The Magpie Diary: March 29, 2026.

Earlier this week, I shared the final details for the events in my petite book tour on Instagram, and I added: “Please come — you, yes you!” I found myself explaining that I’d always thought authors had these enormous machines and teams supporting their launches, and perhaps some of them do, but for me, it’s been a lot of asking friends for favors (Grace, will you interview me? Allison, will you pour wine at this event for me?), enlisting Landon to cherry-pick wines to serve at select events (how many bottles? still or sparkling?!), introducing myself to bookstore owners, and accidentally ordering too-small cups for events. LOL — see below. It’s funny, though, when I first opened the cup box and noticed they were thimble-sized, I was crestfallen. I’d spent a stupid amount of money on these silly little favors just to make the Wonderland launch event feel special and festive (and none of this, by the way, is paid for by the bookstore or the publisher!), and felt I’d picked the wrong size. I found myself browbeating: Jen! What a silly and expensive mistake! But after showing them to Landon and mentioning them on Instagram, I realized — actually, they’re just right. You don’t want to pour wine into an enormous solo cup. A standard wine pour is 4 oz, and the size — petite, distinctive — is in fact ideal for that volume, and for the ethos of the book, too. Doing things the small way.

I was in turn surprised by the volume of thoughtful and funny notes that emerged in response to my mentioning the cup debacle:

“Small cups don’t mean small pours!”

“I so wish I lived closer! I’d be there with pom-poms!”

“I actually love the little glasses — seems like a perfect happy accident!”

“Love all of this! Cheering you on!”

“I’m a longtime reader and can’t wait!”

“Can I order these cups?”

And, from a fellow published author: “You’re doing great. The tour you have planned is SO GOOD.”

Magpies, I continue to be bowled over by the goodness of people, and especially you people. I leave the door ajar and there you are, with kind words and soft landings and every good thing. Feeling overwhelmed with gratitude, especially at this time, where I am not only breathlessly watching my life’s work come into shelf-being (is that a term? you know what I mean: it’s going to be out there, in hard copy, living next door to my Ann Patchett and Sally Rooney) but learning the ropes of the publishing business in real-time, and probably making lots of jejune missteps. (That’s OK; this is how we learn. No one is born a published author, etc. But oh how I appreciate the kind word during this time of inelegant discovery!) What a wild industry. Now that I’ve lifted the rock and looked at the soil beneath, I’m astonished and, frankly, moved that people make books at all. I mean: the amount of time and money and energy that goes into writing, editing, printing, and marketing a book is staggering, and if we want to talk economics, I don’t think it often pencils out in the author’s favor, and probably not in the publisher’s favor, either. It’s made me even more tender-hearted toward fellow authors, as I can see, now, that writing a book — and then doing the legwork of announcing its arrival into the world — is an act of love. Or maybe survival. (I think a lot of writers write because they have to; they can’t imagine any other way of navigating the world. This is true for me.)

What I’m saying is that I had this vision, growing up, back when I’d look at the little placards advertising author events at the Politics and Prose on Connecticut Avenue, that authors dwelt in these islands of creativity, and they’d release their perfect art onto boats captained by booksellers and publishers and publicists, and away it would go, riding onto enormous waves of success. This is, of course, dream-talk. The writer’s somniloquy. (At least for me, and I’m a case study of one, so — grain of salt!) For me, as I note above, it has been about boldly knocking on doors and leaning on the generosity of friends and carrying my book in my purse (just in case!), an itinerant artist hawking her wares. It has been deliberating very slowly on opportunities (does this make sense for this book? does this venue feel “Magpie”? where in the city would my readers be interested in going?), saying no to things that just don’t feel right and then pushing myself to say yes to things that are a little scary but that feel meaningful (ladies, I’ll be on local TV next month…stay tuned). It has been tinkering around in Canva to create invitations and artwork for various events, and emailing friends in Charleston and New York and D.C.: “…will you be around?!” (I should mention that I feel this way even with the support of a publicist, a very pro-author publisher to whom I owe an enormous debt, and other contractors who help me in various ways with design, tech, etc. These people execute, but they lean on you for the vision and plan, which is a hell of a lot of work.)

I guess what I want to say is that I am over here living some kind of dream-life right now, but I’m also hand-crafting it in real-time, and I’m learning everything on the fly. In some ways, it feels that my entire life has prepared me for this moment. For example, launching a start-up with my husband all those years ago has inured me to the discomfort of living “mid-stream” for a protracted period of time. This entire year, it has felt like lots of pieces are halfway there, but nothing is yet locked in. I’ve been squarely in the leafy middle of things. This is true of life (any life, at any phase), of course, but it’s heightened when you’re trying your very best to get something off the ground over a short, delimited period of time, and you know you get one shot at it, and you’re burning the candle at both ends to get it done. That start-up experience, and running this blog for the past decade, has also impressed upon me the total fallacy of “if you build it, they will come.” No! You must expect no one will read or use anything you put into the world. You must commit to slowly improving it over time, and stay humble and hungry. You must be in it for the long haul, and for the right reasons (i.e., not for some quick shot at success, but because it is part of your lifeblood, so woven into the fabric of your own life that you are willing to commit to it for as long as you need to). And yes, you must anticipate that no one will show up to your book events. So I have imagined this outcome, too, and I am determined to pour myself a thimble of wine (lol) and talk books with whoever arrives and have a grand time doing it. This is assuredly a high point in my one wild and precious life, and I’m going to celebrate the small, intentional way!

(But also, please do come….!)

Onward!!!

*****

A few other book-related notes, and I promise my book is not going to become my entire personality (lol, it actually is), but it’s just taking up such an enormous share of my time and love right now…!

LEFT: My bookshelf, where Small Wonders sits alongside Alcott and Patchett and Rooney AND some of my favorite little bags, which I consider art. This little green bag is by Destree — she’s like a piece of candy! — and I will be wearing her on my book tour!

RIGHT: OK, stop. On my pre-order page on Amazon, it says: “Customers also bought items by Ina Garten and Caroline Chambers”?!?!?!?! I’ll be dining out on this oblique compliment for the next century, thank you. (BTW, did you see Caroline Chambers has a new book coming out? If she has another book tour, I will be bee-lining for the event — she was SO FUN to watch last time around. I took a girlfriend and we had a blast.)

Above: Another way in which my entire life has prepared me for this moment: I am having such a good time planning my wardrobe for the book events, and I feel like my decade of curating and writing about fashion have groomed me for this fun activity. Right now, everything I have planned to wear linked here (some seen above). I mainly shopped my own closet because I wanted everything to be really special and intentional and carry memory and meaning. The CocoShop dress (exact pattern sold out, but they re-release this shape every season), for example, I wore for my 15-year anniversary last summer. I put it on and I feel close to Landon. (Who, actually, will be coming to each and every event! Had to have him there! Come meet him and see what Mr. Magpie is like in real life!). And then that dandelion print Agua Bendita! I had to have this and stalked her patiently for weeks on Poshmark until I found a mint condition one in my size. I then spent a small fortune to have it massively tailored (taken in at waist and bodice, not to mention shortened by a good 3 or 4″ — Agua is meant for tall women, and I wanted the tailor to keep the original hem, which has lovely stitchwork, so it was a complex job). So even this dress has its own tender history. But mainly I needed it because —

The first piece in the book is titled “Dandelions” (!!!) and it’s all about these wondrous flowers we errantly dismiss as weeds. Hence why Ella Langley’s song of this title (conveniently released on an album just four days before my book comes out — kismet, kismet) will be my “walk up song” as I get ready for all of these events. (This, and, will it shock you to know I have a little bit of Latto and Megan Thee Stallion on that let’s-get-hyped playlist?!)

I couldn’t believe the generosity when jeweler Erin Sachse offered to send me one of her spectacular butterfly pinky rings. Oh my goodness. Can’t think of a better talisman or avatar for this year of learning. Magpies, when I look at that butterfly, I think: it takes a long time to become. (Amen, amen!)

And I love that she is a pinky ring! So delicate, tiny, and perfect. Another small wonder. I will be wearing her at every book event! I’m beyond lifted by the kindness of so many people right now, rooting me on, and a special thank you to Erin for this insanely luxe gift.

Last but not least! — a few weeks ago, a handful of Magpies mentioned that they did not live close to any of my book tour stops, and asked whether I could send them signed bookplates. I was so touched by this idea and have sent them out to all who’ve requested. I now only have a couple left — if you’ve also pre-ordered the book and would like a signed plate, email me at hello@magpiebyjenshoop.com with your best mailing address and I’ll drop one in the mail! (BTW, aren’t the bookplates CUTE?! I had them custom made to match the cover.)

A Couple of Other Shopping Notes and Marginalia.

+If you like the pinky ring vibe (I had a lot of Magpies respond enthusiastically on Instagram when I shared the photo above), you have to check out Dorsey’s new ring launch, which includes this spectacular pinky ring! Wow! I also love the look of a signet pinky ring. My good friend Alison Kenworthy, who will be interviewing me (9 months pregnant, what a trooper?!) at the NYC event, has one and I’ve forever considered it the height of glamor. (<<Need to update this post with this detail.)

+40% off at J. Crew. Don’t miss this Doen-esque cover-up (would wear the navy one for day!), this bandana print blouse, and this shirtdress.

+I wore this top this week and she’s kind of perfect in every way. Really soft, 100% cotton, an ideal tuckable length, not sheer, and I like the length of the sleeve. (A problem I have as a petite person — too-long sleeves.) I found a good look for less variation / twist on the theme here — in the blue blockprint, she’s scratching a similar itch, but I sort of love that lilac stripe?!

+On the more casual end of the spectrum: you all have been loving this striped tee the past few days. A few of my other favorite striped tees: Alice Walk, Kule, and AYR.

+Reminder that THE BEST undereye product is 25% off for a few more days. Trust me, this is one of those products you’ll say: “wait, wow, this really works” as seen as you apply. Instant reorder for me.

+Loeffler Randall is running a rare sale! 30% off some fab in-season pieces. I just ordered these. Love that they are a hybrid of so many styles — espadrille, mary jane, sneaker. Cute way to dress-down a sundress if you want it to read more casual. But if you’re in the market for a wear-with-everything flat, you must try their Leonie (love in this woven white). Simply put, the most comfortable flat right outside the box. Or maybe they tie with the M. Gemi’s Una, to be fair. Really, really, really comfortable — the kind of shoe to pack on a walk-heavy vacation. Lastly, because I know a lot of you have been into statement spring fleeces — so, so many of you ordered this or this — check out this tulip beauty as an alt!

+Serena and Lily launched a kids collection (!!!) — where has this been?! I am in love with absolutely everything, from this tiered side table to this wren dresser. The wicker wall art! I did order this lamp for my daughter. So charming!

+Speaking of cute kids’ stuff — this water table!!! Just in time for summer. Never underestimate the appeal of water when small hands are around.

+Jump on this striped dress before it disappears! The cut, the silhouette — perfection!

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