THURSDAY

I hate this one part of being a writer, the month before publication when there is nothing happening to indicate whether or not your new book will do okay, or if you and your family will be so disgraced that you’ll end up at the Rescue Mission. Your mind is an Edgar Allan Poe story some days, and on others you are the toast of the town, and the only question is whether you’ll have to share your Nobel Prize with Trump. And every day of self-promotion makes you feel like a guy standing on the curb outside a Jiffy Lube or Pizza Hit in a Tweedledum costume with a sign, begging people to come in.

But promoting your work comes with the territory of being a writer. I have a family, old age, causes. Ask any writer: it is a nightmare. But for the next few weeks, I need to weave it into the other stuff I write, which is usually random spirit-lifting—Trump has had the worst month ever, his poll numbers down to Jan 6 level, the Jim Crow SAVE Act dead on arrival, and SCOTUS shooting down his tariffs. I promise you this promotion has an end date. So let’s get this out of the way for the week: My personal husband and I have a book called Good Writing out March 17. It is a sometimes funny dialogue between us, on 36 rules that will help you write better sentences, whether you are starting a memoir or writing a grant. Neal is brilliant, practical and overeducated, whereas I am like the third grade den mother who brings in cupcakes for everyone’s birthdays, and assures all the kids that they can and must find their own voices and tell their stories. Which they absolutely must.

Here’s how to pre-order a copy, with an oil change and pizza thrown in: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/786813/good-writing-by-neal-allen-and-anne-lamott/

And for you Bay Area people, Neal and I will be at the legendary Curran Theatre the night of publication, talking about all the stuff we talk about at home: love later on in life, souls, spirits,family, how we survive these difficult, scary days, and oh yeah, writing. Tickets at us.atgtickets.com/events/anne-lamott-neal-allen/curran-theatre Come celebrate with us, and claim your free oil change and pizza