Book Review: The Heir Affair

Photo from amazon.com

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of The Royal We. That deliciously fun book about an American marrying into the British Royal Family came out in 2015, years before Meghan Markle was even a twarkle—er, sparkle—in the eye of the royal landscape (landscapes have eyes!) Are Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan ancient sea witches risen from the waves to tell the tales of royal scandals yet to come? Clearly. I’ve read the Royal We a good half dozen times, both on audio and on the page, and it’s just such a comforting favorite book. Great for any royal lover or anyone who wants a fun story. I recommend it all the time (including right now, to you! Go read it!)

So naturally I was STU-HOKED to hear that they had a sequel coming out! And I couldn’t believe it when The Heir Affair finally popped up on NetGalley and my request was granted! It was the perfect pandemic treat and was such a joy to spend time with these characters again, hearing what happened to them in Happily Ever After. (Spoiler: Happily Ever After is not all it’s cracked up to be. But we knew that.) It has all the funny, absurd, heartwarming characters and plot lines you loved in Royal We, with a few things you probably didn’t see coming.

The Royal We is one of my all-time favorite books for being fun, topical, warm, and feeling like it’s pulling back the curtain (I know it’s fiction!) But it isn’t perfect (nothing is!) and neither is its sequel. I don’t want to spoil it, so I’ll just say I had two small quibbles: 1) there are a couple of brief things that took me out of the moment with their absurdity and 2) both The Royal We and The Heir Affair use a plot device that’s a personal pet peeve: characters don’t talk to each other about their problems, and if they did, some things could be resolved. There’s a bit of that here, and it’s not my favorite. But I also don’t care? And if you liked the Royal We, I don’t think you will either. You’ll love spending time with these characters again. Each moment with them makes it worth it and these books are such a comforting joy. Also, the poignancy of their timing and the topics in the book are yet again clearly the work of their ancient sea witch magic. Heather and Jessica, you’ve done it again!

If you want to support authors, pre-orders of their books go a long way. Here’s a primer on why and here’s another primer on why. In short, it creates buzz, helps the printer plan ahead for how many to print thus potentially putting more money in the authors’ pockets, and also increases the chance of hitting the best seller lists as all preorders count toward the first week’s sales. Best seller lists are calculated on a weekly basis, and who doesn’t want a bestseller?

If you want to preorder The Heir Affair, you can of course do so through Amazon or wherever you normally shop. But I’d also recommend your local book store, and bookshop.org. In fact, I made you a handy list of books you might like if you liked The Royal We and are excited for the Heir Affair!

Happy reading, all you clairvoyant royal sea witches.

Marketing Monday: Let's Go

Happy New Year!

Ah, January. Ye of resolutions, leftover holiday treats, the last scraps of Christmas cheer lingering like unwanted party guests. I love a chance for a fresh start and some navel-gazing, which probably explains why I've always loved the anticipatory countdowns and the flip of the page to January. I'm not one for making hard and fast resolutions that I burn out on by mid-January. I am one for thinking about the month and year ahead and working on all the things I already knew I needed to work on. 

2016 was a big year for my little business. Growth is good but it's also scary. A few weeks ago I was working on something that had fantastic potential but which also scared the hell out of me. I was chatting with a friend and fellow career pioneer about it and was explaining that I seemed to be following a trajectory that was getting familiar: "*hand is level* Wow, okay, this is interesting, this is exciting *hand goes up* wait, what am I doing *hand starts coming down, like a rollercoaster* oh my god this is terrifying I have no idea what I'm doing I am going to bomb *hand crashes out* okay, wait, I think I got this, I just need to rely on my experience and believe in myself *hand starts coming back up*" You get the idea. So imagine my delight when I discovered a much more eloquent visual version of this insane journey of throwing yourself out there:

Image from john.do.

There's nothing quite so reassuring as knowing you're not alone, especially when what you're doing is new to you.

That visual reminded me of another one. I don't know who drew this, but I think of it often, whether in work or in rowing or in my personal life.

These are things I'm reflecting on as we begin a new year. Wishing you good fortune, fun adventures, just enough challenge and fear, and the guts to see it all through.

Marketing Monday: Christmas Adverts

Seasonal marketing feels pretty lovely right now, and it's no secret that I'm a fan of all things British. During this busy week, let's enjoy some charming, feel-good Christmas adverts, as they are known in their native land. 

Every year, lots of British companies participate in what would be the equivalent of our Super Bowl commercial competition. Starting in early November, these ads swoop around social media, stirring up buzz and setting the tone for the season.

The most well-known of the annual commercial showdown (DOUBLE MEANING) is arguably John Lewis, a high-end department store. This year's was particularly lovely. (Make sure to check out #MontyThePenguin from 2014, while you're at it.)

Boots is a store I always like to duck into in the UK. It's a bit like CVS and the beauty section of Target thrown in with a bit of something extra (they even make their own lines of makeup and beauty products). And hey, Kate Middleton's been known to pop into Boots as well. Their ad(vert) this year was particularly touching.

Tesco is my favorite place to pick up my favorite British treats (Haribo and Tunnock's), and I think we can all relate to what they've put out here:

This year's Marks & Spencer choice isn't quite doing it for me, but they can't all be our favorite, and this one is ranking quite well.

If you're a Wes Anderson fan, you can't miss this short film he directed for H&M starring Adrien Brody. 

This Heathrow ad is quite a charmer.

Saving the best for last, and cheatin' while I do: Mog stole my heart last year in Sainsbury's ad, and so I'm including her here. Mog is a beloved children's book character in the UK, and this was her film debut.

(Fun fact for my American readers: "mog" or "moggie" are British terms for a cat without a pedigree or not of a known breed. If you rescue a cat from the pound and have no idea what kind of cat it is, you've got yourself a mog.)

Sainsbury's ad this year is also nice, but it will never be Mog. That said, I love that Sainsbury's chooses a charity to support with their campaign each year, and that their ads are subtly but perfectly related. Mog helped with Save the Children to support children's literacy, and Dave the singing Dad is helping the Great Ormond Street Hospital for children. Per UK Fundraising, "All profits from the sale of the specially created Gingerbread ‘Dave’ (£1) and The Greatest Gift film animation kit (£5) will go to Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity." The charity is making it possible for parents to stay near their sick children while they're in the hospital.

Check out the behind-the-scenes videos as well: I enjoy them almost as much as the ads themselves. 2015, 2016.