Lessons from My Book Launch & EGV's Tofu-Mushroom Curry

+ 2 podcast listens + DC weekend + spicy deal + pre-order bonus extension

The book released this week, on Tuesday. I was fretting and worried. What if people don’t like it? What if no one comes to my book events? Worse yet, what if they don’t buy the book? What if there’s a typo? What if?

My husband consoled me with hugs and pats on the shoulder. He shared that Sir Paul McCartney gets major butterflies before album releases and what not. Really? I looked it up. Turns out that McCartney has admitted to being anxious about performances and worries that he’ll one day no longer be hungry enough to be phenomenally creative.

I definitely identify with fear of failure. We all do on one level or another.

I took a few deep breaths. I reminded myself of Margaret Atwood’s book tour comics. She’s had rough times and found dark humor in it all. Very early in my career, I once did an energetic bookshop talk to an audience of four — a friend, a store employee, and a napping grandpa and his fidgeting grandchild. (Authors: Whatever happens, sign all the books at the shop so they can’t return them. You earned the sales.)

So I prepared snacks from EGV and packed them up for the launch at Omnivore Books, a renowned cookbook shop in San Francisco. My friend, Celia Sack, owns it and has invited me to the shop for events since it opened around 2008. It’s been four years since my last book, Vietnamese Food Any Day, released. I hadn’t done a public event since 2019! The landscape has changed since the pandemic.

Arriving about 30 minutes early carrying a bus tub and tote bag of food, I was caught off guard. The shop was about a third full already! I quickly set out the crudités with lemongrass-fermented tofu dip, five spice mushroom-walnut pate with Ritz crackers, peanut sesame candy, and sesame candy. It was all vegan, just in case. I even brought gluten-free crackers too. (You have to cover all bases these days.) I wardrobed in green, including my green Sharpie!

Thanks @soapeater and @champagneandcookies for top left and middle photos.

I’ve talked about the book online but not in person. Would my personal story and plant-based, low-meat approach resonate? Would vegans recoil at my encroaching on the plant-based space? Vegetables deserve to be loved by everyone, not just vegetarians and vegans, right?

After I settled down, I recognized some folks from prior book events. Soon, a handful of friends and bigwigs from Ten Speed/Random House arrived. I used the restroom and upon my return, the shop was full of people. It was standing room only for latecomers who crammed into the doorway. Absorbing and reflecting the room’s energy, I dove in and explained the book’s flexibility, dished up pointers on ingredients, and how I carefully tucked extra information into sidebars and recipe endnotes. I made them laugh at times! Jordan, who’s been reviewing the book, said, “There’s so much value added. It’s amazing.” I’m a value shopper and so are my readers.

I shared my personal story of becoming healthier by doubling down on vegetables and returning to my food roots in the process. In return, during the book signing, people shared their stories with me. There were millennials and midlifers. Moms and daughters attended, as well as couples. One couple was moving to Hanoi. A threesome bought books for their significant others and friends.

Along with buying Ever-Green Vietnamese, people also brought copies of my other books for me to sign. One person said that long ago, their Viet mom’s food needed help so they gifted her a copy of Into the Vietnamese Kitchen. She has used it well, improved her Vietnamese cooking, and added her personal notes. Now they are giving her EGV. Look at her marked up recipe! It’s thrilling to see a well-used cookbook.

Two people hung back until the end. They were quiet, and by the time I signed their copy of EGV, the shop was nearly empty. Turns out they are siblings. She introduced herself as the fiancé of a man, who through my website, will soon be meeting his uncle for the first time. Do you recall that story I mentioned a while ago ? It was a missing person post in 2014 that came out of a random encounter on Phu Quoc island. There wasn’t much news about the woman until late 2023, when I suddenly got a flurry of emails from her family members, who had found me and the Viet World Kitchen post.

It’s a messy story but after decades, her family has some closure. One of her sons will finally connect with his mother’s family. His fiancé (on the right, below) happened to be in San Francisco this week, and her brother happened to live within walking distance of Omnivore Books. We all teared up after the introductions. The woman said that she “had to come meet me.”

When Celia heard the full story, she said, “The last ones at a signing are always the big surprises.”

Publication day and launch week has been full of magical surprises. I received wonderful boosts from friends near and far. I got to say hello and hug people I hadn’t seen in many years. I got to greet strangers with joy, food and recipes.

6 Things this Week

EGV’s Tofu-Mushroom Curry Recipe: Among the marvelous pub day hugs came from one of my favorite Substackers and cookbook authors — Jenny Rosenstrach. She celebrated the book launch with her Dinner: A Love Story community. Do you know Jenny? She’s a best selling author, gifted writer, smart cook, and tofu lover. This week, Jenny spotlighted EGV in her popular newsletter and website. Cook EGV’s tofu-mushroom curry.

Cook the Curry! Let me know your thoughts!

2 Good Listens: Interested in a behind-the-scenes look at how Ever-Green Vietnamese was made, including how my family figures into my work? Give a listen to this episode of Everything Cookbooks.

A couple months ago, I had a long lunch with Dan Pashman, who brought along his audio recording equipment. We talked about my career, the trajectory of Viet food, and chatted with the Bay Area restauranteur, Hanh Nguyen, too. Our conversation was just released on Dan’s award-winning podcast, the Sporkful.

Washington DC Weekend: Saturday, April 29, is Indie Bookshop Day. DC’s Bold Fork Books invited me for a pop-up signing from 3 to 4pm. If you’re in the area, come by and say “Hi”! Otherwise, maybe I’ll see you at the Smithsonian event on Sunday, April 30?

Spicy Deal for PTFS Subscribers: To support EGV’s launch, Burlap & Barrel is selling signed copies and a special set of spices for cooking up recipes in the book. Purchase the book, the spice set, or other B&B spices, and you can get a set of their terrific, absorbent kitchen towels for FREE! To get the one-use-per customer deal:

1. Include the dishtowels in your cart.

2. Have an order that is $15 or more

3. At checkout, apply this code: ANDREA-NGUYEN

   

Pre-Order Perks and Early Bird Bonuses: To thank even more people for coming out to support the book, my publisher extended the deadline for the pre-order perks — which I’m now calling “Early Bird Bonuses”.

Who qualifies for bonuses? If you’ve purchased the book or have bought an event ticket that includes the book, you now have until MAY 17 to get in on the deals! Check my website for my book tour schedule for ticketed “community events”, which often include a signed book. If you get the book via Burlap & Barrel, you can get the free kitchen towels plus all the bonuses. I’d call that Nguyening.

Regardless, enter your order information here. Or, click on the image above to fill in the form.

And now the tour begins. I hope to see you at some point — in person or virtually!