitor the listings. Imagine my jumping up and down surprise when I saw my book was ranked #6 in the Alabama Travel category and in the top 50 for Regional Humor, By the next day, the Kindle version was #1 and the hardcover copy was still at #6 – two versions in the top ten out of a BAZILLION OTHER BOOKS! 

The rankings change day by day, but for now, I grabbed the momentary joy and celebrated with a bowl of ice cream AND cake, which is rare, since I’ve tried to give up (most) sugar. – My husband saw this as a sign I’d lost my mind. “Ice cream and cake??? Who are you?” I was slightly sugar sick afterwards. 

I delivered a book to my friend Jule, who is 105 years old and quoted on page 74 of We Don’t Push in Fairhope.. She will read every word (without glasses) and knowing her, will have it finished in a day or so, complete with marks on sections she wants to discuss. 

Thank you so much to everyone who was able to attend the launch party and thank you to everyone who has already ordered We Don’t Push in Fairhope. The local bookstore is almost sold out and I’ve shipped books to Wisconsin, Texas and North Carolina – where they are recovering from a very pushy hurricane! 

And one more favor . . . if you’ve read the book, I would LOVE a quote or review from you. This is the way the world of digital marketing works. A quick note on either Amazon, Goodreads or directly on my website, would be a huge help.- Thank you everyone.