Saturday, April 30, 2011

vintage mau's moments: the curse of the 5 o'clock dinner


Yeah, the water damage is pretty bad on this one, especially up at the top left.  Also see how charming it was that I was writing for the school paper so I couldn't write any curse words?  Not like now, with my blog empire, where I live like a king!  A damn hell ass king!

I remember very little about the food in the dining hall at college, only that there was this one entree, some kind of grilled chicken filet called "Chix Breast."  And I always thought that was weird, especially since we were at a women's college.

As the author of the book, I get a few free copies of course (though not unlimited free copies, as some people think--it's not like printing your own currency), but I did order a copy off of my go-to electronic retailer just to see how fast and when the book would arrive when it finally came out.  The official publication date is May 11th, so you can imagine I was a little surprised when I came home and found this at my front door yesterday.





Behold, the power of free two-day shipping!  Still, that was really quick.  Probably some of you guys who pre-ordered got your copies yesterday too, or maybe you will today.  Gleep!  We've gone live!

So a few small things:

1.) I'm told that since they're out in circulation now, copies of the book may actually start to appear in physical bookstores around the country any day now.  Atlanta is terrible with bookstores (really it seems like there are hardly any, except for a handful of scattered Borders, many of which are closing down) so I haven't had a chance to check this out for myself, but if you happen to be at a bookstore and see a copy of my book sitting there, could you please take a picture and e-mail it to me?  Get in the picture too, if you like!  Do something dorky, like give a thumbs up and point to the book.  Also, maybe do some winking!  I LOVE DORKY STUFF.  (Obviously.)

2.) Take a picture of you with the book in an interesting place and e-mail it to me.  Summer's coming up, and summer means travel.  Might you bring a copy of the book with you to read on the plane, and then pose with it at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower, or at the lip of the Grand Canyon?  You just might!  E-mail your picture to me!  (You can pose with your e-reader too, I know many many people got the e-reader version as well.)  Or take it to work, and take a picture of my book in various and amusing hospital settings.  Like, I don't know, sitting in a bedpan.  (Wait--not that.)

3.) If you read the book and liked it, why not write a review?  The book is on goodreads.com, and of course you can review it on the site of your friendly neighborhood online book retailer.  As someone who has been writing on the internet since caveman days, I realize that open and anonymous reviews of this type can sometimes be an open invitation to Random Angries to just write one star reviews which read, in their entirety, "THIS IS BULLSHIT," but it's a free country, I guess.  However, do please consider writing a review if you enjoyed the book.

4.) EVENTS!  I am getting all mixed up with the time and the dates of the events, so I'm just going to put a quick crib sheet here, so that people in those cities can get their schedules straight and come hang out.  If there's enough interest, I will plan after-events (the after-event at Iowa City was surprisingly well-attended and delightful besides) and then we can hang out some more.  Full details of the events are listed here and here, but here's the quick and dirty guide.

Wednesday, May 11th, 6:00pm: NYC (Note the time!  I think I've been saying that it's at 7:00pm, but really the event is starting at 6:00pm. So we have time to eat dinner after!)
Friday, May 13th, 6:00pm: Philly 
Monday, May 16th, 7:00pm: Boston (well, Cambridge, really) 
Thurdsay, May 19th, 7:00pm: Atlanta

I really hope you guys in the area can make it.  It's been many, many years of keeping this blog, and it would be lovely to finally put some faces to the names in the comments section, or to see old friends.

Happy reading!

35 comments:

  1. I pre-ordered and Amazon has it delevering on the 3rd. Call me old fashioned, but I prefer the weight and feel of an actual book over an e-reader.

    You know your cover looks somewhat similar to the book by Meghan Weir - it comes up when searching your name on Amazon.

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  2. Thanks for ordering, I hope you like it! I like e-readers too, but the hardcover looks and feels GREAT.

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  3. See, you shouldn't be tempting me to drive to boston when I have a 9am class on Tuesdays. I probably will though. I'm irresponsible like that.

    Congratulations on the book. It's going on the summer reading list for sure.

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  4. I heart you and I will definitely order your book, but do you know it will come out near the same time as the 11th Sookie Stackhouse book? This poses a serious conundrum for me. With two kids, and trying to read Game of Thrones, I may not get to read it for... years! :)

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  5. i gots yer book!!! woot! Delivered yesterday all the way up here in Canada yonder!

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  6. Wow, first foreign reader to get the book! Nice!

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  7. You're coming to my city!!! That's so cool!!! I'm on cardiology that week and I don't know if I'll be able to get away in time for the event, but I really really hope so!

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  8. Mona, you should totally drive into Boston. We won't keep you out too late! (Unless you want us to.)

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  9. Got your book today in mail. Yay! See you in Philly

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  10. Heidi4:53 PM

    Any other events planned? Like, in, say, Chicago? (Please please please!)

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  11. I pre-ordered from Amazon and they told me they shipped it on the 29th. I'm in Australia and it's a public holiday tomorrow so fingers crossed it's here on Tuesday. Can't wait!

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  12. No Chicago on this round of events (as you can see I'm just sort of fanning out from NYC this time around) but Chicago is a big medical town, so if I make a sweep through the Midwest it's definitely on my "must visit" list!

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  13. I pre-ordered it for my Kindle. I guess I can't take any interesting pictures since you won't really be able to tell which book it is. :(

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  14. Anonymous6:30 PM

    Will you come to Detroit in your midwest tour? We have several med schools and hospitals.

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  15. Anonymous6:37 PM

    I don't suppose I can tempt you to the west coast? I make awesome cookies... :)

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  16. Anonymous6:46 PM

    Got it today from B&N! Hurrah for speedy shipping!

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  17. You can pose with the book on your Kindle! Isn't there a page where you can display the cover? I have Kindle on my iPad and I think I can show the cover screen. Can't I? Now I have to go check.

    Anyway, barring that, that's what Photoshop is for!

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  18. Roxie7:24 PM

    I got my book yesterday! I'm 120 pages in and I love it. (I'd be further but I have this damn psychiatry shelf I have to study for).

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  19. pre-ordered from amazon and got your book today!
    plan to start reading it tonight.

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  20. Great! Hope you guys like it!

    Part of me still can't believe it's a real book that other people are reading. It's been just a pile of papers or pages on a screen for so long! I think the first time I see it at a real bookstore I may fall down.

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  21. I ordered a copy off book depository for Australia - and it's not arriving till August. Is there a different release date for Australia?

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  22. Heather10:10 PM

    Amazon told me my book already shipped and I can't wait to get it!

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  23. Anonymous10:20 PM

    Where is your Philly event?

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  24. Anonymous1:18 AM

    i will be sure to snap a pic or two this summer in front of big ben or the eiffel tower or something else iconic that i encounter.

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  25. I tried to buy it last night on amazon.com on kindle but couldn't!

    I wonder if it is because I am in Ireland...I have bought several books that way in the past few months though...

    Weird?! I would just order it, but I have an amazon.com gift certificate I am trying to use, and kindle obviously doesn't cost me shipping from US to Ireland. Hmmm...any ideas?

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  26. *C: Yes, certain international retailers will not be releasing the book until August--it has something to do with international distribution. I recommended that foreign readers who want to receive the book faster (like now) order from one of the larger retailers listed on the sidebar to the right (such as Amazon, B&N, etc.)--some foreign readers in Canada and Australia who ordered from one of these other retailers have either already received or have books wending their way towards them as we speak.

    Anonymous @ 10:20p: Philly event is Friday May 13th (FRIDAY THE 13th!) at the Penn Book Center, near UPenn and CHOP. All events info can be found either on the Book Tour link on the sidebar to the right, or under EVENTS on one of the tabs at the top of the page.

    Anonymous @ 1:18a: That would be awesome! And then you could make my book marry another book at Westminster Abbey! (No kissing through.)

    Albinoblackbear: I think that while the physical copies have been received by Amazon and are basically shipping out ASAP, they might not be releasing the Kindle version until closer to the pub date, which is May 11th. This is not confirmed, it's just my presumption, because if they have the physical copies, chances are they have the electronic copies as well. I will ask on Monday.

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  27. Regarding international orders for e-books- I think the date of distribution is also different from that for the US release.

    So if you have an international billing address, Amazon or Barnes & Nobles will not "allow" you to order it at the moment.

    I managed to order my Nookbook version only because my billing address for my credit card is in the US, & I used a VPN to access the B & N website so that it "thought" that I was in the US. Sneaky, I know, but hey, whatever works.

    By the way, Michelle, Diesel e-books (http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/) also has your book (digital version) on pre-order (but only for US readers).

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  28. Anonymous10:40 AM

    Mine is probably going to be here no later than Wednesday! I cannot wait!!! When I read and review it on my blog, I will totally let you know!

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  29. Great, thanks mominsanity!

    Aleindoc: good info! What country are you in (if you don't mind my asking)?

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  30. Someone needs to explain to me how the book is supposed to be released on 5/11, but people already have it. I thought I would have more time to pre-order! When I go to Amazon, it's available now. Just ordered it, and it's arriving on May 4th. Hope it will contribute to a smashing first week of book sales!

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  31. The Philly event is at 10:20 PM?? Is that right?

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  32. Ahh ok, thanks Alien and Michelle.

    I also noticed when I went back to try again it said the kindle version was not available to Canadian consumers (I am in Ireland but my credit card mailing address is Canada because I am sketchy that way).

    I am sure once it is released internationally (cough)to Canada I'll be able to purchase it.

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  33. Michelle: I am behind the Great Firewall in Beijing, China (hence my familiarity with using VPN's & proxies & other such sneaky methods of getting to websites like blogspot/Facebook/Youtube!)

    No chance, I suppose, of your book tour making a detour out to Asia....? :)

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