Mike and I had lobster rolls at our wedding, and so we were really looking forward to Maine, the great lobster shack of our dreams, etc. Our expectations were huge, and I’m happy to say that they were exceeded at every turn.

Our first stop was Longfellow Books, the wonderful shop where I would be reading later in the day. Chris was so enthusiastic about Portland, and about books, that we fell in love with the whole place immediately.

Chris sent us to the Porthole for lunch. His directions were as follows: “Walk down the alley until it looks like you’re going to Tijuana.”

The Porthole did us right. Fried scallops, fried fish, cole slaw, heaven. We were so full that we had to walk it off a little bit.

Was it our fault that we wandered right past Duckfat? Pictured above: one strawberry milkshake.

Me and my new friend Betty. We’re giving ourselves facelifts. Betty told me that I look like one of Titian’s paintings, and that I should always wear my hair just so. You’ve got a deal, Betty.

Phyllis has baked either cookies or cupcakes for every single one of Longfellow’s readings for the last four years. For me, she made “good marriage” cookies, into which she put “only the good ingredients.” Phyllis is also an expert on clowns. Really. Could this bookstore get any better? I don’t think so.

Stuart is the owner of Longfellow, and is a crusader of good in the universe. I wanted him to adopt me.

These are the Susans. They met at the reading. The Susan on the right told me that the Maine winters get very long and boring, so a couple of years ago, she threw a Susan party, and invited all the other Susans she knew.  Today is my mother’s birthday, and she is also named Susan, and so it all felt very fortuitous.

The youngest audience member was Emily, my husband’s first cousin.

The next morning, the cousins climbed on some rocks in Kennebunkport.

On the beach in Ogunquit, shoes in hand.

Lunch, part one.

Lunch, part two.

Oh, Maine! We couldn’t have loved you more! Antique stores! Lobster rolls! Rocky beaches! The Barbour outlet! Vacationland, indeed.

love
Emma

After the raging success that was the Brookline Booksmith, we were wary of Portsmouth. How could it improve on an audience filled with sugar-happy friends? What fools we were!

We went to Colby’s for breakfast. Even before our food arrived, we were repeating the phrase “I love this place” with alarming frequency.

The strawberry pancakes at Colby’s. Our waitress warned us that the pancakes were big, and that we might only need one. The well-intentioned girl had clearly not been reading the blog. Afterward, we talked to her about the NKOTBSB concert she’s just attended, with special guest-stars Naughty By Nature. She was Our People.

Then we walked over a bridge into Maine, because we could.

After a brief disco nap, we met up with Liberty, the Ambassadoress of New Hampshire.

Liberty introduced us to some local wildlife.

Then we walked back into Maine for a Lobster Torpedo. Don’t even ask if I ate it all, obviously I did.

Mike, bridge.

Clocktower, bells and all. We kept waiting for Doc Brown to show up.

The wonderfully warm RiverRun Bookstore, with OPWM visible in the window.

My new best friend Meganne baked these astonishingly delicious things. Strawberry jam, crumbly top. Oh boy. You would have loved them. Mike had four.

I read first. People laughed at all the right spots.

Then my pal Jami Attenberg read from her forthcoming novel, The Middlesteins. Jami likes to gesture.

Then the very lovely Kate Christensen read from The Astral, which came out two days ago. Kate is one of my favorite contemporary writers, and I was beyond excited to read with her. As it turns out, she’s also very sweet and very funny and has the kind of easy laugh that makes dorky fangirls like me feel normal again.

See what I mean? Swoon.

Joe Hill turned up for the reading, sweet man that he is. (Note: if you scroll back through to the Rhinebeck reading, you will find Joe’s younger brother Owen hiding behind his arm.)

I don’t know exactly what is going on here. I think I’m selling this young woman my book through a mime experiment.

Then we went out and drank some local beer. There are an astonishing number of writers in New Hampshire, as it turns out. We had such a good time that we are now going to keep an eye on real estate listings, just in case.

Next stop, Longfellow Books in Portland, Maine!

love,
Emma

After baking a particularly delicious batch of brownies, Mike and I set out for Brookline. We left at noon, which meant that by the time we passed Mamaroneck, Mike’s boyhood home, it was time to stop for a slice of Sal’s Pizza.

I think Mike looks more Italian when he’s in Westchester County.

By the time we got to Boston, it was dinnertime. Listen, we like to eat. If you’re not into pictures of food, I really can’t help you. Some loyal readers might recall that the last time we were in Boston, our friend John Woo from The Magnetic Fields made a short film about us that included mentions of the above meal.

The Brookline Booksmith. I made a joke about how reading so close to Joey McIntyre’s birthplace was like reading in Mecca or Jerusalem and everyone was like, girl, you crazy, and then laughed politely.

They called me phenomenal! In public! I swoon.

Evan is the Events Czar at the Brookline Booksmith. Here, he is telling a story about a llama. Evan likes llamas. We like Evan.

The adorable Delia!

The adorable Jon, one of Newton’s finest.

The lovely and talented Chris Ewen. Have you listened to the Future Bible Heroes lately? Also, because awesome people travel in packs, it was at a FBH show at the Mercury Lounge about one thousand years ago that I first heard Kelly Link (pictured above, in plaid) read her backwards cheerleader story which made my brain melt with happiness.

Lots of people loved the brownies, but only Ursula carried one around, licking with affection. Thank you, Ursula.

Sam gets points for coming to TWO of my readings, and extra extra points for bringing the whole family. I paid the children in chocolate, as one does.

Thank you thank you to all my tweeps who came, and to all my new friends, too. Two people at the reading told me that they “internet-stalk” me, which I call “being friends.” Kisses to all!

See you tonight, Portsmouth, NH!

love
Emma

Last night, I had the profound pleasure of reading at May’s installment of Largehearted Lit. If you don’t read David Gutkowski’s blog, you’re being silly, and should start. Also, he brought two boxes of Peter Pan donuts to the reading, so that tells you pretty much everything you need to know.

First, Austin and Lev Grossman read. Both were funny and engaging and wonderful. Lev read from a chapter of his forthcoming book, The Magician King, and I got so excited that I emailed his editor today to get an ARC. Score.

Then my dad and I hit the stage, where we performed our well-honed comedy routine.

Then the rest of us got out of the way and let Big Pete do his thing.

After the reading, my mother smoked pot in the bathroom AND tried to make out with Christine, WORD’s proprietress.

This is what happens when Stephanie hand-sells too many books in one day.

I’ll be back at WORD on June 10th for ‘Just Working on My Novel.’ It’s always fun. Why would you be somewhere else?

Yours,
Emma

Yesterday afternoon, I coaxed a huge gaggle of wonderful people into my car, and we all drove up to Rhinebeck for my reading at Oblong Books + Music with Emily Mandel. It was rainy, but we had enough snacks to last for several days, and spirits were high.

We are up-and-coming novelists. It says so right there on the poster.

Emily and I listen to the very wonderful Suzanna Hermans introduce us.

Me, smiling at Emily.

The Oblongirl herself.

Stephanie, smizing.

The camera-shy novelist Owen King. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be a meerkat (and come on, who hasn’t), you should really read Owen’s story in this anthology he edited.

My pal Loyita, cute as a button.

Emily and her reading copy of The Singer’s Gun, marked with every event she’s done for the book. I am so doing this next time.

My very adorable mother and the legendary Bob Woods. We are an OLTL family, in case you’re just tuning in.

Stephanie, Christine and Mike were all giggles at dinner.

During the Q + A, Emily taught the audience how to properly knot a scarf. Really. I mean, I’d listen to her, wouldn’t you?

Just us chickens. I mean, up-and-coming novelists.

Afterward, Mike drove us home in the dark, horrible monsoon-ish rain. We all got home safe and sound, utterly charmed by the entire experience. Viva Rhinebeck! Viva Oblong! Three cheers for everyone involved.

Yours,
Emma

This warms my heart so much that I will probably blow up in about five minutes. Better share it with you now. The extremely lovely Ashley Van Buren just posted this on Twitter, in response to a question about how people use social media in their decision to buy books.

On Tuesday 12th April 2011, @avb said:

@Bookgirl96 Here’s an example of how I use social media to make book choices. I noticed @emmastraub‘s “Other People We Married” came up a lot in a #FridayReads.@ErikaRobuck tweeted a link to an excerpt (which I believe was a Tumblr reblog from@HousingWorksBks). I read the excerpt and loved it. Saw that @HousingWorksBks‘ Tumblr linked to Emma Straub’s Tumblr. Started following her Tumblr. Most of what she posted are things I love, so I felt an even stronger desire to read her book. Since I couldn’t download her book on my Kindle, I went to her website and found it was only available at indie bookstores (she helpfully listed which ones). I bought a copy from@mcnallyjackson, who confirmed via Twitter they had it. A friend borrowed the book from me before I read it, so I went to Three Lives and Company and purchased a second copy. While there, I talked up the book to the store owner and manager telling them all about her social media campaign and how I came to find the book. They’re now reading the book and say they will reco it to their customers.

Heavenly. Heavenly. Heavenly.

love
Emma

Though I now live in the fair borough of Brooklyn, I will always be a Manhattan girl at heart, and it thrilled me to no end to read at McNally Jackson last night. The place was packed to capacity, with friends old (my 1st babysitter!) and new (many, many of my Twitter friends). It was a total joy. Not pictured below: my cookies and brownies, which went very, very fast.

with LOVE
Emma

It is really exhausting to stand at a table for nine hours. BUT it is really gratifying to meet people, say hello to old friends, and match faces to twitter handles. I sold out of my book today, which is incredible. (If, for some reason, you wanted to buy one here at AWP, the books are of course still available through FiveChapters, BookCourt, WORD, and at my reading on 2/16 at McNally Jackson.

Also, a good interview I did with the L Magazine went live today, and you can read it here. I talk about Marcy Dermansky and my history of working with alternative presses. Good stuff.

Now I’m going to pass out.

love
Emma

Last night was the official launch party for Other People We Married, and it was a rousing success. I read the opening of “Rosemary,” my Brooklyn story, and then regaled everyone with a tale of my love for Joey McIntyre. There was cake! And champagne! And too many people to count. Highlights below.

Three cheers three cheers hooray! I couldn’t have asked for a better send-off into the universe. Next week, I take my show on the road to AWP, and the week after that, I’ll be at McNally Jackson (2/16). Stay tuned for more pictures of baked goods and hair accessories.

Yours, gratefully,
Emma

There are few things in life that I love more a good independent bookstore. The following is a list of wonderful indies that have ordered copies of my book, in ADDITION to the wonderful indies where I’m doing events. Books should land in these stores in about ten days.

The Rocking Bookstore, Wichita, KS!
The Harvard Bookstore, Cambridge, MA!
WORD, Brooklyn, NY!
Politics and Prose, Washington DC!
Book Soup, Los Angeles, CA!
Powell’s, Portland, OR!
The Tattered Cover, Denver, CO!

Of course, you can also get the book at any of the indies where I’m doing events, which are:

BookCourt, Brooklyn, NY!
McNally Jackson, NY, NY!
Oblong Books & Music, Rhinebeck, NY
Raconteur Books, Metuchen, NJ!
The Center for Fiction, NY, NY!
RiverRun Bookstore, Portsmouth, NH!
Skylight Books, Los Angeles, CA!

If you can think of an independent near you that is simply crying out for a little Emma Straub, let me know, and I’ll try to make it happen. Go team!

love

Emma