It's Out!

Tuesday, October 22, 2013


A lot of you know what today is. It's something I've cried, bitched, gleed, bragged, and freaked out over multiple times.

My first book is finally out.

Melt: The Art of Macaroni & Cheese is the epic tome for the cheese lover and home cook. It's a dedication to my and my co-author, Stephanie Stiavetti's love of handcrafted and artisan cheese. Years of practice and education in writing and cooking all culminated to bring you what I believe is one of the most distinguished, artistic, and helpful guides to cheese and pasta (and certainly the most so on the subject of macaroni and cheese itself). I know it sounds haughty to say this, but I say it because it's the truth.

Then again, we've got a LOT of people agreeing with us. Ree Drummond called it "positively transcendental," and Dorie Greenspan considers the recipes, "modern, sophisticated, beautiful food." The Sacramento Bee adored it to say the least. I'm hoping for a lot of good reviews, but so far they haven't.

Instead, they've been amazing.

Here's what; I work as a restaurant reviewer in Sacramento. I regularly judge peoples' pride and joy. I pick apart their taste. I critique their judgement in a very public way. To be on the receiving end is hard, especially when it's anything negative. I'm learning to let the small stuff roll off my back (mainly the concern about a lack of nutritional information in a book about cheese and pasta) and not letting the positive go to my head. Still, I'm girding my loins and getting braced. Got to protect my baby, after all.

I'm utterly thrilled at how many of you pre-ordered the book through Amazon, Indiebooks, Barnes & Noble, and other online book sellers. I imagine, you probably have your copies in front of you now or will by the end of the day. For those of you who have yet to pick up a copy, please consider doing so.

The first few weeks of a cookbook are vital to its survival. The dash out of the starting gate needs to have a quicksilver pace. This determines a book's popularity. To get reviewed by the national media, you need to sell well. As you can see it's a Catch-22, be popular or the major media won't review you and make you popular. Essentially, the better the book initially sells, the more likely that national media will pay attention. You are who decides what books among the many that traditional media want to check out.

If you pre-ordered, I cannot thank you enough. If you haven't gotten your copy, now is the time. Perhaps for you or as a gift for a mac and cheese fanatic or curd nerd in your life (a fantastic Christmas/Hanukkah gift and plenty of ideas for Thanksgiving).

I also need to say thank you to all the recipe testers out there. Seriously, you guys are amazing. Eighty five total strangers came in and volunteered their time, money, and sanity to help two bloggers write a cookbook. Where else but in the world of food blogging could you find that kind of kindness and commitment? You guys rock.

A big hug to Matt Armendariz and Adam Pearson and their team who crafted the epic photos. My agent, Janis Donnaud. Michael Sand, Helen Tobin, and Michelle Aielli at Little Brown for putting up with my insanity.

My husband, Brian, for being having patience with me during my tantrums, panic attacks, and for eating recipes that weren't always safe for human consumption and putting away mountains of mac and cheese during the testing process. I'm sure you'll recover someday.

And, of course, my lovely, creative, and intelligent co-author Stephanie Stiavetti. She's family and one of my best friends and I could not have ever, ever, ever done this without her.

Okay. Cuddle time is over.

I'm off to book tour for the next few weeks going up and down the West Coast, as well as planning events in the East Coast and a few other spots. Posting is going to be a bit erratic for a bit, but I'll be sharing some of my experiences from the tour with you when I can. It's going to be more intense than that one time I tried kissing a girl in high school (and possibly just as awkward).

XOXO

Garrett out.

Oh, and Christa Curtin is the winner of the Le Creuset and Gift Card Giveaway! Congrats! We will contact you shortly. 

22 comments:

  1. I'm so excited! Congratulations on the book release! I'm on pins and needles awaiting my package! Good luck on the book tour! :)

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  2. Will part of your tour be here in Sacramento? I was planning to ask and, if so, to buy the book at that time. But....if I read your post correctly, it would be better to buy the book now and bring it to you to sign. Is that true? If so, I'll go buy it now. I was just waiting with the thought that it would help you if I bought @ the signing. So, just let me know which you prefer & I'll do it. I've been salivating over the Melt blog posts & can't wait to read/start cooking.

    As for the lack of nutritionals.............in a book of this type that I will use for special or splurge days, I personally applaud you two and prefer to have the nutritionals missing. (Just my 2 cents.)

    Thanks!

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    1. redstrands, we just did two events but we will be doing more in November and in February here in Sac. =)

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  3. Follow-up comment: I just went to the Melt site and saw that the Sac release is tonight @ the Rind, so I will see you there & buy on site if that works for you.

    Thanks!

    ~Gail (AKA redstrands)

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  4. I am holding my copy now! Congratulations! Beecher's Flagship with avocado and lime, Käsespätzle, Red Hawk with Prosciutto and my homemade raspberry jam... Where do I start?!

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  5. I am waiting for UPS to delivery my copy today. Love the phrase 'out for delivery'. I can't wait to read it cover to cover. (Yes, I am a cookbook nerd and still do that.) Best of luck on your book tour and hope that you will be in my area when you do your East Coast adventure. :)

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    1. We are working on some East Coast scheduling. =)

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  6. Looking forward to getting my copy in a couple of weeks (part of the order was back-ordered - d'oh!). If the rest of the recipes are as good as the ones I tested, I think this will be going on the "frequent use" shelf in the kitchen.

    Any chance Toronto and/or Vancouver are going to get included in a tour?

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    1. let me know what you think, Em! As for Canada, it's not on the radar yet. But we are muddling it over. Just need leads on events.

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  7. I just purchased your book using the link you posted. Looking forward to much cheesy deliciousness heading my way to Connecticut.

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    1. Lots of great cheese out in Connecticut! Lucky you!

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  8. Congratulations! Can't wait for the book to arrive!

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  9. I have my copy and am going to give it to a friend as a wedding present and order another one for me (and maybe a few for Hanukkah gifts). Are you doing any more signings in Sacto? I would love to have the wedding gift signed!!

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    1. Yes! We'll be doing an event at Taylor's Market! Meltmacaroni.com has all of the information!

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    2. Bummer, the wedding is this Saturday and I have no urge to drive to Oakland or LA this week. It's AMAZING, tho, so maybe I'll see you at Taylor's anyway. With my own copy!

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    3. OK, so I admit that I MAY have peeked through the book and made the tuna casserole before I gave the happy couple the book. I have been looking for a good tuna casserole for ages and yours is AMAZING!! Wow, just wow. Thank you!

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  10. Oh, congrats Garrett!! Congrats congrats congrats!

    You do realize you have given birth, right? This book is your baby and you will hold it tightly to your heart the rest of your life. You'll also fiercely protect it like one of those stage moms. xo

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  11. Congratulations, Garrett! As one of your recipe testers, I know that you have worked long and hard to make this book happen. Well, it's gorgeous! I can't wait to have you sign my copy when you come to Portland. Best wishes!

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  12. Wow, congrats. Can't wait to get my copy. Been really busy managing a a Chinese Restaurant in Capalaba area but reading Melt has become an addiction of mine :)

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Hey, you're leaving a comment! That's pretty darn cool, so thanks. If you have any questions or have found an error on the site or with a recipe, please e-mail me and I will reply as soon as possible.
~Garrett

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