Bryan Higby's Blog, page 2
June 21, 2013
Neil Gaiman
My chance came, finally. Neil Gaiman, one of my favorite authors since I was eighteen, arrived on stage in Saratoga Springs NY. It was one of 16 cities throughout the United States that Mr. Gaiman chose for his last US hurray! He announced that he would not be signing formally again in the United States. We all knew that tis was something special. Over 1500 attendees sat spell bound as the M.C. announced the man's name. A name that, I'm sure am not alone, in saying was an inspiration to me and opened the gates to the world of the imagination. How did it begin?
Twenty years ago I wandered into a local comics shop. I was not a regular visitor but I did stop in from time to time in order to purchase my new issue of Sam Keith's brilliant existential comic - The Maxx. On this occasion I noticed this disturbing book with a small insane looking punch doll on the cover. This was of course Neil Gaiman's Mr. Punch. I rifled through the pocket of my jeans to find not enough to buy this creepy book, so I wandered further - with Mr. Gaiman's name itched into my consciousness. I found a comic. Sandman? What was this? I new the old song - "Mr. Sandman bring me a dream…". I have never heard of this comic. I had never seen a cover like this one on a comic. I discovered later the brilliant work of artist Dave McKean. What is my point? Simple. That day when I walked out of the comic shop with my issue of The Maxx it had a companion. After reading Sandman I never looked back.
Speed ahead twenty years. Now I've read almost everything that Neil Gaiman has published. I see on Facebook that Mr. Gaiman is coming to Saratoga Springs for a final book tour. I am thrilled. My wife, who doesn't just indulge my flights of Fantasy, but embraces them, had the tickets purchased. We spent several hours at the theater. We listened to Neil Gaiman speak, what a wonderful. We heard him tell jokes, a joke, a dirty joke. We lined up for two hours to get his signature, and all this time I stood thinking that the man I am about to meet authored my career. Brilliant. Our time came. He signed our books. He drew a small ghost in mine and wished me the best. It was quick, it was formal, but it was Gaiman. Brilliant!!
Twenty years ago I wandered into a local comics shop. I was not a regular visitor but I did stop in from time to time in order to purchase my new issue of Sam Keith's brilliant existential comic - The Maxx. On this occasion I noticed this disturbing book with a small insane looking punch doll on the cover. This was of course Neil Gaiman's Mr. Punch. I rifled through the pocket of my jeans to find not enough to buy this creepy book, so I wandered further - with Mr. Gaiman's name itched into my consciousness. I found a comic. Sandman? What was this? I new the old song - "Mr. Sandman bring me a dream…". I have never heard of this comic. I had never seen a cover like this one on a comic. I discovered later the brilliant work of artist Dave McKean. What is my point? Simple. That day when I walked out of the comic shop with my issue of The Maxx it had a companion. After reading Sandman I never looked back.
Speed ahead twenty years. Now I've read almost everything that Neil Gaiman has published. I see on Facebook that Mr. Gaiman is coming to Saratoga Springs for a final book tour. I am thrilled. My wife, who doesn't just indulge my flights of Fantasy, but embraces them, had the tickets purchased. We spent several hours at the theater. We listened to Neil Gaiman speak, what a wonderful. We heard him tell jokes, a joke, a dirty joke. We lined up for two hours to get his signature, and all this time I stood thinking that the man I am about to meet authored my career. Brilliant. Our time came. He signed our books. He drew a small ghost in mine and wished me the best. It was quick, it was formal, but it was Gaiman. Brilliant!!
June 19, 2013
MY ARRIVAL
The title sounds…arrogant? Not sure, honestly, I’m not. The title for this blog simply refers to the idea that I’m new in this world – new to this blog, new to Goodreads. I’m excited because up until about a month ago I had only two books in print, now I have eight titles publishes via eBooks and five in paperbacks. Each are available through Amazon.com.
I knew about the eBook revolution, but it never occurred to me that I could join. How did I join? How did I start? Well it starts with a little article I read about a new television show to air on the FOX Network in 2014 titled Wayward Pines. Why did this article attract my attention? Mostly because I googled Twin Peaks, my favorite TV show ever, and this article appeared. After reading I found out that the series was based on the novel PINES by author Blake Crouch. As I so often do I researched Mr. Crouch and found a new revolution in book publishing.
Through Blake Crouch I read about his experience with traditional book print publishers and the hardships. I read about his co-authors, and friends people like JA Konrath author of the great Jack Daniels series. I started reading these works and became hooked. Not only was it great fiction story telling but their publishing style was amazing too. Full creative freedom, quick turn-around time for publication, and a 70% royalty. Add to this the ability to create your own promotion/marketing approach based off you the author, the one who wrote the novel and knows it best.
Long story short, I started publishing eBooks via Kindle Direct Publishing. The print publishing rights for my traditionally published novellas, The Diary of a Logos and A Logos At Large, reverted back to me in 2012 and 2013. I published The Diary of a Logos via eBook in May 2013 followed by DenMark Lane, Zoey’s World, Reality Reports, Shamrock Cell, Locked Inside The Monkey Room and Tree Hotel. It wasn’t until I started getting email from friends who wanted paperback editions that I contacted Amazon’s partner company Createspace to POD my paperback versions. Now all of my books are available in paperback and eBook forms. I collected my three Logos novellas – Reality Reports, Tree Hotel, and Locked Inside The Monkey Room and published those in a paperback edition, The Logos Omnibus Volume One.
The promotion campaign for my work begins next week with me hosting the IndieReader website with my Horror novel DenMark Lane. If you like modern Horror, ala Stephen King, Dean Koontz etc… you’ll like DenMark Lane. Here’s a big hurray to the new publishing revolution, may you all join!!!
I knew about the eBook revolution, but it never occurred to me that I could join. How did I join? How did I start? Well it starts with a little article I read about a new television show to air on the FOX Network in 2014 titled Wayward Pines. Why did this article attract my attention? Mostly because I googled Twin Peaks, my favorite TV show ever, and this article appeared. After reading I found out that the series was based on the novel PINES by author Blake Crouch. As I so often do I researched Mr. Crouch and found a new revolution in book publishing.
Through Blake Crouch I read about his experience with traditional book print publishers and the hardships. I read about his co-authors, and friends people like JA Konrath author of the great Jack Daniels series. I started reading these works and became hooked. Not only was it great fiction story telling but their publishing style was amazing too. Full creative freedom, quick turn-around time for publication, and a 70% royalty. Add to this the ability to create your own promotion/marketing approach based off you the author, the one who wrote the novel and knows it best.
Long story short, I started publishing eBooks via Kindle Direct Publishing. The print publishing rights for my traditionally published novellas, The Diary of a Logos and A Logos At Large, reverted back to me in 2012 and 2013. I published The Diary of a Logos via eBook in May 2013 followed by DenMark Lane, Zoey’s World, Reality Reports, Shamrock Cell, Locked Inside The Monkey Room and Tree Hotel. It wasn’t until I started getting email from friends who wanted paperback editions that I contacted Amazon’s partner company Createspace to POD my paperback versions. Now all of my books are available in paperback and eBook forms. I collected my three Logos novellas – Reality Reports, Tree Hotel, and Locked Inside The Monkey Room and published those in a paperback edition, The Logos Omnibus Volume One.
The promotion campaign for my work begins next week with me hosting the IndieReader website with my Horror novel DenMark Lane. If you like modern Horror, ala Stephen King, Dean Koontz etc… you’ll like DenMark Lane. Here’s a big hurray to the new publishing revolution, may you all join!!!
