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"We are still us." (heart emojis)

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Apr 11, 2023Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

Just wanted to say yay for book release month and I can’t wait for my preorder to arrive!

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Thank you, I appreciate you!

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Apr 11, 2023Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

So excited for you and I love all the behind the scenes updates about what it actually takes to get a book into the world, so please keep it coming!

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Oh hooray! I love knowing that.

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Apr 11, 2023Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

I'm SO excited for your book to be out!!! Thanks for talking me through the Team FAT TALK process, because I clicked before reading that and was already starting to whine inside about not knowing how to do it! You look outstanding in the picture--no anxiety whatsoever--the tiny smile that says "I have all my shit TOGETHER, folks!" I don't live close enough to get to any of the live tour events, but I signed up for the virtual one, and I'm really looking forward to it!!!

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Thank you Roxy!! And this reminds me, I need to go put that info about how to join Team FAT TALK on the actual Team FAT TALK page, duh. (Come on Substack, make a subscribe button for this!!)

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Apr 11, 2023Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

I admit it makes me slightly anxious on your behalf to read this BUT I am also Very Excited for this to finally be out in the world! (And I hope there's some sort of post-launch rest planned!)

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Your anxiety is accurate and appreciated.

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Apr 11, 2023Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

gah! So excited and feeling v. proud :) you know, that lovely indirect & unearned pride that comes from seeing someone you admire (and know to be a generally excellent human) accomplish something magnificent. Any plans to add a DC or Baltimore event to the tour?

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❤️❤️❤️ You are the best. And I’m hoping DC/Baltimore will happen down the road!

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Yes, come to DC! Please :)

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oh good. fingers crossed!

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Apr 11, 2023Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

I’m so excited to read it! And I’ll see you in Garrison, hopefully--there’s a lot of child-ferrying on my schedule that afternoon but I really want to come!

Would also love to hear more about Costa Rica. My family is sort of obsessed with sloths and monkeys, and it’s definitely on my radar as a place to go. How did you decide what parts of the country to visit?

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Yay! Would love to see you there (but so understand the saturday afternoon child-ferrying!). Costa Rica: We picked our locations based mostly on advice around birdwatching because my mom is a huge birder and the trip was for her birthday. We ended up dividing our week between Manuel Antonio and Monteverde; MA gives you jungle and beaches and hot tropical weather, Monteverde is the cloud forest, so you're up in the mountains and its misty and cooler. I loved both and they gave us a real sense of the range of the country! And we saw sloths and monkeys in both locations... the monkeys are usually hanging right around the hotel when you're eating breakfast, they are not shy! (Oh our other factor was ease of travel - -these are both 3-4 hours away from the main airport in San Jose and 4-5 hours from each other so we did have some long, bumpy car rides, but other places we considered were like a 6-8 hour drive so that felt like even more of a reach with kids...)

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Apr 11, 2023Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

You totally make the right decision on the driving - the drive times really threw up for a loop and we actually cancelled a third destination and spent the remaining time at our second stop because the driving was so exhausting. Beautiful scenery, even on the highway, but the road demands your full attention for however many hours you're on it.

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Agreed!! We booked tourist vans, so we didn't have to drive ourselves but even so -- it was plenty of bumpy car time. It's interesting that Costa Rica has invested so much in the tourism industry but not yet in the highways, which presumably would be both good for tourism AND good for everyone who lives there and has to get to work.

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Apr 11, 2023Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith

True, and our experience driving in San Jose was SUPER stressful, I must say. But on another level I kind of appreciated how relaxed and patient people seemed to be about being behind a slow tractor or something on the highway. There's so much directionless rage on the highway in the US (or directed rage, even worse) and it's ultimately so pointless and exhausting.

Of course, we went before kids so it was probably easier to be philosophical. :)

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Ahaha yes. Children make every road trip significantly more rage-y.

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That is so cool that the monkeys are just hanging out there! Someone else I know just got back from the Rio Celeste area of CR, which also looked beautiful in the pictures. Lots of research to do about the place!

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If your family loves animals it will be a fantastic vacation option for you, there are animals EVERYWHERE. (Both wild ones and lots of street dogs, mostly small breeds but a good thing to know if anyone is afraid of dogs.) Look for a night hike!

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So excited for you--and for the world to get this book in their hands!

I'm also here for any and all "Inside Baseball" on the publishing/launching process!

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The best and worst part of Costa Rica was learning that the US really does grow/import the crappiest mangoes on earth.

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Love!!!!! So many exciting things happening. Go Team Fat Talk!

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