Avocados, penguins, and books

Hi Friends,

As always, if you do not want to get these emails, please feel free to unsubscribe! There is a button at the bottom. I unsubscribe from things every chance I get and will not blame you one single bit.

But for the rest of you, hi! In the midst of these weird weird days, I like to think of myself as an avocado. I have an EXTREMELY short window in which I am at my best, and the rest of the time I am total garbage. Fact.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t use a tiny bit of my garbage-time to email you stuff that makes me happy.

First, in order to prove that I am me and not a Jill-imposter, I shall offer you a picture of a very good dog in a very good outfit. Specifically, a few months ago I ordered a painting of my parents’ dog dressed as a General and, needless to say, I’ve never spent better money in my LIFE.

His name is Chase, and he is a dapper gentleman whom I would gleefully follow into battle at a moment’s notice. Also, according to my mom, his ears are itchy today and he has to go to the vet, BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN HE WILL LEAD US INTO WAR UNPREPARED.

Next, an oldie but a goodie. If you know me at all, you are probably thinking: how has Jill not brought up penguins yet? It’s a great question and I should be embarrassed. So today I shall share the penguin video that has been my favorite forever—a penguin who has a backpack that is also a penguin. Truly what could be better? OH I KNOW, THAT TIME THAT HE GOES TO THE FISH STORE. Fine. No more spoilers. Just watch.

Finally, can I ask a favor? While you’re stuck at home (if you are!), would you consider reviewing books from some of your favorite authors on Amazon or Goodreads? Let me explain. Amazon has an algorithm that basically says that the more reviews a book gets, the “better” it is. Thus how much your book is promoted and how easily findable it is, has a lot to do with how many reviews the book has. Should it be that way? Probably not. But nevertheless it helps authors so much if you take a few minutes to say you enjoyed their books.

By the way, here’s what happened when I got super excited because I got my very first Amazon review for “The Someone New.”

Now is all this just a crafty way to get you to review MY books on Amazon or Goodreads? Well if you’ve read them and want to write a review (positive or negative), I’d appreciate it so much:

Here is a link to review “The Someone New” on Amazon.

And one for Goodreads.

But truly I also thought this was a helpful thing to know for when I very much want to support my favorite authors but can’t necessarily afford to buy a zillion copies of their books and give them to everyone I know.

In the meantime, here’s is what I consider the canine equivalent of a five-star review, from an EXTREMELY good dog named Rooney.

Does this very good dog have a very good instagram? YES HE DOES.

Thank you all for being my friends. Did you know that you can reply to these emails? You can! I will read them and everything. You are, each and every one of you, a delight.

Kisses (metaphorical!),

Jill “The Refrigerator” Twiss

p.s. I am trying out nicknames. What do you think?