Invitation to a Reading
You are invited to a reading sponsored by Straw Dog Writers Guild, an organization that supports the writing community here in Western Massachusetts. Bela is excited to be a reader. She wants to give a shout out to Esme, Lee Ordeman and Elizabeth Jernigan’s two-year old daughter. She was there for our last reading on our trip around the country at The Potter’s House in Washington DC. She made just enough of a quiet commotion at the back of the room to force Bela to speak up! Here’s the link to sign up for the reading on January 18th at 6:30 pm.
Picture of Esme under the table
Marketing is hard!
Stephen (and most authors) will tell you that promoting a book is much harder than writing a book. It requires a completely different skill set, including a thick skin and acceptance of repeated rejection, as if writers don’t get enough rejections when they submit their work to agents or publishers! We found this out for ourselves during the preparation for our cross-country book tour. Setting up everything was a tremendous amount of work. But there was the joy of contacting and seeing old friends and also there were moments of serendipity, like when Bela’s friend Mary Lou brought out many of her friends and they held an impromptu party at the bookstore in Buffalo, and bought books! Or when Stephen spotted an inclusive wrestling organization setting up for a show inside the Mall of America in Minneapolis, and did a bit of spontaneous co-branding with one of the wrestlers:
Super Thunder Frog with a copy of Pilgrim Maya
That’s why we’re grateful to places like Amherst Books and TidePool Bookshop who have opened their doors for us this month. We are thrilled to have a book signing at Amherst Books on Friday, January 13th at 4:00 p.m. and to have a book signing and reading at TidePool Bookshop in Worcester on Tuesday, January 17th at 5:30 p.m. If you are in the area or have friends nearby, please pass this information along.
For the new year
We are working on another book together! It keeps us in good mental form, is good for our marriage and is just plain exciting. The book planned will not be a sequel to Pilgrim Maya. Instead, we’ll be writing fantasy. Stephen has some history in the fantasy genre, and having that bibliography helps when trying to sell new work. Stay tuned for more info as that project progresses.
Your plans for the new year?
We’d love to hear from you if you have special plans for 2023. We like to stay connected and hear what you’re doing.
Wishing you the best to come in the New Year!