it's a family affair!

celebrating the launch of Stop Waiting for Perfect in NYC

Morning Musings

This week has been one for the books (pun intended) and it’s only Wednesday! On Monday, I was a guest on CBS Mornings and later that evening kicked off the Stop Waiting for Perfect book tour launch at a sold-out Cafe con Libros in Brooklyn.

Yesterday, after years of hard work and determination (plus a healthy dose of rejection), I became a published author and, as of last night, it was the #1 new release in the self-esteem category on Amazon. OMG!!

To be honest, I’m still processing our whirlwind 72 hours in New York City and each day could be its own newsletter—from oversleeping and nearly missing our flight on Saturday to manifesting my way into Chelsea Jackson Roberts’ slow gospel flow yoga class at Peloton Studios on Sunday. And then, of course, the experience at CBS and the book event, which both still have me in awe.

I’m overwhelmed. I’m exhausted. I’m excited. But most of all, I’m grateful.

There’s a line in Kirk Franklin’s “Love Theory” that says, “Everything's working for my good for always” and I carried that mentality into launch weekend. I’m happy to report it served me well!

I was SUPER nervous walking into CBS Studios and I was VERY surprised when Gayle (yea, we’re on a first-name basis lol) came to check on me while I was getting my makeup done. Like, hello, you’re Gayle King—I’m sure you have better things to do than check in on a newbie author. But she was so supportive and encouraging, saying “This is only the beginning!” as her handler whisked her away to her next segment.

I’d done a couple of sessions with a media coach to prep for the interview and then a pre-call with a CBS producer to go over questions, and I was still nervous. I’ve done radio and podcasts before, but never national TV!

I brought my anxiety spray, stole a moment to myself in one of the dressing rooms to do some breath exercises and listen/dance to Beyoncé to work out my nervous energy and then it was showtime!

When Jeff, Violet and I walked on set and saw the entire studio wrapped in the book colors, my jaw literally dropped. I wasn’t expecting that at all. A few copies of the book on the table and the cover in the background? Sure. But not everywhere we turned!

I remember when we first confirmed the interview and I asked if I could bring my family. It was important to me that Violet be there to witness her mom on TV. She won’t remember it, but we’ll have the pics and the memories forever.

The actual interview flew by and I felt like a pingpong ball bouncing from host-to-host, but in the end I was proud. I’d taken my own advice from the book’s subtitle and stepped out of my comfort zone and into my power. And you know what? It felt damn good! You can watch the full interview here:

And because y’all did so well with the calls to action a couple of weeks ago, here are a few more to help make this a successful launch:

• Order your copy of Stop Waiting for Perfect if you haven’t already (and tell a friend to do the same)

• Leave a review wherever you purchased your book

• Share the book on social media (I love seeing your selfies with your copies!)

• Sign up for a book launch event (full list below)

Thank you all so much for all the support and encouragement now and throughout the years. Words truly can’t express how much this moment means to me and it’s in large part because of you! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

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Join Me Tonight for the Virtual Launch Party!

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See You on (Book) Tour!

• (TONIGHT) Wednesday, Aug. 16: Virtual book launch with Evette Dionne

• Thursday, Aug. 17: Ama La Vida (virtual)

• Thursday, Aug. 17: Women & Children First in Chicago, IL with Taylor Morrison

• Friday, Aug. 18: Lululemon in Chicago, IL (POSTPONED!)

• Thursday, Aug. 24: Evanston Public Library in Evanston, IL with Pam R. Johnson Davis

• Tuesday, Sept. 5: Harford County Library in Abingdon, MD

• Wednesday, Sept. 6: Red Emma’s in Baltimore, MD

• Sept. 15: Barbara’s Bookstore in Lombard, IL

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ICYMI

Last week, I was featured on

Alisha Robertson

’s

Mind Body Brand

podcast and we had the best time. Tune in here! I was also a guest on my friend Anuli’s BLK IRL podcast, which is a full-circle moment because she inspired me to launch both my newsletter and podcast. You can check out our convo here!

And I also had a couple of excerpts from the book published this week. There’s one on rejection on Jane Friedman’s site and another one about leaning on your village in Fortune Well and an essay about what it was like writing my first book as a new (working) mom in the Broadsheet newsletter.

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Thank You

A special thank-you to April, Cait, Amanda, Harleen, Megan, Najja, Jessica, Priti, Cat, Jenna, Mallory, Rachel, Angel, Sarah, Camesha, Vix, Anna, Stephanie, Dominique, Tiffany, Emily, Mabinty, Lindsey, Casey, Lynnae and Dani for becoming paid subscribers and helping to fuel this newsletter. I truly appreciate your support!

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