Appearances

Anyone who's in Denver over Memorial Day weekend, come by Rocky Mountain Fur Con and attend one of my two panels. The first, Saturday at 2, is "From Writer to Author: Getting Published." The second, on Sunday tentatively at 2 (I had to rearrange the schedule I got from them only a week ago) is "Building Furry Worlds," about creating an engaging setting for your anthropomorphic characters. I'll also be around the Sofawolf Press table, so swing by and say hi!

Just What I Needed

We had our local convention this past weekend, and with all the busy-ness and stress that my day job has been affording me this past week or two, it was nice to get a break. Friday I was not in a great mindset, but by the end of the day, I succumbed to the environment of creativity and fun that reminded me that there is more to life. We sold a good number of "Common and Precious" at the con and I signed a few of them--thanks to everyone who bought! A couple people were nice enough to ask what I'm working on next, which is a great compliment. One of my goals for this year is to get a short story or two out there, whether to Amazon Shorts or to another publication. In any case, it was just the perfect time for me to be steeped in another world and remember the importance of these parts of my life.

There are a lot of challenges ahead of us this year ("us" here includes me, my partner, my writing group, and all of you). I think I have a few posts to come about marketing yourself, persistence, and networking, which all go hand in hand and are sometimes thought of derogatorily as "the business of writing." For now, though, I just want to make the observation I have before, which is that although writing happens as a solitary activity, it doesn't require a solitary life.

On Location In Chicago

We're leaving tomorrow night for our annual convention in Chicago, and not only will I be in the dealer's room signing books, I'll also be on a couple panels. Sunday at noon, I'll be participating in "Keeping Your Motivation And Inspiration" with several other writers, including GOH Will Sanborn and fellow Bay Area scribe Kevin Frane. At one, in the same room, I'll be joined by Kevin for a Sofawolf preview reading. He'll be reading from his excellent upcoming novel, "Thousand Leaves." I don't have an upcoming novel, so I'll be reading from Kyell Gold's new book, "Waterways."

I intend to keep blogging from Chicago, even if the entries are short. There'll be plenty to write about while we're there. Weather's supposed to be chilly but nice, and I'm looking forward to seeing my family and the usual cast of convention characters.

In other news, I started the process today to get a bunch more of Sofawolf's books up on Amazon, including New Fables and "Common and Precious." A lot of people had asked when C&P would be available there, and the answer now is "in a week or two." When the listing does come up, I will make another announcement here, and if you read and liked the book, please go to Amazon and leave a review. The more feedback, the better. Maybe once it's up, I'll get a short or two from that world up on Amazon shorts. I owe them a story--although Jeff has been talking about doing another New Tibet anthology, and of course I want to write the "Graveyard Shift" novel (a sort of prequel to "Common and Precious"). But those projects are a year or more out--and believe me, that's as frustrating for me as it is for you.