My book “Tea-Sing Your Taste Buds: How to brew and drink a proper cup of tea” is now available on my website in PDF format. All proceeds from the sale of the book will go toward funding my two healthcare books (dental care and eye care) that I’m making available at no cost as a public service.

For the tea book, I’m looking for about 10 people who would be willing to read it and write a review for my site. In exchange, I’ll send you a sample packet of a high-quality tea. If you’re interested, please leave your contact information in the comments or email me directly at msruff@juno.com.

 

 

So, here’s the word on my latest book project, due to come out December 15, 2024. It’s called Tea-Sing Your Taste Buds: How to Brew and Drink a Proper Cup of Tea, Second Edition. Like the dental care book I’ve been talking about, it started as a book written for a company I worked for over 20 years ago, and I inherited the copyright when they closed their doors.

Let me say here and now that I’m a bit (or more than a bit) of a tea snob, having been introduced many years ago to the beautiful drink and meditation that is tea. I like the good stuff, not what you get in the grocery store, and I’m willing to scrimp and save my pennies to pay for it because I love to be embraced by the contemplative and joyful experience of brewing and drinking, especially among friends.

Being “in the moment” matters to me, too. It matters what type of pot I use, as it affects the way the tea brews and tastes. It matters to me how the cups appear and how they’re decorated, as well as the designs that are on the tea cozy (a padded mitt, like a “sweater” that fits over the pot and keeps the contents hot). It matters to me that I be able to watch the leaves unfurl as they brew, smell the aroma, and anticipate the luscious mouthfeel of the first sip, and then the next. I’m sorely disappointed when a new tea doesn’t live up to expectation.

So, the book. While tea itself hasn’t changed much since the early 2000s, there’s been a lot of research during this time on the properties and many health and wellness benefits tea provides. I decided it was time to expand the book and release a second edition.

As of now, the book has gone through editing, all the illustrations and cover art have been added in, and we’re working on final formatting. I don’t yet have a URL for the download, but I’ll make it available here on the blog once I have that set up.

I hope your experience with proper tea will be as joyful as my own.

 

So, in my opening blog last week, I talked about one of my book projects, Sinking Your Teeth into Proper Dental Care, Second Edition. This week, I’d like to discuss its rather unusual hunt to find an audience.

I felt that the book’s biggest strength, in some ways, was that it was free; however, that turned out not to be the case. Oh, everyone lauded my commitment to take on such a project, but few were willing to take a chance putting it out there.

A few days before we did the print run, I landed in the hospital, and I was beside myself that I couldn’t get out there right away and pitch the book to the dental practices, health clinics, and community programs in the area. Then I decided that shameless marketing could work in my favor. I had my husband bring a stack of books to put on the windowsill, and I ensured that everyone who came in my room, from phlebotomist to nurse to surgeon take away a copy.

I was amazed at everyone’s reactions, which were incredibly positive, especially from those who also worked in underserved communities, where access to dental care is limited. This became a resource they could use to promote dental health in their areas.

When I got out of the hospital, I started pounding the pavement, going from one office to the next to see if anyone would be willing to keep a small display of the books in their waiting rooms, with the only effort on their part being to let me know when they needed more books so I could come deliver them. About a dozen practices from my initial efforts agreed to display the books.

Then, I hit a wall. I tried contacting the corporate/marketing offices of pharmacy chains to see if I could get a toe in the door, but because I wasn’t a “brand,” and because my product didn’t come with a price tag, they weren’t interested. Never mind that some isolated placements had generated a positive buzz.

I tried contacting the library system, but they only wanted fliers, not books. And if they liked it, they’d only let me put one copy in one library location in the system, so it would get minimal viewing, if any at all.

Next, I tried contacting my congressman to find out if there were any resources in the district that could help me move the books. The office said no, call the County Council. The County Council said to contact the Department of Health and Human Services. DHHS said they wouldn’t accept anything that wasn’t published by the county.

So, I’m back to pounding the pavement and hoping to come across someone with a bright idea about how to get a free health product into the hands of the people who need it. If you’ve got any ideas, please leave me a comment. I read every one.

Cheers till next Friday.

Hello, Visitors, and welcome to my inaugural NAIWE blog. I’d like to take the first couple of posts to talk about one of the book projects I’m working on. This title is Sinking Your Teeth into Proper Dental Care, Second Edition, published through my company, Bumbershoot, Inc.

I originally wrote the book as a freelancer at a company in 2002-2003; when they went belly-up, I inherited all the copyrights for the 13 titles I’d written for them.

Fast-forward 20 years, and I realized just how much has developed in the dental industry over this time, both in technology and in technique. I approached my current dentist about writing a second edition and having him medically review it, and he eagerly jumped on board.

The key to this project was what I planned to do with the book, which was to make it available, free of cost, to any dentist, dental office, organization, public health service, or individuals who wanted a copy. My hope was to collaborate with others in disseminating the information to those who could use it most.

It sounds crazy, right? Not exactly. As a first-world country, our dental care is one of the poorest of the lot, with the average American losing 12 teeth to decay or disease by the time they reach 50. Making the book freely available would help shore up knowledge of best practices for dental care, and help people understand the importance of oral health.

The book was published in April 2024, and it’s had an interesting journey finding its audience. I’ll explain more about that next Friday.

Have a great week ahead.