Claudia Sternbach's path to publication: It's Pub Day for the bouncing baby book!

About six months ago, I received an ARC of Claudia Sternbach's Reading Lips: a Memoir of Kisses. I inhaled it in one afternoon and wrote to her editor, "Reading Lips rings true and sweet as a music box. In a sea of memoirs based on big marketing hooks, Sternbach’s subtle theme is refreshing and, you come to realize, profound. Flawless pitch and balance. Guileless, unaffected writing. A book club’s dream date. I loved this perfect little opal earring of a book."

Yeah, that's blurbspeak, but I meant every word. And the Kirkus reviewer (for once)agrees with me:

Sternbach...is an impressive stylist and a candid guide through her life. Although the reality of kissing serves as the connecting thread, each essay is grounded in one of a wide variety of complementary topics, such as the first love as an adolescent, best friends, parents, sisters, birthdays, tennis, summer camp, air travel, marriage, divorce, cancer, rape and death—among others. Sternbach has carefully considered how to make a life story interesting through unusual yet approachable formatting, and she throws humor, sarcasm and self-deprecation into the mix. A memorable, laugh-out-loud, cry-out-loud essay collection for both genders and all ages.

Reading Lips: A Memoir of Kisses is in stores today, and Thursday night, the book launches with an event on Manhattan's Upper East Side at Barnes & Noble, 86th and Lex, where Claudia will be introduced by none other than Jonathan Franzen. I so want this beautiful little book to be embraced by book clubs, gifted to sisters and friends, eaten with a spoon by anyone and everyone who's ever experienced the simple wonder of a kiss. Visit Unbridled Books to read an excerpt.

I invited Claudia to share her path to publication with our readers, and she responded with a series of essays that have delighted and inspired all of us trying to make a go of this crazy business and life in general. Here's linkage to all six installments:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

Congratulations, Claudia!