'Big Weed' in the New York Times

Incredibly, I missed this the other day. My co-author Christian Hageseth did a Q&A with the travel section of the New York Times, talking about his upcoming marijuana Colorado “weedery.” As he describes it in our book, Big Weed, a “weedery” is like a brewery or winery, except for legal marijuana.

From the article:

Wineries and breweries should brace themselves for some unusual competition. Colorado, which legalized marijuana for recreational use in 2012, will get its first “weedery” in early 2016.

The $35 million project, Green Man Cannabis Ranch and Amphitheater, the brainchild of Christian Hageseth, is set to open in Denver. Its greenhouses represent a major shift because producers have largely cultivated marijuana indoors; there will also be a performance space, a restaurant, a rooftop bar, a gift shop and, of course, a marijuana dispensary.

Green Man on the Road

My co-author Christian Hageseth is on the road this week, promoting our book, Big Weed: An Entrepreneur's High-Stakes Adventures in the Budding Legal Marijuana Business (Palgrave/Macmillan). (Learn more and order the book here.)

The book has already gotten some serious love from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews (which tends to hate everything) and Vanity Fair, of all places.

Mr. Hageseth is in NYC tonight, getting ready for a day of print and TV interviews tomorrow. His schedule in the coming week is as follows:

Monday April 20th– New York City
Live, in-studio interviews:
WNYC “Brian Lehrer Show” – 11:20am EST
FOX Business “Varney & Company” – 11:55am EST

Tuesday April 21st – Seattle
Live, in-studio interview:
KING 5 – 9:15am PT
Panel event and book signing, with author Bruce Barcott: Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave. Seattle, WA 98101, 7:30pm PT
(This will be a 40-minute panel discussion between Christian and Bruce, followed by questions from the audience and a book signing. Moderator is Dominic Corva, Executive Director of Cannabis and Social Policy.)

Big Weed gets a mention in the "Hot Type" column in Vanity Fair.

Wednesday April 22nd – San Francisco
Live, in-studio interview: KGO 810AM Ronn Owens Radio – 11:00am PT
Talk, Q&A and book signing: The Commonwealth Club, 595 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, 12:00pm PT
Talk, Q&A and book signing: Book Passage, Ferry Building, 1 Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA 94111, 6:00pm PT

Thursday April 23rd – Portland
Talk, Q&A and book signing: Powell’s Books, 1005 W. Burnside Street, Portland, OR, 7:30pm PT
(Christian will speak about the book for about 30 minutes, followed by questions from the audience and a book signing.)

Tuesday April 28th – Boulder
Talk, Q&A and book signing: Boulder Bookstore, 1107 Pearl Street, Boulder, CO 80302, 7:30pm MT
(Christian will speak about the book for about 30 minutes, followed by questions from the audience and a book signing.)

Wednesday April 29th – Denver
Talk, Q&A and book signing: Tattered Cover, 2526 E Colfax Ave., Denver, CO, 7:00pm MT
(Christian will speak about the book for about 30 minutes, followed by questions from the audience and a book signing.)

* * * 

In addition to these appearances, Mr. Hageseth will appear with me at Malaprop's Bookstore on May 22, 7 PM. Believe it or not, it will be the first time we've ever met in person. We wrote the book entirely via phone and computer.

In the coming weeks, I'll probably blog about this book as it garners some more media attention.

But I hope to be back tomorrow with some cool news about one of my books.

Pre-Order: Big Weed

I ghosted a business memoir this year that is already up for pre-order on Amazon, BN, iBookstore, and Kobo. Among other things, it’s story of a Colorado businessman who dreams of building a state-of-the-art tourist destination in the foothills of the Rockies devoted to the glory of (legal) marijuana—and makes that dream come true. He shares the story of how he got into this burgeoning field, his company’s ups and downs, and insights that can be applied to almost any other business.

I’ve written about a half dozen books for business guys, in their voices, but Mr. Hageseth is the first to permit me to share a byline with him. You can see the gorgeous plans of his upcoming “weedery”—which I’d describe as being like a brewery, winery, meadery, or cidery, only with marijuana—at this website. The $25 million-dollar facility is currently under construction.

Palgrave/Macmillan pubs the book April 20, 2015, a date that has special significance for cannabis lovers. What’s my special contribution to this project? Sneaking into the text this H.P. Lovecraft reference.

Please note: If you would prefer to pre-order through an independent bookstore, please hold off buying. I should have info about signed indie pre-orders soon. In any case, keep a receipt of your purchase. There is likely to be some type of intoxicating giveaway looming in the future.