Some of the promotional galleys of "99 Drams of Whiskey" are starting to come back, and the book has been getting really nice feedback. Kind words from Kevin Erskine, Peter Krass, and Charles Cowdery have all filtered their way into my inbox.

“There is so much hype surrounding beverage alcohol products that a writer’s best tool may be his or her BS detector. Kate Hopkins has a good one, but she never lets debunking make her cranky. She is open-minded without being a sucker. 99 Drams is an unexpected and fresh take on whiskey.”

--Charles K. Cowdery, author of Bourbon, Straight

“How can you not want to follow Kate Hopkins on a rollicking adventure that makes it perfectly acceptable to drink whiskey before noon? Her personal narrative remains lively and humorous throughout, with an excellent balance between storytelling, history, and facts. In my mind, her ‘perfect shot’ occurs in a mysterious gift shop in Scottish farm country, from an unmarked bottle filled with an unknown whiskey. This kind of experience and others like it make 99 Drams of Whiskey a great read.”

--Peter Krass, author of Blood & Whiskey: The Life and Times of Jack Daniel

Whiskey is part travelogue, part distillery guide, and part history book. It is deeply personal, and told in Kate Hopkins's humorous, engaging, and inimitable style. Through Kate's eyes, I found myself looking at whiskey anew."

--Kevin Erskine, author of The Instant Expert's Guide to Single Malt Scotch

My thanks to these gentlemen, as well as the others who have taken the time to provide both insight and compliments about the book. It's been a heck of a ride over the past few months.

What this now means is that it's full steam ahead to the release date, now scheduled for May 26 - a mere two and a half months away. To say I'm anxious is a massive understatement. And I'm looking for a bit of help in reducing said anxiety.

First things first however. If you wish to pre-purchase said book, it is now available at most major online retailers, such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and even Powell's. If one is so inclined to see what the above three well respected whiskey writers are talking about, this is your chance.

I'm also looking for a bit of help. St. Martin's has been nothing but wonderful in dealing with me and the book. And while they do have promotions lined up, there's only so much than can do. That leaves it up to me to pick up where their resources end.

Part of me thought I could go to some third party promoters. But these folks cost money, sometimes more than I think is either respectable or even realistic for a book with a limited market niche. So if the third party promoters are unrealistic for my budget, then what?

Well then it hit me. Why don't I just ask you folks for your ideas? Maybe some of you out there have an idea that I haven't thought of, or have a new take on a path I previously thought of as impractical.

What would you think would be a good way to promote 99 Drams of Whiskey? Feel free to either leave a comment here in this post or send me an e-mail to kate AT accidentalhedonist DOT com. Any promotional idea I use, I'll work to get the person who suggested it a free copy of the book. It ain't much, I realize, but it may be interesting to see if regular folks can do things that the folks at wecanpromoteyourbookfortenthousanddollars.com cannot.