I had always heard that book tours were exciting, but exhausting. I wasn’t sure I was up for it. But it was important to thank our friends, living all across the country, for their encouragement and support on this journey.

Determined to create a tour that gave me energy rather than deplete it, I made 3 golden rules.

#1 Prioritize Joy.  Inspired by our musician friend Gideon Irving who performs in homes instead of bars, I decided to have a series of house parties rather than bookstore events. I wanted guests to feel connected and have fun. And I had heard too many stories of writers showing up at bookstores, only to read to rows of empty chairs. So we had parties in Boulder, the Bay area, NYC and Boston (so far). We served Fierce cocktails and a Joy punch, danced, gave away prizes, talked about what makes us brave, and ate cake! (HUGE thanks to Valentina Iturbe-LaGrave & Rodrigo Garcia, Christine Carter & Mark Millstein, Mike & Kirsten Beckwith, Brooke & Dan Neidich, Mallory Neidich & Teddy Kalborg, Meg & Sam Steere, and Ellen & Bob Wright.)

#2 Include the family. It began with a question, Is it possible to integrate work and family? Yes! I brought the family with me on tour. We hacked the high costs of traveling by renting out our house on Air BnB, using points for flights, staying with friends, and finding taco stands instead of restaurants. It was 100% worth it because my favorite aspects of the tour so far have been when Hazel sang for the crowd or when Cole made new friends in the streets of NYC.

#3 Do what matters I have a handful of causes that are important to me.Girls education is one of them. And the organization that is knocking this important initiative out of the park is MAIA; Her Infinite Impact. Knowing I wanted to support them, I committed to giving some of the proceeds of book and T-shirt sales to MAIA. The result? People are buying more books because they know they are supporting a great cause. And I feel good knowing that my work is serving others. Educate a girl, save the world.