Happy Leap Day! What is everyone doing with their 24 hours of Bonus February? Here in middle Tennessee, the weather has decided to celebrate by getting abruptly cold again after being mild for the past week, which tricked my dormant flowers into peeking through to the surface just in time to freeze them again. Clearly the weather is a troll.

The past week has been one of several fun developments on the You Shouldn't Be Here front. First, completely unexpectedly, a box of ARCs (advance reader copies) showed up on my doorstep on Sunday morning. Coincidentally, we also had four dogs at our house on Sunday, since in addition to Bonnie the Foster (who is still available for adoption!) we also had our friends' dog, Rohan, while his humans were out of town. Obviously this made for a somewhat chaotic unboxing experience (to see what it looks like when you try to open a box of books in the midst of a pack of very excited dogs, watch my video), but I managed in the end, and they are so pretty. I just adore this cover so much, and it looks so snazzy all dressed up as a book.

Also You Shouldn't Be Here went up recently on Netgalley! This platform is just for folks within the book world—authors, publishing professionals, booksellers, librarians, book reviewers and influencers—but if that's you, feel free to go grab (and hopefully enjoy) an advance digital copy.

Giveaway time!

I only have a small number of printed ARCs, so I'm being pretty stingy with them, but y'all are my favorites, so it feels only right that one of them should go to one of you. That's right, I'm giving away a signed ARC of You Shouldn't Be Here to one lucky subscriber to this newsletter! All you have to do to enter is subscribe (and live in the U.S., sorry. International shipping rates are not my friend. But don't worry, there will be other opportunities for international folks in the future!). That's it! Which means if you're already subscribed, you're already entered! And if you sign up now, you are too!

But that's not all - I'll even toss in a few ways to get some extra entries. You can earn as many as you'd like, or just sit back and let everything ride on your one automatic entry. Totally up to you!

REQUIRED

• (1 entry) Sign up for this newsletter. That's it, you're done.

OPTIONAL (Please respond to this email or email newsletter@laurenthoman.com with the number of extra entries you have earned, along with any information requested below.):

• (+5) Request You Shouldn't Be Here from your local library (some libraries do not allow patrons to request books that haven't come out yet, but many do! If yours does, complete a purchase request and send me a screenshot.
• (+5) If your local library does not have I'll Stop the World yet, request it! Then send me a screenshot of your request.
• (+1-5) Follow me on social media. I am active on Instagram, Threads, Facebook, TikTok, and BlueSky. Please let me know which accounts you followed, along with your handle. +1 bonus entry for each.
• (+1) Follow me on BookBub. Let me know your handle to verify.
• (+1-2) Add You Shouldn't Be Here as 'Want to Read' or 'To Read' on Goodreads and/or StoryGraph. +1 bonus entry for each. Send me a link to your profile to verify.
• (+3) Share this newsletter! Share a link to this newsletter on any social media platform or in your own newsletter, and send me a link to wherever you shared it. +3 bonus entries for each share!

I'll keep this giveaway open until Friday, March 8, 2024. Winner will be notified the following week (and if you win and don't want the ARC, just let me know and I'll pick a new winner). Again, this is open to subscribers in the U.S. only. If you want to be credited for bonus entries, make sure you respond to this email (or you can email me at newsletter@laurenthomanwrites.com) with how many you earned and the requested verification information.

Preorder campaign!

Now that we're only a few months from release (eep!), I can finally share my awesome preorder incentives! That's right, campers, if you preorder You Shouldn't Be Here in any format, from any retailer, I will send you treats! All you have to do is fill out this form!

Designed by awesome teen artist Urch1n, these stickers each depict some of the significant characters from You Shouldn't Be Here. First is Madelyn Zhao, a 23-year-old first-year choir teacher at East Henderson Middle School. Madelyn is the main protagonist of You Shouldn't Be Here; in addition to finding her footing at her first real job, she's also digging for answers about her cousin, who vanished without a trace from East Henderson a couple years earlier. Madelyn loves science fiction, musicals, Wawa coffee, red wine, and asking "but why." She is prone to the occasional anxiety spiral, but fortunately surrounds herself with good people who keep her grounded (at least, now that she's broken up with her toxic and controlling ex-boyfriend).

Next we have secondary protagonist Angie Stewart, a 16-year-old junior at East Henderson High School who is convinced her house is haunted, which is the best news she's had in a while. Horror is Angie's favorite genre, and she loves the idea of having her very own personal ghost. Problem is, she's the only one who can sense it, but she's pretty sure she can figure out a way around that. Angie's best friend since childhood, Bas, is much more skeptical, but his loyalty to Angie tends to drown out his reservations. This ghost thing, though, might be the thing that pushes him over the edge, especially since Angie is becoming a little obsessed with coming up with new ways to prove that her ghost is real.

And lastly is Madelyn's dog, Potato, a wriggly 10-pound ball of fluff and enthusiasm who, despite her small size, winds up being a pretty big player in You Shouldn't Be Here. Potato is an unspecified small breed, but she's based heavily on my dog, Fezzik, both in her sweet personality and her tendency to be a bit scatterbrained. No harm comes to Potato during You Shouldn't Be Here; she just lives her best life throughout. If only the same could be said for the humans.

To receive these fantastic stickers, simply preorder at least one copy of You Shouldn't Be Here from the retailer of your choice (although if you want a signed copy, you'll want to order from either Parnassus Books or The Bookshop, two of our lovely Nashville independent bookstores), then just fill out this form and make sure to upload your proof of purchase. Again, all formats are eligible: hardcover, paperback, e-book, and audio. If you've already preordered, that's awesome! This campaign is open to everyone who preorders the book, no matter when that is.

Once again, I'm afraid this is U.S. only. I dearly wish that international shipping was not so expensive. Someday, I very much hope to make it up to you, international folks!

Preorder incentives will start shipping within a few weeks of the book's release on July 9, 2024. I am not going to promise an exact day, because I'm assuming I will be quite tired following the launch, and therefore it may take me a bit. I way overcommitted myself for I'll Stop the World, and I think I learned at least a teeny bit of a lesson. Maybe not, though. Time will tell!

On the horizon

I hope to have so much more information for you soon about things like the You Shouldn't Be Here launch party and other exciting events, but that day is not today!

I also was originally thinking that I would use this newsletter to discuss some points that came up in a recent Paths to Publishing panel that I recently participated in. The event was for writers considering publication options, and we touched on the pros and cons of self-publishing versus traditional publishing, along with tips for querying agents and submitting to editors. It was a great discussion, and I'd love to talk through some of it with y'all, since I actually get questions along these lines a lot. But I feel like this newsletter is already getting a bit lengthy, plus I'm tired. It's cold out today and that means my batteries are only operating at about half-capacity. So we'll save that one for next time.

Oh, one thing that probably does not apply to most of you, but may apply to some of you: nominations for the Anthony Awards just opened, which are book awards given at the mystery/thriller/crime fiction convention Bouchercon, and I'll Stop the World is eligible to be nominated in the category of Best First Novel! Now, I'm not really one to hang my hopes on long-shot awards, but if you do happen to have a ballot, I would love your nomination! This year will be my first-ever Bouchercon, and I'm excited to attend, even if I'm unlikely to win anything.

Remember, reply to this email (or email newsletter@laurenthomanwrites.com) if you want extra entries into my ARC giveaway!

And don't forget to claim your preorder goodies!

Thanks for being here with me. Talk to you soon.