Yet another review, this one from the Denver Post. It's really lovely.

In less than 24 hours, I am going to be having dinner with Barbara Kingsolver and then she is going to introduce me and speak about The Bellwether Prize at my reading at Vroman's in Pasadena. I never in my wildest dreams could have imagined that I would be in this position as a writer. I am nervous and thrilled and so deeply grateful. I feel unworthy. I feel affirmed. I feel utterly amazed and humbled and verklempt. I love Barbara Kingsolver. Everything about her. I love her work. I love her passion and presence and her commitment to social justice. I just hope I won't be too tonguetied around her. I'll have to let everyone know how it goes (and if anyone wants to come, it's at 7pm, this Tuesday the 13th at Vroman's Books, 695 Colorado, Pasadena; please be sure to say hello!).

More reviews!

Here's one from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal
and one from The Rocky Mountain News.

I am bowled over.

Well, the book is out. I can't believe it. The release of The Book of Dead Birds feels very different from the release of Fruitflesh, somehow. With Fruitflesh, I felt like I was naked to the world. With the novel, I feel like my characters are naked to the world. I almost feel more protective of them than I do of myself. It's like sending the kids to school for the first time, hoping they'll make friends, hoping they won't get teased (or beat up!) on the playground. I know the book is out of my hands at this point, but I want to hug it to my chest and keep it safe. Writing is so much a process of letting go.

It's been so lovely to meet people at my readings over the last few days. I am so grateful for the warm response I've received. My daughter threw me for a bit of a loop at my reading on Saturday, when she asked me to dance (after I had finished answering a question about my dance background). I wasn't prepared for that. I did some sort of twirly thing and tried not to get too dizzy. I never know what to expect from that girl! She and my son are both a constant source of amazement.

Here is a nice review of the novel on BookPage.

And here is an excerpt from an article in Pages Magazine that lists me as a "promising debut".


Read the book and let me know what you think!