Today ends the first two weeks of publication of my Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.' Tomorrow begins week three -- or, as I try not to think of it very often, the really, really scary week...
I'm very proud of how the book has been received so far. Kirkus Reviews called it "a fast-paced, informative reminder of the importance of speaking out." Publishers Weekly called it an "entertaining and well-researched bio." Library Journal, in a starred review, called it a "deliciously informative and entertaining story."
The Daily Beast made it one of last week's "Hot Reads," and People magazine gave it 3 1/2 stars, calling it "a stunningly alive portrait of the '60s and of two very different men... who 'refused to shut up' and thereby made TV history." On TV, the book and I were featured on ABC's Good Morning America and CBS's The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.
Terry Gross interviewed me about the book on Fresh Air Nov. 30, the day before its publication (thanks again!), and that's what initially catapulted the book to a higher level. On Amazon, its ranking rose from about No. 43,000 pre-Fresh Air to No. 194 the evening it aired. And as of Sunday afternoon, two weeks later, it's still ranked No. 232.
Things continue to proceed. Monday morning, Dec. 14, I appear for an hour (11 a.m. ET) on Philadelphia's local WHYY-FM talk show, Radio Times, hosted by good buddy Marty Moss-Coane. I'm doing some satellite radio interviews, so you may hear me on one of your local stations sometime soon. And there's a possibility for more TV and radio coverage next month, as the Smothers Brothers are inducted into Emmy's Hall of Fame.
But the scary part is that this week is when the reviews should really start rolling out, including Newsweek and, one of these Sundays, perhaps, The New York Times. Nervous? You betcha.
Meanwhile, there are other book-related activities to distract me. A friend, flying out of LAX airport this weekend, noticed my book on display at the airport bookstore. I never thought I'd GET in an airport bookstore, except as a customer, so that makes me smile.
So does Simon & Schuster's recently posted, well-made video feature on the book, which includes clips from the show and an interview with me, and which you can watch by clicking HERE.
On the same website page, you can see a listing of some of my upcoming book readings and appearances, including bookstore signings in January at both New York and Marlton, NJ. I'll do more of my own horn-tooting on that next month, rest assured.
And, elsewhere on the Simon & Schuster site, I make a brief appearance during a feature on authors' favorite holiday movies, alongside such other budding authors as Stephen King. You can see that HERE.
And, as always, you can poke around at the book's main website, DangerouslyFunnyTheBook.com, which can be found HERE.
Thanks, all of you, for being so supportive as this baby of mine is ushered into the world. After all these years of work, it's a lot of fun -- but I'd be lying if I didn't admit it was a little nerve-wracking.
I'll keep you posted.