Good Morning Sweethearts!
I hope that you all are doing well and that you’re having a lovely Friday! The last two weeks since the book has launched has been such a dream. I have been so touched that so many of you have texted or emailed me pictures of the books as they arrived at your homes, sent me photos of your children with the books, and also have given me your feedback on "How to Get Run Over by a Truck" It has been so wonderful to hear from you, and I am incredibly grateful to you for sharing your experience with me!
A few really wonderful things have happened that I wanted to share with you! I have done a couple of interviews about the book, and about my experience that I wanted to share with you.
In this interview I spoke about the day of the accident, and what it is like to be aware of the fact that you might lose your life in this Arrvls Podcast entitled "40 Blinks"
I spoke with Brooklyn Paper Radio about being a cyclist in Brooklyn, about what happened to the Truck driver, and they also asked me some tough questions about Warren. It was awesome and overwhelming all at the same time!
I also spoke with my best friend Leah Bonvissuto on this Storycorp interview, where we talked about how important it is to use your voice and to tell your story. It was an incredible interview with one of my favorite people in the world!
There was also some buzz about the book recently, which was unexpected and amazing! Jaime King, the beautiful and talented actress sent out an Instagram picture of the books that she’s reading right now to her 1 million followers, and "How to Get Run Over by a Truck" was on the top of the pile! It was such a happy surprise!
Also, New York Magazine listed "How to Get Run Over by a Truck" as one of the 13 Books We’re Reading Right Now! Which is mind blowing, because #1 its an amazing magazine and #2 because New York Magazine is my favorite magazine of all time! I can’t even believe that this is all happening!
I want to share with you all a really touching thing that has happened just yesterday - my insanely talented friend Arian Saleh, composed a score for the book for his musical project entitled The Libretto Project. It is so beautiful that I can’t help but I weep every time I hear it. On his site are all of the books that he has created scores for, and they are stunning! I am so honored to be a part of that list!
So, that’s what’s been happening in my world sweethearts! Thank you for making all of this possible! I am so incredibly grateful for your love and support!
Heart,
Katie
Today I want to give a shout out to my parents, Bob Dalrymple and Bonnie Bechtold. They’ve both done so much to make this book possible, and I (like most children) do not credit them enough.
My father has been the first line of defense against plot holes and grammatical errors since day one. Actually, even before day one-- he’s been reading every book and short story I’ve ever written since I could read. But for Faoii-- He listened to the idea long before I put pen to paper. He read the first chapter the morning after I woke up in the middle of the night and wrote it all down in one sitting. He was the first person to read the finished manuscript. The first one to offer advice and opinions. He read every rejection letter from every agent. He knows the inkshares process as well as I do now because he’s had to listen to me talk about each new step for several hours several times. This book exists, in large part, to him-- and its clean and polished edges are his doing as well.
My mother has shared EVERY SINGLE POST I’ve put up about The Last Faoii. Several times. And with more capitalization and exclamation points each time a new missive has gone out. She’s resilient and insistent and has more than earned her Faoii title. Half of you wouldn’t even know about this book if it wasn’t for her being my number one fan.
But even before The Last Faoii. Before the books, short stories, and poems. Before I could write or read... I grew up watching both of these people read every night. I listened as they read to me before bed. I learned to appreciate literature even before I knew the word. And that, I think, was the basis of all of this.
Thank you both. I love you. And I know I don’t say that enough, either.
WE DID IT, FAOII! WE REACHED QUILL!