My Soapy Soviet Book Launch... Success?

A Literal Literary Loser Launches Loudly

“Go On Pretending” officially launched last Thursday, May 1. Last Thursday, May 1, I wrote about how, after all the frantic preparation leading up to it, now that the day was at long last here, I didn’t quite know what to do with myself.

I soon figured out what to do with myself.

To start with, Thursday night, I appeared on The Locher Room. My father told me, “You talked so much, you trampled all over that poor man.”

Is it my fault I have a lot to say about soaps, past (Guiding Light, As the World Turns, Loving, All My Children, etc….) and present (Days of our Lives, Beyond the Gates, General Hospital, and The Young and the Restless, where, when put on the spot, all I could say was that it had lovely lighting)?

I talked about Irna Phillips, the woman who invented daytime television, the ATWT and GL tie-ins I wrote which became NYT bestsellers, and how even the most experienced of show runners (Agnes Nixon, Aaron Spelling) still have no idea what will work and what won’t until their programming hits the airwaves.

Watch me go on and on… and on and on… below:

Then, on Saturday, Mat 3, after a book talk at Upland Public Library (where I actually discussed “My Mother’s Secret: A Novel of the Jewish Autonomous Region,” because like any good mother, just because I have a new baby doesn’t mean I neglect my previous one… though my own three kids may beg to differ), it was time for “Go On Pretending’s” official book launch at My Biblioteka in Brooklyn.

Remember when I asked, what savory Soviet foods I should serve at my book launch? The overwhelming winner was: Caviar.

I wondered how much you all thought writers earned to be able to afford this pricy treat. Caviar is what they consumed on Dynasty, for Pete’s sake! (Obviously, I have long yearned to live the Carrington-Colby lifestyle. Alas, I was forced to make do with a Blaisdell budget. And if you got that reference, then you are definitely a soap fan!)

Then again, the customer is always right! As per your insistence, I went ahead and purchased caviar — black caviar, no less. Nothing but the best for my loyal readers!

Don’t believe me? I have video proof!

And why do I have video proof? That would be because the official book launch livestream started at 6 PM, but the in-person guests were still chatting and socializing rather than taking their seats. Not wanting those who’d joined remotely to feel left out, I did a little impromptu tour of the promised savory Soviet snacks, including the period appropriate candy (which got quickly gobbled up; folks obviously missed their favorite childhood treats), and, yes, the caviar. My husband said that my “improvised babbling” was the most entertaining part of the evening.

See for yourself at:

Finally, it was time to get serious. Or, at least to tackle slightly more serious topics. (Though, at the book launch, I did touch upon World War II prisoner of war camps, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, immigration, and generational trauma, so it’s not like it was all candy and caviar. There was also laughing. Lots and lots of laughing. Which is, to be honest, a very Soviet Jewish way to approach all the aforementioned topics.)

I met my friend and fellow author, Kyra Davis, back in college. Some (ahem) thirty or so odd years later, it turned out that, quite by accident, we both had books coming out in 2025, me in May, hers in June.

What was even more of an accidental coincidence was that we both touched upon African-Americans in the entertainment industry. “Go On Pretending” begins in New York City and the world of 1950s soap operas transitioning from radio to television. What does that mean for the African-American actor who has been presumably voicing a white character, and the woman who loves him, who is Jewish, white presenting… and the show’s writer/producer?

Kyra’s “The Great Mann,” on the other hand, takes place a few years earlier, at the conclusion of World War II, and is set all the way on the other side of the country, in Hollywood, where stars like Hattie MacDaniel, Louise Beavers, Duke Ellington, and Lena Horne are waging their own battles for social and professional acceptance, in her phenomenal retelling of “The Great Gatsby.”

Kyra and I talk all that, as well as cultural appropriation, authentic representation, and so, so much more in this History Through Fiction podcast (also with a great deal of laughing):

But now, the most important part: Two weeks ago, I wrote about how I spectacularly botched my pre-orders. Despite endless promotion, including guest posts, interviews, and social media saturation, sales were not what I would have liked.

Now that “Go On Pretending” is officially out in the world, will all of my work finally make a difference in sales?

Stay tuned to find out! You know me and my radical honesty.

Oh, and also, it turns out I made an even bigger mistake with my pre-orders than I initially realized.

More details in my next update. Learn from my failures. And let’s see if I can turn them into successes yet!