Loren Rhoads's Blog, page 18

Hey, Book Bloggers!

My new book Angelus Rose is available on NetGalley, if you’d like a copy for review.

All the information you might want about the book is available here: https://lorenrhoads.com/writing/as-above-so-below/

I’m happy to write guest posts or do interviews, if you’d like to talk about writing, publishing, or angels and devils. Drop me a note through the Contact tab on the navigation bar above.

Everyone else, please remember:

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Party with Prizes today!

[image error]Today (April 11): Horror Addicts is throwing a Facebook party from 2-3 pm PDT to celebrate the publication of Angelus Rose, the sequel to the story of the succubus Lorelei and her angel Azaziel.

There will be games, lots of prizes, and I’ll be chatting about angels, demons, and the book. You’re stuck at home and it’ll be fun. Come join us!

Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/events/224540612052871

Angelus Rose Party & Giveaway

[image error]This Saturday (April 11) from 2-3 pm PDT, Horror Addicts is throwing a Facebook party to celebrate the publication of Angelus Rose, the sequel to the story of the succubus Lorelei and her angel Azaziel. There will be games, lots of prizes, and I’ll be chatting about the book. It will be a lot of fun. Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/events/224540612052871 Please join us!

The cover of Angelus Rose has been nominated for an Alternative Book Cover Award on Alternative-Read.com. If you wouldn’t mind swinging by to vote for it, I would sure appreciate it. In fact, you can vote once a day until April 24!  Here’s the link: https://alternative-read.com/2020/03/30/march-2020-alternative-book-cover-award-nominees-have-you-voted-yet-vote-for-your-favourite-bookcover-now-ends-april-24-2020-writingwarrior2-wwu/

Also, I’m giving away 100 copies of Angelus Rose for the Kindle on Goodreads. As I write this, only 160 people have entered so far, so your odds of winning are pretty good. While you’re on Goodreads, please add the book to your To-Read shelf. That will help get the word out and aid your friends to see it.

Angelus Rose
by Loren Rhoads

Giveaway ends May 05, 2020.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Finally, if you review books, Angelus Rose is available on NetGalley all this month.

 

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How are you doing?

[image error]Wow. Three months ago, I was really excited about 2020. I was going to sell books at all the local comic cons this year, give my cemetery postcards talk at the Gravestone Studies conference in Texas, and finish a new cemetery travel book, once I got the Angelus Rose novel published. I had so many plans!

I’m betting you had a list of things you were looking forward to this year, too.  How is that working out for you now?

Things started to fall apart for me in February. The Indie Author UnCon was great. I came away with a list of new things to try and a bad cold that knocked me out for a solid week — as well as the start of a construction project my husband and I had been putting off since we bought this house 20 years ago.  We were finally going to remove the asbestos popcorn ceiling in the living room, tear out the ugly plastic sconces in the walls, add some decent lighting, and refinish the hardwood floors. We got as far as sealing up the walls before the first stay-at-home directive came down. We can’t paint yet and the electricity hasn’t been reconnected.

[image error]I feel like I lived the whole month of March hunched over and huddled up, waiting for something terrible to happen.  My dad checked himself out of a nursing home so he could be with my mom, rather than in quarantine where he was safe, because they both were lonely. I had the hardest conversation of my life with my mom, when I told her I wasn’t coming home to be with her because I was afraid the borders would close and I wouldn’t be able to get back to my chronically ill kid. Now, at the dawn of April, everyone is doing okay so far. I’m counting my blessings.

Two of my dearest friends are in the process of surviving the virus, although they couldn’t actually get tested, despite repeated begging. I hope they are over the worst of it, finally, but I was frightened by how sick they got.

It’s spring in San Francisco.  My lemon tree is covered in blossoms and buzzing bees. The lilac is blooming. It looks like hope, but I haven’t walked any farther than the post office around the corner. The parks and playgrounds are closed, as is the parking lot at Ocean Beach. Our city supervisor wrote to say that people dressed in masks and scrubs have started going door to door, claiming to be from the health department and demanding to be let into people’s houses. Despite that, the crime rate is down because most people are staying home.

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One of the projects I’ve finished in quarantine.

My mood swings from contentment — really, this isn’t too much different than staying home with my kid before the virus came — to panic. I come from a rich lineage of hoarders, so I have plenty of projects to complete, more than enough books to read, and I think we have enough food, although the flour is running out and it’s been hard to find more. My husband is being obsessive about decontaminating the mail and washing all the groceries. I think we’ll be okay, unless society completely collapses.

But how are you? I heard that school is out in Virginia until the Fall. The news out of New York City is alarming. Are things shut down where you are? Are people being cautious?  Can you buy flour or toilet paper?

Check in, say hi, and let me know what you’re doing to keep yourself healthy and sane.

And finally, if you’re looking for something to take your mind off things, the blog tour for the As Above, So Below books is winding down. There’s a Rafflecopter giveaway for a $25 Amazon gift card, if you’d like to enter to win.  Here’s the link: https://www.silverdaggertours.com/sdsxx-tours/as-above-so-below-book-tour-and-giveaway.

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Angelus Rose is here

[image error]If Romeo had wings and Juliet a barbed tail, could they find love in the City of Angels?

Angelus Rose is finally out! You can find it at Amazon in paperback and for the kindle, at Barnes & Noble.com in paperback and for the Nook, or at Smashwords in any ebook format that you desire.

To celebrate, I’ve embarked on my first professionally arranged blog book tour. Here’s the kickoff post, which offers a giveaway, if you scroll all the way to the bottom: https://www.silverdaggertours.com/sdsxx-tours/as-above-so-below-book-tour-and-giveaway

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I’ve also done a couple of interviews to talk about the inspirations behind the book:

Jonathan Fortin (author of the brand-new Steampunk succubus book Lilitu) had me by to talk about succubi:

https://www.jonathanfortin.com/post/loren-rhoads-on-angelus-rose

Paranormal Wednesday interview with Shona Brock: https://shondabrock.wordpress.com/2020/03/04/author-loren-rhoads-on-paranormal-wednesday-pnrwednesday/

There’s more to come: a Facebook party with games and prizes, an interview with my elusive mad genius co-writer, hopefully even some video-recorded readings.

My goal for this year is to reach as many readers — anyone looking for good escapist stories — as possible. If you have any suggestions on how to do that, please let me know.

*****

I had planned to go to FOGCon this weekend to unveil the book, but I came down with a bad cold a couple of weeks ago and it’s still hanging on.  I’m much better, but I would hate to make anyone uncomfortable with my sniffling and sneezing.

Hopefully, I will see everyone as planned at the Oddities & Curiosities Expo on March 21!

Angelus Rose ebooks are out!

[image error] The kindle version of Angelus Rose is available now. Here’s the link: https://amzn.to/37xl2g3

You can also order the ebook from Smashwords for your Nook, Kobo, or other device. Here’s that link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1002026

The paperback is a little delayed, thanks to the vicissitudes of Amazon’s printing service. Hopefully, we’ll get that straightened out this week.

I fully realize that a succubus/angel love story might not be your cup of fur. Maybe you don’t like Los Angeles. Maybe you prefer to stay out of cemeteries. Maybe you don’t like horror in your romance or romance in your horror.

I’d still appreciate it if you could help me spread the word about the book. Here are some sample tweets to copy & paste — or feel free to write your own. If you could tweet any one of the following, that would be stellar! I’m @morbidloren on twitter, if you want to tag me.

Angelus Rose is “A ravishingly dark love story set on the cusp of war. You’ll be on knife’s edge until the very end,” according to Martha J. Allard, author of Speak My Name. https://amzn.to/37xl2g3

In Angelus Rose, “Kick-ass succubus Lorelei shines as she takes on Heaven and Hell for the angel she loves.” — E. M. Markoff, author of The Deadbringer. https://amzn.to/37xl2g3

“If you enjoy theology and the idea of angels and demons at war among us, you need to check out the As Above, So Below books. You won’t be disappointed.” — HorrorAddicts.net https://amzn.to/37xl2g3

Other ways to help spread the word:

add Angelus Rose to your Want to Read list on Goodreads
better yet, add it to your wishlist on Amazon
tell your friends if you think they’d dig Angelus Rose
check out my inspiration board on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lorenrho/lorelei-and-aza/
share the book trailer:

Thanks so much for your help getting the word out.

PS. If you’re a book blogger and you’re interested in taking a look at the book, let me know by dropping a link to your blog below.  Thanks!

Angelus Rose is in design

Angelus Rose, the second book in the As Above, So Below series, is finally at the book designer. Check out the final cover:

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Thanks so much to E. M. Markoff for the wonderful cover blurb and Carmen Masloski for the beautiful cover image.

Here’s the description of the book:

If Romeo had wings and Juliet a barbed tail, could they find happiness in the City of Angels?

After their escape from the ashes of Lost Angels, the succubus Lorelei and the angel Azaziel want nothing more than to enjoy each other’s company. Unfortunately, Asmodeus, the Demon Prince of LA, has threatened to devour Lorelei’s new-grown soul if she doesn’t bring about Azaziel’s downfall. Meanwhile, Aza is keeping secrets of his own that threaten the tenuous peace between Heaven and Hell.

Three archangels come to town to try to set things right, but friendships are fracturing. The demon in charge of fallen angels is sniffing around. And Los Angeles is about to be caught between a devil and the deep blue sea.

I made a book trailer for the two books in the series:

And I’m taking part in my first professionally arranged blog tour!  If you have a blog and might be interested in hosting a post about Angelus Rose or the As Above, So Below series, please sign up here: https://www.silverdaggertours.com/tour-sign-ups/as-above-so-below-tour-sign-ups

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I hope to have the sales information soon.

 

Sex-Positive Succubi

[image error]When Brian Thomas and I began a book about the relationship between a succubus and an angel, the chief thing I was adamant about was that sex had to be beautiful and liberating and celebratory.  Sex in and of itself could never be the event that tarnished someone’s soul or damned anyone.

I mean, sex in and of itself isn’t even listed as a deadly sin.  The Ten Commandments prohibit adultery – consensual sex between a married person and someone other than their lawful spouse – but that leaves succubi pretty much free to do as they like with anyone who is unmarried: from a certain succubus’s point of view, anyway.

My succubus Lorelei was created in Hell for a singular purpose: to lead mortals into lust (which does make the list of Seven Deadly Sins).  Lust, as her boss Asmodeus tells her, must drive all hope of Heaven out of Azaziel’s heart.  Otherwise, he’ll remain unfallen.  The demon tells Lorelei that Aza has had sex before.  What he doesn’t tell her was that Aza had even been married before, in the days before the Flood.  While Aza and his bride had a healthy sex life, each saw the reflection of the divine in their lover.  For Azaziel and Anah, sex was a sacrament.  It was holy.

So Aza and Lorelei do have sex once in the course of Lost Angels, the first novel, only to be interrupted by the angel Muriel.  Muriel loathes succubi and is no fan of humanity, but she sees herself as an unwavering beacon of morality.  Everyone else – angels included – see her as a prude.

One of the characters says in the book that Lorelei uses sex as a way to communicate with people.  It’s a physical hunger for her that she feels down deep in her hips.  The sex she has in the first book ranges over a spectrum from getting to know someone to thanking them for helping her out, from deepening a friendship to illustrating love.  Lorelei is never possessive and doesn’t expect anyone to remain exclusive to her – just as she never promises to be exclusive to anyone else, even “her” angel.

Which is not to say that all the sex Lorelei has in the book in joyous.  Asmodeus tries to use sex to remind Lorelei of her place, but in the end, she doesn’t allow herself to be defined by anyone else’s views of her.

It was important to me that Lorelei be able to define the sex she has for herself.  When Aza takes her to bed, he puts her into a position where she’s imprisoned in her flesh.  The angel envisions it as a kind of erotic bondage, but he doesn’t allow her a safe word or any possibility of escape.  He does what he can to pleasure her body, all the while terrorizing her spirit.  She defines the experience as rape:  erotic for him, but frightening for her.  It takes him a while to understand her viewpoint – and when he finally does, it radically alters his understanding of himself.

The second book in the series, Angelus Rose, continue to explore what sex can mean, both inside a relationship and as a way to punish, demean, celebrate, and praise another person.  In the novels, sex is – above all else – character development.

Angelus Rose will be available next month!

 

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This essay was originally published on We Read with A Glass of Wine. RIP.

Never Enough: All the Rest

Actually, I’m fairly pleased with how the promotional aspect of everything went last year. I had some great conversations with podcast people this year. Because of the Camp Fire book, I managed to get out in public some. Thanks to Angel Leigh McCoy (more about her later!), I started sending out a monthly-ish newsletter, have a working bookstore on this site again, and the Morbid Curiosity Wikipedia page finally got updated. Oh, and I made my pen name legal.

Podcasts:

[image error]The Get Published Podcast

Paul Brodie interviewed me aboutShut Up & Write, Nanowrimo, Writing Down the Bones, and how to set up a one-week book tour.

Airdate: January 30, 2019

Listen to it: https://open.spotify.com/episode/466atjM12PTkA6ovr0bLKR

Strange Familiars

I talked with Timothy Renner about 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die.

Airdate: February 23, 2019

Listen to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vz7jBQJpV4

Madness Heart Radio

John Baltisberger interviewed me about the Tales for the Camp Fire book.

Airdate: April 16, 2019

Listen to it: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/loren-rhoads-tales-for-the-campfire/id1434970877?i=1000435123434

KCBS

Peter Finch interviewed me about the Tales for the Camp Fire book.

Airdate: June 8, 2019

SF in SF

After Nancy Etchemendy, EM Markoff, and I did SF in SF in June, the podcast went live in August.

Airdate: August 7, 2019

Listen to it: https://soundcloud.com/sfinsfpodcast/june-2019-loren-rhoads-nancy-etchemendy-and-e-m-markoff-tales-for-the-camp-fire

Horror Addicts episode 171

Horror Addicts featured part of my story “Still Life with Shattered Glass” from Tales for the Camp Fire.

Airdate: August 9, 2019

Listen to it:  https://horroraddicts.wordpress.com/2019/08/09/horroraddicts-net-171-loren-rhoads-hwa-sf[image error]

Lilycat on Stuff 

EM Markoff and I chatted in the FCC Free Radio studio with DJ Lilycat about Tales for the Camp Fire. We read excerpts of our stories, too.

Airdate: August 11, 2019

Listen to it: http://www.fccfreeradio.com/archive/lilycat%20on%20stuff/lilycat_previous_2019-08-18_13-55-05.mp3

Print/Online Interviews:

AL Kaplan interviewed me for her blog series, Wolf Notes: An Uncommon Interview, on January 30, 2019:  https://alkaplan.wordpress.com/2019/01/30/wolf-notes-an-uncommon-interview-loren-rhoads/

Stephanie Ayers interviewed my character Alondra DeCourval for her Word Whisperer blog on February 15, 2019: https://stephanieayersauthor.com/women-in-horror-month-character-interview-with-alondra-decourval/

Vonnie Winslow Crist interviewed me about Lost Angels for her Whimsical Words blog on March 12, 2019: https://vonniewinslowcrist.wordpress.com/2019/03/12/interview-of-loren-rhoads/

Lana Ayers interviewed me for her blog about the Alondra Stories and Tales for the Camp Fire on April 19, 2019: http://lanaayers.com/blog/index.php/2019/04/19/interview-with-author-loren-rhoads/

I live-chatted with Anita Stewart on Facebook for her series Between the Pages on May 1, 2019. Watch it here:  https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=851364795199095

L. S. Johnson interviewed me about David Wojnarowicz, my hopes for the future of California, and my story in Tales for the Camp Fire on June 3, 2019: http://www.ellderet.com/blog-tales-for-the-camp-fire/2019/5/21/scary-stories-for-a-good-cause-loren-rhoads-on-still-life-with-shattered-glass

[image error]Dark Ink magazine published an interview with me by Kate Anderson in Summer 2019.(photos on my phone)

The Chilling Chat interview done by Naching T. Kassa went live on the Horror Addicts blog on August 9, 2019: https://horroraddicts.wordpress.com/2019/08/09/chilling-chat-episode-171-loren-rhoads/

Emerian Rich did a series of interviews with Real Women Writers of Speculative Fiction. Mine went live on October 16, 2019: https://emzbox.wordpress.com/2019/10/16/the-real-women-writers-of-speculative-fiction-realwomenwriters-6

Word Whisperer Stephanie Ayers interviewed me for her Horror Month Spotlight on October 23, 2019: : https://stephanieayersauthor.com/horror-month-spotlight-on-author-loren-rhoads/

Articles:

The Calaveras Enterprise featured Tales for the Camp Fire in a piece called “Charity anthology to benefit Camp Fire relief efforts” on April 13, 2019:  http://www.calaverasenterprise.com/community/article_a4a5a4b8-5c70-11e9-a290-b3a257c1adc7.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share

The Petaluma Argos Courier featured Tales for the Camp Fire in a piece called “Scary Story Anthology to Benefit Wildfire Relief on April 26, 2019:  https://www.petaluma360.com/entertainment/9513698-181/the-buzz-scary-story-anthology?fbclid=IwAR3sJeD7swz2

Tales for the Camp Fire made i09’s list of the “Sparkling New Books” coming out in May. Thanks to Cheryl Eddy for encouraging readers to “support wildfire relief efforts and scare yourself silly with this collection of creepy sci-fi, horror, and fantasy tales, all by Northern California authors who’ve contributed their stories to help people affected by last year’s devastating Camp Fire.” https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2019/05/check-out-the-sparkling-new-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-coming-your-way-in-may/

Tales for the Camp Fire was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle in a piece called “California Wildfires Spark Creativity in Horror Writers” on June 25, 2019.  Thanks to Jef Rouner! https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/books/california-wildfires-spark-creativity-in-horror-writers

Chad Schimke featured my story “Still Life with Shattered Glass” on his blog on September 15, 2019: https://chadschimke.blogspot.com/2019/09/still-life-with-shattered-glass-by.html

The Guardian included 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die included on “Top 10 Books About Graveyards” by David Barnett on October 30, 2019: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/oct/30/top-10-books-about-graveyards-halloween-david-m-barnett-things-can-only-get-better?fbclid=IwAR3EtRWClL-QRPpEXSyVn22Z-YtqIQbTY0sB-S4w6X6bvkKIjZpJl6sghKE

Miscellaneous Good Things:

Buzzfeed featured 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die at #1 in a list called “23 Pieces of Home Decor That’ll Say ‘Welcome, Foolish Mortals'” on March 7, 2019: https://www.buzzfeed.com/elizabethlilly/home-decor-thatll-say-welcome-foolish-mortals

My very first cover blurb appeared on the amazing book Making Space for the Dead: Catacombs, Cemeteries, and the Reimagining of Paris 1780-1830 by Erin-Marie Legacey, published by Cornell University Press in April 2019.

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I sent out my first newsletter in June! If you’d like to get the inside scoop, the occasional book giveaway, and a morbid adventure or two, you can check it out here: https://mailchi.mp/aa9545b2ccf4/lorenrhoads

[image error]In July Queer Sci Fi was looking for a new slogan for their giveaway buttons. I won the contest! Here’s the final button.

Some of the best news of the year: Ellen Datlow included my story “Elle a vu un Loup” (which appeared in Weirdbook #40) in her full recommended list for Best Horror of the Year, volume 11, in September 2019.

In October, I got my first royalty check for 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die. That means, thanks to all of you, the book earned back the advance the publisher paid me to write the book. That is very exciting news.

In December, the Morbid Curiosity magazine Wikipedia listing went live with an update. That does my heart so good. Here it is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morbid_Curiosity_(magazine)

Never Enough: Live in 2019

Never enough doesn’t really describe last year’s live events, because I’m really pleased with how many times I got invited to speak or read in public. I wish I’d been able to work things out with the Cliterary Salon, but I’m not sure I could have managed anything more. Maybe this year?

Readings:

Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading

Sunday, March 10, 2019

FogCon in Hayward, California

Emceed by Rebecca Gomez Farrell, with L.S. Johnson and Tina LeCount Myers. I read from Lost Angels and “The Arms Dealer’s Daughter.”

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Contributors to Tales for the Camp Fire:  Clifford Brooks, Eric Esser, Ken Hueler, LS Johnson, me, EM Markoff, and Nancy Etchemendy

SF in SF

Sunday, June 9, 2019

American Book Binders Museum, San Francisco, California

Moderated by Terry Bisson, Nancy Etchemendy, EM Markoff and I read from and discussed Tales for the Camp Fire. The SF in SF podcast went live on August 7: https://soundcloud.com/sfinsfpodcast/june-2019-loren-rhoads-nancy-etchemendy-and-e-m-markoff-tales-for-the-camp-fire

[image error]Third Annual Tales of Horror

Wednesday, October, 2 2019

The Oak Room, Main Branch of the San Mateo Public Library

Emceed by Emerian Rich, Jonathan Fortin, Trinity Adler, Laurel Anne Hill, R.L. Merrill, Mercy Hollow, and me, along with Tales for the Camp Fire contributors E.M. Markoff, Ben Monroe, and Sumiko Saulson.

I read a piece of “Here There Be Monsters” from The Haunted Mansion Project: Year Two.

[image error]The San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the HWA at the Litcrawl

October 19, 2019

Dalva, San Francisco, California

Members of the SF Bay Area Chapter of the Horror Writers Association read from Tales for the Camp Fire. I emceed, joined by Clifford Brooks, L. S. Johnson, E. M. Markoff, and Ben Monroe. I read one of the sexy bits from “Still Life with Shattered Glass.”

[image error]Literary Speakeasy’s Martini Bar of Horrors

October 24, 2019

Martuni’s, San Francisco, California

Emceed by the inimitable James J. Siegel, I joined Laura Blackwell, Chaz Brenchley, Meg Elison, Vernon Keeve III, Ginger Murray, and Jean Znidarsic to bring the spooky back to Martuni’s.  I read the scene in the haunted swimming pool from “Here There Be Monsters” out of The Haunted Mansion Project: Year Two.

Lectures:

I did a little presentation to my local HWA group about how to prepare for a reading and introduced them to all the reading series in the Bay Area, April 14 at the Borderlands Cafe in San Francisco.

I only did one brand-new one last year, but I am really proud of it. I debuted my “Future of Death” speech at the Nebula Conference on May 16.

Miscellaneous Live Events:

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Camp Fire contributors: Chad Schimke, EM Markoff, Ben Monroe, LS Johnson, Sumiko Saulson, and me.

Bay Area Book Festival

May 4 & 5, 2019

Berkeley, California

I spend the entire weekend hanging out with the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Horror Writers Association at the Book Festival this year. As always, the company was really fun. We debuted Tales for the Camp Fire, which was a rousing success.

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Camp Fire contributors: Roh Morgon, me, Ben Monroe, Anthony De Rouen, EM Markoff, Eric Esser, and Gene O’Neill

Tales for the Camp Fire‘s first signing

May 11, 2019

Books on B, Hayward, California

I was joined by Anthony De Rouen, Eric Esser, E. M. Markoff, Ben Monroe, Roh Morgon, and Gene O’Neill for the first bookstore event for Tales for the Camp Fire.

Tales for the Camp Fire at Borderlands Books after hours

Borderlands Books, San Francisco, California

June 22, 2019

E. M. Markoff and I presented Tales for the Camp Fire at the Borderlands Sponsors Party.

[image error]Tales for the Camp Fire second signing

Dark Carnival, Berkeley, California

July 29, 2019

I was joined by Anthony De Rouen, G. O. Clark, L. S. Johnson, E. M. Markoff, Ben Monroe, and Gene O’Neill for another book signing event for Tales for the Camp Fire.

[image error]Silicon Valley Comic Con

August 16-18, 2019

I joined L. S. Johnson and E. M. Markoff in San Jose, California to sell books at my first comic con. It was a major learning experience.

Convention Panels:

FogCon:

Debut Author Lessons 

Friday, March 8, 2019

I joined Vylar Kaftan, Tina LeCount Myers, and Tyler Hayes to talk what we learned — or wish we’d known — as beginning writers.

How do you sign books? What’s the etiquette when talking to bookstores? Join our panel of authors, some brand new, others with several books behind them, as they discuss the things every debut author needs to know, from signing contracts to signing books.

Down to Earth: The Future of Green Burial

Saturday, March 9, 2019 at 9

Moderated by M. Kennedy, with E.M. Markoff, Terry Weyna, and me.

“We’re not detached from Earth. We turn *into* earth.” Inspired by Becky Chambers’ Record of a Spaceborn Few, this panel is a discussion of death customs in science fiction and an introduction to existing environmentally conscious burial methods. How can human decay be a catalyst for helping forests flourish, or repopulate coral reefs, or nurture a family garden? What resources exist for people like Kip, who want to care for the bodies of loved ones without prior formal education? Readers inspired by the work of Caretakers like Chambers’ Eyas may be interested to learn that several organizations in the Bay Area not only specialize in providing green burials, home funerals, and death midwifery, they actively seek to train volunteers to provide this care for their own communities.

Wizard World – Bay Area

[image error]Flaming Piles of Garbage: How to Write a First Draft

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Oakland Convention Center, Oakland, California

Moderated by Kerstin Marie, I joined Billy San Juan and comix author George Michail at my first Wizard World convention to talk about how to get the words down.

What’s the process of writing the first draft of a manuscript? New writers often struggle with the first draft because they either get lost, try to get everything perfect, or don’t even know where to start.

[image error]The Psychology of Horror

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Oakland Convention Center, Oakland, California

Moderated by Billy San Juan, I joined George Michail, artist Ben Russel, and Lara TK to talk about why being scared is so fun.