So, first off, thanks to Eunoia Review for accepting “Scheherazade” for publication. The story was previously only available in the Storybook Romance chapbook, but now you can read it by clicking here! It’s about a special kind of Jersey-specific traffic (maybe New York too) and how sometimes good things happen when you least expect it.
Speaking of good things, my play “Bagel” has been accepted into the The 2nd Seven by the Fusion theatre company. Fusion is a local group that runs an annual, national contest called The Seven, with the seven winners’ plays being fully produced here in Albuquerque. I came in 8th. But that’s OK! Because the second group of seven plays get a public reading of their plays. That’s scheduled for June 13, time and location still to come.
And speaking of time and location, the one and only Revenge-aroni book launch is happening on Sat. June 18th, noon to 2 p.m., at the Kosmos at Factory on 5th!
I’ll be reading from all four Exponential Apocalypse books and straight-up giving away limited, out-of-print, signed, first and second editions of Exponential Apocalypse. There will also be coffee and donuts if that’s more your thing.
Also, if you’re on LibraryThing, I’m giving away 100 e-copies of each book and all I’m asking for is a review. I’d link to the giveaways themselves, but their user interface is kind of terrible and I can’t figure out how to do that.
And while we’re on the subject of reviews, here’s why I keep harping on them: They’re important. For one thing, they help validate an author’s sweat and tears and burgeoning insanity. For the most part, writing is a solitary existence, and save for the occasional writers group or email thread, we’re living in an echo chamber of our own coffee farts. Someone taking the time to publicly say, “Yeah, that was great,” is huge. Hell, even someone taking a moment to say they hated still means they read it, and that’s ultimately what we really want.
And here’s the second part: Reviews drive sales. Even if I gave away a copy of Revenge-aroni to every person I know, that’s, like, 200 people maybe. (See “I Don’t Get Out Much,” above.) But I want more people than that to read it. I want everyone to read it.
But here’s the rub. Take, for example, Benjamin Wallace’s “Pursuit of the Apocalypse.” Like Revenge-aroni, it’s the newest in a series of post-apocalyptic comedy novels. It’s kind of dark and it’s funny and it’s clearly tailored toward the same audience. But if some rando cruising through Amazon sees our two books side-by-side (which they will, because Amazon always throws up my books and Ben’s books as similar purchases) they’re going to pick his. Because 78 people left vague two line reviews.
I know it sounds stupid and crass and the antithesis of “art” and you’re probably wishing all of us writers would shut up about it, but it’s the sad truth of getting your books read. If you like a book, take five minutes to say as much and help a writer out. Reviews are the Venom to our authoring Banes, the clapping to our Tinkerbells.
Please don’t let us disappear. Or get our asses kicked by Batman.
P.S. Thank you to everyone who has left a review! Or tried to but was blocked by Amazon for being related to me. I really appreciate it!
____________________________________________________________
Revenge-aroni, the fourth book in the Exponential Apocalypse series, is now available! Check it out at any of the fine links below.
Holy balls! Congrats on all that! Really missing the ABQ right about now.