Happy February! We are not just in the drudges of root vegetables season. We are one month closer to the release of my book Edible Paradise: A Coloring Book of Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables (Rizzoli’s Universe Imprint), to be released March 15th, 2o16! I know, I know. Although I don’t have children of my own, this whole Edible Paradise thing has become the relentless star of all my social media platforms. But humor me for a second because it’s not small feat releasing your first book with a major American editor. And every small feat is worth sharing, if you Instagram “like” it or not. So let me just share that I received my advance copies and itsjustsolovelyicantevenseparatemywords! But I’ll share the process of creating Edible Paradise from root to leaf sometime soon…
Whenever I get my hands on a book I have worked on, I always stare at it like the elephant in the room, not knowing if I really want to see what had become of my long hours and dedication. Will it be worth it? It usually gets a quick flip through and gets quickly put away with all the others. Although the final pdf of Edible Paradise had been validated for months now, seeing an accumulation of months of dedicated work can be emotional and fraught with anxiety. Is this a result of perfectionism? Or just the fact that I may be more 
process than final product. Although I just got back from a few days in the Loire Valley, I trekked to my office at midnight on Friday night to pick up my advance copies. If I may just share with you truthfully, I am in awe of this beautiful book. It’s not just your basic, copy and pasted coloring book. It really is a joyous celebration of what a year of eating seasonally can be. Regardless if you eat seasonally or not, it artfully revisits the beauty fruits and vegetables (and friends! There are major ladybugs to be colored in!). Most importantly, how does it color? I quickly attacked my copy! I am creating a limited edition of Edible Paradise, all colored from front to back in watercolor, which quickly ate up my whole weekend in one voracious bite. It’s good. It’s real good.
So please take a moment to preorder a copy here. Or better yet, order two copies. As my grandfather used to say about handkerchiefs, “One for show and one for blow!”
In the meantime, warm up your coloring skills in the February coloring page above.
#colormeseasonal