Stacey Ballis's Blog, page 15

Contest winner

Congrats to fgirl! Your immersion blender is going to have a little Dhun knife to hang out with! Email me your shipping address including phone number to staceyballisinfo (at) gmail (dot) com

More giveaways next week!

The First Cut is the Deepest

Chickens, I am nothing if not a true Gemini. 
The dichotomies I possess are infinite and mostly ridiculous.  I am so often of two minds about things that it is staggering and exhausting, requiring many naps.  For example, I have long believed in the following truths:
1.        If I cook a lovely dinner for my sweetie, I have worked long and hard to bring him pleasure, and he should clean up the kitchen.2.       If my sweetie cooks me a lovely dinner, he has messed up the kitchen and should clean up after himself.
You can see the problem.
(I mean, beyond that I am lazy and hate to clean the kitchen.)
When it comes to kitchen tools, I am at perfect odds with myself.  On the one hand, I do actually believe that one only needs possess a dozen simple basic pieces of equipment in order to produce wonderful meals.
On the other hand….

I genuinely believe in my heart of hearts that as long as you have a good sharp paring knife, 8” chef’s knife and one serrated blade, there is nothing you cannot accomplish.
And yet….

I know, I know.  It is embarrassing.
But I have no choice but to embrace it, and recognize that I can support both sides of the coin.  So you can imagine my delight when Shun knives, long respected for the superior quality of their products, sent me a care package!  I had connected with them at the Housewares Show in Chicago this Spring, and was drooling over their products, as was Charming Suitor.  Shun knives are made using traditional Japanese methods of steel production for blades that are super thin, super sharp, and gorgeous to look at, with Pakka wood handles specially shaped to fit in the hand solidly for perfect control.  I only previously owned one Shun knife, a lovely little mini cleaver vegetable knife that I find myself turning to again and again for small work for garnishes, and making supremes of citrus fruits.   So I was very excited to open a box to discover four new knives that they were offering to let me test.

SQUEE!!!
All of these knives appear at first blush to be specialty knives, which would put them solidly in the “only if you can afford it/are a crazy person like me who has compulsion to collect things” category.  But one of the fabulous things about writing this blog is that many companies recognize that their products need actual testing, and are generous about letting people like me play!  What I discovered was that these knives are much more useful than their “specialty” appearance might make you think.
The 8” rocking knife has become my go-to for anything that needs fine mincing or chopping.  It makes quick work of delicate herbs, but tackles toasted nuts equally brilliantly.  Its large flat blade is perfect for crushing a clove of garlic. 
The Serrated Offset Bread Knife does indeed make genius slices of bread, goes like a dream thru crusty baguettes but doesn’t crush or tear tender brioche.  But it does so much more.  In the heart of tomato season, nothing does a better job of slicing smoothly, as thin as you please.  I love it for trimming artichokes, and slicing steaks right off the grill.  I haven’t touched my regular serrated knife since it arrived.
I’ve talked about the usefulness of an 8” Santoku knife before, since the little divots in the blade mean that the items you are cutting don’t stick to the blade.  Shun’s version is wonderful, going thru meats and cheeses and veggies smooth as silk.  A new favorite task?  Melons of every size and shape.  The large blade takes off rind like a dream, but the dimpled blade ensures that as you cube, the cubes stay on the cutting board.
Finally the little Bird’s Beak paring knife, with its flat cutting surface, I’m using for slicing shallots and spring onions, peeling small fruits and veggies, and creating strips of citrus zest for cocktails.
And because they are fabulously cool, Shun has given me one of their fabulous paring knives to give away to one lucky reader!
So, comment below with a tale of a piece of kitchen equipment that surprised you…something you thought was a unitasker that has revealed multiple uses, or something you use for an unusual or unexpected purpose before 11:59pm on Thursday July 29, and our friends at Random.Org will pick a winner who we will announce on Friday.
In the meantime, thank you to all who wrote to tell me you saw Off The Menu mentioned by Jennifer Weiner on CBS Sunday Morning, it was very exciting.  If you missed it, you can watch it HERE,I cannot recommend all of the other books heartily enough, and of course, Jennifer’s new book The Next Best Thing is one of the best things I have read this summer, so be sure to check it out as well.
And if you loved Off The Menu, I do hope you will continue to help me promote it…word of mouth is everything, and those great Amazon reviews don’t hurt either!  Don’t forget that if you missed being able to see me at one of my appearances, you can always get signed or personalized books shipped to you.  Just head to my snazzy new website www.staceyballis.comand go to the Contact page.
Yours in Good Taste,The Polymath

Friends Don't Let Friends Type on Ambien...

Dear Chickens-Popping my head up to say hello and address a recent event that some of you might have read about over on my pal Jen’s blog.  Now you all know that Jen is my bestie.  I get the benefit of her company, counsel, and generosity of spirit.  We make each other laugh till we almost pee.  And we are women in our 40s, so that is NOT a euphemism.   Being Jen’s BFF is a constant source of joy for which I am always grateful.  

But never so grateful as when something happens like happened today.In order to best explain this, I am turning to Jen herself, who has posted the event from her perspective on her own blog.  I am reprinting her post with her permission, and you will see my notes interspersed….
From Jennsylvania.com:Sometimes what I write and what I mean to write are diametrically opposed... like, when Ambien is involved.Stacey’s Note: Jen and I have had many discussions about the Ambien thing, where I have STRONGLY encouraged her to turn off her computer before she takes the pill, and then to immediately get into bed without her iPad after.  Jen, does not always take this sage advice.  Especially since, despite the air of authority I adopt when discussing this with her, she knows that I am not, in fact, an MD.Now, a quick caveat before someone signs me up for the Betty Ford Center - the Ambien stories are few and far between.  Ninety-nine percent of the time, I take my pill, read my book, possibly eat a piece of cheese, and then fall asleep, exactly as God and Sanofi-Aventis intended.Stacey’s Note: Ninety-nine is not one hundred.It's only about one percent of the time that anything happens, e.g. ordering Barbie heads, skinny jeans, or seatbelt extenders.  And the odd reaction is usually the result of either being dehydrated or not having consumed enough protein during the day.Point?Last night, I was the one percent.Stacey’s Note: Like I said.To backtrack, I had guests up here this weekend.  One of my friends mentioned first how her dentist doesn't do teeth whitening and then later that her dermatologist doesn't perform cosmetic procedures.  As I am nothing if not business-minded, this made me twitchy.  I kept exclaiming, "Your doctors are leaving money on the table!" (Note: no one else seemed bothered.)Stacey’s Note:  This is because MOST people are not concerned about their medical professional’s bottom line, and are just grateful that these people are not hocking at them to whiten teeth or pump face full of fillers when we just need our six month cleaning or annual mole check.Such was the extent that the doctors' lack of entrepreneurial spirit bothered me, I kept thinking about business-type ideas after my friends left.  Stacey’s Note: Even sober, this is not a good idea.  I would look at the most basic of household items and then come up with suggestions on how one might profit from it.  Stacey’s Note:  And before you ask, no, this is not the first time this has happened, and yes, I do my best to talk her off the ledge before she goes public.For example, I happened to be cleaning out the fridge when I came across a bunch of little tubs of ranch dressing left over from a packaged salad that accidentally froze and I thought, Ah, yes.. there's an idea here.Stacey’s Note: If you think this is not going to go well, you are correct.So I began to figure out how one might monetize ranch dressing.  Stacey’s Note: Apparently the whole multimillion dollar ranch dressing industry that ALREADY EXISTS did not occur to her.I came up an "I'd dip that in ranch!" campaign, envisioning it as a Stuff White People Like-type tumblr.  Every day I'd feature some beautifully photographed item that would be made more delicious when dipped in ranch dressing, e.g French fries or grilled cheese sandwiches.  Seriously, name almost anything and it would taste better dipped in ranch.  Like, a stalk of broccoli is nice, but dipped in ranch?  It's a treat worthy of a dinner party!  But I'd make each entry funny, like one day showing a shot of Channing Tatum, because, come on, ladies. Stacey’s Note:  Oy.Channing Tatum dipped in ranch? Yes.Stacey’s Note:  No.Then I pictured said website becoming a cult favorite and all of a sudden Big Dressing comes a-calling and offers to buy the whole thing for a check containing many zeroes.Stacey’s Note:  Jen fails to see that once you run through the gamut of readily available produce and the cast of Magic Mike, this very quickly becomes boring.  Anyone else really tired of Iron Chef America?  Want to know why? They have used all the good secret ingredients and are now just going through Bob’s Big Book of Fish and filming episode after episode of Fish Battles.  I don’t care if this is the white flaky fish from Hawaii, or the white flaky fish from the Caribbean, I. Am. Bored.  Fish Battle, schmish battle.  No one is making ice cream.  But I digress….  Brilliant.Stacey’s Note:  No. (FYI, Fletch thought this idea was dumb, particularly the Channing Tatum part.)Stacey’s Note:  Fletch is correct, on both counts.(Fletch is not a visionary.)Stacey’s Note: This is irrelevant, it doesn’t make him wrong. Steve Jobs was a visionary.  I'm not seeing the iRanch in my fridge.Yet I cracked myself up about this the whole night and at random intervals, I'd shout, "I'd dip that in ranch!" to the point that Fletch went upstairs to watch Falling Skies by himself.  (He said he was going to anyway.)Stacey’s Note: I cannot blame him.I kicked the phrase around so much that it actually began to morph into an idea for a television pilot - I envisioned a couple of best friends who adore each other but are polar opposites, yet circumstances force them to live together.  Stacey’s Note:  Oh, here we go…I'm talking The Odd Couple meets Two Broke Girls only less Tony Randall and fewer graphic discussions of ones downstairs ladyparts.(By fewer, I mean none.)Stacey’s Note:  NIPPLE.  Nipplenipplenipplenipple.  Sorry, couldn’t resist.Somehow they'd come together in this pilot and all the action would turn because of the one roommate's passion for trying to make the "I'd Dip That in Ranch!" website happen.Stacey’s Note:  Hmmm.  Wonder which roommate this would be?  They'd end up fleeing from corporate America to run a food truck and would have hilarious and delightful misunderstandings in the neighborhood and with one another.
Stacey’s Note: To be clear, Jen and I could absolutely live together.  We are both very respectful of each other, have an awesome time, and recognize that we are of an age when we need separate bathrooms.  I have total faith that if we were young and single we could be awesome roomies.  Provided it was just Jen, and not “Jen and Menagerie”.  Two Broke Girls?  We can do.  Stacey and Kate Make Eight?  Uh uh.  I’d be out the door, banging younger girls with tramp stamps and endorsing Ed Hardy within a week.  I'm not kidding you, I would watch this.Stacey’s Note:  Yes.  Yes she would.I would.Stacey’s Note:  Jen would watch “I’d Dip That in Nair” if Andy Cohen produced it.I mean it.Stacey’s Note: We know.Oh, come on. It's not the worst idea in the world. Stacey’s Note: Yes.  Yes it is.(Cavemen, anyone?)Stacey’s Note:  Touché.  So, I knew I was seeing Stacey for lunch today and I made a mental note to mention it to her.Then I took my Ambien.Stacey’s Note: You all see where this is going.That's when my silly little idea began to take on epic proportions.  I figured I'd best get this down on paper before anyone stole it from me or did it first, so I grabbed my iPad and wrote Stacey:Stacey’s Note:  I woke up this morning to find three things in my inbox…two e-mails from Jen and a note from Twitter that Jen had mentioned me in a tweet.This is the first e-mail, arriving in my inbox at 12:30am, annotated: Okay,do not let my Ambien buzz dissuade you for the badness poroporotins i'mma put I from of you to tomorrow with out new pilot we're writing based Ion the nicotine "I'd dip that in ranch!".Stacey’s Note:  I know immediately that Jen has ignored my excellent advice once again.  I can mostly deduce that she has a proposition to bring up to me at lunch, and that it involves a tagline involving ranch, and apparently, smoking?See, yiu're an uptight felix foodie and I'm your bestie Oscar who just lost her house and has to move I wit tiy.  We clash over our differences but bond ove the one. Niversal truth - evening tasted better dipped in ranch.Stacey’s Note:  Okay, Felix and Oscar I get, and I get that in this pilot we are apparently writing, they have to live together.  So apparently at the moment this pilot idea is entirely cribbed from the plot of The Odd Couple,  but with girls and ranch dressing.BEETS OON RWNCH!Stacey’s Note:  I do not like beets with ranch.Friend pickles in ranch!Stacey’s Note:  Pretty sure she means FRIED here, and yes, that I can get behind.Freshu veg with ranch!Stacey’s Note: Closer to English, and sure, who doesn’t love fresh veggies with ranch?French friens with ranch!Stacey’s Note:  Most of my French friends are good without dressing.  And we ciudk go to town with a food truth and lake stander shy try all out four shit with ranch and theync'd be all RANCH RANCH YES YKU ARE GIRL GENUSISESStacey’s Note:  This is just fairly incomprehensible.  The combo of Jen’s finger/iPad problem and auto correct is not helping.EIStacey’s Note:  E I O?We ciudk trademt k "I'd dip that in ranch' and the sell to the hidden valley consortium for ALL OF the THINGSStacey’s Note: Not just SOME of the things, ALL of the things.  Also?  Exactly what is this consortium of which you speak?  Is this like The Authority?  The Tribal Counsel?  Can they vote us off the island?  Is Austin Powers getting involved?THIS IS GENIUS GENIUS I AM TELLING YIU.Stacey’s Note:  Yup, you are telling miu.All UR buttermilk are belong to us!Stacey’s Note:  Anyone need buttermilk?  Apparently Jen and I are cornering the market.pS copied fletch o case he needs to ruthis past the lawyers land accountants and they keepers of the RWNCHStacey’s Note: Fletch was, in fact, CCd on this email. This is why Jen is not allowed to have the email addresses for the lawyers or accountants or “keepers of the RWNCH”MEEELIONS AMD MEEELIONS AND MEEELIONS OF DOLLARS FOR US!!Stacey’s Note: To be clear, this part I like.See YIU tomotto!!!Stacey’s Note:  Sigh.  Here was the second e-mail, sent precisely seven minutes after the first.Well.  Did YIU read it yet..?.Stacey’s Note:  Oh yeah, I read it.  Then I saw the tweet: @staceyballis  - checch your email for brilliant Ambien bindersest plan! He who controls The RANCH CONTROLS HE WORLD,!!Stacey’s Note:  Bless her heart.I particularly like how I misspelled/autocorrected everything except for the "Hidden Valley Consortium."Stacey’s Note:  This did not go unnoticed by me either J  Jen and I had lunch today.  Imagine my surprise when she ordered fries…with Thousand Island dressing.  Stay tuned to see what new porposieshumns come my way tonight….

Hope to see you at one of these events!

OFF THE MENU is HERE!!!! 

Finally the book is out and available at your favorite book store or online book retailer. 

The Chicago Tribune says "readers hungry for cleverly written contemporary romances will definitely want to order Off The Menu"

The Parkersburg News and Sentinal says "This is a great contemporary romance!"

My mom says "I love it!"

Both Jennifer Weiner and Jen Lancaster have put it on their short lists of recommended summer reading.

Beginning tomorrow, I have several events coming up in the greater Chicagoland area, and I REALLY don't want to read chapters to empty chairs, so come and play with me and I promise you can ask me about which parts of the book are real, and why I put purple streaks in my hair, and which of the Housewives is my favorite.  Grab your pals and pick one or more of the events this week or next and come say hi!


Tuesday July 10
The Book Stall at Chestnut Court
811 Elm Street, Winnetka, IL
Reading/Signing
7pm


Thursday July 12
The Book Cellar
4736 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago
Reading and Signing with Eleanor Brown, author of The Weird Sisters
7pm


Friday July 13
Lake Zurich Middle School South
435 W. Cuba Road
Lake Zurich, IL
Reading and Signing with Jennifer Lancaster, Sarah Pekkanen and Jennifer Weiner
7:00 pm
CLICK HEREfor tickets


Tuesday July 17
TipsyCake
1944 N. Damen, Chicago
Reading/signing and food event- Cocktails and Cupcakes!
7pm
Event is free, but please RSVP to orders@tipsycakechicago.com


Thursday July 19
Flavour Cooking School
7401 W. Madison, Forest Park, IL
Reading/signing event with cooking demo and light meal
7pm
$15 per person/ CLICK HERE or call 708-488-0808 to register

To everyone who pre-ordered, thank you thank you, it means the world. I hope you love it. And I hope when you love it, you help get the word out!  Tweet, blog, tell your friends, suggest it to your book club.  Post great reviews on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.  You are officially my PR team.

More soon, in the meantime, I really hope to meet a lot of you in the next couple of weeks!

Yours in Good Taste,
The Polymath

Happy Pub Day to Me....and we have a winner!

Thank you one and all to everyone who entered the Stennifer Lunch Tour Contest. 512 people sent in 577 entries, which makes Jen and I feel awfully popular.

Know that in our hearts we wish every one who entered could win, but as you know there can only be one!

So without further ado, congrats to Jon Panofsky of Philly, PA!!! Jen and I are very much looking forward to meeting you and your bestie sometime this year!

I know that the rest of you are disappointed, but know how much I appreciate your pre-orders, you really do make a difference. And more importantly, I really think you all are going to love this book! I hope that if you do, you will help spread the word to your friends and on the social media interwebs and posting reviews on Amazon etc.

If your book club is interested in reading the book, you can contact me at staceyballisinfo (at) gmail (dot) com, I am happy to phone in or Skype in for questions schedule permitting.

I'm off the rest of the week blogging over at the Penguin Community Blog, you can read the first post here http://community.penguin.com/_Love-an...

Don't forget Chicago Chickens that I am doing appearances the next two weeks, and hope to meet a lot of you in person.

In the meantime, have a wonderful safe holiday, and if you haven't yet, pick up a copy of Off The Menu, finally available at a bookseller near you or your favorite online retailer!

Yours in Good Taste,
Stacey

Don't forget to enter to win!

Don't you want us to take you to lunch????

You still have till 11:59pm on July 1 to get your entries in, and no limit to number of entries, so click over HERE to get the fine print, and ENTER TO WIN!  Already entered?  Enter again.  I promise it is much better odds than the lottery.



In other news, I am so honored that Jennifer Weiner included Off the Menu in her list of recommended summer reads.  Check out her post, and I encourage you to buy some of these other amazing authors as well.  She also has a very cool contest running herself where you can win her for your book club.  And it goes without saying that if you haven't picked up your copy of Jen Lancaster's Jeneration X yet, GET ON IT! 




It is her best one yet, and I don't just say that because I am in it.  It is actually a very cool companion piece to Off the Menu, because we were writing about the same time period, me in fiction (inspired by life) and Jen in memoir (taken directly from life) and when you read them together you get some really interesting parallels!

And if you are in the Chicagoland area, I have some fantastic events coming up, including one with both Jen's and the bonus of Sarah Pekkanen, and one with my new pal Eleanor Brown.  CLICK HERE for all the dates and info.

I'm taking a little time off to relax before all the book excitement kicks in, I'll be back briefly on the 3rd to announce the winner of the lunch tour, and then we'll get going on some fabulous new posts....I've got some very cool new products to recommend, some awesome giveaways, and my own summer reading recommendations!  Stay tuned....and GO BUY MY NEW BOOK RIGHT NOW.  I mean it.  Seriously.  Buy several. 

Yours in Good Taste,
The Polymath

So much wonderfulness

I will never tire of looking at this cover.

Hello Chickens!  Thanks to all of you who came out last weekend to Printer's Row to see me and the fabulous Sarah Pekkanen, Lauren Fox, and Ann Bauer.  We all had a great time!

There are only two weeks left to enter to win lunch with me and Jen Lancaster in your hometown...don't let this rare opportunity pass you by, check out the Stennifer Lunch Tour Contest today!

In other fun contest news, Jennifer Weiner is doing an equally exciting pre-order contest of her own...get your girls in gear and enter to win Jen at your book club!  Jen's new book, The Next Best Thing hits stores the same day as Off the Menu, which as far as I am concerned is the best possible company to be in. 





Get the deets on this fab contest over at Jen's Blog.  If you enter both my contest and hers, not only do you have some terrific reading to kick off your summer, you could see both of us in the near future!
Want to see a bucket of happy?

 Stennifer with Jen W. and our pal Rennie at the People Magazine BEA party.  Hot funny broads in black, taking over NYC.  This was just before Stennifer had to scamper to the loo with a view...


Okay, while there is something sort of weirdly wonderful about that particular view while one is having a tinkle, there is something totally not wonderful about struggling back into one's Spanx while afraid of both being seen by office workers across the way, or accidentally putting a large butt print on the glass.  Hypothetically.
In other news, I can now confirm that my publisher has signed me for TWO MORE BOOKS!  This is as close to job security as a writer like me can hope for, two years of guaranteed employment.  It also is a little nervewracking since now it is especially important that Off the Menu does well.  (Have I mentioned recently that you might want to PRE-ORDER?  Just checking.)
And I am almost over the head cold I brought back from New York, so stay tuned...
Stacey





Save the Dates

Hello Chickens!

Have you entered the Stennifer Lunch Tour Contest yet???  Well, I shall wait.  Four ways to enter, unlimited entries per person, one lucky winner and their bestie gets lunch with me and Jen Lancaster.  Go ahead...

Now, some exciting events coming up.  I hope to see your smiling faces!


Saturday June 9Printer’s Row Lit Fest

11:15 AM to 12:00 PM
Panel discussion: Stacey Ballis, Sara Pekkanen, Lauren Fox and Ann Bauer moderated by Mairead Case
Location: University Center/Park Fountain Room
SPECIAL NOTE:  My publisher has made arrangements for there to be finished copies at this event for sale and signing, even though they won’t be available to the public till July 3.  These purchases WILL COUNT for the Stennifer Contest, you just have to scan and e-mail me a copy of your receipt, or copy it and mail it to me based on the contest rules.


Tuesday July 10The Book Stall at Chestnut Court
811 Elm Street, Winnetka, IL
Reading/Signing
7pm



Thursday July 12The Book Cellar
4736 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago
Reading and Signing with the incredible Eleanor Brown, author of The Weird Sisters
7pm



Friday July 13Lake Zurich Middle School South
435 W. Cuba Road
Lake Zurich, IL

Reading and Signing with Jennifer Lancaster, Sarah Pekkanan and Jennifer Weiner
7:00 pm
CLICK HERE for tickets


Tuesday July 17TipsyCake
1944 N. Damen, Chicago
Reading/signing and food event
7pm



Thursday July 19Flavour Cooking School
7401 W. Madison, Forest Park, IL
Reading/signing event with cooking demo
7pm



Adore you all,Stacey

The Return of the Stennifer Lunch Tour Contest

I honor of my 42nd birthday, which happens to be today.....

The Stennifer Lunch Tour is BACK!

We are adorable.  Don't you want to have lunch with us?
 That is right, my bestie Jennifer Lancaster, NYT bestselling author of such literary masterpieces as My Fair Lazy, Such a PrettyFat and the brand new Jeneration X (all of which have some cameos by yours truly) has agreed once again to take our tabloid selves, known to all as Stennifer, on the road to support the release of my new book OFF THE MENU.


OFF THE MENU is the tale of Alana Ostermann, the executive assistant chef to bigtime bad-boy celebrity chef Patrick Conlon.  Her job is 24/7, and has no boundaries, but is lucrative and exciting.  She gets to develop recipes, help him write his cookbooks, travel to exotic locations and eat at fabulous restaurants.  She also gets to fire people who annoy him, break up with his girlfriends when he tires of them, and generally try to keep him out of trouble.  It can be frustrating, but she makes enough money to help out her retired immigrant parents, and be a doting aunt to her eight nieces and nephews, and mom to Dumpling, an oddly arranged mixed-breed pup who is her mostly companion.  It all suits her reasonably well, until a fluke online connection brings RJ into her life.  A Southern gent with a sparkle in his eye, a quick wit, and a deep appreciation for Alana’s qualities, RJ quickly makes Alana want and need to rearrange her priorities, much to Patrick’s chagrin.  And a potential career change offers its own temptations, but would require some sacrifices Alana isn't sure she is ready to make.  Will she be able to keep the guy AND keep her job?  You’ll have to read it to find out!
 I am indescribably excited about this book, and so are some other people.
 Stacey Ballis dishes up another fabulous and soul-satisfying meal in her newest novel.  With the perfect blend of humor and heart, Ballis' writing is powerfully honest and genuinely hilarious, and embodies everything I love about contemporary women's fiction.  Off the Menu is an irresistibly delicious five-course read! 
                 --Jen Lancaster, NTY bestselling author of My Fair Lazy and If You Were Here
 A wonderfully joyful ode to good food, best friends, tough choices and great love.  Off the menu = one delicious read...that comes complete with recipes! So much fun.
                --Alison Pace, author of Pug Hill, and You Tell Your Dog First
 Smart, sexy and delightfully buoyant, OFF THE MENU is, in a word, scrumptious. Stacey Ballis has managed to capture happiness between the covers of a book.
                --Quinn Cummings, author of Notes from the Underwire

Pre-orders are very important to authors.  Pre-orders can make the difference of a book going all bestseller, and fizzling out.  Here is how that works:  Publishing is expensive.  All that paper and ink.  So, especially in this economy, publishers try not to produce more books than they think they will sell.  And when the sales force looks at the size of the print run, that tells them where they need to put their energy to sell the books to bookstores.  A lot of pre-orders show the publishers that a book might be very popular, so they print more copies.  When they print more copies it tells the sales force that they better get behind the book so that all those copies sell and don't sit around the warehouse all sad and frumpy, so they tell the bookstores to get excited and that they should order lots of copies.  Bookstores look at all those copies they ordered, and tell their staff to work to sell them to consumers, and then the trickle down effect is that authors get exciting things like getting to live indoors with electricity.
 So while I am grateful for every copy of a book I sell, pre-ordered books hold a very special place in my heart.  And last year, to encourage pre-orders and reward those who participate, the Stennifer Lunch Tour was born. 
 Last year we got to travel to Dallas, a fave place of Jen’s and my first trip there, for a fabulous lunch with the winners Alyson and Bertta.  We had a terrific time, and are so excited to see where we end up this year!
SO MUCH FUN!!!!  Don't you wish this was you?
The winner of the contest will get lunch for themselves and a guest with Jen Lancaster and myself in their hometown, along with a gift basket of some signed books, limited edition promotional items, and other goodies.

That’s right, Chickens, STENNIFER hits the road to come take your fabulous self and your bestie to an elegant lunch in your area. And we bring you presents! Are we not the greatest?
 This year, a fun new option…if you and your bestie are sick of your hometown, and want to use this as an excuse for a little getaway, Jen and I will meet you in another city!  Want to hit NYC and catch a show and do some shopping? Stennifer LOVES New York.  Have a town you’ve always wanted to visit?  As long as it is in the contiguous 48, we’ll meet you there. (And if that town you always wanted to visit HAPPENS to be Chicago?  BONUS FOR YOU!  We’ll shift your lunch into a dinner at an amazing restaurant where we know the chef, who will cook us a special one-of-a-kind eight  course dinner with insanely fantastic wines from Charming Suitor’s personal cellar, AND Stacey will help you plan the rest of your trip by suggesting cool stuff to do and delish places to eat.)

Here is how it works…you go (no, go NOW!) and pre-order a copy (or many) of my new book OFF THE MENU. E-mail the confirmation (or receipt or a scan or screen shot of your order) to staceyballisinfo (at) gmail (dot) com.
IMPORTANT!!!!  Please make sure you read and understand all the rules at the bottom of this post and make sure that the SUBJECT LINE of your e-mail reads:  I accept the rules of the Lunch Tour Contest. We legally cannot accept entries unless they specifically state that you accept the rules.   
EVERY BOOK YOU ORDER IS ITS OWN ENTRY.   Enter as often and in as many ways as you like.

Order 10 copies? You have 10 entries. Want to give them out as Holiday Gifts to everyone in your company? Order 200 and you will have 200 chances to win. (The entries are connected to the e-mail address from which I receive them, so if you have a lot of friends you think might enjoy the book, but they don’t care about the contest, have them pre-order their copies, forward the receipt to you and you send them to me for multiple entries. So easy!)

Even better? No purchase required to win, you can also get entries for helping Jen and me to spread the word!
For every 20 people you tell about the contest, you get yet another chance to win! Just CC staceyballisinfo (at) gmail (dot) com on an e-mail (again subject line I accept the rules of the Lunch Tour Contest ) with 20 different e-mail addresses (I will not store these addresses or sell them or use them in any insidious way, I just need to see that you actually sent it to 20 people.) with a link to this blog post or a link to pre-order the book on Amazon and a brief description of the contest, and you’ll get another qualifying entry. Know a lot of people? Send 20 e-mails (to 20 different people each) and you’ll get 20 more entries. Get 20 people to Like a Facebook post about the contest (of which the first line must be I accept the rules of the Lunch Tour Contest) with a link to this post or a link to pre-order the book on Amazon and tag me in the post or send me a screen shot, and BAM! Another entry.   If you get 100 people to like that post, that is five entries!
We have not been able to figure out a way to reward tweeting or getting people to follow us, but we do hope that you will tweet about the contest, and the book, and encourage people to follow us just in a good-faith karma kind of way J
 Did you find out about this contest from a pal by word of mouth and HATE technology?  Send either a copy of your receipt for your pre-order or a postcard or note saying STENNIFER LUNCH TOUR ENTRY with your name and contact information and a line saying I accept the rules of the Lunch Tour Contest to:
 Lunch Tour  PO Box 471225  Chicago, IL 60647. 
(We cannot be responsible for the US Mail system, so if you are using this option, please send in your entries no later than June 20 to ensure that they get to us by the deadline, as we are working with entries in hand and not postmarks.)
The winner’s lunch will be documented on both Jen’s Blog and my own.

Already pre-ordered? Just send in that receipt! And maybe go order a second one for a pal….

On Kindle? Pre-orders now available! OFF THE MENU KINDLE EDITION
Lunch to take place on a date between Sept. 15, 2012 and Sept. 15, 2013, specific date based on mutual availability.

Contest ends at 11:59PM CST on July 1, 2012, and the winner will be announced on my blog and Jen’s and notified via e-mail on July 3, 2012.

NOTE: Contest NOT open to blood related family members of either of us. That would be unfair. Friends and friends of family are welcome. And family of friends are awesome!

Now, what are you waiting for? CLICK HERE to pre-order your copy or copies right now!

And please follow me on Twitter @staceyballis . And Jen @altgeldshrugged .

And thank you in advance for all of your support.  If I had it in me to take each and every one of you to lunch, I would.  But know that even if you don't win, I think you are going to love this book, and more importantly, if we really get the numbers for pre-orders high, maybe I will get to go on a book tour and meet you in person!

Yours with much love, and in Good Taste,
The Polymath


Rules/Fine Print/Legal Stuff:

This is a contest, not a lottery or sweepstakes.  NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO WIN.  All entries are equal, regardless of format or number of entries per person.  Each entry will be numbered in the order in which it is received, and a random number generator at Random.org will be used to choose the winner.  Contest runs until 11:59 PM on Sunday July 1, 2012.  Winner will be announced on Monday July 2, 2012.  Winner will have one year (September 2012-September 2013) to schedule their prize at the discretion and availability of the authors.  (Authors request that when looking at scheduling, that you avoid times when your hometown might have large events or conventions that make airfare and hotel booking difficult or extra-expensive!)
 Means of entry:  E-mail either a screenshot, jpeg, scan, or forward a copy of a receipt for a pre-order purchase of OFF THE MENU by Stacey Ballis.  EACH COPY LISTED is one entry, you can enter as many times as you want, and do not need to have separate receipts for each one.  Stacey Ballis and Jennifer Lancaster are not responsible for technological glitches or errors, and cannot be held liable for corrupted files, or entries not received.  One entry for every 20 people on an e-mail CC’d to staceyballisinfo (at) gmail (dot) com about the contest, and one entry for every 20 Likes on a facebook post about the contest- both e-mails and Facebook posts MUST include both a link to the contest post on The Polymath Chronicles Blog, AND a link to pre-order the book on Amazon.  In the event a question regarding a winner’s identity arises, entries will be deemed made by the holder of the e-mail account associated with the entry.
 For snail mail entries, end a either a copy of your receipt or a postcard or note saying STENNIFER LUNCH TOUR ENTRY with your name and contact information to Lunch Tour  PO Box  471225  Chicago, IL 60647.  Mail entries must be RECEIVED by 1:00PM on Friday June 29, 2012.  Stacey Ballis and Jennifer Lancaster are not liable for failure of the USPS to deliver your entry by this date, so you are encouraged to mail entries no later than June 20, 2012 to ensure timely delivery.
 The retail value of this prize is $400, which is the estimated cost of lunch for four hungry girls with wine at a schmancy restaurant.  You may not request the money in lieu of the prize. If you choose to travel to another city to have your prize, all expenses EXCEPT the lunch which you have won are your responsibility.
 Odds of winner are dependent on number of entries received.  In 2010 there were 609 entries, so odds of winning for each entry in the last contest were 1 in 609.
 Anyone is eligible to enter, but lunch MUST TAKE PLACE in the contiguous 48 states.  If you want to enter and you are from outside that area, you must travel to a city in the contiguous 48 for the prize.
Stacey Ballis and Jennifer Lancaster will make every good faith effort to ensure that the winner receives their prize.  They are not responsible for cancellation of travel due to acts of God, illness of any involved party or spouse, airline issues.  Stacey Ballis and Jennifer Lancaster reserve the right to cancel, suspend, modify or terminate this contest in the event of any technical malfunction, including any unauthorized tampering, or anything beyond the control of the promoter.
E-mail addresses and contact information will not be stored, sold, traded, or in any way shared with any other party.  Entries received through e-mail will automatically be added to Stacey Ballis’ e-mail list for newsletters and other information unless specifically requested in the e-mail to not be added to the list.  Participants can opt out of this list at any time.
Void where prohibited.

Scale Winner!

Thanks to the lovely people over at Random.org, many congrats to....

Lori Ashford!

Lori, please e-mail me your shipping address to staceyballisinfo (at) gmail (dot) com and I will get your snazzy new orange Escali scale to you ASAP.

For the rest of you, while I know you are disappointed, here is a link to buy your own scale...SCALE

As a consolation, while you can certainly get the orange if you love it, it also comes in Black, White, Electric Blue, Deep Purple, Red, Silver, Pink, and Lime.  And it is only $34.95, which is pretty great for such a useful appliance.

And for those who were interested more in helping with weight loss or managing carbs, the nutritional scale is $51.95, comes in black and silver, and is available HERE

Stay tuned next week, more contests coming, and the official rules for the Stennifer Lunch Tour: The Sequel.

Have a terrific weekend!

Yours in Good Taste,
The Polymath