I’ve been publicizing books for nearly a quarter of a century, but we launched PR by the Book in October 2002 and are celebrating being business athletes (a term my friend Daniel of Greenleaf bestowed on me) on our 19th Anniversary. 

This business has seen my husband (business partner) and I go from our late 20s to our mid 40s, from one toddler to three teens. We’re honored to have traveled this path with outstanding team members who are dedicated to sharing the message of books. 

In celebration of this milestone, we want to list 19 books we’ve promoted over the past few decades that stand out for one reason or another. Note: We couldn’t use current clients’ books in this list, as that just wouldn’t be fair. Some of these books (clients) harken back to the early years of PR by the Book, when we officed out of the corner of our bedroom. I include a quick note about something that stands out to me about each one, all these years later. These are in no particular order…

1. Waiting for White Horses by Nathan Jorgenson – I read this novel cover to cover while standing in a pool at Red Mountain Lodge in Utah, on vacation, in triple digit heat. I just couldn’t go inside and stop flipping the pages of this intriguing story. 
2. Patagonia Business Library by Yvon Chouinard– Yvon founded Patagonia and his big hit is “Let My People go Surfing.” We handled publicity for Patagonia Books for 6 years and were honored to help promote this icon. 
3. Slow is Fast (Patagonia)– I have so many favorite books from Patagonia but as a travel writer, this one struck a chord with me, a reminder of slowing down to appreciate the surprising simple pleasures along the journey. 
4. How to Travel the World for Free by Michael Wigge (Michael Wigge German Site)- Landing this self-published, first-time author from Germany on “The Tonight Show” was a media highlight for our boutique firm. We still laugh about Wigge’s comedic antics. 
5. Giants in the Land series by Clark Burbidge– Clark is likely our longest running client, having helped him on 8-ish books throughout his writing career, this middle grade novel is a favorite of both our sons. They both used this series for class projects at school. 
6. Confessions of a Scholarship Winner by Kristina Ellis (Worthy Publishers)- I had the pleasure of spending a day with Kristina when she came to Austin to speak at The Texas Book Festival. It was a real treat as I was in awe of what it took her to succeed as she did and I recommend this book to all high school seniors. 
7. Let’s Go on Safari by Kate Gilman Williams– I had a ball working with Kate when she was only 9, as we were able to do a few media training sessions in person before her NYC media tour. She got the attention of Ellen, Ryan Seacrest and other celebrities. 
8. Build the Perfect Bug Out Bag by Creek Stewart – After his publicity campaign with PR by the Book, Creek scored his own show on The Weather Channel, “Could You Survive.” We landed Creek an interview on Fox & Friends TV show on Father’s Day during his publicity campaign. 
9. Making Happy and The Good Fight by Les and Leslie Parrott– Marriage experts who have been married for decades, Les and Leslie Parrott have always inspired me in my own life. It was a blessing to help them promote their positive message for marriages. 
10. Max Goes to the Moon and other children’s books from Jeffrey Bennett – We were elated to learn, while promoting Bennett’s books, that his book was chosen by NASA as the first book to be read by an astronaut on the space station for their new storytime program. 
11. Sideways by Rex Pickett– Rex’s book was made into the hit indie movie and later, he hired PR by the Book to create a Texas publicity tour for his subsequent book project. As he passed through the Austin area, our team got to sip wine with this storyteller.
12. Realionnaire by Farrah Gray– A millionaire at the age of 19, Farrah inspired me. Getting to meet him at Book Expo America, he was one of the most charming young people I’ve ever met. He gave me the name “Lady M!” 
13. Oola series by Dave Braun and Troy Amadahl (HCI)- The Oola guys are everywhere. We had the honor of creating a nationwide book tour for them, where they rode in their famous VW bus, encouraging regular folks to use their 7 Fs to create a better life. 
14. Ready or Not by Michelle Tam of Nom Nom Paleo – Promoting Michelle’s cookbook was exciting and fast-paced. She’s one of the most talented authors when it comes to marketing her brand. Through her videos, social media and expansive email list, she created buzz like no other. 
15. Breakthrough by Shea Vaughn (HCI)- The mother of actor Vince Vaughn, we were able to land her an interview on Ellen, of which we got to attend (it happened to be the first day of Ellen’s 12 Days of Christmas). What a thrill to be a part of that type of Hollywood TV!
16. Secretly Hers and other novels by Jamie Beck – The author of many novels for women, Jamie hit 1 million books sold with Amazon while we worked with her! 
17. Good Evening Friends by Dave Ward– Dave is a trusted celebrity in Houston where he’s brought the city news for decades. It was an honor to help him launch his memoir to longtime fans and new followers alike. 
18. Little Red Book of Selling by Jeffrey Gitomer (Bard Press)- Possibly one of the bestselling business books of all time, we were introduced to Gitomer by one of our favorite publishers, Ray Bard of Bard Press in Austin. 
19. The Ultimate College Student’s Handbook by Dr. Jill Grimes– A returning client, we had the pleasure of working with Jill during the time when our oldest daughter graduated from high school and headed to college. I bought copies of this book for every single graduate we knew that year, sending them off for good health and success! Dr. Grimes did TV from coast to coast!

It was both extremely easy and incredibly hard to create this list as these authors popped into my head automatically, but we have hundreds of other important authors we’ve worked with over the past 19 years (over a thousand!), who I would want to mention.

As a travel writer (also for 19 years), some of my favorite books to work on have been related to travel, including the Eyewitness Travel series from DK Publishers and Excess Baggage by Tracey Carish, a memoir of Tracey’s “midlife crisis” when she and her husband sold everything and pulled their three daughters out of school to travel around the world for 18 months, providing them the education of their lives. 

All in all, each book we’ve promoted holds a special place in our hearts, as every single one of them has an audience and was written for a reason. Books change lives. We’re thankful to give authors their megaphone so they can tell the world about their (book) baby. 

Happy 19 Years, PR by the Book! 

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