Antici....

We're just about to hit October and things are going to be pretty busy for me book/event wise. This is good,

for those of you keeping score.

First thing's first: Paige's Story was pitched to a literary agent and he's asked to read my manuscript. I'm not banking on him taking it, according to one of the more well-known, successful authors who works with him, the fact he's even looking at my manuscript is a big deal. So, stay tuned for further details on that.

Next, On October 19th, I'll be sponsoring the annual screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at The Gibson Theater here in Batesville. It's been going on for almost 5 years

now and used to be sponsored by the local comic and game shop. Sadly, they closed. Rather than charging admission to the event, or getting rid of it altogether, I decided to sponsor it. My friend Charlotte will be arranging for The Denton Affair, a local acting troupe out of Cincy, to come and do their shadow show. (They are the bomb diggity, guys. Trust me.)

On top of that, we'll be taking donations for Safe Passage, a locally run

women's shelter for women and their kids who are looking for a safe place to get back on their feet. And with all the bullshit going on in the news with Brett "he was just a boy" Kavanaugh, we figured this was a more than worthy cause.

So yeah, come on out. Doors open at 11:30. The show starts at midnight. I'll be there collecting donations,

and selling books and merch. I'd love to have you drop by and say hi. Maybe buy a sticker and donate some items to the shelter.

Then, on October 27th 11am-2pm, I'll be at Three Sisters Books and Gifts in Shelbyville signing books.

Somewhere in there is my birthday. I'll be NOT 40 YET! TAKE THAT, AGE!

4/5 Stars Would Blog Again

Contrary to popular belief, I am not a millionaire. I know, shocking. Actually, most authors aren't. People tend tothink of authors on the level of J.K. Rowling or Stephen King-- really fucking well off. Truth is, most of us are broke, some of us are comfortable, and a few of us are rich.

We Independent authors tend to lean toward the broke or comfortable side. Most of us have day jobs to keep us in the comfortable zone. Because of this, we will take any and every sale and all the publicity we can get.

Yesterday someone with 13k+ followers retweeted a link to my book. An hour later I sold a book. Was the sale from that RT? I don't know, but it sure didn't hurt. Like I said, we'll take what we can get.

Another helpful thing for us little guys is reviews! Doesn't matter if you leave a master's thesis or  a simple, 'Thumbs up. Good read.' Every review counts. When someone is on the fence about buying a product online, where's the first place they go? The reviews. The more the better-- even if they're varying in opinion. Those reviews are what will make the potential buyer commit or move on.

The final helpful thing is personal recommendations. You read this book. You loved it. Tell your friends. Tweet about it. Put it on the Facegrams and Instabooks, and that weird thing with the little ghost on the icon. Word of mouth is a powerful tool.

It costs you nothing and, believe me, we little guys appreciate it.

Getting Back to Normal

Aaaw, that's cute. That means I was, at some point, normal.

Paige's Story has been on the virtual shelves for almost a month now and things are going well. I mean, people are buying it, so, you know, could be worse. I'm no where near 'quitting my day job' levels of success, but still, I'm pretty happy.

My first book signing was a huge success and I'm considering having another one. I was also interviewed by the local paper.

I did my best not to bring dishonor upon my family (and the family cow).

I mean, it's hard to screw up questions like, "What is your advice for aspiring authors?" Answer: Get a cat, drink bourbon, and prepare for a lot of self loathing. (Kidding. I didn't say that. I should have, but I didn't.)

Right now, the biggest thing is promoting the book and keeping the sales up or, at least, existent. Existent is good. I'll settle for existent.

The OTHER biggest thing is getting to work on book two. .....which will be happening this week. I have a four day weekend coming up and it's time to sit down and get back to work.