Milksop Pre-Ordering Frenzy!
In Which I Share Two ODD Fantasies
Today, it’s exactly one month until my debut novel Milksop is released, a date that may go down in history or infamy, as I wrote earlier.
Today, pre-ordering goes live through most respectable book retailers and even some less-than-respectable book retailers, whether you prefer an ebook or a print book. At this page in my author website, you’ll find links for pre-ordering Milksop from
My publisher, Chicken House Press
A Canadian Independent Bookstore near you
Indigo (currently ebook, paperback to follow in the next two weeks)
Amazon (currently Kindle ebook, print to follow)
Barnes & Noble in the US (both paperback and Nook ebook)
Bookshop.org
Books-a-Million
Apple Books
Rakuten Kobo
At this point, you should also be able to walk into any bookstore and pre-order Milksop because it’s in the databases booksellers use.
I would be honoured if you took the step of pre-ordering Milksop through whatever method you prefer! Because I have this fantasy…
Breaking News: Digital Platforms Collapse, Bricks-and-Mortar Stores See Mile-Long Line-Ups Take On Party Atmosphere
In this first fantasy, the pre-ordering demand for Milksop is so overwhelming that book-ordering platforms around the globe crash. The line-ups at bookstores stretch for miles. In fact, people have camped out overnight and held marshmellow-and-weenie roasts while waiting. There’s been nothing like it since the Cabbage Patch Doll craze of 1983.
It’s a literary feeding frenzy over my little debut novel. My book’s blood is in the publishing water.
My Fantasy about Ann Patchett
Imagine my surprise when checking online whether pre-ordering was live for the retailers above I discovered Milksop available at Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee.
Parnassus, “an Independent Bookstore for Independent People,” happens to be Ann Patchett’s bookstore. It also happens to be that she’s my literary hero. I was introduced to Patchett’s novels by my mentor at the Humber School for Writing, who advised me to learn from her how to do domestic drama, relationship chaos. Her name and work came up a second time when at The Novelry I read from Milksop and in response Louise Dean, the founder of The Novelry, likened my work to Patchett’s. Wow! What a boost that was for me.
I realize it’s likely that some anonymous database and bloodless algorithm have brought Milksop to the digital doorstep of Ann’s store, but in my fantasy, she herself put it there. Through the literary grapevine or jungle drums, she heard about me and my little debut novel, and she was taken with both of us. On May 23 at Parnassus Books, piles of Milksop will be prominently on display as independently-minded people line up to read Evan’s coming-of-age story which also happens to be my coming-of-age as a novelist.
My fantasy goes further. I see Ann Patchett in bed. There’s nothing untoward about this fantasy. She’s in bed reading, and her husband, Karl VanDevender, whose name suggests he’s of Dutch heritage, like Evan Mulder and me, is beside her. Ann clearly likes Dutchmen. Their dog Nemo is sleeping between them.
Ann is reading Milksop, smiling and laughing and even shedding a tear or two—at Evan’s story, not at the poor quality of my writing. That would be a nightmare.
The next morning, she calls me and invites me to do a reading at Parnassus (her bookstore, not the mountainous haunt of the muses in Greece). The reading will be followed by dinner with her, Karl, and the rest of the Parnassus staff where I’ll be feted like a literary prince. (Actually, that would be scary for an introvert like me. The fantasy must end there.)
Given that this is just a foolish fantasy, I must rely on you, Dear Reader, to get my story out into the wide world. Pre-orders create momentum for a book’s launch. Whatever help you’re able and willing to offer would be most welcome.
As always, if the spirit moves you, please share your thoughts and this post.
Done!