Let's party.
We’ve earned it.
Dear friends,
neighbors,
& total strangers,
Unlike the main character in my novel, MAN OF THE YEAR, celebrating myself does not come naturally. Inviting you to join feels even weirder. What have I done, besides doing my job? My novel is being published. Books are published every day.
But I’ve learned from you. You’ve taught me the power of community and ritual when we witness the most meaningful milestones in each other’s lives. I’ve never chosen a maid-of-honor, or a godparent, or appliances for registries, but I have made choices, and I do love my life. And if I expect society to value women’s choices — marked by rites of passage of our own design — then it is my responsibility to value them, too.
So, upon publication of my very first novel, I threw a Novel Shower. All gifts from my registry were sent directly to a local nonprofit supporting students and teachers in the public school district in my hometown. Reading, writing, creativity: these are my essentials for a happy future. Because if tradition teaches culture, passed down through generations, I’m cool with updating tradition. There’s so much to celebrate.
Caroline
You're invited!
What
a shower overhaul
When
right now
Where
right here
For
anyone reaching big, major milestones of their own making
Why
because there are more than a few rites of passage worth celebrating, and tradition is due for a tune-up
Registry
All gifts from my registry helped the First Day Fund of Rock Island-Milan (c/o the Rock Island Kiwanis Club) get 4,800+ area students off to a great start. TO EVERYONE WHO DONATED,
The Party
(Photo by Tara McFarland)
(Photo by Tara McFarland)
On July 1, 2019, I threw a Novel Shower at the Moline Public Library in Moline, IL, next door to my hometown of Rock Island, IL. It was a mind-blowing, heart-filling night, and I’m so very grateful for everyone’s generous contributions to Rock Island Public School District 41.
If you know people building fulfilling lives outside of a traditional track, please jump the tracks and celebrate them, with them. Spread the word: a novel shower can apply to any new approach to the old tradition. And, if you’re so inclined, please consider donating to the Rock Island-Milan First Day Fund (links below), which accepts contritubions year-round. Every pencil counts.
(photo by Tara McFarland)
THE NOVEL
AVAILABLE NOW!
“Walker lifts the curtain on the tightly wound plot in her suspenseful and entertaining debut . . . The jolting roller-coaster ride serves double duty as a compelling case study in class and race privilege and the horrifying realities of purely self-serving, transactional relationships.”
—Booklist
“Searing . . . There are more than a few surprising twists in store in this smart, subtly menacing novel of suspense. Walker is a writer to watch.”
—Publisher’s Weekly
“A darkly beguiling summer mystery that exposes the shaky foundations of a complicated family.”
—Kirkus reviews
Q: Why school supplies?
(what do glue sticks have to do with a novel?)
A: Creativity begets creativity.
Writers need to read great books. If we fail to give today’s students every opportunity to find the things that light them up, who will write tomorrow’s novels? Who will inspire us to see the world in new ways? Who will invent and discover the things we can’t imagine yet? For an author, and for all of us, such things are essential.
All were welcome to the event on 7/1!
Zero strings attached!
However, those who wished to give could:
1.
Mail school supplies directly to the First Day Fund;
2.
Mail donations by check (made out to Rock Island/Milan Schools First Day Fund) directly to:
First Day Fund
P.O. Box 6695
Rock Island, IL 61204-6695
3.
Donate online via PayPal:
4.
Visit Novel Shower online gift registry.*
Thank you for supporting teachers and students in your community and in mine.
(I promise to never ask for a tea towel down the line.)
