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Birth Stories

  • kjmicciche
  • 5 days ago
  • 3 min read
Pole dancing in the park with the goddesses at Dance Queens Fitness (6/20/25)
Pole dancing in the park with the goddesses at Dance Queens Fitness (6/20/25)

A wise teacher at my children's school once told me you can tell a lot about a person’s personality by looking at their birth story. Judging from my own children, I think this is probably true. My older daughter Haley came slowly, encouraged by Pytocin. Her birth was gentle, marked by me walking up and down an empty hospital corridor in the middle of the night with my husband and my father-in-law. I labored for a long time, and when she finally came into the world, she slept like an angel and I ate a memorable grilled cheese sandwich.


My younger daughter, Julie, nearly shot right out of me in a car doing 90 mph on the Long Island Expressway. Seriously. I thought I was going to give birth to her in our Honda CR-V as my husband raced me to the hospital. When we got there, I was fully dilated and my body was pushing involuntarily. We were in such a rush that poor Chris left the car running with the keys in the ignition - doors wide open - just trying to get me into a wheelchair and up to a room. I begged for an epidural but it was way too late. My water burst like a fire hose; three pushes later, Julie was here.


If you know my girls, you can see how I might think this birth story idea holds some weight, right? Haley’s favorite pastime is reading. Julie’s is barrel racing on horseback.


I think this theory might hold true for authors who are birthing their new books out into the world.


When I released The Book Proposal two years ago, I had a big party at a comedy club to kick off a regional book tour. I worked super hard but I was so brand new to this business that I had no clue what I was doing. It’s just like that moment when a new parent gets their first-born home from the hospital, places them on the floor in the car seat, and sort of looks at them like, “Hm. Now what?” The book did well sales-wise, but the entire thing was a learning experience.


By contrast, when A Storybook Wedding entered the scene last May, I did all the same things - and some of them even bigger and better thanks to all I’d learned - but, just like with children, no two books are the same. Despite being a better book from a technical standpoint, Storybook definitely earned the “sophomore slump” award.


The Guest Book was a lowest stakes book I’ve ever published, and it came third. I’d just launched my own imprint (Cabaret Books) and I wanted to see if I was capable of managing all the parts of publishing that I knew nothing about: cover design, layout, fonts, bar codes, and marketing for a book with no in-store presence. The story was a gift to my readers who wanted an epilogue for TBP, and I donated the proceeds to hurricane relief. It’s a good book - sweet but quiet. Which tracks, if you think about it, because I did next to nothing to promote that book when it came out.


That brings us to The End of Summer. I only decided to release this book like 3 months ago. It was a late-game decision, as the release date for my next book kept shifting. I thought I might be able to squeeze in one more rom-com before the heavy stuff hits. No tour. No frills. Nothing crazy.


I repeat, nothing crazy.


Well, this book has taken on a life of its own. Instead of bookstores, the events I’m doing are in conjunction with pole dancing studios and THEY invited ME, instead of me pitching ideas to them. The pole community is so excited to have a book that destigmatizes the art and sport they love so dearly, written by someone from inside that community. So their energy is palpable! As a result, I spent my launch week going on Polerinas Podcast, planning an event with Dream Dance Fitness, and driving back to New York from my summer house in the Cape for The End of Summer dance showcase put on by Dance Queens Fitness. And there’s so much more coming for this book… so be sure to stay tuned!


My book babies - just like my real babies - were all created in the same way. But despite their matching DNA, their impact upon arrival is, apparently, not up to me.


It’s up to them.

 
 
 

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© 2025 by K.J. Micciche
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