Hello, Protagonists!
We had a wonderful time at our virtual Book Clubby Launch Party + Paper Rose Origami Workshop. If you missed it, you can watch the replay in the video above.
Here’s what we did:
Workshop: Cupcake Wrapper Paper Roses (difficulty level: easy)
Book club-style Discussion of The Incredible Kindness of Paper
Workshop: Origami Twist Roses (difficulty level: medium)
After-party bonuses:
Free stickers request form - while supplies last (I only have about a dozen sets left, so first come, first served). EDIT: I ran out so the form is now closed.
Pop-up paper rose card that you might have seen on my Instagram
We did not make these in our workshop, but you can give them a try yourself with this tutorial that I also used
During the “book club” portion of the party, we had such a fantastic discussion of The Incredible Kindness of Paper and talked about:
Author mission
When is it appropriate to write with a message or theme in mind?
How do you make sure the story itself still guides the book, rather than hitting the reader over the head with a “moral”?
Additional reading on kindness & human connection:
My interview in Psychology Today
My essay on informed optimism:
What makes a good “book club” book?
The narrative complexity of The Incredible Kindness of Paper
4 timelines, told from 2 perspectives = 8 storylines to juggle!
Different types of writing:
present action,
flashbacks to the past, and
epistolary (letter exchange/penpal relationship)
Eight points of view - Chloe, Oliver, and six secondary characters
The interview with my editor that I mentioned:
» Want a Transcript? - there is a transcript button for the video if you watch on our website (but not on the Substack app - I don’t know why they did that.)
note: Next month’s book club pick is Orbital by Samantha Harvey. I will send the invite for that later this week.
Praise for The Incredible Kindness of Paper
“Perfect for the end of summer, this feel-good novel…[is] just the book you need—beautifully drawn characters and prose and a smile-inducing story.”
—Newsweek
“[I]nfused with heartfelt magic, like Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library.”
— Woman’s World Book Club Pick
“Simply seeing kindness activates the neuropsychology of kindness, promoting generosity, interpersonal connection, and inclusion… Skye’s latest novel, The Incredible Kindness of Paper, explores how one random act of kindness can change the trajectory of a life.”
— Psychology Today
💛 Buy a copy now for yourself or someone who needs a literary smile! 💛
Autographed copies (limited time only):
If you want an autographed copy and you want to support an independent bookstore, you can order The Incredible Kindness of Paper at my local indie, Books Inc. Palo Alto.
Orders placed by 11:59pm Sunday, August 18th can be autographed and personalized with your name.
Just put a note in your online order that says:
PALO ALTO store: Autographed copy, please! Personalize to [insert your name].
Book Description:
In elementary school, Chloe Hanako Quinn is assigned Oliver Jones as her pen pal partner. Before sending her letter, she also whispers a note into it… and he hears her. Little does she know it would be the beginning of a friendship that would bloom into something more. That is, until disaster strikes, and Oliver and his family disappear without a trace.
Now over twenty years later, Chloe is a high school guidance counselor in New York City. But life in the Big Apple is not what she dreamed it would be as she faces a layoff, rising rent, a situationship, and loneliness. Desperate for encouragement, she gives herself a pep talk via uplifting messages written on yellow origami paper that she folds into roses. When one of the roses unexpectedly finds its way to a neighbor in need of cheering up, a desire to spread kindness and optimism is sparked in Chloe, who begins folding more roses and leaving them around town.
Across the city, Oliver has picked himself up from the rough circumstances that forced him to leave everything behind as a teenager—including Chloe. Now a successful financial analyst, Oliver’s past continues to haunt him. But when the city is suddenly inundated with yellow origami roses, a specific one finds its way into his hands and changes his life forever…
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