Hosho McCreesh's Blog, page 31

Friday Night Jamboree & Hootenanny...

So the latest photo of A DEEP & GORGEOUS THIRST on the shelves in a bookstore comes from Caliban’s -- the best independent bookstore in Pittsburgh. If you’re in the 3 Rivers area and need a damn good read, well, problem solved!
















Also, a buddy of my wrote me into a comic book -- so I am now a character in the Valiant universe! Get yourself a copy of SHADOWMAN #12, out in comic shops now. In the story written by my buddy Duffy Boudreau (who writes BlackAcre for Image Comics), Hosho McCreery is a powerful man who, when drunk, accidentally opens up portals to other dimensions. Opps! He’s tortured, tough, built, and good looking...no word yet on which of those things the character and I have in common!

Last but not least: another reading then, this one at ArtBar on Sunday November 17th. Doors open at 4pm. The event is to benefit NMFetLife, an organization that raises awareness about many issues facing NM’s alternate lifestyle population. Flags of all stripes will proudly be flown! I’m honored to be included. If you missed the book release event and want to hear me read, I’ll be there.

Book Release Event Audio

The book release I held at Tractor Brewing Company’s Taproom in Nob Hill was a heck of a lot of fun. We sold books and DrunkSkull stuff, and I even read a few poems. Here’s audio of the reading -- fast & loose -- 5 poems from A Deep & Gorgeous Thirst.

Speaking of readings: THIS is happening. If you’re in Albuquerque a week from tomorrow, then stop in. Light refreshments are promised. There will be poems. And I’ll have books -- if you’re in the market for a copy of something! I’d like to go on record as saying -- being called Oktoberfest of Poetry, I think it’s only right that someone sneak in some beer!

A Deep & Gorgeous Book Release Party!

If you’re in Albuquerque, and if you’ve got a powerful thirst for delicious local craft beers and for drunken poetry, then you should be here! I’ll be giving my first-ever reading, selling books and swag, and even giving away a few prizes. Come on out and support the book, and the fine folks at Tractor.

Yep.

That’s my book on the “Our Staff Recommends” shelves of a Barnes & Noble in Portland, Oregon.

You can get it from ADP, me, and all kinds of online spots -- but if you want to save shipping, you can walk into just about any bookstore in America and have them order you a copy.

Tell them to order extras while you’re at it.

The DrunkSkull Diaries

So let’s be joyous instead.

Monday began the first of my short run blogging for Tractor Brewing Co. about my forthcoming book A Deep & Gorgeous Thirst, poetry, and the many virtues of the small press. The blog will appear every Monday, between now and October 6th -- the book release event. Read it HERE.

As for the book: I have held copies in my hand. It is a wonder to behold. Official release date is 16 September, and the special editions will begin shipping as soon as I am back from helping make them on the 25th.

There is less than a week left to enter the giveaway at Goodreads, and to save $2 by ordering from ADP. I can’t wait to hear what you all think of it!

Goodreads Giveaway

Follow the link to enter to win a copy of A Deep & Gorgeous Thirst -- my 366pg drunken opus. Two copies will be given away on September 16th, 2013 -- the day the book is offically released.

Literature for the Drinking Class!

Of course, if gambling is a problem, you are cripplingly unlucky, or just feel safer with a sure thing -- you can always get a copy of your very own HERE (and save a couple bucks between now and then).

A Deep & Gorgeous Event Trailer...

The Official Book Release Party for A Deep & Gorgeous Thirst will take place at Tractor Brewing Co. on October 6th, 2013 from 4pm - 6pm.

Join the event HERE for news and updates.

Also: Book’s at the printer. Soon we will begin making the special editions. Save $2 on the standard trade edition until the book’s release date, September 16th, 2013. Order HERE

Ten days left and counting down...

Get the special editions before they’re gone for good!

DrunkSkull Flask Clamshell Edition

Signed, Lettered Hardback Edition

Signed, Numbered Trade Paperback

Standard Trade Paperback

A Deep & Gorgeous PRE-SALE

The PRE-SALE is here! It lasts from July 22nd to August 16th.
(We need a month to make them, so pre-sales of the special editions close mid-August.)

Please please please read this: The pre-sale is the only time we will sell the special editions -- so, if you want one, don't put it off too much. 


1) The DrunkSkull Flask/Clamshell Edition: $100 + shipping 
The Coup d'Grace, the top-of-the-line! It includes a handmade hardback copy of the book, housed in a custom-made clamshell + extras like: a letter and/or watercolor from the author, an unpublished drunk poem broadside, a murder of promotional goodies, and hidden within -- an 8oz DrunkSkull flask, engraved with the book's logo.

2) Signed, Lettered Hardback Edition: $40 + shipping 
As it suggests -- a signed, lettered hardback, handmade by bookmaker extraordinare Bill Roberts of Bottle of Smoke Press. It will likely include an unpublished drunk poem broadside, and a host of whatever extra goodies we've got laying around as well.

3) Signed, Numbered Trade Paperback Edition: $20 + shipping 
A trade paperback copy, signed and numbered, with a broadside, and a little extra or two thrown in for good measure.

The Regular Trade Paperback Edition:  $14 + shipping 

This special pre-sale price lasts until the book's release on September 16th, 2013. (n.b: $16+ shipping after the book is released)
 
It will be available not only through the ADP storefront, elsewhere online, as well as being available for order from any of your local bookstores (it's being distributed through Ingram) So go in and tell your local that, if they knew what was good for them, they'd order 5 copies! 


Now please note you will be ordering early, and that these books will not actually be ready until the official release date: September 16th, 2013 (and, in the event of significant pre-sales, we might even need more time to produce them all). Again, this will be the only time these editions will be made available -- after , the only chance to get one, is to hope your favorite artisan booksellers have a copy or two to sell.

The Pre-Sale Cometh! (July 22nd)

Hello, hello again. Perhaps you've heard, I have a book of drunk poems coming out. I know I've been pushing the hell out of it. It's because I think it's some of the best writing I've ever done -- writing that will be drastically different than the work you all have known from me over the years, and yet, still 100% me. And, here's a piece of truth: I'm something of a dreamer. It's made me who I am. But it's every bit a weakness and it is a strength, and were it left to me, I'd probably bankrupt any small press foolish enough to take me on. By that I mean I'll push for ornate versions of hardbacks, and clamshells, and letterpressed this, collectable-broadside that...all manner of kick-ass, handmade ephemera. Of course, that all has a price. If they let me, I'd probably run a small press out of business with these fanciful dreams of mine.
And I certainly don't want that.
But, of course, I do want to do things like this. They make small press books stand out -- from the larger press, and even from the books in your local stores. I definitely want everyone -- from highly collectable bibliophile to the everyday bus ride reader -- anyone who wants one of my books to have the opportunity to get one. The trick is to measure the size of a special production against the potential interest in it. And, for a dreamer like me, that is never gonna be an accurate measurement.
Artistically Declined Press has quietly carved out a nice little niche for itself -- poetry and fiction -- that is both surprising and capable, from a great line-up of writers, each book done up with solid graphic design. I'd hate any over-extending I push for financially, to impact the fine work they've been doing, or risk derailing it entirely. What to do?
So Ryan and I got together, and in the interest of not burning the press to the ground, while still making enough special editions for everyone who wants one --  we've dreamed up this: a PRE-SALE! 
It's a sales window, for a few weeks, wherein all editions of the forthcoming A Deep & Gorgeous Thirst can be purchased. This will keep us from putting lots of money, time, and effort into expensive hardbacks and clamshells that we never end up selling -- all while still ensuring that any and everyone who might want a special edition has the chance to get one. Additionally, this PRE-SALE is designed to lay out all editions of the book, which will hopefully help you figure out which edition of the book is right for you. Are you a collector? Do you prefer hardbacks? Collectable ephemera? Or do you want a no-frills trade paperback as either a reading copy, or something you don't mind spilling your beer on? Well, we've got your edition!
The book is currently being typeset, indexed, and polished -- so while we don't know the final page count just yet, it's looking like it'll come in around 350 pages, give or take. A big, Bukowski-fat book of joyous, drunken life. And I am so damn proud of the book, that I'm giving it the world-class hustle. It, to me, represents my truest spirit, and I am proud that ADP has partnered with Bill Roberts of Bottle of Smoke Press to put it out in 4 print editions.
 
Regular Trade Paperback Edition: 
$14 + shipping  (n.b: $16+ shipping after the book is released)

This edition of the book will go on pre-sale July 22nd, 2013 and last until the book's release on September 16th, 2013.
 
It will be available not only through the ADP storefront, elsewhere online, as well as being available for order from any of your local bookstores (it's being distributed through Ingram) So go in and tell your local that, if they knew what was good for them, they'd order 5 copies! 
 

As for the SPECIAL EDITIONS: 
The PRE-SALE lasts from July 22nd to August 16th!!! 
We need the extra month to make them, so pre-sales of the special editions close mid-August. This is the only time we will sell these editions -- so, if you want one, please don't put it off too much. Pre-sales of each edition will determine its limitation -- so, if we sell 5 clamshells (in addition to the ones those given to those principles involved in creating the book) we'll limit the clamshells to something like 10. The same goes for the hardbacks, and for the signed/numbered trades: however many are pre-sold will (to the nearest good round number) be the limitation of each.
Here are descritptions of the 3 special editions available for pre-sale:
1) The DrunkSkull Flask/Clamshell Edition: $100 + shipping 
The Coup d'Grace, the top-of-the-line! It includes a handmade hardback copy of the book, housed in a custom-made clamshell + extras like: a letter and/or watercolor from the author, an unpublished drunk poem broadside, a murder of promotional goodies, and hidden within -- an 8oz DrunkSkull flask, engraved with the book's logo.
2) Signed, Lettered Hardback Edition: $40 + shipping  
As suggested -- a signed, lettered hardback, handmade by bookmaker extraordinare Bill Roberts of Bottle of Smoke Press. It will likely include an unpublished drunk poem broadside, and a host of whatever extra goodies we've got laying around as well.
3) Signed, Numbered Trade Paperback Edition: $20 + shipping 
A trade paperback copy, signed and numbered, with a broadside, and a little extra or two thrown in for good measure.
Now please note you will be ordering early, and that these books will not actually be ready until the official release date: September 16th, 2013 (and, in the event of significant pre-sales, we might even need more time to produce them all). Again, this will be the only time these editions will be made available -- after , the only chance to get one, is to hope your favorite artisan booksellers have a copy or two to sell.
I hope this email finds you all as well as it leaves me. I'm excited to finally christen the bow of this proud monster, and shove it out into the drink. I sure hope you'll all consider a copy. 

As ever -- my deepest thanks for your love and support over the years,
Hosh

PS - If, by chance, fate lands you in Albuquerque in early October...you should come to THIS...