Well, kiss my pumpkin spice latte, y’all… August absolutely flew by and September is hot on its heels! I’m having one of those months in which I feel swept along by the current of my life, and it’s all moving so fast that I am pretty much clinging to a branch for dear life and trying to glance around at the scenery once in a while.

I wanted to take a quick moment to say thank you to everyone who helped make the launch of Sugar Street such a success. Also sending a great big “hello” with a hug that goes on just long enough to be awkward to all the new friends I’ve made in the past month, and the old friends who’ve managed to put up with me for a while now…

At the Sugar Street Book Launch…

There are far too many people to thank individually for coming out to this event, but let me say again (sniff, sniff) what a joy it is to have friends old and new come hang out and let me show off my latest book baby. I realized later — partly after the trauma of my 9-year-old pinching his finger in a table hinge (he’s fine but it wasn’t pretty!) — that there were many people I didn’t get a chance to take pictures with and obviously I wasn’t able to represent everyone here, BUT. I love you guys. You’re seriously the best. Also, Ali’s Cookie Cake? INCREDIBLE. Note the hot pink shoes they added just for me. It’s the best cookie cake in the world. And, they ship. Tell them I sent you.

And the Jazzercise Launch Party

hosted by the gorgeous Allyson Eman… Where, I’m going to pause and tell you about the cake that brought us all together, made by my friend Mary Weinstein (who is one of the many hot ladies pictured below — specifically with the long blonde hair in the bottom picture, closest to said cake). Since we’re on the subject of cakes, again, Mary makes the MOST DELICIOUS CAKES EVER and a huge part of my motivation to finish this book and get it published was that she promised me a cake when I was done! (Who knew it would be that simple, right?)

Not only was it yummy and beautiful (as you can see), but the decorations on top are four alternating types of chocolate, each symbolizing one of Sugar Street’s leading ladies. There are miniature cookies for Maizy the baker, incredible chocolate coconut for Carras who is from Turks & Caicos, spicy chili chocolate for Jess & Tom, and refined piroulines for social climber Delia. Could that be any more perfect? Again, I couldn’t post pictures of everyone but I love dancing with all these ladies and I’m so appreciative they came out to celebrate with me. And seriously, there are some biceps in that crowd! Nobody’s messing with us!!

And FoxTale Book Shoppe with the super-cute Ricki Schultz…

(that *may* be Karen White (Dreams of Falling) between us – pause for fangirl moment… and we’re back!).

FoxTale is always fun, and if you haven’t checked out Ricki Schultz, I loved both her funny, timely novels Mr. Right-Swipe and Switch and Bait.

And Page Pairings in Greenville, SC…

(At which I completely failed to take pictures during the event, but please post and tag me if you did!)

Page Pairings was a fabulous event and a great excuse to haul my butt up to the very pretty city of Greenville, SC. It’s held at M. Judson Booksellers, a gorgeous bookstore downtown in the old courthouse building. At this event, readers buy a ticket that includes a taste of six different wines and one of six corresponding books. Sugar Street and I were paired with a nice French rosé, which I understand was some of the last remaining stock in the United States. I drank it with no guilt whatsoever, because it was delicious, and I had a blast talking to so many readers who came to visit me, Daren Wang and Amy Willoughby-Burle. And let’s be honest… the wine!

I did snag a selfie in Greenville’s Falls Park on the Reedy. No extra charge for the sweat. It’s my treat!

And The Decatur Book Festival…

It was my privilege to moderate two wonderful panels at this year’s DBF: one with four fabulous up-and-coming fiction authors from the Atlanta Writers Club, and another with Sally Kilpatrick and Jamie Weisman.

Plus, here’s a secret about authors: most of us are introverts (not me, actually, but pretty much everyone else). So when a bunch of smart, passionate introverts finally get out from behind their laptop screens and come together…. well, it’s wonderful and hard to get a word in edgewise!

And visiting the Carrollton Writers Guild…

I didn’t manage snap a picture at this event last week, but it was my privilege to be invited to talk to the Carrollton Writers Guild in west Georgia about book marketing. I love talking to other writers and geeking out about things like goals and metrics and Facebook and the publishing industry. They would probably tell you they had a hard time getting a word in edgewise…

So that’s the recap.

Whew! I may need to hibernate this winter. Except that it’s still almost 90 degrees in Georgia. (I know some of you are evacuated from the coast because of Hurricane Florence at the moment — or hosting evacuees at your home — so please stay safe and know I’m thinking about you!)

Hope you enjoyed the brief recap and the pictures. If you and I bumped into one another during all this hullabaloo (or if you’d like to join in next time), please leave a comment to say hello and circle back.

More excitement soon!

P.S. Will you leave a review?

If you’ve read Sugar Street (and especially if you loved it!) would you please consider reviewing it on Amazon or Goodreads?

PPS – The FTC wants me to tell you that this post contains affiliate links to some really awesome books by the authors mentioned above!

MJ Pullen

M.J. Pullen is a distracted writer and the mom of two boys in Roswell, Georgia, where she is absolutely late for something important right now. Her books include quirky romantic comedies and playful women's fiction. She blogs erratically with writing advice, random observations, and reflections on raising very loud kids and dogs. Join her Distracted Readers newsletter list for updates, free content, giveaways and more.