Mooresville – R.J. Sullivan Fiction

Event filled Weekend Post Mortem

11728985_10153611422727754_1641723581632914433_o — The Three Amigos, L to R, John F. Allen, Me, and Chris Garrison

Chris Garrison poses at the just-finished display shortly after setup.

For starters, all I can say is, WHAT A GREAT WEEKEND! So let’s start with letting the shields down and a little truth telling. Events like these are taxing. They’re outdoors, they involve limited windows to set up big displays. Sometimes, by the time it’s all set, you have to find a second effort to get your public game face on.

But two things make it much easier. 1) Partnering with terrific people and 2) a good turnout and terrific conversation. And that’s why this weekend went so well.

For starters, I arrived way early to the Historic Hannah House, much to my surprise, so I found what I considered a prime shady location for our group. E. Chris Garrison and Laura Terhune arrived shortly after, and we had everything we needed. A kind stranger (I’ve never met any other type at the Paranormal Meet n Greet) helped us set up Laura’s canopy and we were set up and ready well ahead of opening. John F. Allen arrived shortly before noon with his vampire / werewolf thriller title.

Being a display of fictional ghost stories (as opposed to stories based on actual haunted encounters), we were not everyone’s cup of tea, but lots of visitors showed interest, and everyone treated us like family, which is on par with every experience I’ve had here, and that’s why I love supporting it. We had lots of conversations, caught up with old friends, met a few new ones, and even sold some books. I’m already looking forward to next year.

L to R: James W. Kirk, Me, John F. Allen, Chris Garrison

Speaking of old friends, the biggest surprise was seeing an old colleague, James W. Kirk. He and I go back to 199*mumble* college creative writing days, and he’s gone on to create quite a horror anthology brand with himself as editor-in-chief of some dozens of books. Check out his work here.

Then Sunday I returned to VERY local territory and took a double shift at the Greater Mooresville Chamber of Commerce booth during the opening day of the Old Settler’s Fair. I saw a lot of people who know me better as CopyBob but who were very interested to see the book titles I rarely discuss amongst them. And like last year, a few folks walked off with some books and my eye-catching Lost Soles (I need to make some more).

At the Old Settler's Fair 2015 — At the Old Settler’s Fair 2015

So I arrived home VERY tired, but also very excited to see the effort we put into offering the best stories and displays we possibly can start to pay off.

Looking ahead, I have a nice window to wrap up on Red Lotus Novelette 3 before you can all catch up with me at Imaginarium Weekend in Louisville, KY Sept 11-13.

Link to my Facebook Photo Album of the weekend.

RJ to be at Hannah House and Old Settler’s Fair

I have a couple of exciting events next weekend, so let’s get right to it.

2012 Paranormal Meet n Greet with "Maxine Marie." — 2012 Paranormal Meet n Greet with “Maxine Marie.”

First, I’m excited about the return of the Paranormal Meet n Greet at the Historic Hannah House on Indy’s south side, back again after a year’s hiatus. I always have a good time here, but the 2012 event where I launched Haunting Obsession was a special time.

This year I’ll be part of the SFG Guild vendor table with John F. Allen, E. Chris Garrison, and Laura Terhune, offering a wide array of ghost story, horror, urban fantasy, and paranormal thriller books. The event runs Noon-4 and is completely free and open to the public. Here’s more info from the event page:

Saturday August 8th 2015
Noon-4 pm Historic Hannah House, 3801 Madison Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46227. It can easily be reached from 465 by exiting US31 North, AKA East Street. The third light down is National Ave – go right. The next light is Madison Ave. The house sits on the corner of this intersection.

FB Event Page
My FB photo albums from 2012, and 2013

Then Sunday, Aug 9, I’ll at the Mooresville Old Settler’s Fair, Opening Day, at the Chamber of Commerce booth from 5-9 PM. I did this last year and had a terrific response.

The Settler’s Fair is at Pioneer Park. Read about Pioneer Park here.

I’ll have all four of my books, plus deals. As always, autographs are free and worth every penny you pay.

The Paranormal Trilogy: Haunting Blue $15; Haunting Obsession $10; Virtual Blue $15;
Darkness with a Chance of Whimsy (NEW short story collection) $10.

Multi-Book deals: The Paranormal Trilogy: $35 (save $5)
All four books: $40 (save $10)
Lost Soles $5 each or FREE with any book purchase

Cash and credit card accepted!

Looking forward to seeing many of you there!

Indiana Horror Authors to offer workshops at Mooresville Arts in the Park

Mooresville Arts in the Park
All Day Arts Festival Saturday, October 12!
Pioneer Park–Link to directions and park website
Flash fiction workshops and product tent!
Preregistration preferred, walk-ins welcome
Mooresville, IN
Website and Facebook

I’m very excited to announce an upcoming event taking place in my local community during the Arts in the Park festival at Pioneer Park Saturday, October 12, 2013. Several loccal local peer authors are joining me to serve as instructors during a series of free community workshops on crafting thrilling fiction. You’ll find us among dozens of community artists and performers who will sing, dance, and display their unique creations during the all-day festival. The event is free and open to the public.

We’re planning three one-hour sessions, aimed at, but not limited to, late elementary school through high school aged-writers-in-the-making. Adults who have recently caught the writing bug or who have put off their aspirations are also welcome. If you are interested in getting feedback from a professional author at no cost to you, you need to be here—don’t let the word “horror” scare you! We have an instructor to advise any beginner with a passion for writing thrilling tales of any genre.

The suggested format will be “flash fiction,” and the suggested theme will be “The Creature of Pioneer Park,” though writers are free to compose within their comfort zone. Writers can use the pens and paper provided, bring their own, or bring their laptops. Participants will spend the first half hour composing their work. During the last half hour, the authors will review the drafts and offer individualized instruction on how to best sharpen their writing skills. Writers may, alternatively, submit a pre-composed sample of their work for a critique (limit 1000 words).

Pre-registration is preferred, but walk-ins are welcome as long as we have the space. Click this link to pre-register.

The authors will strive to pair you with an instructor that best fits your style, and you will receive individualized instruction on your submission.

What is Flash Fiction? The unique challenge of flash fiction is to compose a “complete” story of roughly 1000 words. With fiction coming to readers on their pads, cell phones and reading devices, flash fiction has grown in popularity in recent years. It’s also ideal for a workshop. Not up the challenge? Don’t worry–writers may instead compose part of a larger story for review. To respect everyone’s time, instructors reserve the right to limit their review to roughly 1000 words per writer.

The Arts in the Park is an all-day event. The Artists’ Shelter will offer books by the instructors, who will be happy to sign and personalize every purchase. The free workshop sessions are courtesy of the Mooresville Arts Partnership, a non-profit organization that provides instruction in dance, tumble, visual arts, music, and drama to children and adults in the greater Mooresville area. Learn more at the MAP Website.

Here is the Facebook Arts in the Park event page and the Mooresville Pioneer Park Website.

The local author/instructors will include:

John F. Allen is an American speculative fiction author of Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Paranormal Mystery. He resides in Indianapolis, IN with his wife and two children. The God Killers, an urban fantasy, is his debut novel.

Matthew Barron spends his days mixing and analyzing human blood as a medical technologist in Indianapolis Indiana. His writing ranges from children’s books and short comics to robot erotica. His books The Lonely Princess and Secular City Limits are available now, and his short fiction has appeared in House of Horror, The Welcome to Indiana Comic Anthology, and the Roboterotica anthology.

Nicole Cushing is an author of weird, dark fiction. Her debut novella, Children of No One, received praise from several prominent genre outlets (Famous Monsters of Filmland wrote: “If you read one debut this year, this should be the one you read.”) Forthcoming books include The Choir of Beasts and The New God.

Crystal Leflar is a blogger book reviewer, previously with Fantasy magazine and Afterthoughts.com, now for Horror Novel Reviews. She’s a promotion specialist and slush reader for Nightscape Press. Her fiction has appeared in a variety of anthologies and she has several projects in the works.

R.J. Sullivan (you’re on his website!) writes paranormal thrillers and is expanding into science fiction. He is known locally as the story editor for the Morgan County Business Leader and as business writer “Copybob.” His books include Haunting Obsession, Haunting Blue, and Virtual Blue. His short fiction has appeared in the acclaimed anthologies Dark Faith Invocations and Vampires Don’t Sparkle.