Word(s) count
Or, Steve enjoys a literary weekend
Last Saturday I had the privilege of hanging out at The Tattered Cover bookstore in Denver along with about a dozen other authors from along the I-25 corridor in Colorado. The Writing Heights Writers Association has turned out to be a great way to get to know local authors and they really went all out to give us the time and space to present our books to an audience that might not otherwise see them.
It was especially fun to see those authors I already knew again, like Z.S. Diamante, and Lauren Lipp, as well as meeting debut author Mikal Williams, who was at her very first book event ever. Couldn’t ask for a better group to hang out with!
I couldn’t bring everything I’ve ever written because I’d need two more tables but I’d stocked up on the basics - Mercury On Guard, Airfoil: Origins, The Echo Watch, A Bad Guy, Man Behind the Wheel, the Alonzo Vine short novella series (Remains, Mirages, Shivers), and of course, the Eon City Burnout cyberpunk anthology.
I sold a few books and had nice conversations with many people, including one young woman who, when she found out I used to be a librarian, said slyly “Okay, Dewey Decimal.” I laughed. Not because I’d heard that one before, but because nobody had ever called me by that really obvious nickname. Kudos to her for being original!
There was some downtime, which turned out to be important for two reasons":
I spent some time drafting an outline for a book project.
I hand wrote a few pages in my larger notebook on a short story.
Which, honestly, is what I spend a lot of time doing anyway. Right now, I’m writing about 6 full-length pages a day on a top secret sci-fi project, plus waiting for proof copies of a space opera short story as well as a the sequel to A Bad Guy.
And I celebrated the re-do of my author website. I switched over to Bookbub Author Websites and found it a simple, streamlined way of arranging things. My favorite part: a feature that lets you organize a “collection” of books, so that I could put the Interstice Saga of interrelated novels and short stories in one place:
Yes, my brain’s in overdrive. Yes, I may be slightly piling a bit too many things on my plate at once.
But this seems to be the best way I know to get things done, creatively speaking! And it’s so much fun I’m just gonna keep on trucking along.
Talking cats and flying cars … or vice versa
We’re in the second week of the Kickstarter for The Null Razor Heist and I’ve got a new stretch goal - a short story starring Montaigne, the genetically-altered talking cat who rides with Nevyn Nakada. If the Kickstarter reaches a certain level, everyone who’s pledged receives the short story as a digital reward:
In the midst of planning the Null Razor Heist, Montaigne is tasked with a simple mission: To make contact with ECN reporter Rose Ruan and retrieve a piece of data Nevyn Nakada needs for secret purposes. All it will take is a trip across Eon City on his own, from its heights to its depths, without getting eaten.
Can’t a feline just stay at home and nap?
Share the word far and wide to see if we can gather up more supporters and unlock the short story for everyone to read. Thanks!