Less than four months to pub date...

Or: The imperfect art of book promotion...

My new book, New York's Secret Subway: The Underground Genius of Alfred Beach and the Origins of Mass Transit, will be published on September 30. (Actually, of course, it will have been published weeks before, but it officially goes on sale September 30.) I love all my books, naturally, but this one being the new baby, I’m especially attached to it. (As the youngest of seven kids, I experienced this phenomenon personally. My mom insisted on calling me “Precious” well into my forties.)

This book tells such an incredible true story—“A crazy inventor builds a pneumatic-tube subway under Broadway in the middle of Manhattan—in secret!”—that, I’m confident, fans of historical nonfiction will love it. But how to make them aware of it in the first place? That’s the hard part: promotion.

As an attention-seeking introvert, promotion has always been a double-edged sword. One the one hand, I enjoy talking about my work. On the other, I’m often a sweaty mess while doing it. But, to promote New York’s Secret Subway, I am determined to do everything I can to get the word out. I’ve hired an excellent publicist, who will work with my publisher’s superb marketing and sales staffs. I’m planning events in New York in early October (if anyone has connections at the New York Historical or the New York Transit Museum, please let me know). I’m hoping to score some high-profile media interviews.

But nothing is better promotion than positive word of mouth. That’s where you come in! When the book comes out, I am relying on my friends and followers to help spread the word. Don’t worry, I will remind you (again and again) closer to the pub date. In the meantime, you can pre-order the book on Amazon or, better yet, from your local independent bookstore and help build buzz. Be a buzz builder, not a buzz kill: pre-order New York’s Secret Subway!

I’d like to acknowledge the recent death of Terry Draper. He was a songwriter and drummer in the ’70s Canadian prog band Klaatu (named for an extraterrestrial in the film The Day the Earth Stood Still). In 1976, Klaatu released an album titled 3:47 EST. The band scored a minor hit with “Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft,” which Terry co-wrote. (The Carpenters covered the song in 1977; their version cracked the Billboard Top 40.) The B-side of the Klaatu single was another song on 3:47 EST, a song called “Sub-Rosa Subway,” which tells the story of Alfred Beach and his secret underground pneumatic railway:

     Back in 1870 
     Just beneath the Great White Way 
     Alfred Beach worked secretly 
     Risking all to ride a dream

While the lyrics are not, strictly speaking, historically correct—Broadway was not known as the Great White Way until the 1890s, and even that was a stretch farther uptown—Klaatu deserve credit for bringing attention to Alfred Beach’s story.

As a prog rock nerd, I’m ashamed to admit I didn’t know much about Klaatu until the spring of 2020, when I discovered 3:47 EST during pandemic-induced binges on Spotify playlists. That’s how I found “Sub-Rosa Subway.” And that’s how I learned about Alfred Beach and his secret subway. So, if not for Terry Draper and his bandmates, I might never have written New York’s Secret Subway. Thank you, Terry. Say hello to Alfie for me.

Some of you may know that I have started a new job as the Morning Edition host at Kansas Public Radio. I moved to Lawrence, Kan., about two weeks ago, and, after a week of training, I made my on-air debut last Monday, May 26. The first week was fine, but I’m still learning which button to push when and how to correctly pronounce Wabaunsee County. It will take time to get up to speed, but I am happy to report that Lawrence is a wonderful community. Allyson and Zaya will be joining me in early July. Allyson’s retirement from the Foreign Service after twenty years serving in six countries (Mali, Italy, Mongolia, Mozambique, Bosnia, and Botswana) is bittersweet. But we are all excited for this new adventure in the beautiful Sunflower State.

That’s all for now, thank you for subscribing, and tell your friends about this amazing new book that’s coming out in the fall!