The Rollercoaster Starts Now

Keep your hands and arms inside the vehicle (unless you're using them to pre-order my debut novel).

Hello from the summit.

My writing career tends to be marked by peaks and valleys. While I do love the valleys - slower periods where I can make time for a morning workout or writing for hours at the library - the peaks are exhilarating and, at times, exhausting.

They’re also energizing. I am a textbook extrovert, and I feed off other people’s energy in what I like to hope is a non-vampire fashion.

On June 18th, I spoke at the first official event for Someone’s Gotta Give during the Hispanics in Philanthropy-Native Americans in Philanthropy joint summit.

My novel, as you may recall, is about Lucia, a 30-something Latina navigating expat life and motherhood in London with the unpredictable demands of her new job as a philanthropy advisor to the rich and famous. It’s a relatable beach read with a kick to it! Pairs well with a spicy margarita!

The summit was held in Albuquerque, where the spicy margaritas were flowing. New Mexico may not be the most straightforward place to get to from Scotland, but the journey was SO worth it to spend a few days with those brilliant communities. I read from the novel and told the standing room-only crowd a bit about my own professional non-fiction life in philanthropy advisory. But I also told them this:

The world feels heavy right now. This book was written as an escape. It’s fun and funny, light with some serious undertones. It takes you inside Buckingham Palace and to a conference on a private island full of billionaires who bring along their own chefs; but it also goes inside a North London center for immigrants and refugees, fundraising to keep a roof over their heads…I wanted to represent my window on the world: as a philanthropy advisor, a mother, an expat, and an immigrant who is also the daughter of immigrants.

I can’t wait to put this book into your hands and to feed off YOUR energy (again, not like a vampire) in just a few short months. So if you’re craving an escape that entertains and matters, come along for the ride with me.

Pre-Orders Are Important (So Important, I Wrote a Spicy Romance Novella to Encourage Them)

It is a truth universally acknowledged that pre-orders and early reviews are vitally important to a book’s success (even Colin Firth thinks so). Now, I realize you may not have read the book yet, but never fear. This is what Carlos calls a “future truth” - give me a glowing review now secure in the knowledge that you’re going to love it when it does finally hit your desk; just like my wonderful blurbers:

If you have a moment to spare I would be eternally grateful if you would (1) Preorder Someone’s Gotta Give in the USA or the UK and (2) leave a (great?) review on Goodreads.

Pre-orderers who email me at sggprizes@alishafmiranda.com will receive a copy of Slow and Steady, a romance novel by Lucia’s favorite author Tilly Willington (shhh, it’s me).

Writing with this level of…ahem…graphic detail…pushed me WAY out of my comfort zone (how very, My What If Year of me). But it if gets your heart racing AND compels you to pre-order, it will have been worth it. So as long as you promise never to bring up the whole captain’s chair scene in my presence, a copy of Slow and Steady is yours with your early purchase of Someone’s Gotta Give from any bookseller.

A Sneak Peek at My Upcoming Tour Stops

There are so many exciting things in the works for the fall that I can’t wait to share - but for those of you who, like me, like to put dates in your calendar way far in advance, here’s a preview of my movements over the next few months.

• August 22: Love Undone at the Edinburgh International Book Festival (in conversation with Jessica Stanley and Emma Gannon)

• Sept 17: DC

• Sept 18: Atlanta

• Sept 19: Miami

• Sept 23-25: NYC

• Oct 6: LA

• Oct 7-9: San Francisco

• Oct 12: Seattle

• Mid-Nov - Pre-Thanksgiving: London

In addition to the fun shindigs I’m planning, I’m also very, very happy (see point on extroversion and vampires, above) to come to your corporate bookclub, nonprofit book club, living room wine-drinking book club, living room non-wine-drinking book club….literally any book club.

If you’d like to chat about a private event while I’m in your city, please please reach out at hello@alishafmiranda.com.

Finally…

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your support and for being on this wild ride with me. It’s been 13 years since I gave actual birth, so that whole process is pretty fuzzy, but I’m telling you, birthing a novel feels somehow harder.

I guess that makes you all my metaphoric epidural. It’s the highest compliment I can pay.

See you at the top of the coaster.