A Little of Both
Sooooooo much stuff to talk about. Some good, some bad. Yeah, sorry. It’s not all going to be good all the time.
But first... a random thought.
No, you know what? Forget that random thought. I was going to do a mild dunk on someone for something foolish they sent me a while back (I have been since proven right far, far more than I ever feared), but I’m not going to. I think a really bad habit Twitter forced on almost everyone is this need to dunk, to make the snarky comment or the wiseass remark. Honestly, it taught all of us that punching down and piling on is okay as long as we get all the likes and the little dopamine hit that comes with them.
And I’m trying really, really hard to break that habit. To be a better person online. It’s one of the things I like most about Bluesky, that it doesn’t reward bad behavior with an algorithmic boost. Yeah, it has a bunch of other issues (we could probably spend a whole newsletter talking about their moderation problems) but on this one thing I think they made the right choice. Nothing gets raised up for being angry, for being cruel, for wiggling bait out there. So there’s no point being anyone except... well, me.
And it’s kind of interesting how many people that really doesn’t work for.
Guess it ended up being a random thought after all.
Okay, let’s get to all that good and bad news.
God’s Junk Drawer doesn’t come out for another two months, but I’ve already got half a dozen things scheduled between now and then. I think only two of them matter for us right now.
One’s a reading and signing at Artifact Books in Encinitas on Saturday the 27th. This is for the Dread Coast anthology, but if there’s something particular you want get in touch with them and they could probably have it waiting there for you.
Two is a week later, October 4th, at the Scream Diego horror convention. This is going to be a bunch of the folks from the Combat Monsters anthology talking about writing action and horror. I may also be doing a reading here, but that hasn’t been locked down yet. I’ll let you know.
Meanwhile, God’s Junk Drawer is being printed up and assembled. Which is good because there’s a book tour starting in eight weeks! And hopefully I’ll see some of you for that. I’m still trying to lock down a few places, and I’ll probably have more by the end of the week, but at the moment here’s where I for-certain know I’m going to be.
November 11th – we’re launching with a full event at Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego
Nov.13th I’ll be signing at Borderlands in San Francisco
Nov 15th I’ll be signing at Powells in Portland OR
Nov 16th is an event at Brick and Mortar Books in Redmond WA
You’ll notice I’ve got some of these listed as events and some as signings. Anywhere that’s an event, I’m going to give a little talk about the book, perhaps one of those “in conversation” things with a local friend. If it’s a signing, I’m technically just ducking in to sign stuff—no talk, no Q&A, just me and a stack of books and a pen.
For example, Powell’s knows I’m going to be there, but they’re not even putting it on the calendar. On the other hand, Borderlands will be taking reorders if you want something personalized (or you could just -cough- happen to be at either store that day maybe an hour before closing...)
Also, for any of these places, if you want to be sure you get a signed book, preorder a copy through that bookstore. Yeah, I know, mentioning preorders again. They help the stores know how many copies they’re going to need (so it doesn’t turn into a first come, first served situation), but it also (shamefully) helps the book itself because the publisher can get a better sense of interest and affects ranking and placement on a bunch of websites. If everyone reading this preordered a copy of God’s Junk Drawer, you’d be stunned how much of a difference that’d make. Seriously
And again, there are a few more places I just need to hear final confirmation back from them. I’m probably going to be in LA and Sacramento, possibly Eureka and San Luis Ibispo. But I don’t want to say anything until I’ve got actual, for-sure confirmation. I’ll probably send out another email in a week or two once everything’s confirmed.
This also brings me to the bad news, which involves the New England/ cross country segment of the book tour. And that bad news is, well...
There isn’t going to be a New England/ cross country segment. Sorry. There’s a long, disgruntled version of why and a short, polite version, and the short version is just that too many things didn’t line up. It was just shaping up to be over two weeks away from home—at the holidays—to maaaaaybe do four or five signings. I really, really want to get out past the west coast and meet more of you in person (okay, some of you I’ve already met) but it looks like we might be waiting a while longer. Hopefully 2026 will be a year of more conventions.
(hint—ask your local con to invite me)
Okay, this is seriously long. What else do I have for you...?
Cool Stuff I’ve Been Watching
We saw K-Pop Demon Hunters and it was fantastic and about half the songs have wormed their way into my brain. I’ve also seen some folks complaining online, but I think Strange New Worlds had an absolutely amazing third season. Lots of character stuff, a few mysteries, some comedy, a few high-pitched-shrieking geeky moments. I seriously loved pretty much every aspect of it as a fan, as a storyteller, as someone who used to work on television shows. My beloved and I are also just about done with that Grimm rewatch and... wow. As I think I mentioned last time, I have many, many thoughts. I still like it a lot, but I have many thoughts.
Cool Stuff I’ve Been Reading
Once again, I haven’t gotten to read a lot stuff just for pleasure. Several blurb books, a beta read for a friend. I think the only “for me” reading I got to do was the latest Atomic Robo hardcover— Atomic Robo and the Agents of C.H.A.N.G.E. It’s a fantastic series, if you’re not already reading it.
Cool New Toys
I emptied out my Big Bad Toy Store pile o’ loot, which ended up being... a lot. Including a few things I ordered on a whim to celebrate TOS selling. And that’s how I ended up with an army of the dead from Mythic Legions. Just, y’know, ten or eleven skeletons. And speaking of armies, I also got... well, I’ve mentioned the Animal Warriors of the Kingdom line once or thrice. I have no idea why, but one of their army builders really clicked with me for some reason (it’s an ape with a sword and shield!) and I ended up, well... building an army. In fact, as part of the celebration, I bought a few more to round off some squads (yes, squads, plural) and I think I technically now have a platoon’s worth of them. Which is utterly silly and pointless and actually brings me great joy on a few levels.
Oh, and quick side note. The company that makes Animal Warriors —Spero Toys— had a big workshop fire a few weeks back. As a small business, with everything else going on in the world right now, it was a serious hit for them. If I’ve ever made you consider grabbing one or two of their figures, I’m sure they’d appreciate any extra sales right now. No, I get nothing. I’m just trying to help people out.
And that’s everything for you right now. As always, many thanks for reading. I’ll probably have a finalized tour schedule in a week or so, and I’ll send that out to you then.
