Hello dagbloggers! Anyone still here? (I mean, besides artappraiser and PeraclesPlease, bless you both.)

If you have visited dag lately, you might have noticed some new marketing material in the margins. Yes, I have exploited my power as the last remaining founder of dagblog to shamelessly plug my new nonfiction book, The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz, coming to a bookstore near you on February 6!

The book recounts the 1931 murder of a prostitute and blackmailer named Vivian Gordon in the Bronx. The sensational homicide case induced Governor Franklin Roosevelt to expand a state investigation into corruption in New York City. Led by Judge Samuel Seabury, the investigation ultimately forced Mayor Jimmy Walker to resign and precipitated the downfall of Tammany Hall.

Those of you who have followed my writing career know that it has been a while since I published a book, almost nine years in fact. The pace of my writing was hampered by a baby (nearly 8 years old now) and a pandemic, but the primary obstacle was the publishing industry. My previous books sold around 4,000 copies each, which seemed like a lot to me, but editors weren't impressed by my "track." I wrote and shopped around three book proposals before finding a publisher for the fourth, recorded here for posterity:

• Lincoln's Banker: How Jay Cooke Conquered Wall Street and Beat the Confederacy
• We the Cowards: How Americans Lost Their Nerve
• Hunting Heisenberg: Inside the Secret Mission to Stop the Nazi Bomb

I received offers for a couple of them, but they were very small offers from very small publishers. I didn't take them, not because of the money, but because I feared that I'd sell even fewer books and then have even more trouble selling my next proposal. There's nothing wrong with small publishers, but they don't invest in marketing or publicity, and the media gatekeepers tend to ignore them, which makes it very difficult to sell books unless you're not a self-promoting genius, which I am not. (FTR, the big publishers don't invest much in marketing these days either, but if your book gains some traction, they have the resources to back it.)

The publisher who bought my fourth proposal, Union Square & Co., is also small but a bit bigger than the others, and it's owned by Barnes & Noble. That doesn't seem to have made much difference though. As far as I can tell, Union Square & Co. is completely siloed from the bookseller, and the marketing/publicity support, thus far, has been skeletal. When speaking with independent publicists, one of which I hired, I was warned that it would be difficult to get reviews/press since the publisher isn't well-known.

Nonetheless, I'm delighted to say that the early response to The Bishop and the Butterfly has been outstanding. The book received a stunning starred review from Publishers Weekly that compared it to Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (which has sold millions of copies). PW reviews a lot of books, but a starred review is a huge honor. Then the Chicago Review of Books included it in their list of Most Anticipated Books of 2024. The book has also received some stellar blurbs from prizewinning/bestselling authors, some whom didn't know me at all when they agreed to read the book. You can see the full list on my website, michaelwolraich.com.

There is even bigger news in the pipeline, but I'm afraid that I can't disclose it yet. Keep an eye on the book reviews, and wish me the best! I plan to post an update here when the book comes out. I'll also be doing some events in NYC, one in the Boston area, and possibly a few others, which I'll post about. For more regular updates, you can follow me on Threads, Facebook, Bluesky, or (sigh) the app formerly known as Twitter.

Finally, if you have any interest in narrative nonfiction, history, or true crime, or if you know anyone who does, or if you just like me a little bit, please pre-order a copy Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Books-A-Million, Bookshop or any other seller.

I miss you all!