Tuesday, June 26, 2012

www.landofmilkandmoney.com

Die Zeit ist da!

As of today we are merely two weeks away from the release of my novel, Land of Milk and Money, published by Tagus Press of the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. The university has a robust program of Portuguese studies and the theme of my novel made it a natural for the “Portuguese in the Americas” series, of which my book is #18. (Collect them all!)

Of course, if my novel were only thematically significant, then it would not be likely to attract much attention. I have it on good authority, however, that it is also a rollicking good yarn. Bestselling author John Lescroart read the entire manuscript and proclaimed it excellent. Here's what he provided me for a cover blurb:
In Land of Milk and Money, the author mines rich family history to create a full-blooded tale that patient readers will find insightful, rewarding, and entertaining.
That's not bad, is it? In the note that accompanied the blurb, Lescroart said, “Really excellent work. Congratulations.”

Well-known California author Gerald Haslam also provided a cover quote:
One of the West’s singular migrations—from the Azores to California’s Great Central Valley—is given faces and voices in Land of Milk and Money. Along with its triumphs, the Francisco family embodies the challenges to an immigrant family in a new land, including the often-ignored difficulties posed by success and the loss of the old culture. A must read.
Got that? It's a must read! (And we can trust Gerry Haslam because he's one-eighth Azorean.)

Getting a novel published is a success in and of itself, especially considering that math professors are not known for their literary accomplishments. Nevertheless, it would please me greatly if Land of Milk and Money were at least a modest success, forcing Tagus Press into more than one printing. You can help, of course.

The next time you pop into your friendly neighborhood bookstore, please be sure to inquire sweetly:

“When will you have Land of Milk and Money from Tagus Press in stock?”

I would much appreciate it. No doubt hordes of inquisitive blog readers could give the book quite a boost.

I hope, too, to see some of you at book events in various parts of California. A few are already lined up and others are being sought. See the Events page at www.landofmilkandmoney.com for current details. I look forward to meeting you!

25 comments:

Ray said...

Hi Anthony, er, Zeno. No more anonimity :-)

Please say you will be including the east coast in your book tour!

Jens Knudsen (Sili) said...

I do like the supertitle.

Pity you didn't publish pseudonymously.

Is the cow authentic? I didn't realise US cows had to wear matching earrings the way their EU sistren do.

What happened to FRRRREEEEEDDDOOOOOMMMMMM!!! ?

Zeno said...

Matching ear tags are common on U.S. cows, as best as I can tell from my brother's dairy farm. Many now contain RFID chips and trigger readers in the barn during milking time. My brother gets a computer read-out after every milking with individual production info for each cow and a warning if her temperature is in the least elevated, causing her to be promptly cut from the herd and given a health check. It's not like our grandfather's dairy farm!

Karen said...

Novel pre-ordered from Amazon. Given what a good storyteller you are, I can't wait to read it!

Kathie said...

Here ya go, folks, in case you aren't within reach of one of Zeno's personal presentations:
http://www.amazon.com/Land-Milk-Money-Portuguese-Americas/dp/1933227400/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340746400&sr=8-1&keywords=%22Land+of+Milk+and+Money%22

If only everyone would order in the same week, it could give the book a real boost in the Amazon ratings.

Karen said...

OK, Tony, I've done my bit: sent your link out to the most literate of my small circle of friends, posted it on facebook. It'd BETTER be good.

Jeff said...

I can't wait to read it!

Leslie said...

I think Lescroart is a good writer, so if he likes your book, that's a fine recommendation in my eyes.

Congratulations on getting published!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!

As for milk and money...

When I last visited San Miguel
a local farmer told me all cows on the island have 5 tits:
4 of their own and one from the EU.
The fifth gives the most....

RobD

Kathie said...

So, as the Big Day approaches, have you selected your outfit yet to wear to the lançamento -- gotten the clothes cleaned and shoes shined? Had a haircut yet, so it can grow back just a teensy bit (to avoid that newly shorn little-lamb look)? Made an appointment for a man-manicure? There'll be ALL those eyeballs focused just on you, ya know!

Zeno said...

Last week's haircut was just a coincidence.

Ray said...

Woohoo! This just arrived from amazon.com:

Your Amazon.com order of "Land of Milk and Money" has shipped!

Expected delivery date: July 9th!!

Ray said...

(I apologise for the surfeit of exclamation points in my last comment. I really must learn more self-restraint.)

Zeno said...

Oh, oh. You're getting the book one day before the official publication date of July 10! I hope you don't get into trouble if you start reading it before it's officially released! (If you get arrested, please kick up a major fuss. I'm sure the publicity won't hurt sales.)

Kathie said...

Just received notice that Amazon is shipping for delivery on Tuesday, July 10, 2012 (ordered copies for a cousin and a dear friend).

Ray said...

July 9th arrived early this year! Time to sit and do some serious reading...

Karen said...

I got a notice from Amazon that my copy will arrive on Monday, also. Alas, I'll have no chance to read it before the 10th!

Kathie said...

Zeno, I'm here for you in case you need help increasing your anxiety level for Saturday's lançamento. Clothes, shoes, fingernails, sufficient gas in the tank (figuratively and literally), preparing comments in Portuguese, having enough copies of the book for sale, thinking of something generic to accompany your signature, having enough pens in case some run dry... anything I can do to make you more uncomfortable ;-)))

Karen said...

Kathie, you're a real trooper. I'm sure Zeno appreciates it!

Got home from the Eastern Sierra last night to find my copy of the book already delivered via UPS, so it must have arrived on Friday. Damn, if I hadn't been out of town, I could have read it already!

Karen said...

Oh, and Zeno, do you remember how to genuflect at the right places in the church?

Kathie said...

My gifts copies of LMM (for a second cousin in Fresno, and a friend in Bakersfield, who both know the territory) just arrived this afternoon, via UPS.

Kathie said...

Could it get any better? Received notification yesterday from Amazon that, thanks to their "pre-order price protection" policy, I'm getting a 99¢ refund on each copy of LMM. Woo-hoo!!!

Zeno said...

Kathie: A discount is nice. For a while, B&N was offering LMM for sale at a price lower than my author's discount price! That was a couple of months ago.

Karen: Thanks for the warning. Are they genuflecting on the left knee now? I'll have to check.

Kathie said...

Zeno, on the very rare occasions (funerals, weddings) that I need to enter a house of worship of any faith, I always sit as far back in the room as possible, so that most others can't even see that I don't do any of their stuff. My only concession is to stand when everybody else does, then sit down when they do. And I love to look around when they all bow their heads, because sometimes I'll catch others doing the same -- tee-hee!

Kathie said...

A little birdie told me that last night's lançamento of Zeno's novel was the apex of Davis' summer social season!!!

If you missed it, you can still redeem yourself today at 2 at the Sacramento Avid Reader, or next Sunday at Turlock's Portuguese national church.