On Tour with ALL THIS COULD BE YOURS

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:   It was just about as meta as you can get, right? For the past three weeks, I have been an author on book tour, talking about a book called ALL THIS COULD BE YOURS which is about an author on book tour talking about her book, which is called ALL THIS COULD BE YOURS . I must have said this sentence a million times on the road, and I absolutely laughed every time. This particular book tour was eye opening, inspirational, hilarious, exhausting, and absolutely wonderful in every single way.

 

I'm trying to even decide where it began!  The week before publication, I flew to New Orleans to interview the fabulous Lisa Jewell, who was guest of honor. She is absolutely one of my writing idols. Every book she writes is brilliant and thought provoking and gorgeously written and perfectly plotted. And in real life she's an absolute dream--charming and funny and authentic. And we had a great time in front of a massive audience!

 

I was in New Orleans essentially for 24 hours, then flew back to Boston, and on the Saturday, hopped around to various local bookstores to sign books in preparation for their on-sale date on Tuesday. Sunday I had three online events, including two with my partner at First Chapter Fun, the fabulous Hannah Mary McKinnon, whose book A KILLER MOTIVE coincidentally and hilariously, had the same pub date as mine! How's that for synchronicity?

 

 

Monday was the pre-launch party at An Unlikely Story bookstore. I was interviewed by Jeff Kinney, yes, that Jeff Kinney, the owner of the bookstore, and the author of The Wimpy Kid books.   It was absolutely hilarious, and he is a genius. Publishers Weekly picked up the photo of that event, and that's very very cool.

 

 

On the on the actual launch day, I had a joint event with the wonderful BOOK LOVE Bookstore in conjunction with the Plymouth Public Library. It's so perfect, because ALL THIS COULD BE YOURS is a such a love letter to bookstores and librarians, and this truly fun event was an homage to those forces of nature.

 

 

Then, Wednesday, the glorious launch party at the historic West Newton cinema, where I was joined by the brilliant Lisa Gardner, and her new book KISS HER GOODBYE. We had a marvelous time in the old theater, and what an incredible occasion it was. Hurray, Hallie was there! And here are the guys--WIlliam Martin, William Landay, Daniel Palmer, James Ziskin and Edwin Hill. SO sweet of them to come. (I don't think I've ever seen my name on a movie theater marquee before!)

 

Then on Thursday, off for a two-week tour of the country!  (Note the time.....)

(Actually, I didn’t see much of the country except for the aerial views…)  I met so many new friends, and was teary-eyed at seeing so many old friends who came out to help celebrate. And my conversation partners made a bestseller list of their own-- In Cedar Rapids I was joined by Heather Gudenkauf, in Austin by Meg Gardiner, in Houston by Ashley Winstead, in Darien by Liv Constantine, and in Atlanta by Wanda Morris.  So much fun, and we laughed and solved the world's problems.

 

 

In all, I think I was on the road for 12 days, and stayed in 11 different hotels. And although it was wonderful, truly, every minute, from the super glamorous event in Greensboro to the absolutely adorable event in Mount Airy -- otherwise known as Mayberry-- I met an incredible number of absolutely fabulous readers and librarians and booksellers.

I came home this Tuesday, beyond exhausted, tireder than I have ever been, and also happier than I have ever been!

 

All this could be yours became an instant USA TODAY bestseller, and I am so grateful! (And ONE WRONG WORD made the list too! Whoo.)

And no, the tour isn't over, there's much more to come, but and you can be sure I will tell you all about it when the time comes.

 

 

And what landed in my mailbox the day I arrived back home? The edits for my new as yet unnamed 2026 novel. (Thanks to all of you yesterday for your incredibly good ideas!)

It absolutely fills me with joy, I have to say. I am the luckiest person in the world. Plus—wait until you see what’s coming up in the next few weeks!

So shall we do a book tour contest, Reds and Readers? Here are three pictures from the road. Can you identify these places? One lucky commenter—all you have to do is guess!-- will win a signed copy of Wanda Morris’s WHAT SHE LEFT BEHIND.

 

PS. Do you know about The Back Room? It's a wonderful online program that highlights four authors a month. Karen Dionne and I are the moderators/ hosts. It's free, and interactive, and absolutely wonderful! This Sunday at a special time-- 5:00 PM ET -- we will host Lisa Gardner, Eliza Reid, Lynn Liao Butler, and Francesca Serritella! Sign up here to get a front row :) seat.  Register at https://The-Back-room.org