Quote

"Keep working on a plan. Make no little plans. Make the biggest you can think of, and spend the rest of your life carrying it out." Harry S. Truman

Saturday, May 31, 2008

The book is now officially out !

Hurray ! Everyone listen very carefully, as this is Ifeanyi Amadi talking, well, writing. My dear authorly mother is out there living her life, and I couldn't resist sneaking in to shout out the news to the whole world. It is my story, after all.

Finally, today is the big day ! The book is out. Go and get it. Come on! Well, no, wait until you finish reading this post, and then, do rush to the nearest bookstore to buy Amadi's Snowman, yes?

You'll see that the cover of the book is gorgeous. I really love the way Dimitrea, my second mother the artist, worked with colors. It's sunny and warm, just like back home. And the way she painted that snowman up in the sky is so much like what I imagined when I tried to make sense of things, in my very unique way. I'm not saying anything more, because, well, because you have to buy the book, of course! How else will you find out what that snowman is doing up in that Nigerian sky, and what he means to me in the story ?

Oups ! Mom just arrived and caught me at the computer. She doesn't mind. She's smiling. She even asked me to say thank you to all who where involved in the creation of the book : the publisher, Jennifer Bunting, the editor, Audrey Maynard, and her assistant, Karen, the lovely publicist at Tilbury Publishers, Sarah McGinnis, and of course, Dimitrea Tokunbo, for bringing the book to life with her colorful art. She also said to not forget the people to whom the book is dedicated : her husband, Michel, with very special thanks to her friend back in Enugu, Theresa Madubuko, who read several millions drafts and answered just as many questions, and Uma Krishnaswami, who is her favorite teacher in the whole writers' universe.

I'm glad to report that she ended this sloppy thank you moment with a big kiss to me, because after all, if it weren't for me, there would never have been a story in the first place, and no story, no book.

Now, it is my turn to thank my authorly mother for making me famous. Imagine, me, Ifeanyi Amadi, hero of a book that will hopefully be read by many children all over the US, and I hope, back home, and who knows, maybe even all over the world. Isn't that something? Of course, as a pretty exceptional Igbo man of Nigeria, I deserve nothing less, but no matter. I'm totally thrilled to have my own book, and so, I say : "Dalu, mama imela." It means "thank you, Mother, well done," in my Igbo language.

So, please, if you live in the US, run to the nearest book stores - no, scratch that, run to ALL the book stores in your vicinity, and also those not in your immediate vicinity, and look for my book, and make sure you turn the cover so it faces all the prospective buyers who happen to walk by the shelves. And if you don't live in the US, the book is available for order on amazon.com and barnes and noble.com.

You can leave comments on this blog for me, if you'd like. I promise to reply.

P.S. Watch this space in the coming months. Mother the author is preparing a virtual book launch on this very blog. It should take place sometime at the end of October and there will be interviews, virtual school events, a tour of other blogs, AND books will be given away ! Hurray!

17 comments:

Unknown said...

Congratulations Katia and Ifeanyi! I tried to order your book today from Amazon and it's out of stock!

Annette Gulati said...

I'm waiting for mine too, delayed at B & N. Congratulations to both of you!!!

bloginette said...

Congrats! My daughter's/grandson's copy is in transit from Memphis to New Orleans, and my three copies are due to ship next week via amazon... looking forward to meeting you in person, Ifeanyi Amadi!

Katia said...

Wow ! That's awesome !
Out of stock, Danie? Well, I hope they RE-STOCK quickly :)
Annette and Jacqueline, thank you so much for your support. Please, let us know - Amadi and I - what you think. We're pretty anxious to hear feedback, as you may imagine. Or better even, if you think good things, leave a note on the book's page at amazon.com :)

Katia said...

This is Ifeanyi Amadi. Mother was so excited about reading your comments that she forgot that these messages are addressed to me, too. Thank you, Aunties Danie, Annette and Jacqueline for ordering the book. I hope you like it.
Ifeanyi Amadi.

Kelly said...

Congratulations, Katia and Ifeanyi Amadi!

Your book looks beautiful. I can't wait to share it with my daughter.

Katia said...

Thank you, Kelly. You'll have to tell me what you both think. I hope you're doing well :)
Katia and Ifeanyi Amadi

Anonymous said...

Sending thousands of good vibes from cloudy grey and rainy Mediterranean !! Good luck for this new life, Katia and Ifeanyi !

(Waiting for Amazon to work it...)

Katia said...

Thank you, Auntie Jo Ann. Ifeanyi Amadi.

Sue said...

Ifeanyi Amadi, I finally got to "meet" you for the first time today. And I must say I felt like such a proud auntie!
You are so handsome and charming, full of mischief and curiosity.
After watching you grow and develop in your mother's mind all these years, it is so wonderful to see you spring to life on the pages of your very own book.
Congratulations Ifeanyi Amadi and Katia!!! May many, many readers discover your amazing story.
Sue

Katia said...

Oh wow, thank you Auntie Sue, for letting us know. You should most definitely feel like a proud auntie. You helped my mother the author a lot when she was still fumbling around with all the drafts. And I like the was you describe me: handsome, charming, full of mischief and curiosity... Mm, I like that. OK, Mother wants to write something, too.
Ifeanyi Amadi

Thank you so much, Sue, as always.
Katia

Janet Brown said...

Ifeanyi Amadi and Katia, I'm on my way to my neighborhood bookstore to order your book! So many congratulations to both of you!

Katia said...

Thank you so much from the both of us, Janet. Let us know what you think.
Katia

Janet Brown said...

I did look for Tilbury House when I was briefly in the children's portion of BEA but then was dragged away for a meeting and couldn't go back. It was a frantic three days of representing ThingsAsian Press and trying to find reliable worldwide distribution for the books (I think we succeeded!) I had so many plans that were scuttled in the general mad whirl of Book Expo--BUT I have Amadi on order as I said and will do all I can to let readers know about it!

Katia said...

Janet, how very kind of you to have tried to locate Tilbury House. I can imagine how these three days would have sped by, for you. Did you get any sleep at all? I tend to get so nervous and excited in these kinds of situations that I loose my ability to sleep and rest. I enjoy myself so much that my mind keeps buzzing non-stop, even at night. I'm very glad that BEA was a success for you. That's wonderful. And thank you so much for your support. It's just strange to be so far from what's happening. I mean, my first book - something I've been dreaming about for so many years - is actually seating on shelves, being shown at BEA, and I can't even see that. So, I try to live the experience vicariously ... :)

Suzer said...

Congratulations. It looks like an excellent book---have added it to my amazon wishlist:)

Suzer
An expat in Oz

Katia said...

Thank you, Suzer. I'm yet to visit Australia, but would love to. Some day...