Hello friends,
I hope you all are well. We’re OK over here in Sitges—just me and Bubba at the mo, Leo’s gone to Washington DC for work until Thursday. The Bubs and I are finishing off the last season of The Handmaid’s Tale and generally scurrying from shade to shadow on our walks now that the weather is turning hot and us redheads need to watch how much sun we get.
Bubba’s been having some dizzy spells, at first we thought it might be allergies or an inner ear problem, but I’m getting a ride with friends to the vet today, fingers crossed it’s nothing serious.😥
The news that Lamb had reached the #1 spot on Amazon’s Hot New Release / LGBTQ+ Literary Fiction list was a crazy surprise Friday morning, and a short-lived glory, but hey, better to be a bestseller for 15 minutes than never to have sold.
Lamb also reached #3 in Hot New Releases in Contemporary Urban Fiction, and #11 in LGBTQ+ Coming of Age Fiction, so Yay! to all that.
Also over the weekend, Ford Knows Books also hit #83 Rising in Fiction on the Substack Leaderboard, which is a bit of a puzzle since everyone thought that had to do with paid subscriptions, and mine have actually been falling.
I suspect it has to do with the engagement from all of you kind folks with your well-wishes and congratulations. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take it—I’ve never been on any Leaderboard ever, and thank you all very much for making publication week such a wonderful celebratory moment for me.
Did a little tweak to the name of this newsletter, I’d been thinking for awhile that “Ford Knows” was a little too cheeky for it’s own good. Although I still reserve the right to blab about life and other topics, I added “Books” to the title because it’s become pretty clear what this newsletter is about—from “The Books We ❤️ Club” to “The Road to Published” to Sweet Flag Books to Lamb—books, books, books. I knew I’d figure out my niche if I just kept banging away at it.
On a related note, to celebrate the publication of Lamb and the rebrand, I’m offering 50% off FOREVER on paid subscriptions to Ford Knows Books until my birthday on August 1st. I know the economic winds have been tempestuous of late, but if you can swing $25 to help support my unwavering commitment to all things books—publishing, talking about, celebrating—I would be so very grateful.
If you haven’t checked out the interview I did with K Anderson, host of Lost Spaces podcast, you can find it here:
It’s got some skeletons rattling around in it, but you probably guessed already I’ve got more than my fair share. K was so kind and got me to open up, and we had some good laughs despite the heavy themes.
Also, you can watch my interview with the delightful host Shawn Mooney of Shawn Breathes Books here:
Shawn has a wonderfully personable approach, and loves books even more than I do, so all of his episodes are fun to watch.
Tuesday next I leave for Matera, Italy (down in the arch of the boot) for the Indie Unconference, and I’m really looking forward to this small and manageable gathering. As some of you may remember, I was more than a little overwhelmed by the London Book Fair last year. I’ll have more to report when I get back.
And that’s about it for now. Thanks again for making this last week so special!
~ MTF
congrats on those top-100 spots, they are fun, even though they sometimes are short-lived. here's to many more in your future (and i just left you a review, sorry it took so long).
The Indie Unconference sounds fabulous! If you have time, swing by Alberobello. It’s a wonder.