Book Tour Tribulations: One Author’s Impressive Struggle to Promote her Book

Jan. 11, 2013 - PRLog -- As a first responder, author Kelly Cooper knew that she had broken her right leg seconds after she slipped and fell on an icy sidewalk in Telluride, CO, but she had no idea of how bad the damage was. Cooper had arrived in the high mountain town several hours prior to her fall to prepare to host a signing and tasting event for her new cookbook, Cookies for Grown-ups. Breaking her leg was latest obstacle challenging the promotion of her book, but it was not the first – two months ago, just a week before the book’s December publication date, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Cooper remained unfazed when speaking from her hospital bed in Montrose Memorial, where she is recovering from a surgery on her shattered right leg so extensive that the hospital had to delay the procedure in order to procure the required hardware to set the bones properly (a rod running from ankle to knee, 2 plates, and 20 screws). She has maintained relentless optimism about promoting this work of her heart, despite being told by doctors that she’ll have limited mobility for six months. “I really don’t want to lose momentum,” she said. “I just want to keep going.”

Cooper displayed the same striking bravery and dedication to Cookies for Grown-ups when confronted with breast cancer immediately before the book’s release. Just before the diagnosis, she was ecstatic that the book had received excellent pre-publication kudos. Gael Greene of InsatiableCritic.com called the book “bold and quirky, savory yes, but sweet, too, and full of surprises,” and ex-Newsday columnist Sylvia Carter said, “Kelly Cooper isn’t the first one to come up with savory cookies but she might do it best.” Given the book’s initial popular reception, Cooper was excited to dive headfirst into a multi-state signing and cookie-tasting tour coupled with an extensive social media outreach plan.

However, upon being diagnosed with breast cancer, she immediately underwent surgery and radiation treatment. The week her radiation ended, her Christmas tour became a New Year’s tour set to begin in Flagstaff. She had three successful stops in the southwest before she hit Telluride, where the publisher of the book, Red Rock Press, is based. Two hours after arriving with a trunk-sized suitcase of baking gear and personally selected spices, she slipped on the ice and crashed on the sidewalk, requiring an ambulance ride to the nearest hospital, in Montrose. But shortly after arriving, Cooper had already begun to plan her next move before she even knew when she would be released, and joked that “falling down on the job, literally” isn’t going to keep her from making sure Cookies for Grown-ups is a success.

In a touching display of holiday cheer carrying into the New Year, Cooper, the hosts, and the attendees of the Cooks & Books event at the Wilkinson Public Library in Telluride banded together to make it memorable despite her absence. Almost as soon as she arrived in the hospital, she began laying plans to make sure the event would still be a success. Local baker Amy Helck volunteered to bake cookies from the book like Fettuccine (incorporating pasta, Parmesan, pecan, and cream), paired with chardonnay, and Dark Desire (balancing thyme with bittersweet chocolate) paired with a fine port donated by a local wine shop.

Cooper also urged her publisher to see if arrangements could be made for her to Skype into the Telluride event, where 5 or 6 dozen people attended. Unfortunately, at the last moment, her pain became too great to participate. Nonetheless, almost 300 cookies disappeared in less than a half hour as event goers asked each other excitedly, “Have you tried this one? That one?”

Scott Doser, the events coordinator for the library, noted how an attendee suggested that everyone contribute to a poster board to be brought to Cooper so that she could get feedback about the cookies and pairings. Attendees responded in force. Doser was impressed at the success of the event, saying, “I got so many comments about how incredibly delicious the cookies were – there was no one favorite that won the day.” On the day after the event, he delivered the crowd’s love of Cookies for Grown-ups and their wishes to Cooper for a speedy recovery.

Given that she is still confined to her hospital bed in Montrose, Cooper’s spirits couldn’t be higher, and her optimism for promoting Cookies for Grown-ups despite her immobility continues to grow. In fact, she has already sold 4 copies of the book from her hospital bed to staff, and in the short time since her admittance, she is quickly becoming somewhat of a cookie guru and resident baking expert for the staff of Montrose Memorial (her physical therapist has new questions on substituting ingredients each time they meet).

Despite cancer and a shattered leg, Cooper hasn’t missed a beat when it comes to promoting her book. She’s busy making plans about distributing one of her cookies through a company located in Washington but is also working on ideas to help get the word out from her bed, including virtual tours, sending cookie samples to critics, blogging projects, and others. She would love to have readers’ ideas. Please send them to Kelly@GrownupCookies.com.

For more information or to see a copy of Cookies for Grown-ups, please contact Red Rock Press publicist Dan Kleinman at Daniel@RedRockPress.com or 443-682-8750.