LISA MCMANN AUTHOR - ADAM SCHIFF - CAPITAL BOOKS

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

NY TIMES BEST SELLING
AUTHOR

Lisa
McMann
Launches new book,
Clarice the Brave

MEET THE
CONGRESSMAN
WHO LED THE FIRST
IMPEACHMENT OF
DONALD J. TRUMP
ADAM SCHIFF
Discusses his new
book, Midnight in
Washington at Capital
Books

What’s
                                      Happening
                                      BY: HEIDI ROJEK

Book shortage coming soon! Do your panic buying at Capital Books.
    If you’re like us, we’ve been noticing lots of empty shelves at chain stores.
Perhaps you took advantage of time working from home and did some renovations
and are now waiting for that beautiful stainless steel refrigerator that’s stuck on a
container ship out in the harbor. We’ve been notified by all the big publishers that
shipping books to bookstores will be no different. There is a very early cut-off
date for us to order books and get them in time for the holidays. That means we’ll
all have to think about holiday gifts earlier than we normally do. Ross, Rachael,
and Faith have submitted their orders to publishers and expect to have a fully
stocked bookstore!

Congressman Adam Schiff is coming to Capital Books!
    It pays to have built relationships with publishers over the past 13 years with
our book review company. Ross worked some magic to get Congressman Adam
Schiff to come on October 15. We’re a political city as well as a community who
loves books, so let’s show these publishers that Sacramento can be a pitstop for
their bestselling authors during their Bay Area appearances. Those who have
purchased premium seats will get to meet Congressman Schiff at Capital Books
after his talk. You can purchase your ticket at CapitalBooksOnK.com.

Curbside Holiday Returns on Dec 19!
    Santa Claus will once again be visiting Capital Books for Curbside Holiday.
Like last year, you’ll be able to purchase your holiday gifts from participating
Sacramento stores and pick them all up in front of the Crest Theater. Santa will
bring your gifts to your car, and kids can safely talk to Santa without risk of
waiting in a crowded mall line to sit on his lap. This was a super popular event
last year, so be sure to sign up for your 1-hour window. Watch our newsletters
and social media for when the event signups open.

One Door Closes, But Another One Opens
    Feast & Fiction certainly had an unexpectedly great run. We started offering
special “date nights” during the beginning of the COVID quarantine for couples
who wanted to still do something special together but were tired of bringing cold
take-out back home again. We launched on Valentine’s Day, but all good things
must come to a close. Feast & Fiction will end on October 31. I cannot express
enough how special it was for my staff and I to share our bookstore privately with
you. This was a labor-intensive adventure that I could not have done without
fully burning out without the help of my sidekick, bookseller Ashley. If you had
the opportunity to join us, thank you!
    With weekends opening back up, this gives us an opportunity to offer event
dates to organizations or private parties who would like to celebrate the holidays
by renting Capital Books for an evening of celebration. It will also let us host our
own events, like gingerbread house decorating (see ad inside).
    We’re working hard to get our basement—Another Universe—ready for
holiday shopping, too. Our sister store, There and Back Again, around the
corner from Capital Books, should be opening sometime in late October or early
November. It all depends on the health department license and obtaining steel
appliances, which are in short supply these days. You’ll be able to grab a coffee,
breakfast, or lunch over there. We’ll be trying to open the board game part of the
cafe by the holidays, too.
    Remember, be sure to get those special book orders in soon so you’ll have
them in time for the holidays!



                                      
                                    


         
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CAPITAL BOOKS’ INTERVIEW WITH POWER COUPLE

Lisa McMann &
Newly published husband,
Matt McMann

INTERVIEW BY HEIDI ROJEK

          Q       Lisa, you spent the last four
                  or five years writing The Un-
                  wanteds Quest series. I remem-
                  ber barely being open for just
a few weeks when you and Matt barreled into
Capital Books announcing, “You’re our new
bookstore!” We were so excited to have a NYT
Best Selling author want to take a chance on us
handling your book sales, so thank you for that.
I imagine that finishing the series was akin to
sending your child off to college—rather bitter-
sweet. Can you talk about how ending a series
that was a part of so many years feels to you?

          A
                    We stalked your store for quite
                    some time while it was under
                    construction, too!
   As for finishing the Unwanteds Quests series...
Wow. It was a huge range of emotions. I’d had the
ending in mind for a few years, and that ending
was actually one of the first parts I wrote of the
final book. Once I got that down, the rest of that
book was easier, but I cried a lot. I’d been with
some of the characters for something like 15
years (starting with the original Unwanteds series,
which I began writing in 2006 or so—the first
book came out in 2011). I was relieved, proud,
sad, and happy once I put the pen down on those
14 books and said goodbye to that magical world
I loved. I really had such a wonderful time writ-
ing them. They will always be a huge part of me.

Q
                  Many authors we’ve done events with actually dread in-person
                  appearances and book signings because they’re such introverts.
                  Is that the case with you?

           A
                   Lisa: I am an introvert, but I haven’t always been. I spent seven
                   years in the late 90s and early aughts as a Realtor, and I loved
                   that job and being with people all day. But I think I changed
                   over time as I began to write more and more. I love quiet and
calm, and I do have to psych myself up a little for in-person events, but I also get
so much out of them. Kids’ enthusiasm energizes me and makes me want to keep
writing. So that is an awesome benefit that I really look forward to, and I’ve really
been missing it during the pandemic.
Matt: I’m an introvert as well, but in my former career I was a musician and a
public speaker. It was something I very much enjoyed, so, while extended inter-
action with large groups of people can be draining, I’m looking forward to the
opportunity to take on that public speaking role again. The thought of being able
to meet and talk with people who are interested in or have read one of my books
sounds like a surreal dream!

          Q
                  As a popular author having the opportunity to tour the country
                  each time a new Unwanteds Quest launched, what are some of
                  your favorite bookstores and why?

           A
                   There are so many amazing bookstores across the country, from
                   RJ Julia in Connecticut (they had one of the most enthusiastic
                   crowds I’ve ever experienced) to Once Upon a Time in the Los
                   Angeles area (they’re amazing at getting authors into schools),
to Kepler’s in Menlo Park (also amazing with schools and I really vibe with their
school liaison--we have a lot of laughs together). Changing Hands Bookstore in
Tempe has done an event with me for all 27 of my books so far, which is incred-
ible--they wrapped their arms around me when I was a nervous wreck debut
author and haven’t let go. Let’s not forget your awesome store—and what you’ve
done to set yourselves apart from other bookstores with Heidi’s love of baking and
the special date nights you hold for customers in your upstairs area. What a lovely
thing to do for the community, and I don’t know anyone else who is doing that. I
can’t wait to see the finished upstairs when I come to visit—it was still under con-
struction when we moved away.

Q
                 You and Matt have been such big supporters of indie bookstores.
                 Why do you feel that they’re important?

          A
                   Lisa: I started working in an independent bookstore when I
                   was 17. I worked my way through college and continued on
                   to become a manager over the next ten years, and I saw how
                   tight the budget was. Working at an indie shop is a labor of
love—every bookseller I know has such a passion for books and community, and
I love that! As an author, I want to do everything I can to support independent
bookstores and booksellers, whether through shopping at them around the
country or buying books through Bookshop.org, which supports indies, or
donating to BINC, which is a non-profit organization that helps booksellers in
crisis.

   Matt: Growing up, I was a shy kid and books were my world. I would escape
into them and go on these wonderful adventures, not realizing at the time I was
also learning incredible life lessons about courage, problem-solving, self-sacri-
fice, risk-taking, and accepting others who were different from me. Independent
bookstores were the wonderlands where I discovered so many of these handheld
portals for my imagination. And they still are. Independent bookstores are fasci-
nating in that each one has its own unique character, style, and spirit, reflective
of the community where it resides and the dedicated, book-loving owners and
employees who bring it to life. I support independent bookstores not only for my
own continued enjoyment, but to keep these wonderlands alive for kids like me.

          Q
                  The pandemic changed the fabric of most people’s lives—forcing
                  us to cocoon inside with family, or even alone. Some writers find
                  inspiration in their everyday interactions with people, places,
                  and nature, while others prefer to get lost in their heads. Did you
find that the quarantine helped or challenged your writing process for your new
book, Clarice the Brave?

A
                   I completed the rough draft of
                   Clarice the Brave right before
                   COVID hit. For those who
                   don’t know, Clarice the Brave
is about siblingship mice who are separated onto
different boats during a mutiny, and they vow to
find each other again. The theme of separation
really hit home when quarantining began. As I
worked on editing the book throughout 2020,
people were being forced apart because of the
pandemic. Matt and I weren’t able to see our
daughter, who works in Canada, for 17 months.
It really made me feel the pain that Clarice and
her brother, Charles Sebastian, were feeling as
their boats drifted apart with the deadly sea
between them.

          Q
                   So, let’s talk about this new book. We’re really excited about it.
                   It’s very different from The Unwanteds Quest. How long had you
                   been thinking about the premise of Clarice the Brave while you
                   were wrapping up The Unwanteds Quest? And how difficult is
it to juggle two different books in your head? Is it akin to watching multiple TV
shows?

          A
                    I’d been thinking about Clarice for several years—I imagined
                    Mutiny on the Bounty, or the true story of Captain Bligh’s
                    mutiny in the 1700s, from the perspective of mice caught in the
                    fray—dodging boots and hiding from ship cats and chickens
and trying to stay alive against all odds. I’d had the first few chapters down for at
least five years, but I was entrenched in the Unwanteds, so I had little time to work
on it. But the story came from deep inside me and embodied several of the books
I’ve loved over the years, like Watership Down and The Incredible Journey and The
True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. And while Clarice the Brave is full of action
and adventure like my other books, it’s also a thoughtful book about siblings, and
hope, and unlikely friendships. I think it’ll make readers feel good...and I think we
all need a feel-good book right now.

It’s not difficult for me to work on multiple books at a time. I try to explain it
like this: everyone has different sets of friends and family, and you know where
those people belong in the compartments in your mind. You’ve got your school
friends, you’ve got neighborhood friends, you’ve got cousins, and you know
where to keep each set. Writing books is like that. I don’t mix up the worlds at all.
And it’s actually nice to flip between them—it can be really refreshing.

          Q
                   You’re currently on a limited media tour at bookstores to
                   promote Clarice. Have to admit I’m a bit jealous that you no
                   longer live in Sacramento and hope that you’ll make us a stop
                   (because we miss you guys!). Many authors’ publishers aren’t
allowing them to tour (we’ve tried!) during COVID, but you’re getting out there.
How are you feeling about being around crowds (because you DO attract quite
the crowd)? I know it’s a mixed bag of emotions and fears with allowing author
events in our store. On the one hand, it’s so nice to feel that energy again; but on
the other hand, it’s scary.

           A
                   I did a cross-country bookstore tour without audiences
                   this summer (you can read about and see photos from my
                   adventures here: ​​https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-
                   topic/childrens/childrens-authors/article/87107-lisa-mcmann-
on-her-cross-country-bookstore-tour.html ), and am doing very few in-person
events. I’ll only do them if protocols are followed. And since I know how careful
you are at your store, I’ll be signing Clarice the Brave in front of Capital Books on
Sunday, October 3 at 1pm.

          Q
                  Do you anticipate that Clarice the Brave will continue in a
                  series, or is this a standalone book?

           A
                  I think it’s a stand-alone. It’s probably a stand-alone. But then
                  again… who knows? I have ideas.

Q
                 I’m wondering what it’s like to have two highly creative people in
                 one house (quarantined together, to boot!). We recently learned
                 that your husband, Matt, got a publishing deal for his book.
                 I know you can’t discuss details, Matt, but I’m kind-of more
interested in how you and Lisa support each other creatively.

          A
                  Matt: I am the luckiest aspiring author in the world! I have
                  NY Times bestselling author of 27 books (and counting) Lisa
                  McMann as my writing coach. Having watched her career
                  closely over the last fourteen years taught me so much about the
publishing industry and what it takes to become a successful author. Lisa has been
so generous and encouraging from the start, alternately teaching me, pushing
me, correcting me, supporting me, and being my toughest editor. It’s been
definitely humbling for me and challenging for us both at times! Early on, I very
intentionally chose the mindset of Lisa being the coach, mentor, teacher and me
being the player, mentee, student in this aspect of our relationship. How foolish
would I be not to take advantage of this incredible built-in tutor?

   In turn, I have been her first reader and brainstorm partner for virtually all
her books, so when it came time for those roles to be reversed, we fell into it
pretty seamlessly. Now that I have my first publishing deal with Putnam (Penguin
Random House), I think I’ve earned my stripes a bit and feel I’ve stepped slightly
out of that pure student role. It’s really fun and helpful to bounce ideas off each
other when we get stuck creatively or run into a tricky plot problem. I feel
incredibly fortunate to be able to share my creative passion with my best friend.

        Lisa will be at Capital Books to sign
        copies of CLARICE THE BRAVE on
             Sunday, October 3 at 1pm.

Upcoming Events

Highlighted Books
The Biggest Books & The Authors Behind Them
  With the same propulsion that captivated millions of readers worldwide in
The Girl on the Train and Into the Water, Paula Hawkins unfurls a gripping,
twisting story of deceit, murder, and revenge.

   When a young man is found gruesomely murdered in a London houseboat,
it triggers questions about three women who knew him. Laura is the troubled
one-night-stand last seen in the victim’s home. Carla is his grief-stricken aunt,
already mourning the recent death of yet another family member. And Miriam
is the nosy neighbor clearly keeping secrets from the police. Three women with
separate connections to the victim. Three women who are – for different reasons
– simmering with resentment. Who are, whether they know it or not, burning
to right the wrongs done to them. When it comes to revenge, even good people
might be capable of terrible deeds. How far might any one of them go to find
peace? How long can secrets smolder before they explode into flame?

Highlighed Books

A new stand-alone adventure--appropriate
for all ages--by Lemony Snicket, one of the
twenty-first century’s most beloved authors.

For more than twenty years, Lemony Snicket has led millions of young
readers through a mysterious world of bewildering questions and
unfortunate events. With this latest book--a love letter to readers young and
old about the vagaries of real life--longtime fans and new readers alike will
experience Snicket’s distinctive voice in a new way. This true story--as true
as Lemony Snicket himself--begins with a puzzling note under his door:
You had poison for breakfast. Following a winding trail of clues to solve
the mystery of his own demise, Snicket takes us on a thought-provoking
tour of his predilections: the proper way to prepare an egg, a perplexing
idea called “tzimtzum,” the sublime pleasure of swimming in open water,
and much else. Poison for Breakfast is a classic-in-the-making that--in the
great tradition of modern fables like The Little Prince and The Phantom
Tollbooth--will delight readers of all ages.

Highlighed Books
  Shirley Jackson meets Friday the 13th in My Heart Is a Chainsaw, written by
the author of The Only Good Indians Stephen Graham Jones, called “a literary
master” by National Book Award winner Tananarive Due and “one of our most
talented living writers” by Tommy Orange.

  Alma Katsu calls My Heart Is a Chainsaw “a homage to slasher films that also
manages to defy and transcend genre.” On the surface is a story of murder in
small-town America. But beneath is its beating heart: a biting critique of American
colonialism, Indigenous displacement, and gentrification, and a heartbreaking
portrait of a broken young girl who uses horror movies to cope with the horror
of her own life.

Highlighed Books

Storm clouds are on the horizon in L.A. Weather, a fun, fast-paced novel of a
Mexican-American family from the author of the #1 Los Angeles Times best-
seller Esperanza’s Box of Saints

L.A. is parched, dry as a bone, and all Oscar, the weather-obsessed patriarch
of the Alvarado family, desperately wants is a little rain. He’s harboring a
costly secret that distracts him from everything else. His wife, Keila, desper-
ate for a life with a little more intimacy and a little less Weather Channel,
feels she has no choice but to end their marriage. Their three daughters—
Claudia, a television chef with a hard-hearted attitude; Olivia, a successful
architect who suffers from gentrification guilt; and Patricia, a social media
wizard who has an uncanny knack for connecting with audiences but not
with her lovers—are blindsided and left questioning everything they know.
Each will have to take a critical look at her own relationships and make
some tough decisions along the way.

Future Pre-Releases
Make sure you’re the first to get these hot books!
Oct 5 | Hardcover | $30.00

The bestselling author of A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of
Civility and master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction returns
with a stylish and propulsive novel set in 1950s America.
Spanning just ten days and told from multiple points of view,
Towles’s third novel will satisfy fans of his multi-layered literary
styling while providing them an array of new and richly imagined
settings, characters, and themes.
PRE-ORDER

Oct 26 | Hardcover | $14.99

In Big Shot, book 16 of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series from #1
international bestselling author Jeff Kinney, Greg Heffley and
sports just don’t mix. See the Wimpy Kid World in a whole new
way with the help of Greg Heffley’s best friend in the instant #1
bestsellers Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson’s
Journal, Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Adventure, and
Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories!
PRE-ORDER

Oct 5 | Hardcover | $28.00
From award-winning actor and food obsessive Stanley Tucci
comes an intimate and charming memoir of life in and out of the
kitchen. Written with Stanley’s signature wry humor, Taste is for
fans of Bill Buford, Gabrielle Hamilton, and Ruth Reichl—and
anyone who knows the power of a home-cooked meal.
PRE-ORDER

Future Pre-Releases
Nov 23 | Hardcover | $36.00
#1 New York Times bestselling author Diana Gabaldon
returns with the newest novel in the epic Outlander series.
Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall were torn apart by the
Jacobite Rising in 1746, and it took them twenty years to find
each other again. Now the American Revolution threatens to
do the same.
PRE-ORDER

Nov 9 | Hardcover | $30.00
One of the most dynamic and globally recognized
entertainment forces of our time opens up fully about his life,
in a brave and inspiring book that traces his learning curve
to a place where outer success, inner happiness, and human
connection are aligned. Along the way, Will tells the story in
full of one of the most amazing rides through the worlds of
music and film that anyone has ever had.
PRE-ORDER

Nov 5 | Hardcover | $27.00
Lily King’s literary mastery, her spare and stunning prose,
and her gift for creating lasting and treasured characters are
on full display in this curated selection of short fiction. Five
Tuesdays in Winter showcases an exhilarating new form for
this extraordinarily gifted author writing at the height of her
career.
PRE-ORDER

Bookseller Recommendations
Bookseller Faith’s Recommendation

Susanana Clarke’s Piranesi starts as a puzzle
box of a book and gradually reveals itself as a
meditation on empathy and the value we place
on the world around us. The main character
spends most of the story in isolation so it was
especially interesting to read during Covid
times. This book really makes the reader
appreciate solitude and learning for learning’s
sake.

                                   Bookseller Kat’s Recommendation

                                   Kat is recommending Good Omens, a funny,
                                   thoughtful book about an Angel and a
                                   Demon, pre-declared mortal enemies, who
                                   have to work together to stop the apocalypse
                                   from destroying their home, Earth. In this
                                   novel, Neil Gaiman explores family and
                                   friendship conquering any higher power.

Bookseller Recommendations
Bookseller Ashley’s Recommendation

For Fall reading, Ashley is recommending Ignite the Sun by Hanna C.
Howard. A YA fantasy novel about a young girl, named Sofia, living in a
kingdom where darkness reigns and where she never quite feels like herself.
At a pivotal moment in Siria’s young life, she discovers the truth about
herself which sets her off on an adventure to find the light and restore the
Sun. An allegorical adventure, that examines the struggle with depression
and anxiety, this is the perfect novel to cozy up with as we turn with the
Autumn Equinox.

Game Recommendations
As nobles at a magnificent masquerade ball, you
and your friends all vie to improve your social
standing. Gossip flies, rumors swirl, and with each
chime of the ebony clock, hearts fill with dread
and despair. As midnight approaches, you begin to
realize that something is amiss.

Based on Edgar Allen Poe’s sinister story, Masque
of the Red Death pits you and up to six of your
friends against each other as you hobnob with the
Prince. But disaster strikes at midnight. You must
balance your actions carefully between currying
the Prince’s favor and discovering which rooms the
Red Death will visit. After all, having the highest
social standing matters only if you survive...

                                        Live an Epic, Odyssey adventure; as one of
                                        Ancient Greece’s greatest thinkers in this
                                        new Sandbox, Tabletop experience. Forge
                                        your destiny in an age of city states and
                                        ancient wisdom. In Philosophia, you will
                                        build schools, battle it out in public de-
                                        bates, learn profound wisdom and make
                                        deals with the Olympic Gods. All in an at-
                                        tempt to prove yourself the greatest mind
                                        of the era.

Game Recommendations
                                                 In Disney Villainous: Evil Comes
                                                 Prepared, each player takes control
                                                 of one of three Disney characters,
                                                 each one a villain in a different
                                                 Disney movie, specifically Scar
                                                 from The Lion King, Yzma from
                                                 The Emperor’s New Groove, and
                                                 Ratigan from The Great Mouse
                                                 Detective. Each player has their
                                                 own villain deck, fate deck, player
                                                 board, and 3D character.

Your succulent garden is amazing! Through
thoughtful selection, delicate pruning, and
tireless care, you’ve earned a reputation as
a master horticulturist. In Succulent, you
compete against your peers for lucrative and
prestigious projects that will cement your
place as the community’s premier succulent
gardener.

 The game is played over a series of turns during which players collect succulent
 cuttings from their gardens along with water crystals and use them to complete
 projects which grant various benefits, including earning points. Most victory
 points at the end of the game wins!