"The Mango Tree" COVER REVEAL: Screaming! Crying! Pre-ordering!

If you've ever laughed/cried/drooled over one of my reviews or anything I've written, then I've got The Perfect Way for you to say thanks :)

A few years ago, this book was an amorphous thing, a glob of words floating in the ether in the relative shape of a memoir; then it got a name: “The Mango Tree,” and with that name came some contours, some structure; next it got an agent, an agent who smoothed its rough edges and straightened its trajectory, who did some trimming and slicing, some plumping and fixing; a year or so later, this book got an editor, someone who could nurture it and cajole it into the best version of itself. And then more editors came along — copy editors, proofreaders. They took this book to finishing school to make it the best, most polished book-girl she could be.

Now. Now this book has a cover. Thanks to the brilliant designer Lucy Kim, this book LOOKS like a book. And I’m so very honored to share it with you. Please, allow me to introduce you to THE MANGO TREE: A Memoir of Fruit, Florida, and Felony.

Honored to work with designer Lucy Kim for the cover :)

What now? Only the most exciting part of the publishing process thus far: IT’S TIME TO PRE-ORDER MY BOOK!!!

Pre-orders matter, here are 4 reasons why

For debut authors such as myself, pre-ordering our books makes a world of difference.

Pre-orders serve as signals. They tell the publisher how much interest an author and their project has, which helps publishers determine how many copies to print. More copies means more buzz, means more marketing, more publicity. Should my book snowball into a *tremendous success*, preorders are the first snowflakes around which that triumphant ball takes form.

Pre-orders count toward first-week sales. And first-week sales are often a debut author’s best chance of landing on a bestseller list (which generates more buzz/marketing/publicity opportunities). A big lump of pre-orders can vault an author (me) out of obscurity (bless you, Fort Myers) and into the literary conversation (oh la la, pinkies up!).

Pre-orders help support independent bookstores. That is, if you pre-order from an indie bookstore (a few of my favorites: Tombolo Books, Books & Books, Third House Books, Books & Books Key West (I could go on)). You can also order my book online from bookshop.org, which supports indies across the country. The beauty of a local, independent bookstore, as opposed to Amazon, is that they host events for authors — readings, signings, poetry slams. Events help build buzz and sell books. Events strengthen communities and make the world an all-around better place.

Pre-orders help on Amazon, too. Yes, Amazon is the devil, but it’s the devil for a reason: Amazon is ridiculously convenient. And Amazon pre-orders still count as pre-orders. They help boost debut books in the Amazon algorithm, which then puts those books in front of more eyes, which may further boost them, which means buzzzzy buzz buzz. And that’s what it’s all about.

The bottom line …

Just pre-order.

If you’ve ever enjoyed/laughed at/cried at/drooled over something I wrote or one of my restaurant reviews, if I’ve ever written about you or someone you love during my time as a journalist, if you’ve ever thought: Y’know, I wish I could thank Annabelle! This is your chance :)

Pre-order “The Mango Tree.” Be the snowflake that gets this avalanche rolling.

Pre-order “The Mango Tree” — bookshop.org

Pre-order “The Mango Tree” — Barnes & Noble

Pre-order “The Mango Tree” — Target

Pre-order “The Mango Tree” — Books-A-Million

Pre-order “The Mango Tree” — Amazon