On August 12 of 2022, I published a young adult novel in verse, “Was I Ever Normal.” This book tells the story of Cassie a young girl with Childhood-onset Schizoaffective Disorder who is so determined to hide her illness from the world that she weaves an intricate web of lies to cover up her symptoms.
When Cassie finds herself using psychiatric units like revolving doors, she finally realizes that she needs more help then she can give herself and tries to tell the truth. No one believes her. She is accused of “manufacturing symptoms to avoid working on the real issues.” To find out if Cassie is ever able to get the kind of help she needs you will have to buy the book
October 21st, 2022
My First Book Signing
Today was a big day for me. I got an early start and put on the t-shirt the publishing agency provided for me. It has the cover of my novel printed right on the front. Then I gathered up my business cards, posters, and postcards and drove my wheelchair into the handicapped-accessible van. My nurse Carl was my driver for the 45-minute trip down to Great Barrington. Reclined in my wheelchair in the backseat I was smiling so wide my lips were cracking, at the same time, my heart was pounding with both nerves and excitement.
Everyone at the Book Loft Bookstore greeted us with big smiles. They were just as excited about the book signing as I was and were genuinely happy to have me there. I followed them to a table in back loaded with a bunch of copies of “Was I Ever Normal”. Carl helped me hang one poster on the door behind me, we put one poster on the table in front of me, and then we arranged the books, postcards, and business cards.
As people walked by, I called them to my table and asked them if they were looking for a book. Once I got their attention I explained the plot of “Was I Ever Normal” and how it points out the major flaws with the mental health system for children in the US, how I also suffer from schizoaffective disorder, and how my story offers hope, inspiration, and validation as well as spreading compassion and awareness and breaking down stigma.
I sold every single copy of the book on my table, so that was exciting. In the van ride on the way home, I was floating on Cloud 9.
Buying “Was I Ever Normal”
If you are interested in buying your own copy of “Was I Ever Normal”, there are multiple stores that you can buy it from, both online and in person.
To Buy “Was I Ever Normal” In-Person if you are local to The Berkshires:
- Barnes and Noble in Pittsfielfd, MA
- Barnes and Noble in Holyoke MA
- Barnes and Noble across the US (if they don’t currently have any copies in the store they can order it and have it at the store for you within 2 to 3 days)
- The Book Loft in Great Barrington, MA
- The Book Store in Lenox, MA
- Books-A-Million stores across the USA (if they don’t currently have any copies in the store they can order it for you and have it at the store for you within several days
To Buy “Was I Ever Normal” Online or at other in-person bookstores if you are not local to The Berkshires
- Barnes and Noble – You can choose to order it as a paperback or an e-book
- Amazon – You can choose to order it as a paperback or an e-book
- Google Play – As an e-book only
- Knygos.it – Foreign Country
- Booktopia – Australia
- Rakuten – Asian Country
- Angus & Robertson in Australia
- Books and Crannies in Martinsville, VA
- Darvill’s Bookstore in Eastsound, WA
- Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore in San Diego CA
- Wellington Square Bookshop in Exton, PA
- Lehmanns Media in Berlin, Germany
- Next Chapter Booksellers in Saint Paul, MN
- Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver, CO
- And multiple other bookstores across the US and Internationally
Newest Updates on Was I Ever Normal
I have one company that is making a book trailer out of my book. Another bookstore in New York City has put my book in their bookstore and is helping me make a YouTube promotional video that is guaranteed to get me at least 5,000 hits.
My book is also for sale internationally. If you google my book you will see that “Was I Ever Normal” is now for sale in Australia, Germany, France, Italy, Holland, and China.
Another cool thing I noticed when I googled my book is that it is also all over the US in independent bookstores and it is listed in Google Books under the Google search engine. This is all so mindblowing for me. I never dared to hope that my writing would take off this much. This is beyond my wildest dreams. Maybe I really can make the best-seller list if I keep going at this rate. This is unbelievable.
To all of you reading this blog, please help me achieve my dreams, please buy a copy of my book if you haven’t already, if you have but haven’t left a comment on wherever you purchased the book from please leave a stellar comment. Together we can make this happen!
December 4th 2022
TikTok Video About “Was I Ever Normal”
Check out this video that gives you the rundown on what exactly Was I Ever Normal is all about and why I wrote it!
December 30th 2022
I had an awesome experience today, I went to Barnes and Noble to look at books and find a nice place to sit and write. When I passed the Young Adult section, there was my book! “Was I Ever Normal” by Becca Pava! The store manager said that they ordered two copies and already sold one. I was so happy to physically see my book on a shelf in a nationwide bookstore that I took a picture of it.
So if you are local to the Berkshires there are three different stores that carry my novel, “Was I Ever Normal”.
1. The Pittsfield Barnes and Noble
2. The Book Loft in Great Barrington
3. The Book Store in Lenox
You can also order my book from Barnes and Noble online as either an e-book or a paperback at this link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/…/was-i…/1142039795…
Or you can order it from Amazon as a Kindle or paperback at this link: https://www.amazon.com/Was-Ever-Normal…/dp/1638674353/
You can order it in-store or online from Books-a-Million. The link to order it online is: https://www.booksamillion.com/…/Becca…/9781638674351…#
The book is also available at multiple independent bookstores across the US and internationally.
April 22nd and 23rd
This picture is from the catalog that Gampi Media made up, and was used for The LA Times Festival of Books 2023.
Let me start at the beginning.
Access Media, is an agency that scrolls through search engines and websites online searching for books with multiple extremely positive reviews. “Was I Ever Normal” has 8 five star reviews on Amazon alone, not to mention all the other positive reviews all over the web.
As soon as Access Media found my book, they referred it to a Canadian-based literary agency, Gampi Media. Gampi Media was preparing for the LA Times Festival of Books, the biggest book fair in the US. You have to be invited to participate in it.
As soon as the editors at Gampi Media read my book, I was contacted by Chad who offered to by my agent and enter my book in the prestigious LA Times Festival of Books. It was a huge opportunity because there were hundreds of publishers, movie directors, scriptwriters, book retailers, and people just shopping for books there. Chad also offered to be my literary agent for “Was I Ever Normal” and to republish “Was I Ever Normal” with a really major publishing house like Random house, Penguin, or Simon & Schuster.
The Book Fair went great! Although I wasn’t able to be there due to my health limitations, tons of people stopped by my booth and watched the video I made about it (that Gampi Media edited and played with) playing on a continuous loop. I am so excited, my writing career is really taking off!
Fox 40 Interview About “Was I Ever Normal”
I had the most exciting thing happen!!! ABNEWSWIRE interviewed me over a Zoom meeting and then aired a segment about “Was I Ever Normal”. They also wrote up an article about the book and myself as well. To check it out click here.
YouTube Ads
Gampi Media has been working with me to create a video clip about Was I Ever Normal. I finally perfected the video clip, and we are inserting it to play as an ad between YouTube videos as a way to advertise my book.