Well, folks, I’ve been teasing you for awhile now about Betty’s Little Basement Garden with all the interview stuff, but there wasn’t much more I could do before the official release today. But now it’s officially out, so before I give you the details on a special free offer, please read this letter from Laurel Dewey herself:

A Note To The Cannabis Community

From Author Laurel Dewey

Many of us in the medical cannabis community don’t feel like we have any power when it comes to explaining the medical benefits of the herb to others. Some of us have even stopped trying to convince our friends and family members about its usefulness, because we are tired of being treated like we are “stoners” or “losers” for choosing cannabis over pharmaceuticals. Thus, we feel like we have no power and can’t communicate our feelings with those closest to us.

So, I got to thinking…what if we put the power back into our own hands? What if we offered all of those people who feel disenfranchised a chance to use their voices, and bridge that gap between the pro-cannabis crowd and those on the fence who might be unaware or even ignorant of the medical cannabis world? What if there was a “safe” book that could be passed around and used to open up discussion on the medical side of cannabis…wouldn’t that be better than all the frustration and preaching to the choir that so many of us do? Grandmothers and grandfathers might even agree to read it if they think it’s popular and everyone is talking about it.

I know from past experience that it doesn’t take millions of book sales to get onto the New York Times bestseller list. It only takes about 25,000 at the right time. If medical marijuana patients and members of organizations like ASA, NORML, Moms For Marijuana, MPP, and /r/trees all focused on buying Betty’s (Little Basement) Garden on June 12 when it’s released, they could be responsible for its success and launch the novel into the mainstream book market.

If that were to happen, and Betty stayed in the top 5 or higher for at least a month or more, people would be talking about the book in a big way this summer. The book and the subject could not be ignored by the mainstream media. Even people who had no interest in cannabis would buy the book out of curiosity once it was on the list. I know plenty of people who refer to the NYT List for their reading pleasure. The more people outside of the cannabis industry who buy the book, discuss it in their book clubs, mention it at PTA meetings, the more the book has the chance of being widely accepted, which has the potential of getting this hot-button topic out there and out of the shadows.

And all of this would have been started by the supposed “marginalized” cannabis users who felt they had no power! Is that not a beautiful thing?

— Laurel Dewey

So here’s the thing: this book could be a huge factor in helping ordinary people — like most of our families and friends — understand cannabis better because of the human connection. But it can only do that if everyone’s talking about it, and the way to make sure that happens is to make sure it hits the best-seller lists. You’re probably going to end up buying it anyway, so why not buy it today when it can do the most good?

And here’s another reason to buy it today: the publisher will send you a free ebook copy of Laurel’s formerly out-of-print-and-impossible-to-find herbal guide Plant Power!

Here’s all you need to do:

Buy a copy of Betty’s (Little Basement) Garden on June 12, 2012

Send your electronic receipt (make sure the date is visible) to [email protected]

Tell us what kind of e-reader device you use (it wouldn’t hurt to tell them Old Hippie sent you, either!)

We’ll send you an e-book copy (sorry, no PDFs available) of Laurel Dewey’s beloved nonfiction book, Plant Power, which you can read more about here.

If you need any more encouragement, here are some quotes from recent reviews:

“Quite pleasing and unique…interestingly done.” – Viviane Crystal, Crystal Book Reviews

“Does not disappoint…characters maintain their charisma and charm and draw you in…interesting and unique.” – Leslie Wright, BlogCritics.org

“Compelling, emotional, at times humorous, controversial, heart wrenching, inspirational…Highly recommend!” – Cheryl Mash, Goodreads.com

“A successful and compelling novel” — David Fiedler