Book 2 Announcement & Pre-order Links
A day early for the special newsletter subscribers in my life
Hello, friend! Thank you for joining me on this virtual coffee date.
Today’s Drink Special: Book 2!!!!!!
Drumroll, please…
Coming September 10th, 2024:
✨WHENEVER YOU’RE READY✨
After reconnecting on a road trip, two friends must decide if love is the ultimate risk worth taking in this funny, emotional sapphic romance.
Nia and Jade had been inseparable ever since their best friend, Michal, introduced them at her tenth birthday party. But now it’s been three years since Michal died of cancer— since the brutal fight Nia and Jade had in the weeks after— and they're barely on speaking terms.
Until Nia reads a letter Michal wrote for her 29th birthday, asking her and Jade to go on the southern Jewish history road trip they'd planned before she died. To add to the complications, Michal's then-boyfriend and Jade's twin brother, Jonah, joins the trip. Despite the years apart and Jade and Jonah’s strained relationship, any awkwardness quickly disappears as it becomes clear how much Nia and Jade have missed each other.
Unfortunately, old issues soon arise. Nia has been in love with Jade since they were teenagers, and Jade has been so committed to their friendship that she never let herself consider something more. As the stops pass, tensions mount, running high until Nia and Jade are forced to confront what happened three years ago, their feelings for one another, and even their respective relationships with Jonah.
Rachel Runya Katz’s Whenever You’re Ready is about family, friendship, and the kind of first love that could last a lifetime—if only you are willing to take a chance.
You can pre-order signed and personalized copies from Third Place Books now! Request personalization in the comments at checkout. Here is the general pre-order page.
Add it on Goodreads!
As a thank you for being a newsletter subscriber, I’m also sharing a draft of the author’s note that will be included at the end of the book:
The fall of 2019, I went on Shalom Y’all: A Southern Jewish History Road Trip with a group of 20-something-year-old Jewish folks. It was an impactful trip; I felt connected to the group and my Jewishness, but I was also forced to confront a lot of uncomfortable Jewish American history that I hadn’t been taught. Maybe I hadn’t learned because I am Ashkenazi—my Jewish family has only been in the U.S. since the twentieth century and assimilated to whiteness relatively recently. Maybe it was because, despite being born in the South, I was raised in the Midwest and the Pacific Northwest. Maybe it’s because a lot of public-school education in this country is woefully incomplete. Probably a little bit of all three.
Regardless, the experience of davening in a building constructed by enslaved Africans as a descendant of the transatlantic slave trade myself has lived as a part of me since. I created Jade and Jonah because I wanted to explore all of the complicated emotions that that came with that experience. Bringing them closer to it by making the synagogue part of their literal, personal ancestry allowed me to intensify it further.
While the Pardo and Sarfati families are entirely fictional, the synagogues that Nia, Jade, and Jonah visit and the Atlanta tour they go on are real. I wrote those chapters using the notes I took during Shalom Y’all and with a lot of further reading, starting with online resources provided by KKBE, Mickve Israel, the Temple, the Breman Museum, and the New Georgia Encyclopedia. I also consulted Leonard Dinnerstein’s, Nancy MacLean’s, and Eugene Levy’s articles about the Leo Frank case.
Of course, the history and intersections of anti-Black racism and antisemitism in the American South cannot possibly be summarized in three chapters of a novel about two characters falling in love. If you found it interesting, I hope you’ll consider reading more from actual historians. There may not be as many kissing scenes, but it’ll be worth it anyway.
^^^if that doesn’t get you excited to read a romance, I don’t know what will !
A Biscotti with Your Coffee
Podcasts: Fun fact: I do listen to some podcasts that aren’t in the You’re Wrong About Cinematic Universe! My best friend introduced me to Normal Gossip last year via Jasmine Guillory’s episode and it is SUCH a delight. It’s exactly what it sounds like. Each episode feels like grabbing lunch with that friend from college who somehow knows everything about everyone y’all know.
Music: have you listened to Megan Thee Stallion’s “Hiss” yet? It feels like everyone on the internet this weekend was losing their minds over the Megan’s Law line (as they should). She’s truly SO talented and I love watching her succeed in the face of everything. Also her birthday is the day before mine and that makes me feel special.
Check your inbox early next week again. I’ve got a treat for you 🥰
Mwah,
Rachel Runya Katz
I AM READY RIGHT NOW!!!!!
1. you know I love this book and am very excited; 2. you know I love me some You're Wrong About cinematic universe podcasts (literally drinking out of my YWA mug as we speak); and I've been meaning to check out Normal Gossip!; 3. I had something else but have forgotten it so I'll reiterate that I love this book and am very excited