Lily Neon Vagabond's Blog, page 13

On Being a Canadian Author

I've been thinking a lot about being Canadian lately. The Tragically Hip are no more, Gord Downie has gone home for a well-earned rest. And I have a book to illustrate.

(In case you missed the update on Facebook, I've decided to finish The Ash Garden first as an illustrated novel,  and it's coming along nicely).

Canadian publishing works very differently in comparison to American publishing. In fact, you really can't compare. They're two different worlds. It's a different country, which I say with a shrug. Canadian publishing is all about you know in Canada, what you do that's Canadian, and where you're from. Literary fiction by an author born in St. Catherine's, Ontario, who writes about trees native to Eastern Canada, for example.

Don't get me wrong. I love Canada. I'm proud to be Canadian. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in the world. I'm glad we have tons of support and funding for local Canadian arts. But the truth is, Canadian publishing is limited to, essentially, the Canadian landscape, in whatever medium the creator chooses (books, poetry, etc, etc). As a result, I've never felt any confidence to publish my work in my own country. Sad? Perhaps. But that's just the reality of being the kind of person who marches to a different drumbeat. I wouldn't be surprised, and I have seen evidence, that similar struggles exist for many different creators, in many countries all of the world.

And I'm tired. Since social media was introduced and became popular, I've lost count how many times I've apologized for my Canadian-ness. (Oh, sorry, that wasn't a typo, we spell "centre" with an "re" not a "er.") I'm tired of being treated as if I'm stupid, naive, a bad speller, and I couldn't possibly know what's going on in the country that's right next door. Yeesh.

I'm tired of omitting the "u." I'm tired of being un-Canadian.

Okay, so I'll never make it big in Canadian publishing. I'm cool with that. It's something I accepted a long time ago. But, really, in an online world where any two-year-old can Google that shit, I don't think I should have to work so hard at being un-Canadian just in case there's one person out of billions who doesn't immediately get that reference.

I have a point. This isn't a mindless rant post. Really. Thank you for your patience.

The Ash Garden had a lot of Canadian references. A lot of those referrences were edited or deleted, mostly by The Publisher That Shall Not be Named. I would like to attract an international audience, but I don't think deleting Canadian references was the best thing to do. I feel removing those references has just created a mess. I wrote the first draft in Canadian English, and no matter how The Ash Garden is published, there will be Canadian-ness woven throughout the story. And I won't apologize for that.

I also won't apologize for the fact I'm creating, with help of an artist, a comic book set in Tennessee. That's the story of Cottonseeds. I have a vivid imagination that's more of a curse than a blessing, and so, I can set story in Tennessee, with references to Tennessee. (Another shrug).

I will, however, say sorry in casual conversation. The word sorry is in my Canadian blood. I can't help it. If I cut you off in line or pass by you in a doorway, I will automatically say sorry.  (No, no, I'm sorry, please, after you).

Why Lily is on Patreon

It's a good question. So I'm going to answer it in greater detail than what's on my Patreon page.

Yeah, that's right. I decided to start a Patreon page today. You can see it here: https://www.patreon.com/lilyauthor

And here's the little video I made to go with my Patreon page: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0Doa_8DqB0

But enough of the self-promo crap. More about my answer.

I want to connect with followers and give everyone a chance to support my projects. First one of couse, is Cottonseeds. And then I'll just go from there.

I started blogging about 10-11 years ago. At the time, I had no idea what I was doing. Hell, I didn't even have a website back then. Fast forward a decade, and now I have blog, website, social media accounts. Average number of followers/fans/etc, about a 100. Average unique views a day, about 500.

I'm not showing off. Many have far less and I'm aware of that. Many artists/authors/creators have far more than I do. See, I've been so stuck on being an independent nobody with a following of mostly lurkers. Thanks for reading, but you know what? After all this time, I want to meet you. I want you to meet me. I want to hang out and talk with everyone. I don't have the resources to go on tours and do public readings all over the world, though that would be nice. So I'm offering what I can  provide. And I'm asking every fan/follower/lurker, to please stand up. I respect your privacy. I respect you so much that I want to meet you. Let's haung out and have a virtual cup of coffee. (That's a figure of speech, you can drink whatever you want).

So it's not just about the money. It's about community. Help me to build and maintain a Lily community. And if that turns out to be a community of five people, I'm okay with that. If it turns out to be more than five people, well, I'll learn to juggle and we can all laugh at my silly mistakes. :D

(Seriously, have you ever seen a lily flower try to juggle? It's funny shit).

More than anything else, I sincerely, honestly, want to meet you. So, let's hang :)

P.S. If you're as broke as I am, I would still love the chance to meet you. So please don't think just because you don't have a cent to spare, that I'll be a big snob and ignore you. All of you are important to me, no matter what.

Buy Now! Cottonseeds: The Killer and the Eternal Child

It's here! Buy it now in Lily's Online Store. More retailers coming soon. Red the preview. Buy or the sex. Just saying.


 
http://lilyauthor.com/graphicnovels/kilerandchild/

Previews and news

New Media section added with previews of the next Cottonseeds issue. See them all here!

http://lilyauthor.com/graphicnovels/media/

Nifty share buttons for your convenience. Shre with your friends, spread the word.

Shroud Media is expanding distribution so there's a delay. I will continue providng previews until it's published and ready to buy.

Here's a sample ->

Think you can handle it?

Cottonseeds New Series

Hi. I've been busy. I made the announcement on FB so I'm doing it here.

After a lot of thought and discussion, I've decided to start a new series for Cottonseeds. It was the only way for me to have the fast-paced thriller action Cottonseeds is meant to have. So, announcing Cottonseeds: The Killer and the Eternal Child. Rough ETA for #1 is end of April. Stay tuned. Make popcorn. Put on your seat belts. It's going to be one hell of a ride. Here's a preview of the cover. Enjoy!

Cottonseeds Collected Edition #1 and other news

Forgot to update my blog.

Sorry.

Big News! Announcing the addition of an artist, Henry T. Pardo. Issues will be released once a month from now on. Can I get a yay?


Thanks! You're a star.

Fun interview with Michael Benavidez. He's such a good sport. Go read. A lot of new info.

https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/9948393-interview-lily

Cottonseeds Collected Edition #1 coming at the end of the month. The edition will include issues 1 - 3, for 2.99$.

Check out the video:




Give it a like. Share with friends. Let everyone know that I finally figured out how to embed a video on this blog. Good times!

Direct link in case you need it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ7avmOhh-Q

Um, How About No

I just read the bitchiest, most dictating how to make money writing article. I honestly thought to myself, But, David Bowie. So fuck you.

Hey, want to read one of my short stories?

Check out TOWY Anthlogy! A short story of mine is included. It's on Amazon and Goodreads. Even better, all proceeds go to suicide prevention charities. Good stories, good cause, what are you what for?





http://www.amazon.com/TOWY-Anthology-collection-disturbing-tales-ebook/dp/B01B3F6LOE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1453856123&sr=1-1

And if you haven't already, check out Take One With You by Oak Anderson, the amazing thriller novel that spawned this amazing anthology.


You can see my review on Goodreads.



https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/918769623?book_show_action=false

Stardust

I've been trying to put how I feel about David Bowie's death in words since I woke up and saw the shocking news of David Bowie's death all over Facebook. But I kept failing. I've seen a lot of articles, tributes, memes, and comments today, but most felt empty to me. I didn't see anything rude or disrespectful, a bunch were cute, but nothing epitomized how I feel. There was something missing.
Then I watched the Lazarus video (for the hundredth time) and it just suddenly hit me. You can't memorize death.
That's half the problem of what's missing. In this day and age, where almost half the world's population is connected to the Internet, everyone's dependent on Wikipedia, and idiotic top ten lists are considered good conversation instead of using your own experience, the incredibly sad announcement of David Bowie's death is being chewed up and spat out like another online forgettable trend. You just can't memorize death. You experiencedeath.
For those of us who grew up in 70's and 80's underground subcultures, Bowie made everything okay. You didn't have to love him. You didn't have to like him. It didn't matter. There was, and still is, no possible way anyone could be weirder than Bowie. He set the bar high. No one could fail. Perhaps not as successful, but not a failure. So many of us have been using our influences in our own art while battling the politically correct 21stcentury tidal wave of mindless trolls threatening to devour us whole for daring to share art with the world. Maybe none of us are creative geniuses in the same way Bowie was, but, dammit, it's worth trying. It's worth the effort. The bar was already set.
The other half of the problem is this. Although it's been reported that Bowie's last album is a gift to fans, and it is, he also left a powerful message that no one seems to be getting yet. Watch the Lazarus video. He isn't just saying, accept his death or remember the gift he left to the world. He's saying, here, pass on my gift. Because that's what you do with heroes who have died.
If you happen to be someone who didn't grow up in the same personality exploding era, don't feel bad. Just know some of us are still around and we're doing our best to pass it on. Think someone's art is weird? Good. We did our job. Now pass it on.

Graphic Novels Update

The Graphic Novels section of my website has been updated. I don't know about you, but I can't stand sub-nested menus where you have to click a million times before you find anything. So I cleaned it all up. There's a couple of previews I removed for now until I have more content.

Of course, cleaning up means there will be broken links scattered all over the net. I've already updated all links for any title that's already on Goodreads. Youtube is a nother matter. I'm cleaning up as I go. If you find any broken links, please let me know and send a mesage.

You can use the Contact form here: http://lilyauthor.com/contact/

Without further ado, here's the new squeaky clean Graphic Novels.

http://lilyauthor.com/graphicnovels/

Enjoy!

In case anyone's missed it, the first two issues for The Ash Garden and Cottonseeds are now available. Visit the store doe details.

http://lilyauthor.com/graphicnovels/store/