Linking up with Kelly!

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GUYS.

NEXT WEEK IS PUB DATE. (Preorder here!)

I really can’t even handle it right now, I am so excited. I know I’ve shared this GIF a lot, but it really sums up all my feelings:

It’s just….weird. I mean, great, and weird, and surreal to have the thing you’ve always wanted actually happen.

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It’s also surreal to have a cardinal want to interview you—-in April I’m going to NYC to be on Cardinal Dolan’s radio show! Since I love NYC, this is a real treat for me and I can’t wait to do this. I hope the weather cooperates and it’s nice because I’d like to visit Central Park, which I’ve never actually done. I’ve driven through it in a cab, but I’ve never properly been in it.

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Yesterday I had a call with the marketing department and we talked about all sorts of ideas and fun things. There are going to be book plates! And other fun things! Some of these things are just for email subscribers though, so if you want all the goodies, then be sure to subscribe! (Mail chimp is being silly right now, so I might have to manually add you if your email doesn’t go through. I’m working on it. But if that happens I’ll add you manually so you won’t miss anything!)

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In health news: I’ve got insulin now and my blood glucose levels (BGLs) are doing better, YAY.

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I want to share some of the great endorsement graphics that AMP did for me. If you follow me on social media, you’ve seen these, but they’re too good not to share here, too.

I’m so honored by these endorsements (and the others I’ll be sharing in the coming weeks!)

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I had my first radio interview this week, so that was scary, because I wasn’t sure how the CI would do, but it was fabulous. So yay! I have a few more in the coming weeks. When these things go live, I’ll post them on the book page and share them on social media!

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Finally—movies. I used to be really into the Oscar race, and it’s been a few years since I have been. But I’m jumping back in this year. I saw Joker yesterday.

The score is superb, and Joaquin Phoenix does a fabulous job as Arthur. It’s definitely a different take on the Joker than anything I’ve seen before in cinema—the arch mastermind cleverness really isn’t there. This is a rawness, a desire to hurt people who have hurt him, and I think it works for the character and the storyline of this particular film.

There is violence, and it is jarring. I don’t understand where people were getting the idea that this is an anti-woman film—it’s not. I do think that it springboards into discussions of: what do we tell kids about themselves? Do we lie to make them feel better? Or do we tell them the truth, even if it’s painful? How do our small actions impact other people? So I think it’s valuable from that aspect. It definitely made me think about these things, and at one point I was talking to the screen, telling characters to just behave! Don’t be so mean! Etc.

I tried to watch The Irishman and I lasted about 15 minutes. I am just not a Scorcese fan. I can’t tolerate his movies. They’re just too long and too rambling for me. The only one of his movies I was able to watch completely was Silence. And even that one is…..rambling.

I’m hoping to watch Ford v. Ferrari next, and then Judy and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood for the acting nominations.