Hello everyone. Today, and today only, there's a contest featuring four of my writing peers and their books. Peep the description/details below as well as the covers for the respective books and make sure you pick up one (or two or three or all four) and support a writer.
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Morning/afternoon/evening/night everyone (depending on when you're reading this). As the title of this blog post suggests I am one tired brotha, more so mentally but that's trickling down and making me physically exhausted as well. I've been doing SO MUCH lately in regards to H.U.B. and trying to get it going and I just need to take a nice LOOONNNNGGG deep rest.
H.U.B. Volume 1 and 2 paperback is now on Ebay. You can get your copy by clicking HERE. Set myself up with an Amazon Advantage account and I just got back from sending the first copy of H.U.B. Volume 1 & 2 to their warehouse in Pennsylvania. Also just completed sending the ASN (advanced shipment notice for those that don't know) so they know that it's on the way. I have sent about a bajillion emails the last few days to independent bookstores scattered across the country in the hopes that one of them will take a chance and let me put my book in their stores. So far only a couple have responded but it's only been a day so I'm going to work on being patent. I will keep you posted on what happens with that. Wish me luck. Booked my room at the Sheraton for Soonercon 20 in Oklahoma City, OK for June 3rd thru 5th. If you're in the area stop by and say hi at the HUB table! I visited the bookstore by my house that my book is in and he hadn't sold any copies over the last week. Sales of the Kindle and Nook have hit a decline as well but I KNOW that those things are temporary. There is a contest going on for a signed copy of H.U.B. Volume 1 and 2 via Goodreads.com. There are two copies that I'm giving away so, if you want to enter, and you know that you do, visit the Contests portion of my page and click the link! Let's see, what else is going on?!?! Work continues on Head Above Water (writing at home then typing up the results at work during lunch). Also, waiting to get feedback on H.U.B. Volume 3: The Tipping Point from my good friend Benjamin Rogers. I think that's it for the time being. More later.... On a side note, what the f**k is going on with my Red Sox?!?! 0-4. Really? I know it's a long season but DAMN! I went to see Sucker Punch over the weekend (actually seen it twice, once with a couple of co-workers and again with my mom - great movie by the way) and I got to thinking about the movie and how it deals with disassociation and what that means to me in my writing. So, I decided to compose this blog posting on why I write. Let me know if you relate:
I write as an escape mechanism, a way to get away from all the troubles and stresses (both real and in my mind) that bring me down. Buried in words I'm not burdened by bills or thoughts of war or global warming. Writing is my happy place. I write because it's like magic to me. I'm instantly brought to mind of a set of lyrics from 'Till I Collapse by Eminem and they are: Music is like magic there’s a certain feeling you get when your real and you spit and people are feeling your shit. This is your moment and every single minute you spend trying to hold onto it cause you may never get it again. The way Eminem feels about music is the same exact way I feel about writing. Every writer is a magician, transforming an empty page/notebook into a one-of-a-kind work of art; what's better than that? When I sit down with a pen and notebook in front of me, my ipod on and beats in my ear, there's no other place I would rather be. I write because I can "course correct" the world that I live in. Through writing I can bring my grandmother back and she's able to live again, even if only on paper but, through that paper, she will live forever and not just through me but through anyone that happens to read it, even though they never met her. I'm able to take back something I regret in the past and make it the way I felt it should've gone. I write because it's one of the handful of things that I can say with 100% accuracy that I'm good at it. It's what I was born to do. I write because I speak better through pen and paper than through verbally talking. Maybe it's because I'm an only child but I can convey my feelings infinitely better on paper than by talking about it. I write because I want to connect with people. I want to connect with those who like my work and have that dialogue between them. You can never have enough friends. I write because it's allowed me to meet some great people. I have been fortunate to meet so many of my writing peers via Facebook and especially Twitter and I have learned many things from them and I hope that I have taught them some things as well. I write because it's the truth, even if what I write is all fiction. Every writer, in my opinion, has a grain of truth and a bit of themselves in everything they write. I write because I have a voice and I want to be heard. I write so that I can live forever through the words I write. As the days in the calendar turn so do the pages in my notebook.
H.U.B. Volume 3 has been completed and I have sent it off to my good friend Benjamin Rogers (check him and his work out at http://benjaminrogers.wordpress.com/ - he's a fellow author/writer that you need to check out) to criticque. So, I'm hoping that he enjoys it *crosses fingers* I feel very good about it; Volume 3 raises the ante some more from volumes 1 and 2, bringing back old friends and saying goodbye to others (but I'll never tell who - you'll have to wait until 9.10.11 to figure that out). Keep checking www.whatishub.net to get the latest and greatest info on the HUB series. Going back to my good friend Benjamin Rogers for a moment, I was fortunate enough that he let me preview his upcoming novel entitled Azrael and I must say that it is definitely going to be something that you want to read. I was hooked from the second paragraph of the prologue and I know you will be too. So, be sure to check out his upcoming novel when it's released and also check out his book Faith & The Undead which is available now (you can find my review of it on the REVIEWS page of this site). Not only is he a great writer but he's also a great person. Also, my friend Elizabeth Lafond has a new book of poetry out entitled Poetry From Beyond The Mist. Check her and her work out at http://elizabethlafond.wordpress.com/ Her and Ben are really great people. Okay, back to me.... Signed a contract today to get H.U.B. Volume 1 and 2 (the e-book) translated into Portuguese to help try and get the HUB brand out to the world. Hoping that I can get the book also translated into other languages, specifically Spanish and French. There's a LOT of people out in the world and that's the potential for a lot of new fans/consumers. Confirmed to be at Soonercon in Oklahoma City, OK on June 3rd thru the 5th so, if you're in the area, stop by and check out the HUB table. I'm really looking forward to this convention and feel that it will be another great stepping stone to make 2011 much better than 2010. Get more info on the convention by visiting www.soonercon.com Now that H.U.B. Volume 3 is completed (for the time being) work commences again on Head Above Water, my romance novel. While working on it the other day I realized that it's probably going to take a little bit longer to edit it than I thought but, regardless, it'll be ready when it's ready - can't rush greatness. I'm looking forward to getting this book out to see the reaction. It's not everyday that an author that makes his debut on the writing world with tales of vampires and killing makes his next work to be that of romance - go figure. I am truly a complicated but simple man. I never want to be locked into a Horror (or any) genre; I am a writer, period. There's a lot of good stuff cooking (can you smell it?) and I'll be posting more about it as it comes down the pipe. Stay tuned. Hello all and welcome!
A lot has been going on with me over the 96 hours so I'll get right to it.... Today I knocked one of my things to do off of my "21 Month Writing Plan" and that was the acquisition of my ISBN number for the paperback version of H.U.B. 1 & 2. It felt really good to get that and knock that off my list. Big shout out to Melissa (@mizzezmellymel on Twitter)! She is an up and coming author you need to look out for! I felt honored that she asked me for advice on publishing; it always makes me feel good to share my experiences with others. Follow her on Twitter - she's awesome: www.twitter.com/mizzezmellymel ! H.U.B. Volume 3: The Tipping Point is coming along nicely. Work continues on this latest round of editing and I'm hoping that, since I'm on my annual March Madness vacation from work, I will be able to get more work done it. We'll see how that goes. Once the editing is FINALLY done I will then pass it off to be critiqued and go from there. Last Saturday (3.12.11) I was able to attend, with my lovely wife, the Underground Horror Fest 2 in Tulsa, Oklahoma (pics of which are posted on the "pics" page (where else would they be?)) and there were things that I liked and didn't like about it. I felt that the promoter overstated the amount of people they were expecting to receive. I was told 1000 people so I was look "cool!" but it turned out being closer to 100 (probably closer to 60). But, out of that small number of people I did manage to sell 6 books and, probably more important than that, I gave out a LOT of business cards and bookmarks with my site and book information on it. I met a ton of nice people and got the chance to speak with a representative from Soonercon (which takes place June 3rd - 5th in Oklahoma City, OK - www.soonercon.com ) and he gave me his card and everything and, after emailing him and checking out the soonercon site, it looks like I will be attending that as well. All in all, it was a positive experience (it was my first festival/convention/book signing) so it served as a good jumping off point to get my feet wet. In hindsight the venue was probably not the best for HUB (probably needed something more geared towards writers) but it served it's purpose. I sold enough books to cover the cost of the table I had so it's all good. As for whether or not I attend the Underground Horror Fest 3 next year, that I'm not so sure about. This has nothing to do with the festival in general as the host, Art Sunday, is a real cool and nice guy, I just don't know if it's for me. Moving on, working with a translator to get the ebook version of HUB Volume 1 & 2 translated into different languages which will be a HUGE stepping point to get the HUB brand globally recognized. Gonna try and get it out there in as many languages as possible (Spanish, Portugese, French, Klingon, whatever) to get the book in front of as many eyes as possible. In closing, reminder to visit www.whatishub.net to pick up your paperback copy of H.U.B. Volume 1 & 2 for the low price of $10.00 + tax (free shipping + it's autographed). Also, visit the new site for Benjamin Jones at www.benjaminjoneswrites.weebly.com . More later.... |