Logospilgrim's Blog, page 13

holy crap, I’m a guest blogger

Kind readers,

I have happy things to share with you.

First, look at my lovely Twitter friend Cigi Warpurr with her copy of Hula Girl!

And here it is again, with my dearest Fabulous Raye’s kitty (she has many kitties!).

Whenever I see pictures like these, I gasp with delight and clap my hands. I really do :-)

Profound gratitude to all who have expressed such enthusiasm for my scribblings. You keep me going. I see things like those photos and think, I can do this, and need to do this. So I continue, so I persevere, so I share my heart.

Here is another photo of me dressed as Kristopher Silverheart during MISTI-Con 2015, courtesy of my friend Celestialbeing:

Check out my Nebula Pistol… I love that thing. It means %$#@! business.

Also, Sean (@GodlessPoutine) put my post on his website My Secret Atheist Blog today! I am now a guest blogger! I can hardly believe it, I tell you.

Click on the picture below to read the post:

Here’s my bio line at the bottom of the post. It all looks so wonderful.

It’s truly an honor to have contributed to Sean’s blog. I’m very grateful he invited me to do so, and I’m extremely touched and encouraged by all his kind words. I’ll be eagerly awaiting his review of Hula Girl.

It’s just… mercy. It’s overwhelming.

Boy, I can’t wait to go to the Non-Conference. It’s a good thing I’ve got my Atheist Tiki Hour writing project to keep me busy ’til then ;-)

Your devoted

Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

Tagged: Godless Poutine, MISTI-Con, My Secret Atheist Blog, Outlaw in the Land of Perfection, The Non-Conference, There's a Hula Girl on my Dashboard

Review- There’s a Hula Girl on My Dashboard by Logospilgrim

logospilgrim:

I’m so touched and encouraged by this, I hardly know what to say!

Originally posted on baby I'm a weeper:

Five Stars

This little book is one of the most beautiful things I’ve read.

There’s a Hula Girl on My Dashboard is a deeply personal memoir of self-discovery, the quest for meaning and for belonging. The author goes from Evangelical Christianity to Secular Humanism, and explores several belief systems, illustrating succinctly yet powerfully the periods in her life where she tried these things on, all the time looking for a final Answer, for a resting place and for security.

This is a book that is ultimately about uncovering the pure spirituality of just being human, of being alive in the moment and reveling in all it has to offer, even-especially!- the simpler pleasures, and one person’s journey to overcome oppression, abuse, and self-doubt, and find peace in that simplicity. I found myself relating to a lot of what the author experienced: disagreeing with religion and feeling like an outcast because…

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MISTI-Con, Silverheart and Heaven, Hula Girl, Tiki

Kind readers,

well, MISTI-Con 2015 is over, and what a wonderful convention it was! I was pretty exhausted that weekend, and I’m still recovering I think, but nevertheless I’m already looking forward to MISTI-Con 2017.

Here’s the table where I did my book signing… That’s beautiful lake Winnipesaukee behind the tent.

And here I was, dressed in my stunning Kristopher Silverheart costume, with dear fellow author C.A. Allen who was cosplaying Silverheart’s beloved companion, Heaven. We were rehearsing our Costuming Showcase kiss.

Theirs is a passionate love story. A story about freedom and hope. About mavericks and outcasts who battle against religious oppression.

Here you can see the costume in more detail. My friend Nezumi is an extraordinary seamstress.

Not long before I gave my lecture (which went well, I’m told)…

In other news, There’s a Hula Girl on my Dashboard is now available on Nook, as well as iTunes and Kobo. Kindle should be next soon, I hope! You can also get the e-Book here.

And here are more kind words about Hula Girl, courtesy of Tweet Ones!

Thank you so much, Letha and Sean! Sean will be writing a review of Hula Girl on My Secret Atheist Blog soon. And I’m about to write a guest post for him—it’s very exciting, and it’s an honor :-) I’ll be touching on issues around atheism and gender identity.

And Godless Mom is looking forward to reading Hula Girl too! This gave me so much joy.

If you’ve read the book and enjoyed it, please feel free to share a few words about it on Amazon! And if the book helped you or encouraged you, please tell your friends—it would mean a lot. This is how more people will find out about Hula Girl—I’m small fry—and what it contains may encourage them too.

Right now, I’ve got my sights set on The Non-Conference in August. I can’t wait to attend this event! And I’ll have a table there, too. Also, I’ll be spending June and July working on my next book, Atheist Tiki Hour.

I’ve got the appropriate beverage mugs all ready to go:

Again, deep gratitude to all who are supporting and encouraging me. Many people have been telling me how much There’s a Hula Girl on my Dashboard: How I Left Faith Behind and Embraced Life has touched, inspired, and comforted them, and this gives me the strength to keep writing, to keep sharing my heart and experiences, to reach out to those who have been wounded by religious dogma and who are looking for another worldview and way of life. Once, I thought I was alone; I want them to know they’re not alone.

Atheist Tiki Hour will be about life beyond religion.

It’s good.

Your devoted

Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

Tagged: C.A. Allen, Hannelore, Letha Hughes, MISTI-Con, Nezumi, Outlaw in the Land of Perfection, Sean McGuire, The Non-Conference, There's a Hula Girl on my Dashboard

conferences, books, gratitude

Kind readers,

MISTI is almost here! This week, I’m working on my lecture and breathing in a bag.

This week, asexuals celebrated Ace Day, and here I am with my Ace of Hearts:

Let’s hear it for cake!

There’s a Hula Girl on my Dashboard is now available on iTunes. It should be available for the Kindle and Nook as well very soon.

Here’s some Hula Girl love. These kind words about my book really encourage me a lot. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, enthusiastic readers! I appreciate your support so much.

Here’s Drinking Cocoa’s copy of Hula Girl being investigated by her curious wombat.

Again, thank you so much, everyone. I can’t tell you enough how much your interest in my book means to me.

I’ll be signing copies of it in the Big Tent in less than two weeks! I’ve got my silver Sharpies all good to go.

In other news, I’ll be going to my first humanist conference this summer! I’ll have a table for Hula Girl there, and I’m so looking forward to meeting many like-minded people at this event.

And I’m hoping I’ll be able to ask Professor Krauss to sign my copy of his book, A Universe from Nothing. I’m very excited at the thought of attending this conference.

In other exciting news, I’ll soon be guest blogging on fellow Quebecer atheist Godless Poutine‘s great blog, My Secret Atheist Blog! He’ll also be writing about Hula Girl, which, well, blows my mind :-) I’m tremendously grateful for this.

Once I’ve returned home from MISTI and have had a bit of time to catch my breath, I’ll get to work on my next book, Atheist Tiki Hour: Your Guide to a Secular Blast:

There’s a Hula Girl on my Dashboard is the story of how I became a secular humanist; Atheist Tiki Hour will be a fun, light-hearted ramble about my life post-religion. How do I go from here? Why don’t I miss religion? That’ll be the focus of the book: that life without religion isn’t a hardship, it isn’t empty, it isn’t bleak, it isn’t bitter. On the contrary.

*prances in a field of flowers*

Your devoted

Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

Tagged: Atheist Tiki Hour, conferences, MISTI-Con, The Non-Conference, There's a Hula Girl on my Dashboard, writing

celebrations

Kind readers,

MISTI-Con 2015 is getting very close… Only twenty-three days left until I head for New Hampshire.

The support I’ve received for my most recent book, There’s a Hula Girl on my Dashboard, has been going straight to my heart.

Here’s a sample:

I put so much of myself in this book… It means a lot to know that people have been enjoying it, or been encouraged or inspired by it in one way or other.

I’ll be signing copies of it in the Big Tent on Saturday, May 23th, during MISTI. I’ll also be bringing copies of The Severus Snape Paradism, and of Outlaw in the Land of Perfection.

Speaking of the latter, I will be cosplaying Reverend Silverheart for the Costume Showcase, which will take place late Friday afternoon during MISTI. Lovely fellow author C.A. Allen will be cosplaying Heaven with me… So get ready! We’re going to embody Silverheart and Heaven.

Appropriately enough, I saw this on Ello yesterday:

I am androgynous, genderfluid, non-binary, genderqueer. I am a bi-romantic asexual. I’ll be celebrating all of this when I cosplay Silverheart.

It looks like spring will be starting in earnest, at last, this week. This is extremely encouraging. I was beginning to think I’d never be warm again.

Apart from this blog, you can find me on Twitter, Ello, and Livejournal (what’s left of it, that is). I tried Tumblr again, but I simply don’t understand that platform. I love and need to interact with loved ones; on Tumblr, this is next to impossible. It makes me sad… So what’s the point?

Actually, I’ll probably become more active here on this blog.

I’m really looking forward to seeing many dear friends again at MISTI. I’ve missed them greatly.

Your devoted

Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

Tagged: cosplay, genderqueer, MISTI-Con, Outlaw in the Land of Perfection, There's a Hula Girl on my Dashboard

Hula Girl: now available on Amazon

Kind readers,

that was fast: There’s a Hula Girl on my Dashboard is now available on Amazon! It just got listed, and although it’s in stock it may still “require an extra 1-2 days to process” an order—soon the book will simply be listed as “in stock” like my other titles.

I’m quite verklempt today. Of all the books I’ve written, this one is closest to my heart. It’s been a lifetime in the making. And both the front and back covers capture my joy, peace, hope, strength, and victory. In this book, I say what I needed to say. I hope it’ll be a source of inspiration and encouragement to those who’ll read it.

As usual, I just, you know… rambled as best I could.

If you read the book and enjoy it, please consider leaving a few words on Amazon! It makes a great difference, and I deeply appreciate it.

Here’s another happy thing that happened: I received a beautiful gift from my friend Carl D. Smith!

I’m halfway through it and it’s such a fabulous comic book. I highly recommend it!

In other news, I’ve decided not to run myself completely into the ground and have postponed the publication date of my fourth book of Snape essays, Severus Snape and the Art of Being Human: I’ll release the book in time for Leviosa 2016. I’ll be giving a lecture at MISTI-Con this May (next month!!), but it’ll be a warm-up for the book.

I have plenty to work on in the coming months, though!

Oh, and I’ll be giving that MISTI lecture of mine on Friday May 22nd at two o’clock, in the Granite room.

Right now, I think I’m going to drink a nice hot chocolate, because it’s cold and grey and windy outside, and merely looking out the window is making me shiver. Thankfully, it’s going to get more spring-like—at last!!—towards the end of the week… I need some spring cheerfulness, and warmth, and sunshine, very badly.

Your devoted

Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

Tagged: Carl D Smith, Leviosa 2016, MISTI-Con, There's a Hula Girl on my Dashboard

Hula Girl: now available on logospilgrim.com

Kind readers,

last week, I was rather ill, but I’ve rallied just in time to release my latest book, There’s a Hula Girl on my Dashboard: How I Left Faith Behind and Embraced Life.

Barring any problem, it’ll be on Amazon as well in a few weeks; once it’s available there, I’ll be letting everyone know.

This is probably my most personal book to date, and I’m having a rather emotional day. Thank goodness for booze and Skinny Puppy ;-)

And I got some new ink to celebrate (just before I fell ill, fortunately!). A nice bottle of liquor:

As usual, I had a splendid time at Planet Ink with Tiffany. I’m always happy when I go to Planet Ink.

In other news, I’m very much hoping that I’ll be able to finish another project in time for MISTI-Con 2015:

More essays, from a humanist perspective.

Speaking of MISTI, I’ll be giving my lecture on Friday, May 22nd at two o’clock, in the Granite room.

*breathing in a bag*

On Saturday, I’ll be signing books in the big tent… I hope to see you there. I’ll be wearing a stupendous Kristopher Silverheart costume. Rawr!

After the convention, I’ll be working on yet another project. It’ll be lighthearted, fun and cheeky. A kind of follow-up to Hula Girl:

And then, it’ll be time for more fiction! I have a busy spring, summer, and fall ahead of me, though I am trying not to drive myself into the ground again.

Also, I recently received a bunch of fantastic books from a good writer friend of mine, Carl D. Smith! You really want The Horror of Loon Lake, trust me.

And look at the fabulous poster I got from another dear friend of mine, dapper as fuck magician Nelson Lugo:

Mercy. I’m exhausted because of the book release, and having been sick and everything… But I’m also happy. Thank you so much for your kindness and support.

Your devoted

Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

Tagged: Carl D Smith, MISTI-Con, Nelson Lugo, Planet Ink, There's a Hula Girl on my Dashboard, Tiffany Thornton, writing

2015: resolutions and upcoming projects

Kind readers,

right in the middle of the holiday season, I wound up getting shingles for the second time in six years.

So, there was a great deal of rest and recuperation.

I’m just about ready to get back to work on There’s a Hula Girl on my Dashboard, which should be available towards the end of Februrary/beginning of March.

This book will be my main focus in the coming weeks. As I wrote on my Livejournal earlier today,

Writing this book is my most exhilarating, freeing, nerve-wracking and satisfying writing experience to date. It’s a very personal and unapologetic account of my life journey, specifically from religious faith to secular humanism. I describe my journey and explain how and why I left one outlook behind and embraced another without regret, joyfully.

After it’s completed, I’ll be turning my attention to A Princely Calling: The Life Secrets of Severus Snape (I’ve altered the title a bit). I hope to have it finished in time for MISTI-Con 2015… We’ll see how it goes! This year, I’ve resolved to treat myself more gently and not take on too much. I’m going to give myself a lot of space and quiet time.

I’ve been deciding which forms of social media will get my attention this year. Tumblr has been out for some time now (I can’t understand what it’s for, and on the whole it bored me fantastically when I tried getting into it), I haven’t been on Ello much since I got shingles even though Ello is all right, and it’s very likely that I’ll delete my Facebook Page at some point this year due to the company’s impending “monthly fee” for Pages (and, I really don’t like Facebook; I never have). My online activity centers around Livejournal, Twitter, and my WordPress blog. I think that’s enough. How much social networking can one handle? It quickly becomes really exhausting, I find.

In other news, I’d like to thank my friend Horror Chick for her beautiful review of Outlaw in the Land of Perfection:

Here she is with her copy:

And here is my friend Erik Hofstatter, author of the horror novel The Pariahs, with his (he gave it four stars on Goodreads):

And my friend Jen Frankel, author of Undead Redhead, shared these kind words about Outlaw:

And here is the incredible piece of art that my friend James Kersey did of Kristopher Silverheart… It’s about the size of a trading card:

I’ve added one of his illustrations to my artwork collection. I adore his style, which reminds me of the work of French artist Moebius.

I’ll be working on the next installment in the Outlaw series this summer, after I’ve written my horror novel Specimen… That’s the plan, at least!

In other other news, I’ve become addicted to collecting Trash Pack figurines, and watching The Big Bang Theory.

Your devoted

Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

Tagged: Erik Hofstatter, Horror Chick, James Kersey, Jen Frankel, MISTI-Con, Outlaw in the Land of Perfection, writing

spooky happy

Kind readers,

I’ve been hard at work on There’s a Hula Girl on my Dashboard: How I Left Faith Behind and Embraced Life. I’ll be keeping you posted on my progress and when the book becomes available (at some point around mid to late December).

I’ve also been buying silly socks, I’ve become an ordained minister of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and I celebrated the 30th anniversary of Nightmare on Elm Street.

I’m really looking forward to the release of this album right here:

Speaking of terrific music, my dear friend Bonesy (member of the Halloween punk band Bricklayer Bosh) recently sent me yet another fabulous box of goodies. I’m a spoiled professor.

Scrumptious! :-)

Here she is with their spooky first album:

And I finally got myself a Freddy claw necklace from Robert Englund’s website!

Oh, and look at this beautiful photo of my dear friend French Rhubarb with her copy of Outlaw in the Land of Perfection:

Encouragement like this truly goes straight to my heart.

My friend and talented artist, Nezumi, has begun sketching the cover of the second book in the Outlaw series, Outlaw in the Outer Reaches… That book will be available next year, in the spring or summer.

And here I am with some spooktacular reading material by Dave Scheidt and Jess Smart Smiley! Awesome, awesome book and a bunch of treats.

I’ve been digging Ello a whole lot too.

To sum up, I’ve been feeling like this lately:

If you’re a happy camper like me, you can find this mug on Retro Planet. I couldn’t resist getting one, obviously ;-)

Back to writing!

Your devoted

Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

Tagged: Bricklayer Bosh, Elvis Preseli, Flying Spaghetti Monster, Outlaw in the Land of Perfection, Retro Planet, Robert Englund, Spooky Sleepover, There's a Hula Girl on my Dashboard

just walking the earth

Kind readers,

today is the 20th anniversary of the release of Pulp Fiction.

Do I love this film? The answer would be yes.

“I’ll just walk the earth. You know, walk the earth, meet people… get into adventures. Like Caine from Kung Fu.”

I just found out, thanks the the Mighty Internets, that I could get my hands on a most prized object: the Bad Mother Fucker wallet. Now that’s the way one celebrates an anniversary like this.

In other news…

Look at the amazing comic strip that my friend Pat McCuen, creator of The Devil & Mr. Gandhi, did for me (he put me in it!!):

And here I am with the two first fantastic issues, and Pat’s Sampler (filled with goodies):

And here’s a sample of the great stuff you’ll see in issue #2…

I love his work.

In other other news, all seems to indicate that there’s going to be another great Harry Potter convention in 2016! It’s called Leviosa, and it looks like it’s going to be stupendous. I do plan on going.

I’m still very much hoping to hold my own small gathering for introverts, Quietus, in 2016! Perhaps it’ll be in September or October of that year? It’ll probably be more like a meet-up than a straight out convention. We’ll see what happens…

In other other other news, I’ve begun a new writing project. It’s a non-fiction book entitled There’s a Hula Girl on my Dashboard: How I Left Faith Behind and Embraced Life.

I’m very excited about this book. It’s going to be about my personal journey away from organized religion and Christian dogma (sin, redemption, divine laws, all of that). It’s going to be about joy and freedom, about living in the moment, about living with mystery; about driving along the highway of life, enjoying sunsets and the wind upon one’s face, dealing with potholes and flat tires, and breathing in What Is. It’s going to be about the dignity of simply being human—nothing else required.

I want this book to be available around the holidays. I’m very confident that it will be.

And then, there’s NaNoWriMo just around the corner… I’ll be writing the first draft of my horror/supernatural thriller, Specimen.

Then, it’ll be the turn of Outlaw in the Outer Reaches—I’ll have sketches of the cover illustration for you soon.

So, plenty of good things ahead! I’ll be keeping you abreast of everything :-)

Your devoted

Logospilgrim, the quiet professor

Tagged: Hula Girl, Leviosa, Pat McCuen, Pulp Fiction, Quietus 2016, Specimen, The Devil & Mr. Gandhi, writing