Hi friends, welcome to another episode of that sounds fun. I'm your host Annie F. Downs. I'm really happy to be here with you today. We've got a great show in store.

The music you're hearing in the background is from our friends for King and Country. It's their version of Little Drummer Boy from the album, A Drummer Boy Christmas. Be sure to check that out. It is so good. And I am so so excited because our 2021 Christmas party here on the pod starts tomorrow. Y'all, it's 12 days in a row of super fun episodes. It's going to be so great. In addition to some amazing guests, a crowd favorite around this time of year, we'll be making a return visit as well. That's right. Santa himself.

We'll be here to answer your questions. We love those Q and A episodes. So you can follow the link in the show notes to send in your questions. I get out wait for these 12 days to get started. But before we dive into today's conversation, I want to take a moment and share about one of our incredible partners pretzels.com. You heard me right pretzels.com. You guys I'm a huge fan of pretzels. I mean salty, crunchy, endless flavor options. What is not to love. That's all so excited when I heard about pretzels.com. This website was made for pretzel fanatics like us around here.

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Today on the show, I get to talk with Mitch album. Yes, that Mitch album, Mitch album is a best selling author, a screenwriter, a playwright and a nationally syndicated columnist. He's the author of five consecutive number one New York Times bestsellers, including the memoir Tuesdays with more, which is as you'll hear us talk about the number one memoir in the world in all of time.

The five people you meet in heaven, which is an awesome book. His books have collectively sold more than 33 million copies and 42 languages worldwide.

He's founded six charities and in around Detroit, including the first ever 24 hour medical clinic for homeless children in America. And also operates an orphanage in Port of Prince Haiti that you'll hear us talk about.

His new book The Stranger in the Lifeboat is a really thought provoking story about the essence of God on earth. So fascinating, really beautifully written. I am a huge fan. And so I am thrilled to get to share this episode with you. Here's my conversation with author Mitch album.

Mitch, thanks so much for being on that sounds fun. You're welcome, man. He's good to be with you. Man, it's such an honor. Okay, here's where we got to start. I grew up a granddaughter of a small business local bookstore owner.

So my grandparents owned a local bookstore and you just did the coolest thing for local bookstores. So before we even talk about that, will you talk about how much local bookstores matter to you?

Well, the truth is that I don't think Tuesday's with more he would have become the book that it did without local bookstores. You know, it had no following. It had no anticipation.

Nobody really wanted me to write that book first of all. Most publishers turned it down. And then when I wrote it, they only printed 20,000 total copies. And I thought I'd have them in the trunk of my car for the rest of my life.

So it wasn't like it was. There was no real publicity for because nobody knew what to make of a sports writer who was writing a book like that. So really it was the independent bookstores.

Doing what independent bookstores do best, which is customer comes in. Hey, I'm looking for something kind of like this. Well, you know, we just got this book. I read it and it's going to try this. Okay, I'll try it.

Comes back a week later. That was really good. You know, I told my friends about it and they came in. My friend said that I just book Tuesday's with more. Do you have it? And that's literally how it built. I mean, Tuesday's with more he came out in August of 1997.

And didn't even get on the bottom of a best sellers list until like November. And didn't reach number one on the New York Times best sellers list until April.

So you can see the sort of slow, slow, just sort of word of mouth building and independent bookstores were hugely behind that. So I owe them a huge debt of gratitude and always will.

All of us have read Tuesday's with more that's kind of the nature of that. Everybody's read it. I mean, it is the number one selling memoir of all time. Yeah, that's pretty strange considering how many people told me no boring.

You know, you're a sports writer. It's depressing. Nobody's going to want to read a book like that. And it was just written to pay more. He's medical bills. It wasn't ever supposed to be. I was surprised.

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