If you’re thinking of getting any of my books for the holidays, it couldn’t be easier. I’ve got you covered, even for autographed books!
I’ve been recommending this essay for years to every writer I know. And it’s free to read online…
I compiled a list of fun facts about this brilliant mathematician after reading two biographies. The oddest little things stayed with me, and here they are…
Beauty, nature, blah blah blah.
These little guys popped this week on a very warm day when temps here got into the seventies.
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I use the pencil extender (top) when said pencils get too small to hold easily.
You want to know how a writer procrastinates? He takes pictures of the pencils on his desk.
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A buddy of mine is fond of saying, “I’m fascinated by the passage of time and the aging process.” Um, me too. I especially like looking at my calendar and desk diary at the end of the year to see what I actually accomplished in the year just ended. I just did that today and 2011 frankly amazes me.
In the last 12 months, I...
self-pubbed two books (Scientist and the Sociopath; Jersey Heat)
had another book released traditionally
was reviewed in the Wall Street Journal for the very first time
got a starred review in School Library Journal
wrote a “Bible” for a TV show based on a book I hadn’t yet written and watched as it was actually bought
wrote a proposal for a ghost-writing project and sold it for six figures
wrote one book proposal that went nowhere
“conferenced” with a half dozen potential ghost-writing clients about projects that went nowhere
contracted, wrote, and shipped a short history book that will be out in spring
wrote a children’s picture book that’s making the rounds
recorded a hilarious podcast for a presentation we did for International Freelancers Day
gave 7 talks at various bookstores, historic sites, and conferences in the U.S.
did my first TV appearance
did more than 30 radio interviews
did one school visit
did more than a dozen Skype visits with classrooms for my children’s book
wrote, finished, and submitted to our publisher on a “Big Think” book with a collaborator overseas
made numerous out-of-state trips with my wife to help her interview sources and do research for her upcoming history title
visited Monticello for the first time ever and signed our books in their bookstore
taught myself how to format an ebook (ongoing)
conceived a new fiction book series
conducted weeks of interviews with a co-author whose memoir I’m ghosting
wrote and created a hilarious book trailer
made some wonderful new friends in the world of self-publishing
donated books to the troops
had our books featured in two major catalogs and the holiday gift list of a major city magazine
mentored a high-schooler who wrote a children’s book
wrote a novel that I’ll self-pub this spring
saw some Broadway shows
saw a ton of movies
lost an uncle
Facebooked, Tweeted, blogged, Google-plussed
discovered many new fascinating writers who blog
ran a local group for freelancers
hugged and drank with local booksellers
threw a couple of parties
wondered where the year went
wondered why I never have enough time to do the important things.
Professionally, the biggest change this year was jumping into the world of self-publishing. Despite all the good things I experienced this year in the world of traditional publishing, I am more excited every time I sell even one copy of my indie-pubbed ebook. The future is there, and I hope to do more books this way in 2012.
Part of my and my wife’s success with traditional book sales is that we’ve always been willing to hop in the car and drive somewhere to give talks, meet booksellers, and do conferences. We firmly believe that this one-on-one contact is important and ultimately helps us. But there’s no denying that it’s exhausting, and we’re hoping to reduce the number of trips we do in 2012 and focus more on writing.
Self-publishing has the potential to increase earnings and allow us to build relationships with readers directly, without having to hope they stop by at the next signing.
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Just a reminder for anyone who is looking for signed copies of my traditionally published books: The best way to get autographed copies is to order them by phone from the two independent bookstores in the town where I live.
Both Malaprop’s and the children’s bookstore Spellbound will take orders, get me in to autograph the books any way you like, and ship them out to you.
Both stores currently have stock on all my titles, and ordering from them is simpler than mailing me the book and having me sign and return it to you.
As always, if you already have a book and would like a signed bookplate, contact me via the contact page. A good season to all!
Yes, I am trying to post here more often. Thank you for noticing. If you want to sign up for my newsletter and claim your collection of free ebooks, go here. Thanks!
I don’t know what it is with me, books, and gardening. When I’m out working in the yard, I make connections between the task at hand (raking, mowing, planting, etc.) and scenes in, anecdotes from, and authors of various books I’ve read over the years.
This past weekend, I was harvesting the last couple of things from the yard for the season (above), then set about yanking up some weeds that had covered at least part of the beds.
I was amazed how easily the weeds were coming up by hand. And immediately, a scene from The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss, popped into my head. In the scene, the weary wizard Kvothe (pronounced “quoth”) is masquerading as a humble innkeeper named Kote. When he asks a neighbor to borrow a pair of leather gloves, the man wonders why he needs him. Kote instantly “remembers” something his grandfather once told him. I had to look up the passage later, but here it is:
Kote shrugged. “My granda always told me that fall’s the time to root up something you don’t want coming back to trouble you.” Kote mimicked the quaver of an old man’s voice. “ ‘Things are too full of life in the spring months. In the summer, they’re too strong and won’t let go. Autumn . . . ’ ” He looked around at the changing leaves on the trees. “ ‘Autumn’s the time. In autumn everything is tired and ready to die.’ ”
It’s a great passage and certainly one to take to heart when the leaves are falling like crazy. Of course, there is some chicanery in this scene. Kote needs the gloves for another reason entirely. Just what he intends to do with them, I’ll leave you to discover in the pages of this great fantasy novel and its sequel, The Wise Man’s Fear.
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The weather changed for the worse this weekend in my neck of the woods, but not before I shot some photos of the last few flowers struggling in my front yard. It later occurred to me that both of the flowers I shot had literary connections for me.
The cosmos, which displays its customary 8-petaled Fibonacci number, reminded me of an interview I conducted with organic farmer/poet Scott Chaskey some years ago when I was writing The Newman’s Own Organics Guide to a Good Life, with my co-author Nell Newman. Chaskey, who later went on to publish a charming book entitled This Common Ground: Seasons on an Organic Farm, told me then that cosmos are one of his favorite plants:
“I know they’re simple and gaudy, but I like them. Last year I planted a long hedge of them, and people would immerse themselves in these six-foot plants and come out happy.”
I myself find these plants really delicate. Every year I dream of sowing them in a thick hedge like the one Chaskey speaks of, but never manage to pull it off. I love watching them bob on their spindly necks. I can’t plant enough of them, and thankfully there are lots of different varieties.
Another Fibonacci eight-petaled flower is the dahlia, which isn’t perennial in most parts of the U.S. In colder climates like ours, if you want them to come back, you have to dig up the tubers at the end of the season and carefully preserve them indoors for planting the following season. I haven’t been able to pull that off successfully either. (Whaddaya want? I’m a writer, not a farmer.)
But I cannot look at these lush flowers without thinking of crime fiction. These days anyone who knows anything about mystery fiction has heard of the famous Black Dahlia murder, probably thanks to James Ellroy’s fictionalized version of the case, and the subsequent film based on the book. But far fewer people probably remember the 1946 film noir called The Blue Dahlia, starring Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, and William Bendix. The film was produced by John Houseman and is best remembered as the work of Raymond Chandler, screenwriter.
Back a hundred years ago, before I knew anything of Ellroy or the gruesome murder case, I saw the Ladd-Lake-Bendix film at a library film series near where I grew up in New Jersey. The series, introduced by a local college professor who specialized in detective fiction, opened my eyes to a bunch of films that I would never have seen otherwise. I also remember thinking it was cool to have a job as a professor analyzing and writing about mysteries. Who knew that they would let you do that?
Years later, I became obsessed with Ellroy’s work after reading his Dahlia novel. I bought a bunch of his signed, first editions from The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City, and read them all in quick succession. Then, one day, I came across an article in People magazine that mentioned that this mad genius lived in a basement apartment in Easchester, New York.
Gee, I thought, that’s not far from me. I could call him and tell him how much I like his work. Or something. I wasn’t thinking too clearly on this, I have to admit, but I called information and dialed the number.
“Ellroy,” the great man answered.
I panicked, and hung up the phone.
See what beautiful memories come from a walk in the garden?
Yes, I am trying to post here more often. Thank you for noticing. If you want to sign up for my newsletter and claim your collection of free ebooks, go here. Thanks!
Here’s quick rundown of what’s been happening around the Web with respect to my various projects...
JERSEY HEAT
My interview with cover artist Jeroen ten Berge and my new novel, Jersey Heat, got a dandy mention on Man-Eating Bookworm, a blog run by a gent named Peter Andrew Leonard. I’ve been following Bookworm for a little while now. Leonard’s taste runs from mysteries and thrillers to horror and graphic novels. I’m always frankly dazzled by how good-looking his site is.
Another writer I enjoy and admire, Lee Goldberg, flagged the interview. Goldberg is the mind behind the Monk novels, based on the TV show of the same name. I’ve always enjoyed his other books, such as The Dead Man series, The Jury series, and his stand-alone about surviving the big one in LA, The Walk. His book Watch Me Die is on my reader right now, and I hope to get to it soon.
Mystery novelist Joseph Valentinetti asked me to contribute a Q&A post about Jersey Heat to his site. It’ll be up in a few weeks. Here’s a preview.
SIGNING THEIR RIGHTS AWAY
This book, about the men who signed the U.S. Constitution, will be out in only 24 days! You can pre-order now from any of the bookstores on this page.
For the last two years we’ve been shooting footage of all the historic sites we visit to promote this book series. You can catch a glimpse of three of the South Carolina films in this post I recently did for our publisher, Quirk Books.
MONEY BOOK FOR FREELANCERS
We’re giving away 5 books in a giveaway on Goodreads. Enter soon. The deadline’s Sept. 12!
We donated a bunch of books for the annual Freelancer’s Union auction.
We got a mention in this article on Media Bistro. (Subscription required.)
We’re busy right now compiling our video seminar for the upcoming International Freelancer’s Day. It’s September 23, so don’t miss it!
BLOCKHEAD
Just did a Q&A interview with Media Darlings about my children’s picture book, about the life of the medieval mathematician, Leonardo Fibonacci. The interview is here.
HAVEN HOUSE
* No, I am NOT the author of this horrifying new novel. It’s the bastard brainchild of Stuart Connelly, who I’ll interview in a few days. HAVEN HOUSE is a featured excerpt in the JERSEY HEAT ebook, and it’s out this week. You can grab it at Amazon and Smashwords. If you want to scare yourself, snag a free sample and read the first chapter.
We just sent around our semi-annual note letting people know all the stuff we have going on. I’m posting it here for our friends at large. If you want to get on the real list, sign-up below. We only do about two of these letters a year, so I promise you will not be deluged.
Creative Freelancer Conference:
We'll be speaking about our book, THE MONEY BOOK FOR FREELANCERS, at the Creative Freelancer Conference in Chicago, June 24.
Signings for Signers:
We're doing our annual drive up the east coast, visiting sites associated with the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, to promote our book, SIGNING THEIR LIVES AWAY. If you're in any of these cities on these days, please stop by to say hi. More details at this BookTour link.
June 30: National Archives, Washington, DC (where Declaration, Constitution, and Bill of Rights are preserved.)
July 1: Christ Church, Philadelphia, PA
July 2: Independence Hall Visitor Center, Philadelphia, PA.
July 3: Old State House, Boston, MA
July 4: Old State House, Boston, MA
New Signers Book coming Sept 6!
In September, Quirk/Random House will release SIGNING THEIR RIGHTS AWAY, our new book about the 39 men who signed the U.S. Constitution. Some online bookstores allow you to pre-order now. If you want to pre-order or get an autographed copy, consider ordering from one of the indie bookstores in our neighborhood. They're listed here.
T-shirts:
Yes, we have still have the geekiest Signer T-shirts available, via our DOI Store.
Joe's Science Book:
As an experiment in self-publishing, Joe released a collection of his best nonfiction science journalism articles as an eBook. You can download a copy of THE SCIENTIST AND THE SOCIOPATH for the ridiculous price of 99 cents, if you have a Kindle, Nook, iPad or any other device.
Girls of Atomic City
Denise is hard at work on a nonfiction book about the women who unknowingly made the fuel for the world's first atomic bomb. That book is due out from Simon & Schuster next fall, 2012. You can follow Denise's progress here and sign up for her list here.
As always, if you're a member of the media or a book buyer, let us know if you need a review copy of any of these books. If you'd like us to do an event at your shop or site, also let us know.
Thanks all, and enjoy the summer.
Yes, I am trying to post here more often. Thank you for noticing. If you want to sign up for my newsletter and claim your collection of free ebooks, go here. Thanks!
I’m told nearly 1,000 women attended yesterday’s WISE women’s conference in Syracuse, NY, yesterday, where my wife and co-author Denise Kiernan was a speaker. There were tons o’ speakers, including make-up queen Bobbi Brown.
But guess whose session made that city’s paper this morning?
We chalk up the spillover crowd to a couple of things: a kick-ass talk (if I do say so myself) and the public’s endless fascination with publishing, which was the topic of Denise’s talk. Actually, the title was “Publishing as Marketing”—i.e., how entrepreneurs can promote their businesses by publishing eBooks.
Yes, I am trying to post here more often. Thank you for noticing. If you want to sign up for my newsletter and claim your collection of free ebooks, go here. Thanks!
I already knew I was an author, but according to the organizers of this conference I’m attending, I apparently deserve another lofty title...
Yes, I am trying to post here more often. Thank you for noticing. If you want to sign up for my newsletter and claim your collection of free ebooks, go here. Thanks!
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