Hardbound baby~
I am very excited to announce that my manuscript now has a publisher–Gemelli Press in Seattle, Washington.
“Beyond the Pasta: Recipes, Language & Life with an Italian Family” by Mark Donovan Leslie is set to have a late summer/early fall release date. Soon it will be available for advance, pre-release purchase on line via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and at the book’s website, https://www.beyondthepasta.com,—you can bookmark the website now for future reference, but the site is still under construction at the moment.
I will let everyone know the moment the book is available for purchase online, but please keep checking the blog for up-to-date info on the publication process, release date, and online purchase availability.
**Don’t know what the book is about? See the **DETAILS further down this post.
In the meantime, you can check out Gemelli Press’ website to get a flavor of the books they currently have in circulation, which are available for purchase, and you’ll also find a link to their blog. Maybe you’ll be motivated enough to drop them a little note saying how excited you are about the upcoming release of “Beyond the Pasta.”
Again, I am thrilled to have Gemelli Press believing in and behind this book. Soon it will be your turn to believe in and be behind this book, so why not get a jump-start on “word of mouth” about it by sharing this blog’s link with all of your friends and family. Hint, hint, hint…
Things to look forward to:
*-The cover design image being finalized and posted online for you to see.
*-The book should be out in time for pre-holiday shopping purchases. Makes a great gift!
*-I’ll let you know how can purchase a signed copy for yourself and purchase additional signed copies in time for holiday gift giving.
How can you help get the word out?:
*-Are you a member of a book club? Please let me know if you are. And be thinking about how fun it would be to have me come to your book club and cook one of the recipes from the book while we discuss it.
*-Not a member of a book club? Maybe you have friends or family who are. Let them know about the book and let them know how to get in touch with me—we can take it from there.
*-Have a favorite, groovy little bookstore that you’d love to see sell the book? How cool would it be to stand at a bookrack, holding a copy, and exclaiming to everyone who walked by that “This is my friend’s cool new book! You have to have a copy. I love it!” Let me know the name of the store and let’s figure out how to get it on the rack or, better yet, have a book signing there. Might it be worth me coming to your house and cooking a meal in thanks for the “hook-up?”
*-Have a friend or family that works at a library or think your local library might want to carry a copy? Let me know and let’s get the buzz started early.
*-And those are only the ideas that I have come up with off the top of my head. What are your ideas?
E-mail me at mark@beyondthepasta.com if any of the above ideas strike a chord with you. Also e-mail me if you think of other cool ways to spread the word about the book. I am up for hearing all of your inspired and creative ideas.
More info and book signing possibilities will be coming soon.
Mille grazie e ciao!
A presto~
Mark
**DETAILS about “Beyond the Pasta: Recipes, Language & Life with an Italian Family”:
In 2005, I lived with an Italian family in Viterbo, Italy for the entire month of August. There I studied cooking with the grandmother of the family, Nonna, and took language lessons with the mother, Alessandra.
Each day I would send an e-mail home about the day’s events—making fresh pasta, shopping at the local market, my daily slaughter of the Italian language, interacting with all kinds of Italian characters, going to nearby town festivals, seeing ancient sites, and eating LOTS of gelato.
When I returned home, I was urged by a friend to turn those e-mails into a book. I have done just that and included 28 recipes, one for each day, of the more than 120 recipes I learned while there. Hmm, can you see the next book being a cookbook with ALL the recipes in it? I can.
The book is a food memoir with recipes—in the same vain as “Under the Tuscan Sun” or a more enjoyable and less trauma/drama “Eat, Love, Pray”—but my book goes farther to include 28 authentic Italian recipes to boot! Sometimes I like to think of it as a cookbook with a life’s story behind the food—the book goes beyond the pasta making and cooking. It draws you into my experience to the point where you feel as if you are right there beside me living a truly authentic Italian life. Bellissima!
Biba Caggiano has written a little blurb for the book jacket—“Mark, you have captured the essence of the Italian people.” There are several other “blurbs” in the works from some very cool people. I am very excited about the possibility of those working out. I’ll post those as they arrive. Fingers crossed.
Buon Appetito!
Sono curiosissima di leggere quello che hai scritto….