I know it's true that visions are seldom all they seem

Signed, sealed, and mailed off the Amended Tax Return of the Damned this morning, so that's done. I hope. I don't mind paying taxes, to tell you the truth; I like having roads, fire fighters, cops, and so forth - and I am a grown-ass adult who understands that these things cost money. But I swear to God, there must be a better way to collect it.

Like I've said before, if you want an exercise in absolute counter-intuitive insanity, try paying taxes like a self-employed creative professional for a year or two. It'll give you ulcers.

And that's all I'll say about that.

* * *

Maplecroft is still 4-1/2 months away and my brain already cannot shut the hell up about it. Today I started cobbling together some guest post content, in hopes that I might score a spot with some of my blogging friends later on this summer. It was either that, or just start doodling "Maplecroft <3 4evah" on my Trapper Keeper.

Anyway, I'm starting to think about promo schwag - since we're going to drop this one a smidge early at DragonCon, and I'll be doing several events between now and the end of the year. It's useful to have such stuff on hand, to remind people of what's coming - or what's available, depending on my timing. So for starters, I'll print up the usual handbills, and I might even do what I did with Boneshaker back in the day: Offer up a pack of 10-20 to anyone willing to leave them in the coffeehouse/student association lounge/bookstore/etc. of your choice.

I mailed out dozens of such packets a few years ago, and it was kind of fun; people kept sending me pictures re: where they'd left their flyers. It felt like I was following my book around the world.

But aside from that? I'm not really sure. Maybe some temporary tattoos? WHO DOESN'T LOVE THOSE THINGS? I know I love those things, and my real tattoos aren't even jealous. We could work up something with an axe and some blood and the title...maybe. And what about those rubber wrist-band-thingies? They seem pretty popular. Buttons? Magnets?

I'm taking suggestions, folks.

I feel like there must be some awesome promotional gimmick out there for a love letter to Dracula as filtered through Lovecraft in a wholly fictionalized retelling of the Fall River axe murders. But I'll be honest, I'm drawing a blank.

* * *

Here's today's progress on my witchy art-deco horror novel about Lizzie Borden thirty years after her parents' deaths - now featuring ghosts and non-ghosts alike, anti-Catholic conspiracy nuts, supernatural political shenanigans, the mafia, and a Bonus! space-worshiping murder cult hiding behind the KKK:
Project: Chapelwood
Deadline: October 1, 2014
New words written: 2397
Present total word count: 61,659



Things accomplished in fiction: Returned to our sweet little axe murderer, who really is just trying to do the right thing; visited an old victim who's now the closest thing to a kindred spirit the poor fellow has in this world.

Next up: Some bad news. Probably a very bad experience.

Things accomplished in real life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; wrapped up tax amendment paperwork; went to the post office and mailed it off; went to Walgreens to put in for a prescription refill; made some phone calls; answered some useful emails; started drafting guest blog posts for deployment later on.

Other: I feel like I'm forgetting something.

Number of fiction words so far this year: 95,052