A national pandemic isn’t stopping Emily Liebert from going on a book tour to promote her new thriller.
The Westport resident’s seventh book, “Perfectly Famous” comes out June 2 and she’s already planned a tour that includes 20 stops — all virtual. Using technology platforms such as Zoom and Instagram Live, Liebert is pulling out the stops to promote the book while maintaining a respectful distance from fans and booksellers.
“I knew fairly early on that I would have to pivot (on a promotional strategy), so we planned accordingly,” Liebert says
She says she recognizes that authors are in a fairly unique position during the pandemic, in that people are still buying what they’re selling.
“Fortunately, unlike so many other businesses, people are still reading through the pandemic and book sales have gone up, which is great,” Liebert says.
However, she will miss the fun and excitement of an in-person book tour. The need to take her promotion virtual is especially bittersweet, given that “Perfectly Famous” begins with an in-person book signing that introduces the two main characters — Ward DeFleur and Bree Bennett — and sets up the main action of the novel.
Ward is an author promoting her newest book when she gets the horrifying news that her teen daughter, Stevie is missing. When it turns out Stevie has been killed, Ward drops out of public life. Her story attracts the attention of Bree, a recently divorced housewife who met Ward at the signing and felt an instant kinship with her.
Bree also is trying to restart her career as a journalist, and feels that the mystery surrounding Ward DeFleur would make a great story.
Not only does “Perfectly Famous” feature an in-person book tour (which, by the way, includes Ward giving Bree an impromptu hug), the book also has a lot of action that feels weird to read about in these pandemic-stricken times — dinner dates at which people share food; kissing; random road trips to other states that include a hotel stay.
When asked whether readers might feel a splash of nostalgia when reading the novel right now, Liebert says “That very well may be.”
But, of course, what she wants readers to feel is excitement. This novel and her previous one, “Pretty Revenge,” are her only two thrillers after a career that had mostly been focused on “women’s fiction.” Liebert says she wanted a change and thought thrillers might be in her wheelhouse.
“My personality is a little edgier” than her early career might indicate, she says. “I wanted to push myself to write a faster-paced plot.”
The plot is, in fact, so fast-paced that it keeps going right until the final line, which, without spoiling anything, carries an enormous twist that basically resets the whole story. It’s so shocking that the ending would seem to open the door to an immediate sequel. Liebert says, despite that, her next book isn’t a sequel to “Perfectly Famous.”
“Though I would never say no to a follow-up,” Liebert says.
Amanda Cuda is a staff writer; acuda@hearstmediact.com.
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