New York Times bestselling author Caroline Leavitt and podcaster/book enthusiast Robin Kall recognized that — amid the coronavirus shut-downs — authors with new books being released (*raising my hand*) are having their events canceled.

So they took matters into their own hands and created the Nothing Is Canceled Virtual Book Tour.

On Twitter, they initially made a call for authors to record videos of themselves talking about their book, discussing the authors who influenced the writing of that book, and to cap it off by giving a shout-out to local independent bookstores.

Meanwhile, Robin Kall has started interviewing authors online. (We’ve corresponded and I hope we set something up soon.)

I enthusiastically agreed to join their virtual author series and recorded my awkward video (see above) while praying Max and Tedy wouldn’t start howling outside my office door.

In the video — the link to which I’ve emailed Leavitt — I give a shout-out to Tatnuck Booksellers in Westborough, where I hosted my book launch and from where you can purchase signed copies of Uncomfortably Numb.

I also give kudos to two authors whose memoirs influenced me as I wrote mine: Suzanne Strempek Shea and her Songs from a Lead-Lined Room, Susannah Cahalan and her Brain on Fire.

What a wonderful way for authors and book enthusiasts to support one another while we’re holed up away from the coronavirus.