Hello again, Readers Mine! That's right, we're just four weeks and two days away from the official publication date of Wanna Cook? The Complete, Unofficial Companion to Breaking Bad, and the big news this week is that our author copies of Wanna Cook? are winding their way to us from the Frozen North even as I write this! I have to admit, I'm looking forward to opening a package in the next week or two to find a box full of books with my name listed on the covers as one of the authors. This is my first time at this particular rodeo, and I have to admit I'm getting excited at the thought of actually holding a copy of the book I helped to write in my greedy little hands. Pictures will undoubtedly feature here shortly thereafter. That also means that it will be contest time shortly thereafter as we give away a few signed copies. We're still figuring out just how to organize that, so keep an eye out for more information. Also, be sure to check out my co-author's "Walter White Wednesday" post this week for details on our official book launch, which will be taking place at Fireside Books in downtown Shelby, NC!
Last week, I briefly caught you up on what Bryan Cranston has been up to since his Walter White days, and his portrayal of LBJ in All the Way continues to bring him kudos, not least from Stephen Colbert:
You gotta admit, the guy gives good interview. On the fan-art front, check out these incredible patent blueprint-style prints from Oliver Gal Artist Company:
Nifty, huh? Even months after the series came to its end, fans continue to produce some incredible art, mash-ups, and even books about Breaking Bad. (see what I did there?).
So that's about it fro this week, and remember, you can get your copy of Wanna Cook? on or at least very near May 1 by pre-ordering it today! Seriously, it's available in the US from every large bookseller either online or from stores, and the same should hold true in the UK and Germany (yes, there's a German translation being published simultaneously, because that's how we roll, and because the French didn't pony up any cash for the privilege - and we don;t cook for free, bitch.) If you're in the US and would rather spend your hard earned dollars at your local, independent bookseller, then head on over to our page at IndieBound.org, enter your zip code, and find an independent bookstore near you who'll be happy to order you a copy!
So, it's been a while. To say that the past almost three months have been busy would be something of an enormous understatement, to the point where something had to go, and, unfortunately, that something was this blog. Until now. With several plates less to spin (more on the nature of those past plates in another post), I can turn by attention back here as we count down the five weeks and four days until 01 May 2014 and the official release of Wanna Cook? The Complete, Unofficial Companion to Breaking Bad! ARCs (Advanced Reading Copies) have gone out, we've got a pile of promotional materials, and we and ECW's publicists are working on a variety of launches, signings, and giveaways in the coming weeks and months.
Neither Dale nor I have actually seen a physical copy of the book yet (and we're jonesing pretty hard about that!) but we've got the PDF proofs, and it looks amazing. The graphic design, layout, photographs, and style are just phenomenal, and well, you know, the writing is pretty damn good too! This is really happening, Readers Mine, and it's gonna be great! In fact, we've already been blurbed by the one and only Dr. David Lavery, Father of Whedon Studies, one of the creators of the academic discipline of television studies, and an all round good guy to boot. Over at The Laverytory, David was kind enough to write:
"To call Ensley Guffey and Dale Koontz’s Bad-to-the-bone
guide Wanna Cook? a page turner is certainly true but somehow media
inappropriate. For obsessed fans (and is there any other kind?) of this
all-time-great, every carefully crafted word will bring back to cerebral life
the characters, dialogue, hats, “bitches,” mise-en-scene, locations, violence
of the rise and fall of Walter White. As such, I propose that this book,
another terrific contribution by ECW Press to television studies, should be
deemed “binge reading.” As pure as a batch of Heisenberg’s Blue Sky, Guffey and
Koontz’s critical chemistry has given us the most addictive companion to this
TV masterwork we will ever get."
Which is incredibly kind, as well as entirely true (like I'm gonna argue with David?!?) If you'd like a sneak peak at the rough front and back covers, check this out. There will be a few things added, like David's blurb, but that's what'll be hitting stands come May 1!
In the meantime, and as a way of wrapping up this post, let's check in on what Bryan Cranston is doing now that he's no longer in the meth business. First off, for those of you lucky enough to be in or make it to New York, in the name of God you have to go see All the Way at the Neil Simon Theater between Broadway and 8th. Cranston is playing President Lyndon Johnson and getting rave reviews! Check out my favorite pic of him in the role:
Bryan Cranston as LBJ in Robert Schenkkan's All the Way.
For those of you like me, who can't make it to NYC (*sigh*), we can still get our dose of Cranston in the potentially amazing reboot of Godzilla coming out in May:
I know, right!!!?!!??
So that should hold you for a week, Reader's Mine. See you next Monday for another installment, and don't forget to keep checking out Walter White Wednesday over on the blog of my indefatigable co-author, K. Dale Koontz.
