It’s The TusCon Time of Year!

Just a quick note to let fans of science-fiction, fantasy, and paranormal romance know that this weekend (Nov. 12-14) TusCon, the local convention for readers, gamers, and film aficionado’s, is back and in person in Tucson, Arizona. Jennifer Ashley is the Author Guest of Honor and I’ll be interviewing her on Saturday. Other Special Guests include Jill Bauman, Weston Ochse, and Linda Addison along with many other authors and artists.

Be sure to check out the linked website above and come on down!

I hope it puts your mind somewhat at ease to know that Covid protocols will be in place and enforced, Proof of vaccination or a recent negative test will be required, and masks must be worn in all indoor spaces.

Save The Date!

November 10-12, 2017

That’s when TusCon 44 will be held with Kim Stanley Robinson as Author Guest of Honor.

G.R.R.M. and young fan.

TusCon 43 wrapped up Sunday night. George R. R. Martin, Peri Charlifu, William Malone, James Perry II, Edward Bryant, Geoff Notkin, and Elizabeth Gracen were the headliners, and  over 100 other author and artist guests attended as well. This convention was larger than past TusCons, but thanks to hard work and planning it retained the relaxed atmosphere that this convention is known for. (Disclaimer: I’m on the committee as Guest Liaison, but the real heavy lifting is done by a slew of other talented and hardworking people who volunteer their time and effort.)

I spoke on three panels and had a fabulous time seeing old friends and making new ones. I shared one of those panels, “Strange Bedfellows: Do Angels and Demons make good heroes?” with long time friend and author, Roxy Rogers. (Be sure to check out her story, “Gabriel’s Release”  a prequel to her forthcoming Angels Descending series.) Angels and demons are on my mind these days because after some delay, I’m finishing up GUARDIAN, the second book in my Celestial Affairs series which will be available in early 2017.

On the new friend front, I shared a panel and autograph session with actress, author, producer, and dog lover Elizabeth Gracen who is as charming as she is talented. I also got to meet Jeffe Kennedy, who writes romantic fantasy (and many other things), and traded books with her. I’m looking forward to reading her new books, THE PAGES OF THE MIND, and it’s sequel THE EDGE OF THE BLADE.

I could go on and on about the excellent programing, the full video and anime schedule, the outstanding art show, dealers, and gaming, not to mention the phenomenal hospitality suite,  but I don’t have enough superlatives. Instead, I’ll exhort you to save the date and buy a membership to next year’s TusCon. (There will be a Black Friday-Cyber Monday Sale. Price will be $45.)

Happy reading!

TusCon 42: The Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything

TusCon 42 (Tucson’s science fiction, fantasy, and horror convention) concluded yesterday. That’s a bittersweet thing, because the panels, art show, dealers, films, anime, computer gaming, belly dancing, music, LARP, and costumes were so much fun that  I wanted it to never end, but if it went on any longer we’d all be zombies. Which shouldn’t be too shocking because it was held on Halloween weekend, but some of us had to get back to work writing those  books you love to read.

Seanan McGuire was a wonderful author guest of honor, and Bridget Wilde was lovely to have as the artist GoH. There are too many people to thank individually, but a few are Autumn Ivy, Geoff Notkin, Eric Flint and Ed Bryant. Thank you also to Fearless Leader Sue Thing and the TusCon committee. This is an all volunteer group that puts in long hours to make sure everything runs smoothly and everyone has a good time. Which we do.

Next year, the TusCon 43 Guest of Honor will be George R.R. Martin. Don’t miss it.

 

TusCon 40 Is Almost Here!

If you like science-fiction and fantasy in any form, you should attend TusCon 40, Tucson’s local SF convention next weekend (Nov. 8 – 10).

The author guest of honor at TusCon this year is bestseller Juliet Blackwell,author of the Haunted Home Renovation Mysteries, and the Witchcraft Mystery series, and many other books. The artist guest of honor is Jessica Feinberg. We have musical guests, the Bedlam Bards, writer/director John Alan Simon, and Geoff Notkin of the Meteorite Men. Ed Bryant returns as the toastmaster and over 40 other authors and artists will be in attendance too, (including moi) so check the website or Facebook for the latest info!

Arizona Film Premiere: RADIO FREE ALBEMUTH!
RADIO FREE ALBEMUTH is an indie film based on the novel by Philip K. Dick of the same title. RADIO FREE ALBEMUTH is PKD’s most autobiographical novel, and the author wrote himself in as a character in the novel. Writer/director John Alan Simon will be in attendance!

TusCon will also have science and films tracks of programming, anime, a masquerade with prizes, an art show with an artists’ alley, a dealers’ room where you can buy books by your favorite authors and all sorts of other collectables, and a computer gaming room. Whatever your interest, TusCon has it.

TusCon 40 will be held November 8-10 2013 at the Hotel CityCenter in Tucson, Arizona. Use code TUS1113 when making reservations. If you’re coming from out of town contact the hotel immediately!! This is homecoming weekend. 

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Just a note: My new novel, BETRAYED BY TRUST is discounted through Wednesday, November 6. After that, it will be listed at it’s regular price.

Second note: Be sure to sign up for my newsletter so you can be among the first to hear about my new releases and get “behind the scenes” information. I don’t like spam either, so I’ll only be sending newsletters when I have actual news.

Happy reading!

My Self-Publishing Journey: Q1 Numbers

Happy New Year!

I promised a while ago that I’d share with you how the numbers are adding up for me on the self-publishing journey. I think it’s WAY too early in the journey to draw any conclusions about potential success. As Dean Wesley Smith observed in this post, it takes time to build a self-publishing business. But I also know that before I started, I’d have loved to know what to expect at the beginning. So here’s how things are going for me. Remember, your mileage will vary.

On the small press front, VEILED MIRROR  came out on August 25th in paper, and on September 21st in digital on the Wild Rose Press website and Nook. It didn’t become available for Kindle until mid October. I don’t know how many copies, in which formats, were sold from the Wild Rose Press site, but now that the holidays are past, I’ll be contacting them for that info. Royalties through the end of December: $26.37. Six additional copies were sold by hand, or on commission by Mysterious Galaxy Books at TusCon for additional income of $12.80

LIGHTBRINGER came out in digital format for Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords in mid October, and in paper early November. It was listed on All Romance Ebooks in late November. Digital sales from all sources are 19, for an income of $46.74. I sold 12 paper copies from various venues, including Mysterious Galaxy for an income of $53.32.

WITH HEART TO HEAR, an erotic fairytale short, was released on December 22nd in digital format only. I sold 16 copies on Kindle and Nook in the last ten days of the year. There was a glitch (now fixed) with the listing on All Romance Ebooks which resulted in no sales. I haven’t put it up on Smashwords yet. 2011 income from WHTH: $6.40.

Grand total from all sources for 2011: $145.58

It’s important to understand what effort has been made to encourage these sales, too. During this time I’ve given 16 books to reviewers, family, and friends. I see this as an investment in word of mouth. It’s already paying off in reviews. I have continued blogging twice a week (with my blog linked to facebook, linked in, and twitter) but very little other social media activity. I spoke at my local RWA chapter, TusCon, and at World Fantasy Convention.

These numbers will look pitiful to those accustomed to the traditional publishing pattern of sales in the thousands right after release, which then trail off over the next few months. As I understand it, the sales pattern is exactly opposite with self-publishing, with the number of units sold per month increasing over time, especially as new books are released. That being said, I’ll need to expand my exposure if I want that to be true.

Next time I’ll write about how I plan to grow my self-publishing empire.

TusCon This Weekend

For those of you in the southwest, I’ll be at TusCon 37, a science-fiction, fantasy, and horror convention. It runs from Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon (Nov. 12 – 14).  The Guests of Honor are Jim Butcher (author of The Dresden Files series) and Shannon Butcher (author of The Sentinel Wars series).  They have a variety of activities planned, including author panels, art show, masquerade, and computer gaming.  I’ll be on at least one panel and possibly doing a reading, so come on down!

I won’t be blogging on Friday, but I’ll be back on Monday.