Full transparency, GLAM PRIX RACERS isn’t the first book of ours that launched during the COVID-19 pandemic. Snazzy Cat Capers 3 Meow or Never came out September 2020 and, like the rest of the world, we were pretty anxious about…well, EVERYTHING. Instead of a fun launch party, we found ourselves making an appointment to go into a local bookstore after-hours, (all masked up!) and sign copies in the corner as they were closing. Really nothing at all like the super fun Snazzy Cat Capers series launch with our amazing Kelowna community.
And now, here we are about to launch Glam Prix Racers, book 1, the first in our new graphic novel series. Way back at the beginning of 2019 when we were writing this book, we had BIG plans for the launch. We would go to New York! We would meet up with our publishers and some other Macmillan authors and illustrators we’ve come to admire over the years! We would go back and visit the Barnes & Noble store at Union Square and be awestruck… and maybe sign books! [Insert sudden, jarring record scratch here.]
Nope. None of that is happening. Instead, as we continue to navigate the pandemic life for ourselves and our kids, we’re also spending our evenings giggling at our kitchen table, making posters and putting together some “race packages” with Glittergear Island maps, keychains, and stickers for our incredibly supportive local bookstores. As it turns out the “ZOOMs” in this book are SO.MUCH.BETTER than the daily Zoom calls that are just part of life now.
As May 11 gets closer, despite all the changes in plans, we’re getting pretty excited over here. Because no matter where WE are or what WE’RE doing, we hope that the kids who open this wildly bright book about magical racing creatures and their supercharged motos get totally transported from whatever disappointment they’ve faced over the past year and use their imaginations to ZOOM (the good kind) into the Glittergear Island world we made for them—a world where they can escape to find some sparkle, speed…and fun.