Marvelous Publishing  /  Out November 30, 2026

A new book by Chris Marvel Davis

THE PINKLEMON

Why Losing Isn’t Always What It Looks Like

We use one word for getting beaten, losing by an inch, having something taken from you, chasing the wrong prize and walking away on purpose. This book pulls those apart, so you stop treating every loss with the same advice.

Read Chapter One free → Pre-order the book

November 30, 2026 · Paperback and ebook

Cover of The Pink Lemon by Chris Marvel Davis: a lemon split down the middle, yellow outside on the left, pink flesh on the right.
FREE CHAPTER ONE
The idea behind the title

Pink lemons are real.

There is a variety of Eureka lemon that grows with green-and-cream stripes on the outside and pale pink flesh on the inside. As it ripens, the green fades and the rind starts to look like the yellow lemon most of us expect. Hand somebody one without explaining, and they would say, “That’s a lemon.” They would be right. They just wouldn’t know everything about what they were holding.

Chris Marvel Davis spent years doing the same thing with losing. Something happened, he named it a loss, and the explanation showed up right behind it: work harder, want it more, prove them wrong. Sometimes that advice was exactly right. A lot of the time it was answering a different problem than the one in front of him.

The Pink Lemon is about what happens before the lemonade. You look at what you actually have, you cut it open, and you check whether the inside matches the story you already told yourself about the outside.

OUTSIDEGreen-and-cream stripes that fade toward yellow as it ripens
INSIDEPale pink flesh. Same lemon, different story once you cut it open
“The event happens first. Then we start deciding what the event says about us. Those two things can get so close together that they feel like one thought.”
FROM “BEFORE WE START”
The framework

What kind of L was it?

The book sorts losses into five broad kinds, which Chris calls The Five. He is clear that it isn’t science. It’s a way to slow down long enough to ask what actually happened before reaching for the advice you already believe. Tap a segment.

Free sample · PDF

Read the first chapter on us.

The baseball chapter, start to finish: a kid from Cleveland who made his high school team and then lost the season, and the question that started this book.

  • Chapter One: What I Thought Losing Meant
  • A 9-page PDF, about a ten-minute read
  • A launch-day email on November 30 with the links to buy

Your chapter downloads right away. We’ll email you on launch day with the links to buy, plus the occasional update. Unsubscribe anytime.

Get the book

Out November 30, 2026.

Paperback and ebook. Order from Amazon, or ask your local bookstore or library to order it through Ingram.

Also from The Pink Lemon
Cover of Same Sour Attitude, a Pink Lemon story by Chris Marvel Davis: the title hand-lettered in red marker on yellow poster board, with a pink lemon slice for the O in Sour.

A Pink Lemon Story

Same Sour Attitude

A Story from Bellwether Market

One summer at a neighborhood grocery store, a manager’s job opens at a bigger location across town, and a small box of striped pink lemons shows up at the delivery door almost the same week. Neither turns out to mean what everyone first assumes.

Aaron wants the promotion and has a plan for everything. Lena keeps the store running and gets asked to do more than her title says. Cal guards the produce, Dre makes the signs nobody asked for, and Mari has handled every complaint at the service desk for twelve years. Over one summer they find out what will sell, who ought to lead, and whether what they’ve always called winning and losing tells them as much as they thought.

A short work of fiction in twelve chapters, written as a companion to The Pink Lemon. Release date coming soon.

Listen
The Pink Lemon Podcast cover art: the words Pink Lemon with a lemon slice for the O, on a yellow and pink background.

The Pink Lemon Podcast

Chris sits down with athletes, coaches, researchers, business owners and friends to talk about the losses that shaped them. Every guest gets the same question at some point: what kind of L was it?

First episodes arrive this November, before the book comes out.

Have a story about a loss that turned out to be something else? Reach out through ChrisMarvelSpeaks.com and tell us about it.

For schools, teams and companies

Put the book in every hand in the room.

Bulk copies work for book clubs, classrooms, athletic programs, staff development and leadership teams. Orders can be paired with a keynote or workshop from Chris, so the group hears the ideas and keeps the book.

25+ copies

Classrooms and book clubs

A shared read for a class, a team or a reading group, with The Five as the discussion framework.

Teams and staff

Athletic programs and workplaces

For coaches, athletic directors and managers who want a common language for wins, losses and what comes next.

Book + keynote

Bring Chris in

A keynote or workshop for your students, players or staff, with a copy of the book for every attendee.

Ask about bulk orders
Inside the book

    Sixteen chapters, a framework in the middle (“What Kind of L Was It?”), and working source notes at the back for every study, game and story the book leans on.

    Questions
    When does The Pink Lemon come out?

    November 30, 2026, in paperback and ebook.

    Where can I buy it?

    On Amazon in paperback and Kindle. Bookstores and libraries can order the paperback through Ingram. Links go live on this page as soon as pre-orders open.

    Can I read some of it first?

    Yes. Chapter One is free as a 9-page PDF. Get it here.

    Who is this book for?

    Anyone who has taken a loss and been handed advice that didn’t fit it: athletes and coaches, parents, educators, business owners and leaders. It uses sports, business and family life to sort out what kind of loss you’re actually dealing with.

    What is Same Sour Attitude?

    A short work of fiction set at a neighborhood grocery store, written as a companion to The Pink Lemon. It follows one summer, one promotion and a lot of opinions. Its release date is coming soon.

    Can I order copies for a group?

    Yes. Bulk orders for schools, teams and companies can be paired with a keynote from Chris. See the options.

    Is Chris available for interviews and podcasts?

    Yes. Download the media kit below for the book summary, bio, headshot and suggested questions, then reach out through ChrisMarvelSpeaks.com.

    Press and partners

    Media kit

    A two-page sheet with the book summary, The Five, Chris’s bio and headshot, the story edition and podcast, and eight interview questions.

    Spread the word

    Share the book

    Know somebody who just took an L? Send them the free chapter.

    About the author
    Chris Marvel Davis in a white shirt, seated, hands folded, black and white portrait.

    Chris Marvel Davis

    Chris Marvel Davis is a speaker, trainer and the author of The What If Effect. He holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in psychology and has spent more than ten years in front of rooms full of students, athletes, educators and leaders, talking about performance, pressure and what people do after things go wrong.

    He grew up in Cleveland on Indians baseball and library weekends with his dad, and now lives in the Atlanta area with his wife, Jazmine, and their three sons. The Pink Lemon came out of a stretch where he had to look harder at his own losses in sports, business and family life, and stop answering every one of them the same way.

    Author, The What If EffectM.S. Psychology10+ years trainingAtlanta · Cleveland roots

    Speaking

    Bring The Pink Lemon to your stage.

    Chris speaks on the ideas in this book for student assemblies, athletic programs, leadership days and conferences. He travels nationally. Booking details and availability live on his speaking site.

    Student assembliesAthleticsLeadership daysGraduationsConferences
    Check availability Get the free chapter
    Pre-orderFree chapter