Today is a very special occasion for me – it’s the official publication day of my first book, Rowing The Atlantic, Lessons Learned on the Open Ocean. It also signals the start of my US book tour, with two radio interviews and a book signing.
The book signing is tonight, at Barnes & Noble on New York’s Upper West Side at 2289 Broadway @ 82nd St, from 7:00-8:30 pm.
If you’re not in the New York area, you might still be able to catch me on one of these radio shows:
West Coast: I’ll be joining Kelly Fuller by telephone on KVON-AM “Kellie in the Morning” at 7.15am Pacific Time – DOH! UPDATE! No sooner had I posted this blog than my publicist from Simon & Schuster called to say that this interview has been rescheduled to Oct 12 so I can get a longer timeslot on air. So no need to tune in today. Sorry! All very hectic here, with new opportunities opening up and other ones being upgraded. I’ll keep you abreast of developments as they happen!
East Coast: I’ll be in the studio with Leonard Lapate of WNYC-FM for the “Leonard Lopate Show” between 12:40-1:00 pm Eastern Time. This is a PBS affiliate, so hopefully the interview may be more widely broadcast.
Must run – the West Coast interview is about half an hour from now – and I still need to have my post-workout shower! Not that you can tell on the radio, of course, but it’s going to be a busy day, and I want to be ready and raring to go and feeling on tippy top form!
Just before I go – if you have already received your copy from Amazon or bought it from your local bookstore, please do post a review on Amazon. It really helps to boost sales, so I’d hugely appreciate it.
And thanks for your patience in waiting for your limited edition Larabar bookmarks. The empty Larabar wrappers are now on their way to my dear mother in England, and she will be getting busy assembling and laminating. But she’s a one-woman operation so it may take a bit of time. I know you’ll be understanding – and rest assured we’ll get them to you just as soon as we can!
The really cool thing about getting my book signed in Portland is the fact that I live in North Carolina and will be taking the train from Chicago to Seattle. I was then driving down to Vancouver (this was already in place before I knew my book would arrive before I left.) Portland is just across the river WILL be there for the signing !!! Terry & Bess
Congratulations, Roz!
There was a nice review yesterday on Three Sheets Northwest for Portland and Seattle.
Thanks to my Google Alert email this morning. See you soon in San Francisco.
I don’t usually sound this paranoid, but wash your hands a lot while you’re out book touring and flying, and avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. Every time I turn around lately I hear about someone else with a lot of public contact getting the flu.
Loved the beginning of your book. If I hadn’t had to get up early for work I would have been awake reading into the wee hours.
Good work Roz. I will order your book, and I have been keeping up on your posts. I erged this morning and was thinking of you,all the joy goes to you today. Amy in Austin. PS……… Who is Richard in Austin, I’d like to connect with him, as I am Kitchenkop@gmail!!
Read it. Couldn’t put it down until the very end. Review posted.
If anyone out there has any doubts about this book, just get it. I have read, edited and reviewed hundreds of books and Roz’s is right up there with the very best of them. And I’m not just saying that because I’m one of her fans. Go read my review on amazon.com.
(And remember to wash your hands first, like Joan says!)
John Kay, let us know when your book comes out. That was a great review!
Yes, I also couldn’t put it down.
Well done Roz! It’s compelling, interesting and I like the way you weave the various time lines together. I’m inspired! Best of luck with your tour. Hoping to see you in OC.
Roz,
How exciting! I can’t wait to get your book! I am so thrilled you will be in Portland. That is where I grew up and I am going to have my sister (hopefully!) go get my book and have it signed by you. I sure wish I could be there!
‘Have faith, Expect miracles’
Cheryl Moore
Roz, I just checked John Kay’s review — which is wonderful — and noticed your ranking has improved
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,476 in Books http://tinyurl.com/ydxncr4
Popular in these categories:
#2 in Boating
#6 in Adventurers & Explorers
#7 in Water Sports
Looking forward to meeting your sister, Cheryl!
Thanks to all who have posted reviews. I’m not quite up there with J K Rowling yet, but very exciting nonetheless!
I haven’t received my book yet!!! Damn!!
Your book just arrived in the mail! I look forward to reading some of it tonight. I hope to see you in Seattle next week at the book signing on the 13th at Good Life in the Palace Ballroom.
Seattle-Dave
Hi Roz
My wife and I have been following your incredible journey since you rowed out from under the Golden Gate Bridge last year. As many others have commented, your daily blog is truly inspirational and very entertaining.
So glad we’ll have a chance to meet you at the book signing in SF this week.
My book arrived! My book arrived! So excited to read it! Need more time!!! Have a great book tour. Thinking of you sleeping “just down the road” from me in L.A. in your swanky hotel room. You’ve earned it!
And of course, you will sign my copy when you eventually arrive in Australia….please!!!!
Amazon’s shipment tracking page shows my orders are in the local USPS mail sorting center.
Should be delivered today or tomorrow. YAY!!! The waiting is torture.
Roz, have you fallen into a luxury-suite coma? Those heavy draperies that block out all sunlight and the body-enveloping comfort of a really good pillow-top hotel bed can put you into a 14-hour blissful sleep if you’re not careful. Wouldn’t want that, would we? Must have our Roz fix.
UncaDoug, you could always beat a path to the nearest bookstore.
I’m still waiting for my order, but visited the bookstore in the meantime.
If you’re lucky enough to have some free time and find a comfy chair as I did, you can stop the torture of wondering. It’s hard to put down, so make sure you have time!
(I also moved the book off the shelf in the back where it was buried, to the prominent new book table in front…just doing my part:)
I will ask for your book for Christmas. Congratulations!
The NY book signing was packed … and I loved Roz’s 20 minutes or so of anectdotal info about her Atlantic voyage and the Q&A time. I began the book on the train ride home and read 125 pages by the time I went to sleep. (I refused to go to sleep at a decent hour because I could NOT put the book down! … Had to force myself to turn off the light at 1:00 a.m. — only because my alarm set for 6:30 a.m. the following morning was “pressuring” me.)
I’ve been highlighting a bunch of passages in the book that seem to relate directly to my frame of mind as I anticipate my own challenging adventure planned for next summer — walking across northern England from the Irish Sea to the North Sea, about 200 miles all in all. I love the honesty with which you write, Roz. It’s refreshing and somehow coaxes one to engage in a similar level of self-reflection.
To sum it up — Rowing the Atlantic — I’m loving it!
Hope your West Coast signing tour and your time in Laguna Beach and upcoming time in San Fran are all you want them to be, Roz.
Naomi
Naomi,
I have been wondering if you are looking for hiking buddies on your trans-Britannia adventure.
Having never been to the British Isles, I think that would be a great way to see the country.
If you are receptive to guiding a covey of Rozlings — or one or a few — please let us know …
BTW, I happened to google our favorite ocean rower and found the following article in German
http://www.pbosetti.de/newswriter/article.php?article_file=1252904257.txt&showtopic=
Here is an English translation courtesy of Google Translate … http://is.gd/45Kfg
Roz is mentioned in the third paragraph.
Hey Roz~ It was fabulous to meet you tonight in Laguna Beach! I am so in awe of your adventures. As you noticed, I am walking with a cane right now. But whenever I feel like slouching on my exercise/physical therapy, I think of your rowing for umpteen hours a day…it keeps me going.
Thanks for all that you do! And thanks for signing the book. I’ll probably be up half the night reading. Looking forward to it!
Cheers to your continued adventures!
Roz, you were awesome in Laguna tonight! I almost hate to indulge that overused expression but in this case it fits.
I highly encourage anyone within walking,biking,driving,swimming or rowing distance to meet this remarkable unique individual on one of her book tour stops.
She is delightfully inspiring, interesting,and personable, mixed with a pleasant dose of humility and twinkle in her eyes.
It was an honor to meet you tonight Roz, but I must admit it was very cool to have a chance to meet beforehand on the proverbial bar stool many of us encouraged and imagined!
Also, it was a nice surprise to get to meet Lynne Cox as well…. a double dose of inspiration!
Enjoy the rest of your tour Roz, you deserve it. Plus, Thank-you for the
thoughtful sentiments, they are very much appreciated.
Enjoy SF and Seattle, two of my favorite places….
Lea, I actually considered doing just that, but my evenings this week have been packed and I am just now sitting down with … guess what just arrived minutes ago … my copy. Today is furlough Friday thanks to the Governator (Ahnold) so I am now cracking open “rowing the ATLANTIC” and intend to finish it before I see Roz Sunday ;-D
P.S. Love your comment, as well as Naomi’s and DogsDontPurr’s
P.P.S. Serendipity … this post is Roz’s lucky number 23 ;-D
Roz,
Your sales rank on Amazon is moving up every day! Today it is #3,326 up from about 9,000 on Monday, and according to Unca Doug it was #6,476 on Wednesday! WOW! You book tour is working!
Keep it up. I can’t wait to see you at a book signing in Seattle next week.
Seattle-Dave
Seattle-Dave, Roz sold out tonight at the South End Rowing Club. The Green Apple Books guy brought a case of 40 and left empty handed … no books, but lots of green stuff. So I wonder how that gets into the Amazon.com equation. It is nearly midnight, and this is the current tally:
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,580 in Books
Popular in these categories
#1 in Water Sports
#1 in Boating
#3 in Adventurers & Explorers
Roz is headed your way so be sure not to miss out. Roz told her story to a packed room, standing on the third or fourth step of a creaky staircase in the old building. She was quite at ease as she gave us rare insight to her inner self — not unlike what I am reading in this wonderful book. Actually, for Roz, it is not so rare — she is so giving of her self — as we have learned from interacting with her here on the blog.
I have to admit that after reading the first page and a half, I was so enamored with the story that I succumbed to read the Epilogue and Acknowledgements. This is going to be good to the very last sentence.
The last sentence is a jewel. Now, don’t anybody [else] peek! It is a happy and humorous ending. I do believe that Roz is a master of everything she does.
Glad you enjoyed the epilogue, Doug – that’s my favorite bit too!
Quite exciting to see the sales figures, but even more I’m just excited about the book tour. The audiences have been fantastic and I’m having a blast! I’m surviving on adrenaline and 5 hours sleep a night, but feeling great!
Looking forward to tonight’s event at Writers and Drinks (a redundancy, as radio show host said yesterday!) in San Francisco!!
I had to stay up late two nights in a row because the book was too hard to put down. Don’t forget to post reviews to Amazon everyone! They say mine will appear in the next 48 hours. Bummed you aren’t coming to Chicago, Roz – I guess you’ll just have to come here for a book signing of your sequel!
I’m very proud of you Roz and you deserve to be on top of the world, however; Do remember where you’ve come from, where you have been and where you still have to go. I believe the world holds many more grand days for you, unless you happen to be swallowed by a whale. (I’m sorry but these things must be factored)
Bon Chance
T.Texino
At Sea
YOUR PORTLAND BOOK SIGNING. Enjoyed your talk greatly. Was very impressed by how much you shared in a short time. PLEASE keep writing and sharing your incredible life journey ! (Hope you find the whale book of use) Very respectfully , Charlie N.
Roz~ I read your book and could not put it down! In fact, I actually want to go back and read it all over again. It was such an incredible journey and such an adventure. I felt like I was right there in the moment with you. When you wrote about your boat getting swamped and all your bedding getting soaked, I could just feel the frustration and horror of what that meant for the rest of the trip. Oy.
You have a great talent for writing. The way you describe all that went on was so vivid and personal. I was completely drawn in from page one….and I cannot wait for your next book!
Cheers to your continued adventures!
Roz, glad your tour was enjoyable and apparently very successful.
The numbers have been bouncing around — a real roller coaster ride.
I just checked and they are vary favorable … so time to report …
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,676 in Books
Popular in these categories:
#1 in Boating
#3 in Water Sports
#4 in Adventurers & Explorers
Get some rest and rest assured, Rozlings love your book … and so does a very interested and intrigued waitress at Marie Callenders in Modesto, California! (I’ve been keeping her current with your progress off-line every couple of weeks when I take my 92-year-old dad there for dinner.)
I near my local Borders last night, so I went in to see how they had “Rowing the Atlantic” shelved, and they didn’t even have it in their computer look-up system. They said they could probably order it, but didn’t have it in the store and weren’t carrying it. WTH? This is a giant Borders next to a Whole Foods. Should be ideal. Have your S&S agent call them up and tell them up and tell them to replace their old all-”Twilight” window display with your book.
Roz, We all enjoyed your presentation at the National Geographic on Monday night. Great job – congratulations! Susan