One Month To Peanut Butter!

It’s one month till July 6 – my launch date for Peanut Butter and Dragon Wings!

I’ve found myself buying lots of books lately, from secondhand shops and yard sales and Amazon. I bought Bearing the Unbearable and Amelia Earhart: Kansas Girl and The Quest for Z and The Amplified New Testament. While garage saling last weekend, I stumbled upon this little gem, The Magic of Peanut Butter and instantly snagged it up for fifty cents.

I have always loved peanut butter, but now that I’ve limped through a hard winter on the strength of it (see title chapter, coming soon) and named a book for it, I feel an especial fondness growing between us.

This book is even color-coordinated with mine, isn’t that neat? And it has the cutest retro style recipes and pictures – very odd, some of them. As well as strangely unattractive men, if you’ll pardon me for saying so. Has the standard for feminine beauty changed that much? I guess I will be admiring only the photographs that are nutrient-rich.

(If I met him on a dim evening, I’d run. Even if he wasn’t brandishing peanut butter pitas.)

(Bananas in hot dog buns, and peanut butter with tomatoes. Eat up, folks.)

I like mocking, but I’m actually quite attached to this book. I love retro. And I may have eaten bananas in hot dog buns before.

But back to my book… Do you want to know what my favorite parts are, now that it’s all done and dusted and gone to print? I’d love to tell you. Here goes.

First Place: The Foreword

Which was not written by Shari Zook. Herald Press chose another author to write it, in my case, Jenny Rae Armstrong with her strong and beautiful, straight-shooting words. She heard what I was saying, best gift ever to an author. I’m so grateful for her.

The reviews are also precious to me, all of them so kind they made me cry.

Second Place: The Dedication Page

Sixteen words I wrote, and four punctuations. My favorites.

Third Place: The Acknowledgments at the End

In these pages, I got to name all the people I love best, and I got to tell them what I think of them. I had a lot of fun writing that part. Do you think you’ll be in it? I guess you’ll have to look and see.

My Other Favorite Parts: The Preludes, and Chapter 10

In chapter ten, I write about the way I used to think all the things that mattered were intangible and ethereal, despite my childish body shouting in joy for the glorious earth.

From page 176: “I am only a child, and in the middle of my happy barefoot life I resolve to become pure spirit when I can. In between smelling new poplar leaves and digging in the sandbox, I evangelize the neighborhood and sculpt a life plan that involves unreached Africa and battle with demonic forces and many, many souls won to the Lord. I meet an adult who admits she too wanted to be a missionary in Africa, but well, life took her in a different direction. She is now a Minnesotan mother, her hands deep in soapy dishwater, telling me this. My six-year-old heart stands pitying, aloft, consecrated. I am not going to settle until I reach the pinnacle.

I am a child and then I am an adult, a destiny I stumbled to by the usual paths, a jumble of aspiration and default choices and birthdays. Finding myself in my thirties, a housewife immersed in childcare, is a detour on my life map for sure. I am not getting anywhere. I am on a treadmill of endless repeatable physical tasks producing what will be scarfed or soiled within moments. We are one hundred percent body: the graham cracker crumbs, the strands of loose hair, the jeans in a neat row on the clothesline, shredding our fingers and breaking our hearts on so much that will not last. Where is the victory, oh Lord, the kingdom, the power, the glory?”

Yep, that’s where I was. Not where I am.

Now, I have a tiny little bite-sized offer for you. I found a pack of these cute notecards. Some are sort of lame, but I think we can laugh about that together, right? And some are just beautiful.

If you pre-order my book this week, and tell me so (by Saturday at midnight), I will snail mail you one of these little cards to use as its bookmark, signed with a handwritten note from me – and two teabags, one each of my favorite kinds of Sustaining Tea for Exhausted Evenings: Sweet and Spicy, and Mint Medley. That’s the closest I can get at the moment to autographing your copy. You can always paste the card in.

You will need to email your address to shari zook at gmail dot com.

UPDATE: This offer is now closed. Thank you for all the orders!

And yes, I still drink lots of this tea in the summer. It’s good iced, too.

And if you already ordered a book, I’m sorry about your bum timing. At least I’m pretty sure it was your fault and not mine… This offer only applies to purchases this week. Unless you want to order another now, and keep the first one for a friend?

I was told that pre-ordered books should arrive a few weeks before the launch, so I’m thinking you’ll want to watch your mailbox the third week of June or so.

Cheers!

Shari


This post contains affiliate links. Offer extends only to readers with a US or Canadian mailing address.

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Lovina
2 years ago

Now I know you’re a kindred spirit. My two favorite teas!????

Sherri
2 years ago

Oh, this is perfect timing! I’ve been eagerly anticipating the release of your book, but hadn’t actually pre-ordered yet. I’m doing happy dances over the thought of a handwritten note and teabags though! I should be having plenty of time to sit and read in the next few weeks, and I already know this book will minister to my heart.

Brenda Bross
2 years ago

I love following your blog here and I’m excited to read your book. I’m going to go pre-order that book right now. Thanks for this neat little offer for pre-ordering books.

2 years ago
Reply to  Brenda Bross

Excellent! Just don’t forget to private message me your address! 🙂

Deep8
2 years ago

This is very exciting! So what I would like to ask is, if I hold out and buy directly from you, will you sign my copy? ????

2 years ago
Reply to  Deep8

Lol – the short answer is yes! The long answer is, I will sign any copy you bring to church, so I don’t mind which way you order it. 😉

2 years ago

I can’t wait for my hard copy to come in the mail so I can start rereading it! ????

Hope Byler
2 years ago

I preordered! =) can’t wait

Shari
2 years ago
Reply to  Hope Byler

Yay! Don’t forget to private – message me your address.

[…] I ran out of notecards. So if you get a different kind of card in the mail with your tea, please say, “Oh well, that’s a good thing!” and move on. Thank you for your […]

Rhoda King
2 years ago

I preordered and messaged you!

gladys
2 years ago

I really do want to preorder your book but I don’t do Amazon. Is there an old-fashioned way to preorder before the deadline?

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