Well, friends, the day is nigh. Tomorrow, Where the Pavement Turns to Sand will officially be out in the world, living its best life out there on bookshelves and nightstands wherever the wind may blow.
I’m excited, but also happy for it to just be out there, for folks to find (or not). Pre-orders have gone out, and starting tomorrow you can walk into any old bookshop and pick one up in real life.
The past few months, I’ve been doing my best to get the word out, by way of these posts as well as no-doubt obnoxious social media posts. A few radio/podcast folks have been kind enough to spend some time chatting with me about the book, as well as some local media, as well. Thanks to all the hosts and writers who took the time to chat.
If you’ve got yourself a copy, thank you! If you’re holding off for the launch at McNally Robinson on Nov. 4, well, thanks in advance! If you haven’t bought the bullet yet, well, there’s still lots of time. Your local bookshop should be able to bring it in for ya, and you can always request it at your local library (please do!!!).
Below, I’m gonna link to a few of the places you can hear / read me talking about the book, and you can engage at your convenience. Or not. Regardless, thanks for putting up with my shilling these past few months. I hope you’ll read Where the Pavement Turns to Sand, and that you’ll dig it.
Earlier this fall, I spoke with Tyler Dempsey for his Another Fucking Writing Podcast about Where the Pavement Turns to Sand. It was a fun interview, hope you’ll check it out. If you’re into indie writing at all, I’d also suggest subscribing to the pod, as he has interviewed a ton of great writers already.
I also recently talked to Matthew Teklemarian from The Uniter about the book. He wrote this nice little piece, and photographer Keeley Braunstein-Black (who I understand is also the current editor of Stylus magazine, neat!) took a great photo to accompany the piece.
“I’m a big Neil Young fan ... I wouldn’t say there is a direct connection, but there’s kind of a vibe that is similar to his mid-to-late ’70s stuff,” (Birnie) says. “Some of the Ditch Trilogy and doomy, burned-out-hippie-dream sort of vibe, where everything that maybe they thought was going to happen or promised didn’t really work out that way.”
I’ll be on Turning Pages with Michael Elves on UMFM on Wednesday, Nov. 1 to talk about the book. I always enjoy chatting with Michael, so check it out if you’re in Winnipeg 101.5 fm, or stream online. The show runs 11:30 a.m. to noon, if I’m not mistaken.
I spent the month of September posting on the site formerly known as Twitter about the inspiration and first placement of each of the stories in the collection. It seemed like a good bit, but didn’t quite have the reach I’d hoped for. I’ll blame Elon and his fucking with the algorithm, though whose to say that’s the reason or not for low engagement. You can read it below, if you fancy…
https://twitter.com/badguybirnie/status/1699066120232440278
Thanks, again, friends, for coming along on this journey with me. I sure appreciate it. Cheers.