The World Is a Narrow Bridge by Aaron Thier comes out today! It’s a novel about a millennial couple, Murphy and Eva, who have just had a baby when Yahweh, the Old Testament God, appears and asks Eva to be his prophet (and also to manage his social media presence). A very bizarre road trip ensues. We asked the author how he’s celebrating.

When I was young, I was so good at celebrating that it almost killed me, so now my method of celebrating is to sit quietly and strive for moderation. That’s what I’ll be doing on publication day. But even in moderation, I’m immoderate. I sit too quietly, white-knuckled, in a fury of concentration.

I’ll probably get up at dawn, when my toddler begins his morning shouting. Then I’ll try to trick him into eating his breakfast and changing his clothes. Every day he’s smarter and harder to trick, but the compensation is that he gets easier to bribe. It’s pretty easy to keep him on track during strawberry season. Then the two of us will knock around outside for a while, and maybe even walk into town and eat a muffin. But I’ll have my phone—I’ll be checking to see if I’ve become World Famous.

Maybe my wife will make me a pot of semi-sweet pastry cream? Like an éclair without the pastry. My favorite food.

And of course, like every day, I’ll try not to tweet death threats at the President of the United States.

Here’s a bit of good luck: There are two World Cup matches scheduled for July 3. That takes care of about four hours right there. I can watch them with my son, who is delighted by any activity in which there is a system of prohibitions, e.g. This man can use his hands, but only in this area; this man has to use his feet; this man has been penalized for knocking another man down. My son’s favorite bits of commentary, which he repeats throughout each match, regardless of what’s happening on the field, are, “Gooooooaaaallll!” and “He had a chance.”

The problem is that it’s my third book! I know what might happen. And publication day is the day on which reality begins to assert itself. Maybe no one will read it after all.

On the other hand, publication day is also a day of trying, consciously and sincerely, to appreciate the joy of the thing. The fulfillment of a lifelong ambition. The miracle of producing something I pretty much like and sharing it with readers, who, by and large, are generous and thoughtful and interesting and kind. I want to emphasize the trying because it isn’t easy. The worry is large. Life is not a masterpiece, as Joy Williams says. If I were a person with any talent for contentment, I wouldn’t have had to write these books in the first place. But I do try to enjoy it. It is a privilege. It is the fulfillment of a lifelong ambition. And at the end of the day—this day and every other day—that matters.

Aaron Thier is the author of the novels Mr. Eternity, a finalist for the Thurber Prize for American Humor, and The Ghost Apple, a semifinalist for the Thurber Prize. A contributor to the Nation and a graduate of Yale University and the MFA program at the University of Florida, Thier received a 2016 NEA Fellowship in Creative Writing. He lives in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

Author photo by Gesi Schilling.