I’m not gonna lie, Amazon put this up and out faster than anticipated, based on past experience. Nevertheless, it’s true that your greedy ears can hear Danielle Muething read the ten short stories from my collection now.
This includes Able Bodied, Starter Kit, and Backstage Pass. and of course, Robot Vampire. It’s great stuff, if I do say so myself.
Here are the direct links to get you there:
Audible
Amazon
My Web Page
Read More “Darkness With a Chance of Whimsy Audiobook Now Live”
Following a long delay, the Virtual Blue audio book narrated by Team R.J. VIP Danielle Muething has finally gone live. This release completes my original paranormal trilogy available on audiobook. Click here to go to the Virtual Blue Links page.
Danielle and I began planning Virtual Blue in spring 2020, aiming for a September release and some awesome Halloween promotions. Yay for planning ahead. Alas, (I love using “Alas” in a sentence) due to unanticipated circumstances, my agreement with my original publisher ended and I had to re-release my back titles under my own label, DarkWhimsy Books. To do this properly with the attention to quality that it deserved, the process took several months.
The work is done! With the release of Virtual Blue, the entirety of my paranormal thriller back titles are again available for purchase from all web-stores, ending a six-month project that was difficult but should be oh-so-worth it. Give me another month and I’ll have my stock replenished with my updated titles, and I will re-open my “order signed books from me” store. (I ALSO wish my store could have been open in time for Christmas, but the timing did not cooperate).
In the meantime, if you want to grab up any of my back titles for gift-giving, you might just have time. So what’s the breakdown of the titles, what’s different from the previous editions, and what’s coming next? Great questions.
Four of my back titles, primarily those related to my ghost story/paranormal series, were, by mutual agreement, returned to me by my former publisher, allowing me to re-release them on my indie Publishing label, DarkWhimsy Books. In this agreement, I also obtained the original edition cover art.
The 2020 Revised Edition of Darkness With a Chance of Whimsy by…well…DarkWhimsy Books…is now available in all formats and from all outlets. All ten stories are re-published here, with a slight copy edit revision to fix little goofs. The content, for the most part, is the same as the previous edition; the paperback comes in at the same price point of $11.99.
There is a slight difference in the front cover, and I’m not referring to the foggy REVISED EDITION in the tagline (though that is a part of all the 2020 revised books to make them easier to distinguish).
No, I’m talking about the little added celebrity cover blurb… here, let me just zoom in on that…
Yes, it’s used with permission. Yes, I’m pretty proud, and pleased to be able to include it on the cover from this point forward. (If you don’t know my Cyndi Lauper story and are curious, you can click here to read all about it).
This Sat, Nov 5, Karen’s Book Barn in LaGrange, KY, (click the link for address, etc) is hosting a multi-author book signing, conveniently scheduled to help readers get a head start on their holiday shopping. We’ll all be there on site from 11 am-4 pm. Besides yours truly, many of my favorite author peeps will there, with our full array of titles that cover a spectrum of genres, including romance, ghost stories, superheroes, urban fantasy, steampunk, adventure, children’s, YA, science fiction, fairy tale, horror, fantasy, and I’m sure I’m forgetting a few. Suffice it to say, you have a great chance of finding exactly what you’re looking for and getting it signed and personalized to that special someone (even if that special someone is you…that’s okay, we won’t tell).
Meet The Authors! (click on the name to see their online book catalog)
John F. Allen brings his unique voice to his Ivoryverse books populated with superhero, urban fantasy and Spy-fi fiction tales. Among my favorite titles: The GodKillers and his Knight Ranger series.
Katina French writes stellar science fiction, fantasy and a unique mashup of steampunk fairy tales that I love.
Chris Garrison‘s books come in many favorite flavors, including dimension-hopping SF, Trans-Continental Steampunk pulp-style adventures, and her popular Tipsy Fairy Tales series.
Maurice McKiernan will offer his first horror short story collection Manuscripts of the Macabre in hardback and softcover editions (yes, I still need to read it, can’t you tell?)
Mysti Parker offers an array of romance titles and children’s books and another author whose writing I need to get better acquainted with.
And then there’s your humble blog host R.J. Sullivan (name listed for SEO purposes cuz I want ALL the hits!) SF, fantasy, and ghost story titles which you can learn all about by clicking here.
All my titles are priced to meet or beat the internet. Autographs as always are FREE and worth every penny you pay! Karen’s Book Barn is just a couple hours away from Indianapolis, so come on down! What else have you got to do but stress about the election? Here’s a link to the official Multi-Author Book Signing Facebook Event Page.
Many thanks to Mysti for agreeing to let other authors “invade” her book signing.
I’m a proud author with Seventh Star Press, and Imaginarium is, in great part, the brainchild of SSP Editor-In-Chief Stephen Zimmer. And so, I was there for Imaginarium’s first and second year and saw the convention grow from a great idea to an expanding community where readers and writers meet, joke, party, and exchange ideas in a nurturing environment all weekend long. Imaginarium 2016, year three, looks to be the best year yet, and you can be sure I’m not missing out on this one.
I’ll be attached to the Seventh Star cluster of tables, with my Speculative Fiction Guild buddies John F. Allen and E. Chris Garrison. I’ll be selling my full array of titles, including my brand-new collection of science fiction novellas Commanding the Red Lotus all at a price that meets or beats all other options. Autographs are, as always, free and worth every penny you pay. Cash and credit card options (via Square) available.
When I’m not at my table or wandering around trying to catch up with the many people I only see at this con, you can find me at panels with my author peeps, colleagues, and betters.
Here’s my complete panel schedule:
Friday 3 PM Following Your Passion in the Hancock Room
With William Rayst (Moderator), Dan Hildreth, Glenn Porzig, Mary Ellen Quire, and Linda Rettstatt.
Sat 11 AM Building your Brand in the Madison Room
With Violet Patterson (M), Greta King, Lola Kyle PA, Kim Smith, and Tim McWhorter.
Sat 3 PM Comic Book Nostalgia in the Oldham Room
With William Levy (M) , Brent Abell, John F. Allen, Thom Erb, and Ed Gosney.
Sat 7 PM Space Opera in the Hancock Room
With Arlan Andrews (M), Dave Creek, Arinn Dembo, Kylie Jude, and Kathryn Sullivan.
Imaginarium is the weekend of Oct 7-9 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Louisville, KY (near the airport). It’s about a two hour drive from Indianapolis, perfect for a day trip or for staying the weekend. The programming requires a membership badge, but the vending room is free and open to the public. Genres include but are not limited to science fiction, fantasy, horror, romance, and graphic novels.
If seeing me isn’t enough reason to go (and that’s fine, just don’t tell me to my face, we writers have tender egos), there’s a film festival, masquerade ball, panels, and workshops for readers and writers of all levels and interests.
So click here to see the convention website, check out the details, and consider paying us a visit. I hope to see many of you there!
Past years’ photo albums
Imaginarium 2014
Imaginarium 2015
This Saturday marks my fifth consecutive appearance at the Paranormal Meet and Greet at the Historical Hannah House on the south side of Indianapolis.
My first appearance was as a new author in 2011 with my then-brand new first novel Haunting Blue.
My second appearance was for the book launch of Haunting Obsession, where reader / fan Nikki Howard enthusiastically cosplayed my sexy ghost Maxine Marie on a cosmic lineup of events–the book came out the year of the 50th anniversary of the real Marilyn Monroe’s death, and the event took place 50 years and within a day or two of her death. (And if I told you I had no idea that things would align the way they did when I started planning it, I wouldn’t believe me, either.) It was a lot of fun and we sold a lot of books that day.
Since then, I’ve been a part of the Paranormal Meet and Greet every year it’s taken place (they took a year off in 2014). It’s a fun day, pretty easygoing, at a truly unique and lovely landmark, and the people there are kind and enthusiastic about real-life paranormal investigations. I hear some incredible stories every year.
This year, I’m sharing a booth with other SFG Booksellers, where we’ll have plenty of horror and ghost story books to choose from. And Maxine Marie is going to “haunt” the grounds of the Historical Hannah House. This time she’ll be “channeled” by local model and reader Madison Kae Scroggin, who’ll be mingling with the crowd and posing for pictures while she puts the “boo” in boo-boop-be-doo. (Yeah…I don’t know what that means, either, but you don’t want to miss it).
You’ll find plenty of copies of my paranormal trilogy and my short story collection. (I’m temporarily out of stock of Commanding the Red Lotus)
Haunting Blue $15
Haunting Obsession $12
Virtual Blue $15
Darkness with a Chance of Whimsy (short stories) $12
Cash and Credit Card payments accepted. Autographs as always are completely FREE and worth every penny you pay.
The 10th Annual Paranormal Meet and Greet is a FREE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC EVENT Sat, Aug. 13 with extended hours from previous years: 11 am-6 pm in the lawn of the Historic Hannah House at 3801 Madison Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46227. Click this link to go to the Facebook Event Page. I hope to see some of you there!
Imaginarium 2015 at Crown Plaza Hotel in Louisville, KY called a wrap on its second year this past weekend, and in a nutshell, the event is going in the right direction. It strives to be a full experience reader-writer weekend seminar and offer guests an array of lessons and memories (not to mention reading material), and in that goal, the organizers pushed forward in several ways.
More attendance (check). More book sales (check). More panels on more topics with higher participation (check-check-check). More publisher and author interactions (check-check). I personally had a panel Friday night that kept me from attending two other events that looked very cool, but that’s what ya’ call a good problem.
What didn’t change was the interactions between authors and the conversations and opportunities to network. People I had met briefly the first year I got to know better in year two. The seeds of future collaborations and business followups were planted and will continue throughout the year. And I met some new readers. What more can one ask for?
I met author peeps John F. Allen and Chris Garrison for breakfast, carpooled with John Friday morning, and we met back up a bit after noon which gave us plenty of time to eat and set up before the vendor room opened at 4. (The hotel burger rocks–I had it again on Saturday). I sold a copy of Haunting Blue to a new reader (more on this later). My evening panel on comic books and the silver screen had a small but enthusiastic group, and we discussed the topic from many angles in that hour.
Then there was hard rock bands in the ballroom Friday night and an active room party hosted by Elizabeth Donald where many of the writers hobnobbed.
Saturday was a very busy day. The vendor hall was pretty hustle-bustle for awhile, and in my area we all moved a few books, met some readers, and had some great times. The noon panel on Space Opera was pretty packed. If there is any question if people are excited about the genre making a comeback, the excitement in the room put it to rest for me. Kat French did a great job moderating and keeping the panel on track. (sidebar, read her Belle Starr Books, they rock, yes this is a link to order them, now back to our regularly scheduled programming…)
Saturday evening in the ballroom down the hall was, I think, a 40 year high school reunion, so since the vendor hall was open to the public, several of them came over to find out what was going on, and more books were sold. (Much later, author peep Jessica McHugh and I happened to be walking by the ballroom at the same moment while an “in memory of” slideshow was playing to the music of Sarah McLachlan’s Angel. We were at the same time torn between tears and an inappropriate giggle fit while ours heads were conflicted over the loss of people we never met, not to mention dogs and cats because of unofortunate connections)
My 9 pm panel on writing as series, although scheduled during the awards banquet, was very well attended by another enthusiastic crowd. I was slotted to moderate, not the easiest thing two days into a convention but it all turned out just fine. The masquerade started at 10:30 pm and I spent the evening going back and forth between that and the room party, night two. Some great costumes were out on display.
The workshop taught by Michael Knost was slotted for 1:30 in which he discussed the various ways and reasons that a writer can and should stay “invisible” to the reader, including, yes, using a chicken hat to demonstrate deep third point of view.
Oh, and about the woman who bought Haunting Blue Friday night? She returned to my booth Sunday morning to say how much she enjoyed it and purchased Haunting Obsession. What author doesn’t love that?
Overall, Imaginarium is growing in all the right ways and is the place where we should all plan to be next year. Everyone involved in the planning and execution can take a big bow (and a couple day nap) for their accomplishments. Already looking forward to next year!
This upcoming weekend marks my fourth year as a local author with InConJunction, a general SF/F con with a long and distinguished history in Indianapolis, and not for nothin’, the first con SF I ever attended waaay back in 199*mumble*.
Go here to get all the relevant hotel and location information from the con’s dedicated website.
This will also be the second year I’ll be a vendor as part of the author co-op group Speculative Fiction Guild. My books will be alongside many of my local peers, including author besties John F. Allen and Chris Garrison, plus Matthew Barron, Katina French, Davide Jobe, and Nathan Terhune.
My panel schedule this year is light but mighty:
All of my panels are in Indianapolis Ballroom C
Friday @ 9 PM @ Writing Dialog with Matthew Barron
Saturday @9 AM Small Press Publishing and Writer’s Expectations
Saturday @ 5 PM Building Your Brand: Promoting Your Work on Social Media
Inconjiunction is always a good time. I’m looking forward to seeing many old friends and making many new ones. Inconjunction will also be the first place ever that you can get a signed copy of my brand-new release Darkness with a Chance of Whimsy.
All of my books will be priced to sell,and the more you buy, the more you save.
Haunting Blue $15
Haunting Obsession $10
Virtual Blue $15
The Paranormal Trilogy (all 3 novels) $35
Darkness with a Chance of Whimsy $10
All four books $40
Signatures: FREE and worth every penny you pay.
“Lost Sole?” Ghosties $5
Looking forward to seeing many of you there!
Now thru Friday, you can order the paperback edition of GIFTS OF THE MAGI: A SPECULATIVE FICTION COLLECTION at 15% Off, delivered just in time to fill out your Christmas list! Click here to read all the details on the SFG Website!
