People REALLY love this book (said in Sally Field's voice)

I've been so busy selling books for clients that I haven't had a moment to share Un-Constipated Gourmet news. Well, that's irresponsible, and my apologies to fans. To me, the big news is: steady interest from all corners. Every day my Google Alert pops up with another blogger talking about the book. That's so edifying. Today the authors of Eat Well & Prosper confessed to having a "whole new perspective on eating" thanks to to the book. Yahoozee. Love hearing that. I'm also receiving email from individuals who've bought a copy and now want personal advice on how to overcome this or that gut ailment (advice I'm not qualified to give, as I'm not a doctor, so I don't give it...but I'm full of sympathy, which is something you can't always get from busy doctors...). I've heard the book is a huge hit with the MS community, too. And, The Washington Post is going to run one of my gut-oriented new years resolutions in an upcoming article (I don't know the date, sadly, so just keep an eye out...). All in all, I'm very very pleased. I'll try to be better about posting these sorts of updates. Please feel free to fly me notes, if you have questions or comments.

Washington Post

Hey, The Washington Post has knighted me two ways this week: first, their article about the book, which ran Tues, Sept. 15, confirmed that I've got a worthy topic (not that I doubted it, but confirmation is never a bad thing, especially from the newspaper that broke the Watergate story); and second, they said that my recipes caught the eye of the food critic. So pleased. SO pleased. Glowing even. Also, Jennifer Huget, the lovely nutrition writer who wrote the lovely piece about the book, allowed me to guest blog for The Post on the day the article ran; that can be read here. And there are comments, already. Deviled Eggs. A commentor suggested that Deviled Eggs might be a gut mover! Just think how much we wouldn't know if I hadn't written this book and folks had never been given the chance to respond in kind...

Bloggers who've written about it

You know, I've been remiss about mentioning all the different bloggers who've complimented the book. They've been terrific cheerleaders, some holding give-away contests, some testing recipes right on their sites and sharing results. Here are a few samplings. I'll add to this list as they come in:

Care to Eat
Plus Size Mommy
Eat Me Daily
Serious Eats
Planet Lactose
Coco Cooks

I want to give special thanks to a few retailers, too, who immediately GOT IT:
The Spoon Sisters
Cover to Cover Bookstore in San Francisco
Book Passage in Corte Madera, CA

I'd love to know if it's caught on in other places that I'm not aware of. Please let me know if it has!

I can't believe how long it's been since my last post!

Oye. Where have I been? So much to report and no time to report it. Here's the line-up of good news:

1. The new Dr. Oz show has asked me to talk about the book on an upcoming espisode. This is Dr. Oz of Oprah fame. This is the Dr. Oz who wears scrubs everywhere. This is the Dr. Oz who's charming even when talking about grave things. It's possible that I'm going to teach Dr. Oz how to go go go.

2. The Washington Post's nutrition writer, Jennifer Huget, just interviewed me for a piece about the book that will hopefully run Tuesday, Sept. 15

3. My chow.com video "Tips" are live. You can see me cooking with sherry, saving ricotta, and mingling with dried fruit.

4. The Noe Valley Voice's lovely roving reporter, Olivia Boler, will be writing a piece about the book for our local sheet. She's already interviewed me and promises the article will appear this month (September). During our interview, it came out that I represent authors for a living. Shortly after, Olivia dropped off several chapters from her novel-in-progess, which I'm quite enjoying. Love when stuff like this happens.

5. On Saturday, Sept. 19, I'm going to be sitting at a small table at the Noe Valley Farmers' Market, sandwiched between zucchinis and strawberries, selling copies of The Un-Constipated Gourmet. This is my first public sales event, and I'm nervous. I've asked my good friend, Carla, to come along and hold my hand. She said, "How can I hold your hand when I'll be selling your book like hotcakes!"

6. Oh god, how could I forget the piece that ran last month in J-Weekly, a Jewish newspaper serving Northern California. The author, Stacey Palevsky, spent three hours in my kitchen, eating recipes from the book and interviewing me about the who-what-where-how of it all. She was lovely, complimented the food, and wrote a great piece. She's the person who introduced me to this stat, which I imagined existed, but had never heard before: "Jews are two to four times more likely than non-Jews to have a spectrum of digestive ailments, such as Crohn’s disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, food allergies or lactose intolerance." Well, that explains EVERYTHING...but solves nothing...

Poo Queen crowned

Chris Colin has written a piece about the book (and the making of the book) for sfgate.com. The story headline is:
Writer's Blockage: Author of "The Un-Constipated Gourmet" loosens up in the kitchen. Favorite lines:
1. "Show me an intelligent book about constipation, and I'll show you the Braveheart of the bookshelf, the Lancelot of literature."
2. "If Svetcov sensed that segments of society were harboring secret discomforts, she also suspected that they harbored secret recipes, passed from one abdomen-clutching generation to the next. "

Telling moms

My friend R made a very good point yesterday. I was talking about how I hoped moms (pregnant soon-to-be moms, brand new moms, moms with many mouths to feed, etc.) would enjoy the book and really see the utility of it. "Of course they will," R said. "Not only are moms worrying about keeping themselves moving, but they're the mayors of the home who oversee and worry about the regularity status of everyone else under their roofs. How many dads can tell you the poo status of each of their children? How many can say the number of times Junior has 'made' today or this week? Did Junior struggle? How many days has it been since his last b.m.? That's something moms are always thinkin' about. Obsessing about, might be more accurate. Personally I can't wait for the day that it's not on my mind, but for now -- with my kids -- it is." R's right, of course.

It's resonating!

A new piece about the book ran on SFweekly.com today. Its author, Mary Ladd, gets it! I'm so pleased. The story is titled Cookbook Seeks to Help You Get the Most Out of Potty Time and it's funny. Love the first line: "Cookbook author Danielle Svetcov wants to get all up in your shit -- literally...." Love the last lines: "The Un-Constipated Gourmet may be embarrassing to some, and a favorite for others. Hey, whatever works. What you do (or don't do) on the toilet is strictly your business. " Mary, where's your tip jar?