Things have been busy around here! Take a look at what’s been going on:
Review by Gary Garth McCann of Late Last Night Books, 20 April
Interview on Big Blend Radio’s Champagne Sunday with Lisa and Nancy, 3 May **LISTEN**
Review and Interview at Curled Up with a Good Book, 6 May
Highlight on Book Release Daily, 7 May
“Perfect 10” Review at Romance Reviews Today, 8 May
Stayed tuned for lots more coming up throughout May and June!
Thanks to everyone who came to the launch party for literary historical novel Up the Hill to Home, held at the Hotel Monaco in D.C.’s Penn Quarter on 29 March, just a day after the book’s official release. Beautiful weather out in the courtyard set a perfect stage for celebrating the big milestone. The Hotel Monaco, with its stunning architecture by two of federal Washington’s most esteemed architects, Robert Mills and Thomas U. Walter, was originally the General Post Office, which plays a pivotal role in the book. The courtyard was where the horses and wagons used for mail delivery were originally stabled. Now it just makes a great spot for a party.
Congratulations to Sam Gordon, the lucky winner of the drawing for a signed hardcover edition of Up the Hill to Home. Sam–who did not need to be present to win–was eligible for the drawing because he had signed up for Jenny’s email list. Stay tuned for the start of another quarterly drawing; everyone on the mailing list is eligible to win, so sign up today!
Foreword Reviews magazine, the premiere indie book review house in the U.S., has selected Up the Hill to Home as one of eight debut novels to highlight in its summer issue, which will be available at Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million stores starting May 18th. In addition, there will be a bonus distribution of this issue at BookExpo America in May, the American Library Association annual conference in June, and the Beijing International Book Fair in August.
In part, the review says, “Jennifer Bort Yacovissi’s command of language and history make for fluid and tactile reading . . . Up the Hill to Home is an emotionally powerful, gorgeously imparted family saga.”
It’s no foolin’ that April 1st was a banner day in the life of Up the Hill to Home, because Kirkus Reviews–that granddaddy of all review sites–published a wonderful online review of the book (just beware the spoiler!). Some of the highlights include:
“The author creates believable characters whose lives contain plenty of passion and tragedy . . .”
“. . . history itself is the novel’s best feature. The author has done her homework, infusing her work with convincing details of 19th- and early-20th-century city life . . . ”
“. . . this student-run publishing house has turned out a good book.”