August Bottleship

Hello from Ojai, friends far and wide!

I'm spending a week at home with my parents here in California before I launch into the next leg of my tour. It's honestly been a huge relief to step away from frantic event promotion for a few days to just be present, even if it's with difficult stuff. My family is weathering some major transitions right now, and I'm still trying to figure out how to talk about it. It's weird to be touring with such a vulnerable book while also navigating real-time challenges at home. I'm working on it.

Ultimately I'm just feeling very grateful to everyone who's hosted me on the road, attended an event, or cheered from the sidelines of social media. You make this work possible, and your kind words about the project keep me going. I'm so glad you're here.
Since we last spoke, I've confirmed some new event dates, so here's the updated list of where you can find me for the rest of the summer (and some of the fall):

• Bart’s Books – 7-9:30pm, August 3rd, Ojai, CA

• Other Books – 6-8:30pm, August 12th, Los Angeles, CA

• [San Diego Tour Stop - Venue TBA] – Evening of August 16th, San Diego, CA

• San Diego Writers, Ink: Generative Demon Workshop – 6:30pm, August 17th, San Diego, CA

• BookPeople – August 20th, 7pm, Austin, TX

• Trident Booksellers & Cafe – August 22nd, 7pm, Boulder, CO

• XOXO (Just attending—say hi if you see me!) — September 6th - 9th, Portland, OR

• Thought Bubble Festival – September 22nd & 23rd, Leeds, England

• MICE – October 20th & 21st, Cambridge, MA

I'll call out a particular entry on there because I'm excited about it: I'm teaching a workshop in San Diego! We'll be spending two hours doing generative writing and drawing exercises that will help you better understand (and live with) your own Inner Critic.

Tickets are available here. I'll also be updating my website as soon as I confirm the venue for that open-to-all tour event in San Diego the day before.

I'm writing a post about how I planned this monster tour for my Patreon page, but here's a glimpse of my venue database (at least the bit for comic shops):

I've been using Airtable to build a record of comic shops, bookstores, event venues, and media/press contacts to be used on future tours. This is the most time and effort I've ever put into a resource like this, and it's definitely paying off. (Airtable also supports calendar views of spreadsheets, so I can turn a Tour Schedule sheet into a drag-and-drop calendar interface for planning stops and travel days. BLISS.)

🚨YES HELLO I AM A BIG NERD. 🚨

Here are some things to Read/Listen To/Otherwise Enjoy:

• I can't shut up about Robin Sloan's tap essay, Fish.

• I spoke with Calvin Bauer of Light Grey Art Lab about travel, attention, and boundaries for the LGAL Podcast.

• Speaking of interviews, there's a BIG profile interview with me up on The Hollywood Reporter!

• Indie publishing house Microcosm will not be renewing their distribution relationship with Amazon. (If you’re curious about how much money I make from 100 Demon Dialogues sales on different platforms, check out the “Buying the Book” section of this Kickstarter update.)

• A flowchart to help you pay for sliding-scale art.

• Singer-songwriter Rain Perry writes beautifully about performers, performances, and lies. I'm learning a lot from musicians lately. Here, Amanda Palmer writes at length about the same Springsteen show Rain saw, and what it changed about her approach to touring in 2019.

• Nicole Brinkley breaks down How Authors Get Paid. (Her Patreon is great, too.)

• If you have to be sure don't write.

Till next time, take care of yourselves.

Lucy

P.S. If you want send me a little extra support, leave a review for 100 Demon Dialogues on Goodreads, Powell’s, or Amazon! It’s a great way for new readers to find the book. Thank you so, so much for taking the time.