Babble babble babble

Wow, it’s been a while since I last updated this thing. I’m such a bad blogger -_-;

Keeping busy here, as usual ^_^ With less than a month to go before my first book signing (November 10, 1 p.m, at the Huron Village Barnes and Noble in Ann Arbor), I’m still trying to drum up some publicity for it with the local papers. It’s been a slow, difficult process, but there’s some hope that at least one of the major local publications, the Metro Times, will do something on Solstice. I also contacted my old school, the University at Buffalo, and it looks like they’ll mention the book in their quarterly newsletter to UB alumni.

Sales appear to be moving along, which is surprising considering none of the reviews have hit yet. My distributor is already running low on the quantities I sent them originally, and I’m already in the process of having to send a new batch. Wow. While it would be nice to be able to sell more copies directly, I’m excited nonetheless. I’m just hoping people are enjoying the book as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Speaking of writing, I’m now at page 498 of my new novel, and still no end in sight. This novel’s easily going to be about 700 pages by the time everything is done. I’m sure a lot will get cut out, but then again, I’m sure other things will have to be added in as well ^^;; Eep… But it’s a lot of fun to write. And *gasp* I’ve written my first…*gulp* sex scene ^^;;; My girlfriend thought it’d be a good idea, probably cos she’s a pervert *wink wink*

Came up with a new life goal, too. See, one of the ways I keep myself moving forward is by setting new long-term goals for myself. Last year, it was buying my first house. This year, it was publishing Solstice. I hadn’t expected it, but I also achieved the goal of joining a band and playing a gig. A couple of weeks ago, realizing I’d sort of out-goaled myself for a while, I came up with a new one: record an album. Thanks to the awesome Fender strat my good friend Brian loaned me months ago, I’ve now written about eight new punk/pop songs that I’m going to record soon. In fact, Brian’s going to loan me some kind of recording device so that I can do so. For now, I just want to record a demo, and I’ll probably be playing all the instruments myself (guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards. My girlfriend will probably do the vocals, since I can’t sing to save my life). But, I decided that, down the line, once I’ve finalized and worked out all the new songs, I want to record an actual album and distribute it on a small scale. I even have a working band name now ^^;; So that’s a new goal that should keep me busy for a while ^__^;; Because, clearly, I don’t have enough things to do in my life.

Actually, I guess I’m just silly. Goals, I have plenty. I’ve already have two more novels planned after the one I’m currently writing. At the rate I’m going, I’ll probably start the new one in January. I think I just have to keep myself busy. I’m the kind of person that, the more I do, the happier I am. When I don’t produce, I tend to fall into depression. I guess this is one way to stave off depression, huh? Keep myself insanely busy with multiple projects at once ^^;;;

Anywayz, Solstice is now available at bookstores, Amazon.com, barnesandnoble,com, and generally anywhere else where books are sold.

Too many projects! ACK!!

So anywayz, just a few updates.

It’s official! I’ll be exhibiting at this year’s 20th Annual Independent and Small Press Book Fair in New York City on the weekend of December 1-2. I’m really excited about it, not only because it’s a chance to go see my family during a non-holiday period, but because of the exposure Solstice will hopefully get. And, well, it’s my first time at such a thing, and my first pure “business trip.” Yes, I get excited at the littlest things. I’m a nerd. I admit it ^__^

Oh, and I have my second book signing scheduled! This one’s at the Barnes and Noble in Troy, MI, across from the Oakland Mall. It’s for November 17, 2007, from 2-4 p.m. Really excited about that one, since it’s the B&N my girlfriend and I tend to spend most of our time at.

Well, on other literary fronts, my new novel is coming along. Rapidly @_@; I’m nearly at page 400, which is insane considering how much longer it took me to write Solstice (I started writing my new novel at around March). The funny thing is, I see this as being a very long novel, because I still have a lot of scenes and plot points to get to, and our beloved heroine, Liliana, just keeps yammering away! Oh well, it’s a first draft, so I’m sure a lot will be changed, added, subtracted, and forgotten. I guess I’m just having a blast writing that novel. It’s so refreshing to write something happy for a change ^__^

Of course, just last night, I was talking with my girlfriend about the other two projects I want to get to right after I finish writing this first draft of my new novel. One of them is entitled The Mourning Syndrome, and you can actually find a quick draft (very quick draft -_-) of the first couple of pages here. That one promises to be apocalyptic (again), but with more of a horror twist. It’ll be my homage to Japanese horror films, which I absolutely love (Kairo, Dragonhead, Suicide Club, and the Tomie movies being among some of my favorites). So I’m kind of excited to start writing that one.

But, the more I’ve talked about it with my girlfriend, the more poised I am to write…*drum roll* a sequel to Solstice. For those of you who’ve read it, I’m sure you’re thinking, “Um, how are you going to write a sequel to that?!” But, believe it or not, a story is in the works, and, if it’s at all possible, it’ll be even darker than Solstice! ^^;; Eep…

So yeah, I’m entering that phase that a lot of working writers probably enter, the phase that laments that we can’t just quit our day jobs and write non-stop. I wish I could just disappear into my favorite coffeehouse every day (I do like 60% of my writing in coffeehouses) and just plug away at my novels, maybe even working on two of them at the same time. But alas, that isn’t going to happen anytime soon, if at all. So staying up until 2 a.m. will have to continue to be the norm ^^;;

Anyway, as always, I just want to remind you that Solstice is now available at Tragical Mirth Publishing! Thanks for reading!

Wow...

Just had to share a couple of tidbits.

One is that I’m registering to take part in this year’s 20th Annual Independent and Small Press Book Fair on December 1–2. After getting some very good advice from another author, Marcus Sakey, I decided to start looking into doing some book fairs as a way of creating some exposure for Solstice. Wouldn’t you know it, there’s the perfect one taking place in, of all places, my home town, New York City. So it’s a chance to not only take part in my first book fair, but also to spend a little time with the family.

But the other item of news has me a bit…excited. I realized just today that I got a comment down on one of my earlier entries (the one entitled The Power of Writing) from a user named jimm. It turns out jimm is reading the review copy of Solstice I sent to SciFiNow magazine. And, as it turns out, jimm is not only enjoying the book, but says it will definitely be reviewed in the next issue of SciFiNow. …………..wow ^_______^;; I’m kind of speechless. Except to say that I can’t wait to read his review, and to personally thank jimm for his kind words. So if you’re reading this, jimm, thank you! I’ll make sure to track down your contact info and send you a more formal thank you!

FYI, Solstice is now on sale at Tragical Mirth Publishing! Order your autographed copy today ^^;

At long last ^__^

Well, it's official now! Solstice is now available for purchase through Tragical Mirth Publishing! Yay! Gotta make this short since I'm about ready to keel over from exhaustion. But it looks like everything is up and running as it should.

I think I'm too tired to be really excited, but I am kind of relieved that the launch has gone according to the schedule I set.

So I hope you'll stop by, and I hope you'll pick up a copy! You won't be disappointed! Oh, and special thanks to my bro for designing the animated banner, and to my friend and co-worker Mike D. for coming up with those last-minute "order now" buttons.

Less than a week to go

Things are looking up with Solstice. I have two book signings scheduled for November. One is at the Ann Arbor Barnes and Noble on Washtenaw, November 10, at 1. And the other is at the Troy Barnes and Noble across from the Oakland Mall, but we're still waiting on an official date for that.

What was cool was that the person at the Troy bookstore who took my packet told me over the phone that she'd read the book and “loved it.” Wow. ^^; See, it's so amazing to hear that from a total stranger. It's one thing to hear friends and family say they love your book. I think they're contractually obligated to say stuff like that. But when a stranger says it, it certainly gives you hope that you're on to something.

Anyway, gotta run and get things ready, including setting up my invoicing system, my fulfillment system, a sales tracking spreadsheet, and my personal page. Oh, and band practice is in two hours ^^;; Eep...

Book and Bass Banter ^_^

Things just seem to be getting busier and busier these days. That’s hardly a surprise, I guess. With just a little over a month before Solstice’s release, it’s only going to get busier ^_^

Still working to promote Solstice on the Internet. It’s kind of cool, though, that when I do a Google search for it, more and more results are hitting. I guess, slowly but surely, I’m getting the word out. I’m also hitting a lot of forums, started a new blog at a science fiction site, and generally making myself more visible out there. It’s not easy willingly doing so, given my relatively introverted nature, but I guess it’s gotta be done ^_^

Some reviews might start hitting soon too. Quiet Earth now has Solstice in their “upcoming reviews” list, and one person in their forum has already given some props to the three sample chapters. It’s weird when you see someone other than a friend or family member say good things about your writing. Hopefully there will be more ^_^;

Also went into a Barnes and Noble this weekend to start inquiring about a book signing. Since authors are encouraged to do local book signings, and since you might want to have one scheduled before contacting the local press about your work, I figured it was time to do so. The manager hasn’t gotten back to me yet, but the man who handled my request did look at my flier and enthusiastically said that my book seemed very interesting. So who knows, maybe the cover will do the job of attracting readers, huh? ^_^;

My new novel is coming along as well. I’m at the 170-page mark already, which is far quicker than the pace I had with Solstice. Unfortunately, I’m realizing that novel is becoming a bit more autobiographical than it should be. Which might not be too bad in and of itself, except that the novel is a first-person narration, and the speaker is a woman ^^;; My girlfriend jokes that either 1) I want to be a woman, or 2) Liliana is me in drag. *shudders* Not a pleasant thought ^^;; Anyway, the story is very close to my experiences as a writer of color, so I guess a little bit of autobiographical overlap is unavoidable.

This last weekend was pretty cool for another reason. I mentioned before that I’m now in a new band, Big B and the Magic Bullets, with my good friend Brian. Well, we played this Saturday at the Detroit Blues Challenge. And we didn’t win, but we played very well, I think. In fact, people were dancing, and cheering very heartily between songs. And Brian tells me that the feedback from the people who spoke to him was generally, “You guys should have won.” And, well, considering we’ve only been playing together for about two and a half weeks, our performance was pretty amazing.

What makes me very happy about this whole thing is that I’m now officially part of the band, and I’m with a group of musicians that are both talented and good people. It’s nice to play with a group of guys that don’t say stupid, racially insensitive things at every turn, things that, for the sake of retaining band harmony, you don’t say anything about. That’s what wore me down so much about my old band. Between the constant homophobic banter, and the racially condescending remarks made by one member, and the alcohol/ego issues with the guitarist, I felt that I was biting my tongue all the time. I found myself putting up with crap, just so that I could play gigs. I was glad to leave the band when I did.

And yet, I knew I was going to miss playing gigs. I don’t know what it is, but when I play live, I feel, well…alive. When you’re playing music, and the crowd gets into it, it’s very much a natural high that makes you grateful to be able to do the things you do. And, having been so socially introverted for most of my life, I liked that I was able to partake in something like that, and experience a kind of nightlife I’d never known before but that I’d always wanted. I knew I was going to miss all that, and I did. I missed the feeling of driving to a gig, of sitting back and watching other bands play, of just hanging out and feeling that sense of excitement as show time drew closer. I’m excited that I’ll get to play gigs again, and this time with friends.

I guess I’m just grateful. When I found myself having to leave my other band, I’d felt as if something great was yanked from me. I’d felt that I had been robbed of something I’d worked hard at because of other people’s idiocy. And I’d felt betrayed, first by a drunken guitarist who was happy to boot me despite my standing up for him before, and by a drummer who, despite frequently whining about the guitarist’s alcohol and behavior problems, chose to cast his lot with him rather than with me. But now, with the right people, with people who appreciate music for what it is (a passion, not a ticket to commercial success) and who genuinely enjoy just playing it (instead of just drinking at shows), I feel like I’ve regained that which I lost before.

Now, if my girlfriend jumps in and works up the courage to sing with us, that’d just make the whole thing even sweeter ^_^

Wow, this time I really yammered! So sorry about that. I guess I better get back to work. I have too much to do (including answering some e-mails, especially yours Tsubashi-san! ^^). I promise not to babble on so much next time! ^^;;

Really, not much has happened

I'm a bad blogger, I know. But really, nothing much has happened in the past almost-month. Really. So what if *whispering* the books got in and I have a bunch of them in my basement as I await the long-awaited launch date for Solstice. So what if *muttering* I updated my web site and started promoting it across a bunch of forums and web sites and begging everyone I know to visit it and pass along the URL. So what if *muttering* I'm playing in my great friend Brian's band, Big B and the Magic Bullets, and we're playing at an upcoming Blues band competition ^^; So what if *muttering* I e-mailed none other than Lisa Alvarado, a great and prolific Latina writer, who has graciously offered to review Solstice? And really, who cares if *muttering* I started up an art page with deviantart, because I figured it was time I started promoting some of Solstice's characters among people who might actually appreciate their origins? ^_^ And, oh, who cares if *muttering* I'm almost at page 150 of my new novel? ^^;;

So really, as you can see, nothing much has happened.

Ugh...

In any event, the date is fast approaching when Solstice will become available, and things are moving along. While it's proving harder than I thought actually spreading the word of mouth, I'm still hopeful that, eventually, it will get out. I already have three people lined up to review the book, and I mailed out close to 30 review packets on the day after the books arrived. And the new trailers I posted on my web site and YouTube will, I hope, at some point start making the rounds. Just have to be persistent.

And within the next week or so, I'm going to start *gulp* contacting my local bookstores to *gulp* inquire about doing book signings. That should be a fun, if terrifying, experience. But it's a big thing. And who knows, maybe then, it'll actually finally hit me that I have a book out. Because, frankly, it still hasn't hit me. When I got the books (after waiting around all day for the carrier to show up...without a forklift! Thank goodness for my girlfriend and some great neighbors, who helped us take all 74 boxes into the house! ^^), I reacted as if I'd gotten a set of guitar strings or something in the mail. The next day at work, my friend Leda (who actually designed the book's cover, and her husband did the painting) asked if I was excited. When I responded in a strangely nonchalant manner, she said, "DUDE! You gotta show some excitement! Cmon!!" ^^; I guess I've been so tied up with the logistics of all this, I haven't found the time to get excited. Oh well. Some day soon, maybe.

For now, I'll keep at this promotion thing. Because it's true what they say about publishing a book; the real work begins AFTER you get the books printed and delivered! Now you have to actually tell people you HAVE them...and that's not as easy as it might seem ^^;;