17 Weeks to Publication!
A Flurry of Blurbs
Hello friends!
The weather is shifting in Massachusetts. The ocean temperatures dropped and every now and then there is a cool breeze that reminds me that fall is around the corner. June weekends were rainy here, and July and August passed in a hectic blur of work competing with all of the summer activities that I absolutely must take advantage of because the season is so very short, then sending the kids back to school. Tearfully, in the case of my daughter starting her junior year in college. I’m not sure why it’s still hard after doing this twice already, but there you have it. I miss her! Luckily, I still have my boy at home for one more year.
In the midst of this fun and craziness, I made a mistake. It hasn’t been the first mistake that I’ve made over the course of the Tigerbelles project, but it was a pretty big one, in that I found myself having to scramble for pre-print reviews, called blurbs, from other authors or industry people for the book jacket. I was doing what I thought I had to do, waiting until I had my final clean print production draft to share. But apparently, that’s far too late! People ask for blurbs months in advance, sometimes even a year for an author that is particularly sought after. And I had no idea!!!
This is one of the things that a debut author will definitely not know unless someone tells them! So, I’m telling you, if you’ve got a book in the works and haven’t gotten to this part yet. When I realized that I had a mere month – a summer month, no less, when publishing is pretty much shut down, to beg for reviews I went into a panic. I called a colleague of mine at the literary magazine in near tears of frustration, and she said, “Yes, nobody tells you that, every first-time author scrambles.” Well, now I know, and to the incredibly generous souls who read the draft and said something lovely about it to share, you have my eternal gratitude!
After all that time and scrambling, I have a blast of real news to share!
The cover has been released!
This is the 4x100m relay team (left to right) Wilma Rudolph, Lucinda Williams, Barbara Jones, and Martha Hudson in Rome for the 1960 Olympics. I love how the photographer captured a casual pose highlighting their close friendships and how they leaned on each other. It says so much about how these women had each other’s backs and supported each other at every step.
Pre-sales are available now!
I know I’ve been telling bits and pieces of the story through this newsletter, but there is so much more that you need to know about this outstanding group of women and all of the people who supported them. So here is where I humbly ask you to buy the book and give it a read! Pre-sales put you first in line and (this part I’m only beginning to grasp) help the publisher and booksellers get a sense about the numbers.
I would like to make a pitch for Bookshop.org for presales, as they support indie bookstores, and it’s a great site for book lovers particularly, but you should be able to find The Tigerbelles at all the major online retailers.
Reviews
And here is what some of my favorite writers are saying about the Tigerbelles. Many, many thanks to them for graciously and without judgment being willing to put this story at the top of their piles.
“Through vivid storytelling, Aime Alley Card underscores the dogged determination it took for young, black, women track and field athletes to train in the 1950s Jim Crow South and triumph in Olympic competitions. Led by the indomitable Wilma Rudolph, Tennessee State’s Tigerbelles pushed past societal obstacles to inspire successive generations of girls and women to excel in sports, even as they also confront tough challenges.”
– Melissa Ludtke, former Sports Illustrated reporter who fought a court battle for equal rights, Ludtke v. Kuhn, in the 1970s and author of Locker Room Talk: A Woman's Struggle to Get Inside, forthcoming from Rutgers University Press
"The story of the Tigerbelles is one of the most inspiring tales in the history of athletics. Coach Ed Temple and an incredibly talented group of Olympians overcame barriers of race, class, and gender to become the most dominant track program in the world. Drawing on deep research and more than sixty years of interviews, Aime Card deftly brings this compelling story to life in The Tigerbelles. This is American history that must not be forgotten. Thanks to this fascinating, timely, and highly readable book, the story of remarkable women succeeding against the tallest odds will be enjoyed for generations to come.”
Andrew Maraniss, New York Times bestselling author of Inaugural Ballers: The True Story of the First U.S. Women’s Olympic Basketball Team.
Aime Card’s new book about The Tigerbelles is outstanding. Ms. Card’s account of such Tigerbelles as Wilma Rudolph and the Tigerbelles head coach, Ed Temple, reminds of how the late Tennessee State University president Walter S. Davis wanted things, A-plus, Deluxe Fashion.
-- Dwight Lewis, Author of Mr. Temple's Tigerbelles, The Tennessean sportswriter, historian, and Tennessee State University alumni.
The Tigerbelles is not only for sports lovers, but for anyone who values triumph over adversity, untold historical stories, women supporting women, and the collective power of a team breaking the mold. Their story is heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure.
—Laura Munson, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, and founder of the acclaimed Haven Writing Retreats
There are so many reasons to love the Tigerbelles! This is a book for everyone––whether you love sports stories, feminist stories, racial justice stories, adventure stories, stories about overcoming adversity, or stories about friendship and family. The Tigerbelles are truly an inspiration for all, and Aime Alley Card has written a gripping and engaging work of narrative nonfiction that allows the great women of the Tigerbelles team to speak for themselves. Full of quotes from the incredible women athletes and drawing on a plethora of original source material, Card shares the legendary track team's story in a heartwarming and powerful book that will inspire everyone who reads it. The Tigerbelles were a triumph, and this wonderful book is, too.
-- E.B. Bartels, author of Good Grief: On Loving Pets, Here and Hereafter
Three cheers for the triumphant Tigerbelles—the fastest women in the world! Aime Card shines a light on the team's struggles against fierce racial- and gender-based discrimination. Tigerbelles is a must read about determined women who blazed a trail all the way to the Olympic podium.
- Jean Duffy, Author of Soccer Grannies: The South African Women Who Inspire the World
Recommended Reading
This time I’d like to recommend the books from the authors above. I’m in awe to have them included in this newsletter and if you haven’t read their work, you absolutely should and you will see why! From E.B. Bartels’ book on the grief of losing a pet to Laura Munson’s take on life at the crossroads, to Dwight Lewis chronicling the civil rights movement as it happened, to Andrew Maraniss telling sports stories that we all need to know. Melissa Ludtke single-handedly changed the sports reporting field for women, and Jean Duffy’s Soccer Grannies is such an inspiring tale.
Happy reading to you all, and more to come!
Aime
Congratulations! The cover looks awesome. It must feel so exhilarating for you to finally see it.
How amazing to see the cover of your book ✨