Tag Archives: books

Book Signing Anxiety

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I’m doing my first book signing a week from today, and I’m starting to get really anxious about it. Getting really anxious is pretty much part of my MO, so it’s not a surprise. It’s still a pain in the ass.

The Poughkeepsie Barnes & Noble has a Local Authors Day twice a year, and this time I was lucky enough to get in. That’s great, wonderful, but I have no idea what to do. How long should my reading be? Do I make a poster with book pricing? I have extra copies of one of the anthologies I’m in. Do I give those away with a sale? Do I bring candy?

As far as pricing goes, I’m thinking 15$ for Song of Simon, 10$ for The Collected Works of Valerie Z. Lewis. Selling Val’s book is more important than selling mine, in my opinion.

So I’m going to brave ahead, and hope that I don’t fall on my face. If I do…there’s an IHOP nearby. I can drown my sorrows in maple syrup.

cosmic-cat tripping balls redux

Like my posts? Follow my website or “Like” my facebook fan page and/or follow me on Twitter. You can also purchase my debut novel, Song of Simon, at any online bookstore or a real one (they both exist). Song of Simon currently has a 4.7/5.0 rating on Amazon, so it’s pretty damn good. If you’re looking for something FREE, you can read my serial (soon to be an expanded series of novels) The Watchmage of Old New York. Though it ended in February, 2014, it remains one of the most popular serials on JukePop OF ALL TIME!

FREE BOOKS! Goodreads Giveaway

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Craig with book and dog head

Hey everyone, my Goodreads Giveaway is almost over. Hurry and enter, you can win a signed copy of my dark fantasy novel SONG OF SIMON (Damnation Books 2013). It’s a great read, and any fan of high or classic fantasy will love it. Trust me, would I lie about the quality of my own book?–I mean…enter anyway.

Seriously, it’s a good book.
You’d like it.
I mean it.
Yes, you.
You too.
Yep.
Ye.

songofsimon
doge in space card redux

“Watchmage” Novel Update

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I was planning for a May release of the novelized version of The Watchmage of Old New York. That isn’t going to happen. My editor is working very diligently on it, as is my cover artist. Neither will be ready for a while.

I’m ok with that. I’d rather put out something late, but of higher quality, than something rushed and faulty.

In the mean time, I’m working on the sequels, and some short stories for an anthology.

The short stories are affecting me. I have professional level stories going back fifteen years, and many have been published in magazines or journals. That’s great, but to me they are examples of how far I’ve come since those first trembling words. They take me back to a place I once was, but will never be again. Once I was full of hope. I thought that by now I’d have a major publishing deal and would be a true success. Instead, I let my madness overwhelm me. Writing has become less a dream and more a necessity. Writing keeps me alive, and it’s the closest I get to “happy.”

I am miserable by nature, and that is not going to change. I’ve found that I can’t even talk about my past anymore without triggering depression and/or anxiety. My anxiety is getting worse. I’m not a success. I’m a writer trying not to die.

Yeah, I know that I’m bitching and moaning. I also know that if you don’t have bipolar syndrome, any comment you make about “sucking it up” is ignorant and presumptuous. Live in these shoes. See how they fit. Take my meds and suffer the side effects. Suffer the twitches and ticks. Suffer the failing endocrine system. Enjoy living on a disability check, not because you don’t work, but because without Medicare, you are dead. I dare you.

Yet I still manage to work part-time. I still manage to scape out a living. People say that if you’re on disability, you’re lazy and sponge off the government and honest tax payers. Be thankful that you don’t have to.

By the way, I receive 800 dollars a month from disability, and 150 dollars from food stamps. Can you live on 950 a month? In one of the richest counties in the world (my rent for a studio apt is 1150? And be trapped here because you are so entrenched in the system? Try it. I dare you.

Or shut up. They both work.

This post took an ugly turn. Here’s a meme to make you happy.

cosmic-cat tripping balls postcard

Turning Over an Old Leaf

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First, a reminder: I’m having a Goodreads Giveaway for 2 signed copies of Song of Simon. You can enter here

Now then…
For the past month, my productivity has been way down. What happened is that I finished the first draft of the second Watchmage novel, and I’m in revision mode. That means that I’m not writing, and when I don’t write, I start to come apart. I’ve been watching too much Netflix and playing too many video games. Worse, my anxiety has been through the roof, which I attribute to the lack of writing.

ba8b3-dog-meme-no-idea

I started writing a short story the other day, and I suddenly suck. This is what happens when you don’t write on a schedule. It’s also what happens when you play video games and watch tv (even good tv) instead of read.

I’m trying to develop better coping methods for anxiety, and I think I need to read more. Getting lost in a book is the second best way for me to forget my troubles (writing is the best). Also, if I want to write better, I have to read more. If I fill my head with garbage, garbage comes out. Fill it with literary fruits and vegetables, and I produce something better, like a parfait or Edible Arrangement.

So I’m going to get back to my old school self and dive into books. It saved my sanity as a teen, maybe it’ll save it again.

Like my posts? Follow my website or “Like” my facebook fan page and/or follow me on Twitter. You can also purchase my debut novel, Song of Simon, at any online bookstore or a real one (they both exist). Song of Simon currently has a 4.7/5.0 rating on Amazon, so it’s pretty damn good. If you’re looking for something FREE, you can read my serial (soon to be an expanded series of novels) The Watchmage of Old New York. Though it ended in February 2014, it remains one of the most popular serials on JukePop OF ALL TIME!

FREE GIVEAWAY!!!

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You heard me right. I’m diving into the Goodreads swamp and offering TWO, yes two, neither one nor three (five is right out), signed paperback copies of SONG OF SIMON. Since this is a book that sells for $23.50, it’s a pretty good deal. Not to mention that it’s a helluva read.

Here’s the link for it. Enter now. Tell your friends. The more entrants I get, the better.

songofsimon

In addition, I’m holding a giveaway on this very website. Not only am I giving away two copies here, but the winners will also receive copies of the anthology Twisted Love, filled with stories of romance gone horribly wrong. My short story “If You Leave Me,” is in there.

If you are interested in this giveaway, just comment below, or on the official giveaway page.

twisted love

You can enter both the Goodreads and my personal one. I suggest both, as it doubles your chances.

Feel free to reblog this. Again, the more entrants, the more likely that I will do this again.

excited space cat

Like my posts? Follow my website or “Like” my facebook fan page and/or follow me on Twitter. You can also purchase my debut novel, Song of Simon, at any online bookstore or a real one (they both exist). Song of Simon currently has a 4.7/5.0 rating on Amazon, so it’s pretty damn good. If you’re looking for something FREE, you can read my serial (soon to be an expanded series of novels) The Watchmage of Old New York. Though it ended in February, it remains one of the most popular serials on JukePop OF ALL TIME!

The Ten (Fifteen) Book Challenge

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I’ve been tagged by a dozen people to list the 10 books that have stayed with me and had a great influence. I have to expand it to 15, and I’m still not done. I did a list on my Facebook fan page, but I think I’ll do a more detailed one here (because reasons). There are many books that I had to leave out, including the many comic books that have influenced me. Maybe I’ll do another post on those…

(In chronological order)
1. Chicken Soup With Rice–Maurice Sendak
Maurice Sendak was my favorite author as a small child, even more than Doctor Seuss. This is my favorite book from the nutshell collection (A Alligators All Around, Pierre, etc). I almost put The Monster at the End of This Book (which is not Sendak) instead.

In January it’s so nice…

2. The Pushcart War–Jean Merrill
A fantastic book about the little guy standing up against unstoppable forces. This gave me the idea, foolish that it may be, that equality is worth fighting for, even if it’s blowing tacks into a truck’s tires.

Fuck those trucks!

3. The Great Brain Series–John D. Fitzgerald
I love these books so very much. Not only did Fitzgerald create a vivid setting (his own childhood), he painted his family with a deft hand. Someone, he’s able to make a swindler like his brother Tom into a roguish hero. Every child should read these books.

4. The Call of the Wild–Jack London
I read this book in 7th grade. While I enjoyed White Fang more, The Call of the Wild really stuck with me. The setting was fantastic, and seeing the savage world from a domestic (though physically superior) dog’s point of view entranced me. Buck, Sol-leks, Francois and Perrault, they were all incredible characters that I still hold in my heart.

5. The Crystal Shard–R.A.Salvatore
I read this at age 14, just as I was getting back into D&D. It has everything you would want in pulp fantasy: Evil wizards, A demon, a powerful artifact, noble warriors, and the renegade dark elf that would soon have over 30 books about him, Drizzt Do’Urden. Although Wulfgar was the main protagonist in TCS, Drizzt stole the show. After all these years, I’m still a mark for Drizzt and Salvatore’s work.

My dog ate the cover

6. The D&D Players Handbook–Various Authors
My love for D&D is well documented in this blog (and in various interviews). The Players Handbook (2nd edition) was the door. I could also include The Fighter’s Handbook, The DM Guide, and Creative Campaigning (my first exposure to world building and story structure).

7. Catcher in the Rye–JD Salinger
It’s become trendy to disparage Holden Caulfield as some whiny kid with entitlement problems. I say that if you read it this way, you’re completely missing the point. Holden is a deeply scarred boy: devastated by his brother’s death, ostracized by his family, sexually abused by his teachers (you have to pay attention, but it’s there). He’s a walking contradiction, a cynic, an idealist, a person willing to stand up for his beliefs and to bury them under the skin. That makes him as true to a real person as you can get.

8. Animal Farm–George Orwell
A shocking and apt political allegory. What this book did was open my eyes to a common theme in my writing: “all actions have unforeseen repercussions.” It’s the corruption of the pigs that destroys a noble endeavor. We all know that power corrupts, but how many pay attention to the people that suffer from such corruption?

9. Bastard out of Carolina–Dorothy Allison
A dramatic and tragic coming of age story with a vivid backdrop. The South is pretty foreign to me, and Allison paints a striking and disturbing picture. She fearlessly tackles physical and sexual abuse. Despite all of her flaws, she turns her mother into a character you empathize with, all the while reviling her choices.

10. Rule of the Bone–Russell Banks
Another coming of age novel that deals with abuse. Bone is a modern day Huck Finn (another book I should’ve included), running away from home, bouncing from crazy experiences to crazier ones.

sup to you, Bone…

11.The DemonWars Series–R.A.Salvatore
DemonWars (I hate the series title, but it stuck) is more complex than the Drizzt books. They certainly carry more emotional heft. Salvatore builds his own world, filled with rich history and religion. Several storylines echo modern ethical questions. I especially recommend the novel Mortalis, one of the most emotionally charged books in the genre that I’ve ever read.

12. The Harry Potter Series–JK Rowling
A classic example of The Hero’s Journey, good vs evil, and the redemptive power of love. What I love most about this series is that you can see Rowling improve as a writer with every book.

13. The Writer’s Journey–Christopher Vogler
A non-fiction book that spelled out the Hero’s Journey better than Campbell ever could. It offers a lot of practical advice for writers. If you haven’t heard of Vogler, it’s because he’s a Hollywood script consultant. He’s worked on some of the most popular movies in history, especially for Disney.

14. A Song of Ice and Fire–George RR Martin
Dark, complex (I seem to say that a lot on this list), and a complete perversion of the fantasy genre. ASOIAF is a masterpiece, and if it continues at this level, it will be the greatest fantasy series ever written. The HBO version, Game of Thrones, holds up well, but it lacks the complexity of the books. Yes, the books are even more complex than the tv show.

15. American Gods–Neil Gaiman
My all time favorite book. Read this book! Read it!!

I mean it, READ AMERICAN GODS!!

There is nothing about this book that isn’t excellent

And this list is still not complete! I’m not going to include any honorable mentions, because they’re just too many. This list could conceivably go on for another dozen entries. I’ve hardly scratched the surface.

Like my posts? Follow my website or “Like” my facebook fan page and/or follow me on Twitter. You can also purchase my debut novel, Song of Simon, at any online bookstore or a real one (they both exist). Song of Simon currently has a 4.8/5.0 rating on Amazon, so it’s pretty damn good. If you’re looking for something FREE, you can read my serial (soon to be an expanded series of novels) The Watchmage of Old New York. Though it ended in February, it remains one of the most popular serials on JukePop OF ALL TIME!

Hey Writer! Yes, You!

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Yeah, I’m talking to you. Listen up.

Your words matter. You have something to say, and you say it. You contribute a verse.

You work hard as hell. They don’t see it, because you’re locked away in a room, bleeding onto a keyboard. They don’t see you bleed. They think you do nothing. They think the words appear out of nowhere. They don’t understand. They don’t bleed.

Fuck them. You matter.

Don’t let them tell you no. I don’t care if you’ve a bestselling superstar, or an indie novelist struggling to be heard.

Value yourself. Value your work.

Fuck them. You matter.

All Authors Blog Blitz: Coming Soon

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I’m excited to announce that I will be participating in All Authors Magazine’s “Blog Blitz.” Each participant will host a guest blog post from another writer. My essay on The Heroic Journey in Modern Fiction will appear on Rachael Rippon’s page.

On my page, I will have a post from the very talented author, Casey Harvell. Casey will be plugging her new release

(Book Two of the Electric Series). I’m about 2/3 through the book, and I’m enjoying it very much.

I hope everyone’s having a great week. I’ll talk to you either before or after Friday’s surgery (hopefully both).

Craiggers

Valerie’s Anthology is now in paperback

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Hey everyone. I just wanted to say that Valerie’s anthology is now in kindle and paperback.

Here are the links.

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Collected-Works-Valerie-Z-Lewis-ebook/dp/B00INCPK16/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398869004&sr=1-3

Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Collected-Works-Valerie-Z/dp/1499148356/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398869004&sr=1-2

You know how I feel about her work. Remember that the profits are going to the Mercy College scholarship in her name.

Keep her work alive.