Food Photography

I’m still learning a lot about food photography, but I think I’m getting better. Favorite photo of these Neapolitan chocolates? I think I like the first one best, but they all appeal to me, for one reason or another.

Kevin and I were talking last night, and I said maybe we should release a Serendib Sweets ebook down the line, maybe around Christmas. Although honestly, these aren’t really Sri Lankan in flavors at all… Still tasty, though!

He’s advocating for Serendib Appetizers & Drinks, a sort of cocktail party book. We’ll probably do both, eventually. 🙂

Serendib Daughter

“Dearest Mother, I see that you have made another lovely set of chocolates overnight. Might I possibly have one?”

“Only if you’re willing to pose for a photo — you actually perfectly coordinate today with this batch of sweets!”

The kids definitely approve of the recent confectionery trend.

#serendibkitchen
#serendibdaughter 🙂

Asking for your help

Oof. It’s not so easy, folks, doing social media publicity without feeling like you’re just being utterly obnoxious and bothering everyone. I am trying to think of it as, “I’m letting people know about a cool thing they’re going to be excited about,” but it’s hard. Girls aren’t supposed to self-promote, right? We’re supposed to be demure and self-effacing…

I’ve also been told that people need several ‘touches’ on an item they might want to buy before they actually get around to buying. So I’m trying to get past the feeling of painful repetition. But I keep wanting to start every message with SORRY.

I just sent out this e-mail to a host of friends and family, and I felt very guilty clicking send. And yet here I am, posting it again here.

*****

Hello! I’m sending this out to friends and family, asking you to help if you have a moment. As many of you know, I’m indie-publishing my first book, a Sri Lankan American cookbook; launch day is in two weeks. Eep. I’ve worked on it for several years now, I think to a pretty great result. People have been very enthusiastic about it — when they see it.

The problem is that it’s really, really hard to get people to see it. Big publishers can drown bookstores and libraries in galley copies (which we can’t afford) and press releases (we’re sending some, but we can’t match their volume). I think there are a lot of people who would love this book, but given that Kev and I have already invested about $20K in printing costs (eep), we’re trying hard to keep publicity costs (already around an additional $10K, double eep) manageable. Which means we’re relying heavily on word-of-mouth, hence my request. A few requests, actually:

a) BOOKSTORES AND LIBRARIES: You can request my cookbook now from your local bookstore or library! Please do! (Often you can do that in just a minute, from the comfort of your computer or phone…) A Feast of Serendib, ISBN 1645432750.

b) SIGNAL-BOOST: If you could help boost my signal, I’d appreciate it so much. If you’re on social media of any kind, following my posts and amplifying them (with likes, comments, and shares) is incredibly helpful. The Facebook algorithms are designed to make you pay for visibility, but there’s a certain amount that can be done with ‘organic reach,’ if people choose to boost your work. As a bonus, you will see cute photos of the kids and pets, plenty of flowers and food, and even some cooking videos with Kavi and me.  And for the next two weeks, I’m running daily giveaways of the ebook on my FB page, so you and your friends could win a book — no cost to enter!

My personal FB page: https://www.facebook.com/mary.a.mohanraj
My Twitter: https://twitter.com/mamohanraj
Serendib Kitchen Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/serendib_kitchen/
Serendib FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/132029834135500/
Serendib FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/mohanrajserendib/
Serendib Kitchen blog: http://serendibkitchen.com

c) BOOK TOUR: I’m organizing a cheap-as-possible book tour. I’m planning to hit a lot of cities, including doing a road trip with a friend, traveling from Boston through New York to D.C. and then driving west to Chicago, hitting something like 14 cities on the way. Also planning to make it to the Bay Area, and hopefully Seattle and Los Angeles, plus stops in Amsterdam and New Zealand (because I have work conferences in those countries, and work is paying my way). If you can spread the word to people you know in those cities, that would be so, so great. I’ll send along details when it’s finalized. (And if you know booksellers, librarians, universities, etc. who might be interested in having me out for an event, I’d love to be put in contact. I do talks about Sri Lankan food and history, cooking demonstrations, cooking and writing workshops, etc. If they can afford to pay, even better.  )

If you live in those cities and can come out for an event, it would be helpful, even if you don’t plan to buy a book! (Really, no pressure to buy books!) Having a nice full audience for an event (ideally, at least 20-30 people) makes for much better photos on social media (and also helps keep me from being depressed — I once did a reading where the only person attending was the bookstore staff guy. That was rough). PLUS, that would mean we could possibly get a meal together before or after, which would be very cool. Also, if you have book groups who might be interested in reading the book (I’m offering a discount for group sales to book clubs), or friends who you can drag along to an event with you? Or if you’re interested in organizing a book party for me? Let’s talk. 

d) REVIEWS: If you’ve picked up the book and are willing to write a review (even a sentence or two is plenty), that’s hugely helpful. (If you’d like to review, but buying the book would be a hardship in any way, please let me know; I can send you an ebook review copy.) Reviews can be posted right now at GoodReads (I’m running a hardcover giveaway there right now too) and Books-a-Million; they can be posted at Amazon after March 6.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51332647-a-feast-of-serendib

https://www.amazon.com/Feast-Serendib-Mary-Anne-Mohanraj/dp/1645432750

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Feast-Serendib/Mary-Anne-Mohanraj/9781645432753

e) MEDIA: If you have any contacts in media (radio, tv, print) who might be interested in this book, I’d LOVE to be put in touch. They’re in the business of boosting the signal, and they’re very good at it.

f) COOKBOOK CLUB / SUBSCRIPTIONS: If you can tell your friends about the cookbook club, that’d also help! People can sign up to get recipes in their e-mail, or little boxes of sweet treats sent to them (US-only for the latter). That’s here: https://www.patreon.com/mohanraj

It’s all a numbers game right now, as we try to just spread the word as much as possible, ideally without being obnoxious. I hope this mail wasn’t obnoxious! But I had to ask. (And if you *do* want to buy the book (no pressure!), and are buying it on Amazon, buying it on launch day (March 6), will really help. From what I understand, it can take as few as 100 sales on one day to boost a title into the Amazon bestseller ranks, and that would be very very nice.)

love,
Mary Anne / Amirthi

A fortnight to launch day

GIVEAWAY! A fortnight to launch day, and we’re launching daily giveaways for the next two weeks! Every day, I’ll be giving away three (3!) gorgeous eBooks of Feast, perfect for referring to while cooking, using a tablet stand in the kitchen, or just browsing curled up on the couch. ($24.99 value!)

So that’s 42 chances to win! 42, the perfect number, the answer to life, the universe, and everything. How could you not enter? And if you already have a copy, think what a lovely and unique gift it would make….

I’ll post at 8 a.m., and you just have to comment on the post by midnight CST to be entered to win. I will try to make it slightly fun, if I can, by coming up with a prompt, although if you really can’t think of anything relevant, you can just comment something random, and you’ll still be entered. 

Head over to my Facebook wall to comment!

(If you feel motivated to share, I’ll be grateful. Right now, it’s all about building visibility for the cookbook; people can’t buy it if they don’t know it exists…)

Ready for your question for today? Here it is, a classic:

QUESTION #1: If you were trapped on a deserted island, and could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Remember, you have to go to Facebook!

My answer in the comments… Stephanie will be tracking, and will pick and announce a winner the following day.

New tier on Patreon: edible treats, max 25 subscribers!

Quick note — I realized this morning that 6 people are already signed up for the new $10 / month subscription tier on Patreon (US-only, edible treats and such), and I want to be sure that it stays manageable for me, so we don’t run into fulfillment problems. So I’m capping it at max 25 subscribers for now!

Assuming that goes well, I’ll likely open it up more in a few months. I expect the first batch to go out in March (and will definitely have Neapolitan chocolates; let me know if you have other requests for particular confectionery, and I’ll think about it), for those who sign up in February. After that, they’ll ship out every three months for the rest of 2020.

Read It & Eat has vanished

Chicago folks — anyone know what happened to Read It & Eat, our cookbook store? I stopped by yesterday, hoping to schedule an event with them, but there was a ‘for rent’ sign in the window! The website looks completely normal still, very confusing.

Scheduling a book tour isn’t as easy as you’d think…

Neopolitan layered chocolate experiment

Super-happy with this Neapolitan confection experiment! I had some bowls of chocolate left over from the Valentine’s fruit-dipping, and I didn’t want to waste them — had the brainwave that I could do a layered set of chocolates. And they are SO SO good. Luscious, creamy. The kids love them, and so do I.

I just melted the chocolate at 1/2 power in the microwave for 2 minutes, stirred, and then poured it into the molds. First white chocolate, let it set (30 minutes or so?), then ruby chocolate, then milk chocolate. (I wish ruby chocolate were more widely available; my local Trader Joe’s carried the chips for a bit, but don’t anymore. I buy big bags of couverture chocolate from Callebaut on Amazon now.)

At first I planned to carefully wipe up any drips on the inside of the mold — but then I had the brilliant idea of leaving them, so that it would look like the chocolate had dripped down — just like Neapolitan ice cream! I love the effect. 🙂

The colors are very appropriate for spring coming, don’t you think? They’re going to look fabulous on our Easter table, esp. if we do natural dying of eggs again this year; they’ll blend beautifully.

And the best part is that they’re also delicious; the gentle natural fruitiness of the ruby chocolate is so reminiscent of the strawberry in Neapolitan ice cream, it all just works. Honestly, if I had the energy, I’d figure out how to copyright this thing, so no big food manufacturers start making them. 🙂 But you folks, please, go ahead. Enjoy!

(They came out so well, I’m planning to make a few more batches, so a set of four will definitely be included in the first Serendib Kitchen Patreon subscription, woot! I’m not quite sure when I’m sending that out, since it’s already February — I’m thinking I might send one out in March, just for people who sign up at that level in February.

That would be a dramatic discount ($20 instead of $30, which includes shipping) on what is already a pretty great deal, but hey, that’s what you get for being an early adopter. If we send out by end of March, then they should arrive everywhere in good time for Easter. 🙂 Patreon link in comments. If we can manage it, time-wise, we’ll also do a flash sale sometime in March, but March is a little crazed with launch, so we’ll see. Maybe I can convince my assistant Stephanie that she wants to join the chocolate assembly line.)

Giveaway, Reviews, Treat Subscription, San Francisco

Four quick things, folks, as we countdown to our March 6 launch (just 16 days away! Eep!): GIVEAWAY, REVIEWS, TREAT SUBSCRIPTION, SAN FRANCISCO

1) Woot! I’m running a hardcover cookbook giveaway on GoodReads for US folks — enter to win (look for the Enter Giveaway link, a little down the page). An international ebook giveaway will follow shortly.

https://www.goodreads.com/…/sh…/51332647-a-feast-of-serendib

2) If you’ve already gotten a copy and are inclined to review Feast (reviews are WILDLY helpful for helping to make the book visible; a simple sentence or two is plenty, and would be MUCH appreciated), you can do that here:

a) GoodReads (link above)

b) Books-a-Million review page is also now live, we think. https://www.booksamillion.com/…/Mary-Anne-Mo…/9781645432753…

c) Amazon will be live on launch day March 6, so please set your calendar reminders. And if you’re planning to buy a book and haven’t yet, buying on March 6 would be VERY much appreciated — if a bunch of people buy (or review) on the same day, it bumps a book’s visibility dramatically

3) I’ve added a subscription option to my Patreon (US-only, sorry), where you can sign up to get edible treats and other goodies mailed to you once a quarter for $30 (sign up at the $10 / month level). Details at Patreon here (which is also where you can join the cookbook club): https://www.patreon.com/mohanraj

4) I’m delighted to note that I’m coming to San Francisco, to cookbook store Omnivore, 3885 Cesar Chavez, to talk about A Feast of Serendib! Tues, March 24, 6:30-7:30pm. Expect me to do a 20-minute talk about Sri Lankan history and cuisine, plus Q&A & signing.  Save the date!

I’m trying to schedule some more Bay Area events in March, so do watch this space; when the full schedule is finalized, I’ll let y’all know!

Whew! I think that’s it for now. More soon…

If someone is kindly inclined

Hey, it looks like people can post reviews on the Books-a-Million site now? Maybe? If someone is kindly inclined and wants to get the ball rolling (and let us know if it works), that would be GREAT.

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Feast-Serendib/Mary-Anne-Mohanraj/9781645432753