So Much on This Plate
Well, I finally remembered to nudge everyone to sign up for the newsletter early, so of course this is the month things got away from me and the newsletter’s running late.
Lots of things to talk about, but first... my semi-deep thought of the month.
Just before SDCC I sent out that bonus email with my schedule done up in one graphic, and I mentioned offhand that I did the whole thing in Paint. Which is 100% true. Well, okay, the book covers and the SDCC logo were already done. But Paint’s a simple program and it did what I needed it to. More to the point, I didn’t want to spend a few hours screwing around with an online Photoshop clone trying to figure out how to do something that... well, I already knew how to do in Paint. Even if Paint is absolutely the blunt instrument of digital drawing.
There’s a lot of reasons to not to try something new. Sometimes it’s financial. Sometimes it’s the learning curve (and where it fits into your own deadlines). Sometimes it’s just... look, I know this thing. It sucks, but I know it and I’ve gotten used to it.
But if we never try anything new—never learn anything new—we just end up limiting ourselves. F’r example, when I was about to start The Broken Room I decided I’d finally had enough of Microsoft’s nonsense and switched from Word to LibreWriter. It’s not something I wanted to do in the middle of a project, but I knew it was hitting a point where I needed to do it. And there were some headaches and a few “but why is this...” moments, but ultimately it was the right choice and I feel like I’m getting more done. Similarly a couple friends are really into 3D printing and I’ve been tempted to dabble a bit, too, despite the very high intimidation level and steep learning curve. But last week I finally opened up TinkerCad (another blunt instrument, yeah) and started playing around with it. I’m trying something new and it’s letting me figure out how to make a couple things I’ve wanted for action figure displays (yes, I’m becoming that guy).
Like I said above, we can always come up with reasons not to do something. And, yeah, sometimes they’re solid reasons. But I think, in the long run, it’s always worth trying something new. Yeah, maybe it won’t do what I need it to. Maybe the old thing is better. Maybe it’s just not for me. But I’ll never know until I try.
Anyway...
Let’s get to the stuff you actually signed up for.
As some of you know, TOS is sold! There was a fairly tense (okay, very tense) week right after SDCC as things went back and forth and back and forth between a few publishers but... it’s done. It has a home! In fact, it’s done as part of a very nice two-book deal (TOS being one of them) with St. Martin’s Press. Sooooooo holy crap! Yeah!
And before anyone asks (although a few folks already did on Bluesky) I’m going to keep the full name under wraps for a little while longer. Just until everything’s signed and confirmed and all that. And in all fairness, my editor has already hinted that we might want to talk about the title, sooooooo...
I also got final layouts for God’s Junk Drawer. Basically, this is a PDF of the book, page for page exactly how it’s going to look when you get it in November. This goes to the printer, the printer makes 30,000 copies of it, you buy all 30,000 copies (yes, you), the book hits best seller lists, and we all get a day off and a LEGO set to celebrate. But first, I need to go through that PDF and make sure there’s no weird little mistakes that popped up or something that’s managed to slip past me, the editors, and the layout folks. So that’s what I’m doing this weekend. Line by line.
(I’ve already found five things)
Speaking of God’s Junk Drawer-- we’re putting together the book tour! Starting on release day, the tentative list of cities runs something like this...
West Coast-- San Diego, LA, San Luis Ibispo, San Francisco, Redding (??), Portland OR, Seattle, Spokane, Ashland, Sacramento, back through LA, and then home for two weeks.
And then in early December is the New England/ cross-country part, which is going to be Hartford, Boston, Amherst, Burlington, Concord, Portland ME, Albany, Columbus, St. Louis, Tulsa, Amarillo, Albuquerque, Phoenix, and then I’m home and sleeping until Christmas.
We already have bookstores targeted in a lot of these places, but if you’re near one of them and you’ve got a favorite place, speak up now. And yes, some of you have already spoken up, but assume I’ve misplaced the note you sent me and speak up again. We’re hoping to have this all locked down and finalized in the next two weeks. I’m very excited and only mildly terrified at the idea of spending almost a month on the road.
Plus, I was checking my calendar and somehow I have a bunch of events coming up in the next few months. And these are all before the book tour kicks off! I’ll probably make up another cool little schedule/ image thing (in Paint!) but the most immediate one—before the next newsletter—is I’m going to be at Mysterious Galaxy on August 30th for the official release of Dread Coast, the SoCal horror/ charity anthology I’ve mentioned once or thrice. It’s at 2:00, a bunch of the authors are going to be there (including me), and a lot of them will be reading a page or two from their stories (alas, also including me). So stop by, pick up a copy (it’s for a good cause), and get scribbles all through it. Not in the area? Mysterious Galaxy rocks—give them a call and they’ll get one signed signed and sent to you pretty much wherever you are.
Okay, this is getting pretty long and you’ve got better things to do with your time. What else do I have for you...
Cool Stuff I’ve Been Watching
Strange New Worlds is back and it’s just been phenomenal on so many levels. The writing, the cast, the directing, the editing, the tone, every single bit of it. I just love this show. By beloved and I are still doing our rewatch of Grimm (almost done with season four) and it’s been... interesting. Still a good show, but we’re picking up on a lot of things, especially watching episodes back-to-back like this. It’ sparked many discussions. And we saw Superman which... well, yeah. It was fantastic.
Cool Stuff I’ve Been Reading
With all this stuff going on, I hate to say I’ve had very little time for reading. A few Godzilla graphic novels. Some books for blurbs. Got to read Misfits of Magic by Matthew Dow Smith and absolutely loved it. Highly recommended for the supernatural MG/ DC fan in your life.
Cool New Toys
Hahahaaa so much stuff. San Diego Comic-Con didn’t go like I expected at all. I basically ran into long lines and sold out signs across the con. Then, while I was on a panel, my friend Laura (who was staying with us for the con) was wandering the floor and decided to get in line at the Hasbro booth. So ten minutes before the panel ended I got a text “I’m in the booth! What do you want?!?!” Which is how I got the Marvel Legends Savage Land three pack. And then the next night at a Toy Youtubers panel/ event/ party I somehow won... well, all of the Hasbro (LINK) exclusives. Including a spiffy Jetfire/ Void Rivals set I’d been on the fence about. Also, right after TOS was confirmed, I followed through on a long tradition of getting a big LEGO set for every sale and/or book release (in this case, the Natural History Museum).
I may have also celebrated by ordering some other toys, but they won’t get here until next month. We’ll talk about them then.
And that’s all (hah!) I’ve got for you right now. As always, many thanks for reading. More next month.
