The Monday after the Bash…

The whole weekend adventure to Ashtabula was a lot of fun. From lunch with two author buddies to jumping in the car and heading up, picking a spot in the crowded room (I love crowded rooms because it means lots of authors and lots of readers), to getting to know some really awesome writers, and then driving home afterward… The Indie Author Bash was a fantastic time.

This was also the second time now I’ve had a tie for bestselling book, which means… time to set my sights on a three-way tie.

This weekend, I’ll be at the Bad Bitch Bazaar in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh. C’mon out and do your part! Three-way tie!

writing

I’m still doing bits and pieces here and there. Part of it is because the long day Friday and then going out on Saturday with a different group of friends wiped me out.

Safe House is still on sale! Nine days left, and thanks to everyone who’s picked up a copy. I can’t wait to hear what you think. Do you agree with the review that “this is a book for our times” or not?

editing

We’re now up to eight manuscripts I’m waiting on, and I’ve already had my first projected arrival date of the time when I’ll be moving my youngest.
If you’d like to stay abreast of my openings and anticipated bottlenecks, be sure to get on my editing newsletter. That’s about all I use it for. You’ll want the “West of Mars” newsletter, not the author one… for this purpose, anyway. I think I write great author newsletters. I give a lot of stuff away!

Something Cheeky, by Thien-Kim Lam
(affiliate link)

I’m glad to have a quiet week of editing work ahead of me. I’ll tell ya that; Monday after the Bash… I’m too young to be this tired!

Like what you see? Go and fill my ko-fi and help me cover operational expenses here at West of Mars. Be sure to pick up your copies of the Beta Readers Guides and the Writer’s Guide to Libraries!

What? More about Populated??? AGAIN????

Well, first of all, this might be my favorite book of the three published so far. MIGHT BE. I’m not going to swear one way or the other. Maybe the Bird Will Rise and Safe House hold huge chunks of my heart, as well. Don’t miss either one.

Secondly, read on and you’ll see why it’s our feature picture of the day.

You see, when I decided to return to publishing, my thought wasn’t far off from what it had been when I started with the Trevolution books: I’d put them out and not think too much about it.

Except in the decade since I put the Trevolution books out, publishing got expensive, yo. And at the same time, it also got a hell of a lot more fun, although maybe that’s just because I’m in a better mental place.

It’s also allowed me to meet a lot of neat people, and to develop friendships. It’s been a gift (again, my life is a lot like Delia Ford’s, so grab Populated and you can see what I mean. Reach out directly if you want an autographed print copy.)

When I got an email from my friend Mary Walsh that she was going to be in town, turning the Other Shadyside Arts Festival into a book show with fine art, I told her I’d go hang with her for a few hours. Somehow, that turned into “Hey, meet me at seven and we’ll set up” and then that turned into “Hey, clear off a corner of the table and throw your books on it.”

Let me tell you, it was a ton of fun to learn about Mary’s books and handsell them to people we (usually me; I can extrovert pretty well, but it does take a toll) enticed to come under Mary’s tent. It was fun to people watch in a neighborhood I used to hang out in and drop a ton of money in, almost always on clothing. (Sigh. I miss those days, I say as I look down at my sweatshirt and joggers. Or maybe not; I’m comfy.)

Now, one thing among the authors on the book show circuit that I’ve noticed is that we tend to talk about the success of the day based on whether or not we earn out our table fees. And for this show, the fees were STEEP.

It took work. Not gonna lie.

But we did it! We earned back Mary’s table fee! And let me tell you, I’m a fan of her books, not just her, now. She’s got a unique vision and puts in the hard work to bring her fictional visions to life. I know a bunch of my friends would love her books.

So… what’s this got to do with Populated?

Well, see up above, where I say that on Sunday, Mary encouraged me to set up the three Sheep Farm books? Populated was the day’s hit and top seller. I shouldn’t have been surprised. People really respond to, “When someone breaks into the Woolslayer Gallery and steals ALL and ONLY the art by street photographer Delia Ford…” A lot of times, that’s all it takes.

I’m thrilled. I’m over the moon, really. As you know, I’m so proud of this project and these books. I believe in the message I’m putting out into the world with them — People are treasures too.

So grab some books.

And if you’re in the Pittsburgh area, keep an eye out for me. I’m hoping to pop up in odd places with an impromptu book show, with authors and books and books and books. You’re going to want to keep an eye out for me.