The Book Fair

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As a birthday present to myself, I registered for the Self-Published Small Press Book Fair this year.  If you didn't get a chance to visit the Book Fair, be sure to keep an eye out for it in 2019.

The SPSP Book Fair ad came out right around the time I made the decision to become a full-time writer, and I registered for one of the 40 author spots for the event.  This was the second such fair, and I was excited to be a part of it!

As with everything related to indie publishing, this was a learning event.  I ordered a few copies of books 1-3 of The Olivia Chronicles and I also prepared some notecards for folks who wished to buy eBooks directly from me. While I sold a couple of paperbacks,I still have the cards with promo codes on them, which is ok, as I can spread those around over time to snag a reader here and there.  

I met some great folks Saturday, and I also discovered some new (to me) writers and presses, including Cirsova Magazine. Be sure to check them out if you are interested in a local sci-fi magazine.  While talking to Becca Saturday, I also found out that OMNI is making a comeback, which is awesome! My mom and I were avid OMNI readers back in the 1980s and I suspect that was where I first encountered Kurt Vonnegut. 

And, thinking about science fiction has me considering returning to the work of Joanna Russ, as well as other feminist science fiction writers.

This is all leading up to my NanoWriMo update.  First, I've had this conversation with multiple writers I know--why is NanoWriMo in November? Academics who work online usually start a new term right before November. There's also the pull of Thanksgiving, of three family birthdays for me (my sister, my mother, my own), and things are starting to ramp up for the big holiday season. Add to that already heavy schedule the fact that this is my month of traveling every weekend (Little Rock three weekends in a row--Urban Homesteading, Book Fair, the Clintons speaking event) and going to the farm for Thanksgiving, and I really start to think that I should be impressed I'm getting any writing done at all.

I did really well in the first week or so, and then got side-tracked by the excitement of the SPSP Book Fair and prepping for it--this included things like getting a price sheet together, getting stands for my books, making sure my bag to take in was loaded with everything I'd need, and that my card reader and account were in good working order. I was also stalled out (and to an extent I still am) as one of the four main characters is really flat.  So, I have to make the decision to either develop her more fully or to merge two of the characters and just really have one character who is off the rails.

Stacy and I were able to visit and hang out for the first time in a long time--she helped by letting me talk through my issues with the character and the entire sort of "point" of the novel. She and Tammy have an adorable house in a great location, and even though I took my laptop, it didn't get turned on once until I had driven home and took some time to catch up on email and social media.

On the way home Sunday, I took the back way through East End rather than taking 530 out of Little Rock and somewhere in between the small communities, the two lane road, and Lucinda Williams, I decided to start a story so far from the book I am working on for NanoWriMo, that I'm currently working on that one while the other one marinates.  Those characters will be there when I get back to them, and because I'll be taking a break from that manuscript, I'll have to read over what I produced in early November.  That's ok--I know the point of NanoWriMo is to "turn off"your inner editor and just get words on the page.  I also know that for the first time ever that I have time to let things marinate and that I can work on multiple projects.

So, while it isn't looking likely that I'll get 50K in this month on a single project, I will be putting ink down on various projects.  NanoWriMo has always been a great springboard for me, and this year it was great to know that a week after I left my job that I had a specific task to start on. 

It's a win-win for me, really.  And, I'm really infatuated with the short story I'm working on. I missed the luxury of being able to fall down a rabbit hole of reading toward a project. 

When I got home, Dani had not only mended the fence where Sophie had been getting out, but she also roasted a bunch of coffee and wrapped my birthday presents--a beautiful jewelry stand and two new pairs of earrings from Lenox. 

I had a book order for the series Monday, and the cards keep coming (as do some groovy presents).  I am so beyond blessed and am already looking forward to the next CALS book sale.  Being home is wonderful.