It's almost time! My debut novel, The Crying Tree, a story about the death penalty and forgiveness, will be on bookstore shelves beginning July 7th. After that, the show begins.

The Crying Tree's official launch will be at Powell's in downtown Portland, Oregon, on July 13th at 7:30 PM. Two days later, on July 15th, I will be at the Tea Party Bookshop in downtown Salem. The following Monday, July 20th, I will be at Seattle's Third Place Bookstore in Lake Forest Park. After that, I will be in New York, Montana, Colorado and California. My entire schedule is listed on the events page of my web site www.naseemrakha.com.

The other big news is that The Crying Tree has been chosen for Barnes & Noble's Discover Great New Writers series. This means that in autumn you will find the book prominently displayed in Barnes & Noble stores across the country. This opportunity also means The Crying Tree is in the running for the prestigious Discover Great New Authors award to be given out next year.

The Crying Tree has also been nominated for the Pacific NW Booksellers Award and was a featured pick in McNaughton's catalogue for libraries. You can read their interview with me here.

The best way to keep up to date on news about The Crying Tree is to visit my web site, or by joining my facebook group.

I hope you will attend one of my readings. I can tell you that from early reviews and discussions I had at BookExpo America, The Crying Tree is triggering some very intense interest among readers and bookclubs. Bookclubers will also be happy to note that the publisher has included a Readers' Guide to help facilitate discussion of the issues explored in the book.

Remember, it will be on your bookstores shelves beginning July 7th, and if you want to pre-order a copy, go to my web site and click on your preferred bookstore link.

Thank you for your support my journey. All my life I have wanted to write a book -- it feels quite wonderful to know I actually have.

 

Sincerely,