Welcome back and thanks for joining the Book Friends Forever! On this week’s episode, the book friends ask each other how they’re handling the ongoing pandemic both personally and professionally.

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“How have you been?”

Grace has been working on her Maya Lin biography for the She Persisted Chapter Book Series! Her family celebrated some fall spirit by going to Mike’s Maze, an epic corn maze in Sunderland, MA. Alvina went to New Jersey over the weekend to author Barry Lyga’s 50th Birthday celebration. This made the book friends start thinking about what they want their own 50th celebrations to look like.

Pandemic Check-In

Grace and Alvina talk about how they’re handling things as Delta variant makes its way around, kids are back in school, and the world continues to manage life in a pandemic world.

They both talk about how their professional lives and personal lives are intertwined. It’s been hard to separate them. The pandemic has slowed Grace down in a way that perhaps she wouldn’t have before, however, the result has made her feel like her work is not being seen and that she’s fading a way a bit.

Alvina admits that it’s a little strange to be so happy in her personal life during a pandemic but she did find love again! She talks about how the pandemic forced Stephen and her to fast forward their relationship in a way. She’s looking forward to their first real in-person event coming up at the Pen America Literary Gala! There is still so much uncertainty around any upcoming event or plans of any kind, including plans to go back to work at her office. “Uncertainty is the new normal.”

Pandemic and the Publishing Industry

Like everywhere in the world, the publishing industry is facing all kinds of trouble related to staffing issues and supply chain issues. (Order your books NOW for the holidays! Consider a gift card if the book you’re looking for is not available.)

There is difficulty in breaking out debut authors in the pandemic. Publishers are relying on the backlists. The book friends discuss in-person events vs. virtual and how that relates to book sales. What is the best way to get noticed these days and sell your work?

Fortune Cookie Segment: “Favorite Quotes that are resonating with us right now:”

Grace:

1. “You can do anything but you can’t do everything”.

2. “The Trees are about to show us how beautiful it can be to let things go.”

Alvina:

1. “Let everything happen to you, beauty and terror, just keep going, no feeling is final.”

2. “Progress not perfection”

Gratefuls:

Alvina is grateful for the opportunity to go to the U.S. Open and watch Leylah Fernandez rise to the top! Grace is grateful for a good night sleep and the melatonin gummies that her husband found for her.

*If you’re a patron, don’t forget to check out this week’s Random Questions feed! Authors Ali Benjamin and Grace Lin answer the question, “What are you freakishly bad at?” Click here to listen! If you’re not a patron already, join today!

Thank you for tuning in! Thank you to Hachette Audio, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, and Alex at Pacyworks Studio for producing and editing this podcast. Be sure to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and tell a friend about us. (Use the hashtag #bookfriendsforever.)