With the release of Darkness with a Chance of Whimsy now just a couple weeks away, I wanted to do something new and interesting with my author photo. In a way, I see the short story collection as the end of an era, the time when I was finding my voice and discovering who I was as a writer and what I have to say. While this question will never entirely go away, I feel like I’ve started to get a handle on this in the past five years, and I wanted to celebrate the moment alongside my most popular creations that have been so important in growing my readership.
Darkness with a Chance for Whimsy is a collection of ten short stories and is on track to come out in ebook and paperback by Seventh Star Press in mid-June. I will definitely have copies of the book for sale in time for Inconjunction in Indianapolis over Fourth of July weekend. Stay tuned for more details.
This Saturday from 10 AM to Noon I’ll be with many other local authors at the Brownsburg Public Library at 450 S. Jefferson Street, west of Indy, for their second annual author fair! I’ll be signing and selling my paranormal trilogy. 10% of all sales during this event goes to the Brownsburg Public Library Friends of the Library Group.
Autographs are, as always, free and worth every penny you pay.
John Allen and I are sharing a table at this event. So you can get your ghosts, demons, vampires and werewolves all in one place. Hope to see you there!!
This weekend, I launch into convention / book fair season with a fun gathering in Madison, Indiana. The Book Fair hosted by That Book Place is going on its fifth year (I hooked up in year two and haven’t missed it since). I can’t express enough how grateful I am for book stores in little communities like That Book Place in Madison, IN, and its owner Frank Hall, who goes far above and beyond with events like these to support us local authors.
But first, due to some recent political ugliness that has nothing to do with representing true Hoosier values, Frank offers the following to all guests:
“This store has been and always will be open to everyone. We are a safe haven for people to be themselves with out fear of harassment or ridicule. Everyone is welcome to their own opinion and we accept that, but Bigotry is something that is unacceptable.”
Frank speaks for myself and every author and book vendor I know that is likely to attending this event.
With “Virtual Blue” Nikki Howard!
Anyway, on to the cool stuff. The event has grown every year, and this year it is bursting at the seams, coming very close to 100 authors (if it hasn’t hit there by now) and will be off site from That Book Place for the first time ever. Also for the first time, food vending will be available onsite for authors and guests.
I am attending Saturday 10 am-6 pm only, but in the unlikely event you might want to see other authors as well (I suppose it’s possible) festivities begin Friday night with reader- and writer-related panels, and continue through Saturday. Author readings are also scheduled all day, with yours truly offering up a little something from Haunting Blue at 1:40 pm.
So join us for the fun! Check out the full schedule of events and driving directions at the official website and Facebook Event Page, and you can see my photo albums from previous years by clicking here and here .
This Thursday, from 5:30-7 pm, I’ll join seven other authors at Indy Reads Books in downtown Indianapolis in support of Gifts of the Magi: A Speculative Holiday Collection. We’ll each read a excerpt from our short stories and remain available to sign copies and hopefully raise a lot of money for a good cause.
I’ll be reading an excerpt from the my short story in the collection, “Blue Christmas.”
Gifts of the Magi will be offered through Indy Reads Books, while I’ll have copies of Haunting Blue, Haunting Obsession, and Virtual Blue for sale. And of course, you can browse offerings from our other authors. It should be a great time and a fantastic opportunity to check off a lot of people on your Christmas list.
So because I can’t leave a good thing alone, I made more videos to promote the Cyber Monday sale. I now have three, giving me (*monster emcee voice*) A CYBER MONDAY TRILOGY OF TRAILERS!!!
I’ll be posting and tweeting them next week, and of course Cyber Monday, but here they are arranged in a blog post for your viewing leisure.
The Cyber Monday 99 cents sale is a promotion by Seventh Star Press. Pricing on Amazon will auto-drop Dec 1, so you can grab up all three titles and many more from the Seventh Star catalog.
So here’s what I’ve done with my last day and a half, though to be fair, it should only have taken me a few hours if not for the free interface on a certain popular video site that won’t let you save your work. So I had to start over three times. That means, yes, I know about the typo, and no, I can’t fix it, because that means starting over. Again.
But y’know what, I’m proud of it anyway, and I hope you dig it, too. Click the image to check out the official book trailer to Gifts of the Magi: A Speculative Fiction Collection.
After months of preparation and weeks of teasing, I can finally share the big news about the NEW ORIGINAL collection of holiday stories co-edited with my good friends John F. Allen, E. Chris Garrison and me.
The anthology is called Gifts of the Magi: A Speculative Holiday Collection and features new tales by our friends and ourselves, most of whom have series’ in progress, and feature a story set in the world of that series. And yes, I have a new story in this collection.
That’s right, Blue Shaefer and Rebecca Burton are returning in a brand-new short story that takes place on Christmas Eve! In it, Rebecca gets word that someone is trying to cause trouble for Blue, so she crashes in on Blue and Chip’s celebration, and they’re off on another paranormal adventure. I think it strikes a great balance between addressing her past and setting her up for an exciting future. The title, of course, could only be Blue Christmas. I hope you all love it as much as I do.
Besides featuring a new story for Christmas, Gifts of the Magi offers a number of other firsts. It’s my first attempt at co-editing an anthology (a stressful endeavor that can test the strongest bonds and make them even more strong afterwards) and my first venture into indie publishing under a new brand, in a co-partnership between John, Chris and me, SFG Publishing. It’s our first attempt at supporting a local charity. In this case, every cent raised goes toward Indy Reads Books and the good work they do.
For those who follow me on Facebook and social media, you know that my R.J. Sullivan page features a sort of mascot with some regularity. It started off as a one-post joke that drew such positive attention that I made it a regular thing.
I am not a morning person, so paired with that, is the fairly standard need to write in the mornings which leads to the also standard need for morning coffee and lots of it. Among our eclectic collection of mugs is one of The Little Mermaid, with images of Ariel from the Disney movie. I believe it was a lark gift, but since I am a fan, I worked into the collection. So as social media allows, I took a photo and posted something along the lines of “real men aren’t afraid to drink from Little Mermaid mugs.” The string of comments that followed told me I was onto something, so I made a comment whenever the mug came up in the rotation.
Soon the mug developed a sort of cult following among my readers, with requests to bring the talisman to conventions, speculation of the magical powers it must have, and more.
Thus is the origin of the Legend of the Magical Mermaid Mug.
It was an honest accident. While I ran an errand outside the house, Mrs. RJ accidentally elbowed the mug, which resulted in a fatal fall. I came home to the bad news, took a photo of the remains, and posted them for the mourning to begin. Comparisons to a certain leg lamp in a certain holiday tale were inevitable and amusing. Posts of shock and horror echoed on the social media sphere for days (well, maybe only in my head).
Even as I was preparing a virtual funeral for the beloved mug. a miracle occurred. Well, okay, hardly a miracle, but kidding aside, a really cool thing happened.
A Facebook follower and fan of the Magical Mug by the name of Michael James Oetting took the time to examine the photos of the mythical Mermaid Mug, and search ebay until he found an exact duplicate (shiny white, without the wear and tear). He purchased the mug and had it shipped to my address.
I love my readers!
He can expect some very nice autographed things coming his way in the near future.
In any case, what started out as a wake has turned into a dedication ceremony, as this Friday, we put Magical Mermaid Mug II to full active duty, brewing the potent broth of magical muse-coffee that keeps me composing (or something). To make the most of it (like I haven’t already) we’re throwing a virtual party, and you’re all invited.
So Friday, noon to 6 pm, We’re giving away FREE ebooks all day, awesome titles donated by my talented author peeps. Unlike most contests, you can’t just raffle your way to a win, you need to know your Little Mermaid. We’re playing Little Mermaid Trivia all afternoon. All questions and answers will be pulled from the Disney classic. I rewatched the DVD last night and think I’ve come up with some stumpers, so KNOW YOUR LITTLE MERMAID.
Here’s where I brag about what an awesome time I had, that you didn’t have, because you chose to do something other than go to Imaginarium in Louisville, KY, last weekend. Ready, here we go.
With perfect weather and essentially a one highway route, the drive from Indy to Louisville could not have gone better. John F. Allen and I made the drive in a tad over two hours. The hotel was easy access off the highway exit.
Speaking of easy access, I need to praise the layout of the Crowne Plaza Hotel. As someone restricted to walking short distances, the public accessible doors next to the showroom were terrific, and the elevator access to the rooms was great. Very compact and convenient all around. These things are a concern for me, and the floor plan was definitely created with convenience in mind.
Registration was fast and smooth. We were given immediate access to our tables to set up. Con buddy Eric Garrison (AKA E. Chris Garrison) joined us and we were set up before con start with time to mingle.
Fire drill posers.
At any convention, something has to go wrong, and at least this time it happened early with0ut serious consequences. I was never clear if what happened was a planned fire drill, a prank, or perhaps a lit cigarette, but whatever happened, the fire alarm went off, and the room full of vendors found themselves herded out the back doors into the parking lot for the next several minutes. I tucked up by the loading dock doors and waited it out.
I displayed my paranormal trilogy, plus my Lost Soles and Akira Lacquers‘ Virtual Blue nail polish. Everything received some love and attention, but the Lost Soles–the hand-stitched stuffed ghosts created by Mrs RJ and our three nerds in the making–were the big winner for my sales. How awesome is that?
Troll Under the Bridge tries to thumb-slap me.
Food, like other services, was easy and convenient. The hotel served an exceptionally large and yummy burger, dressed for a night out. Next to it was a nice grab-n-go kiosk. Friday night a group of us gathered at the local favorite Troll Under the Bridge Pub, and we even found a McDonald’s and Taco Bell for a convenient bite.
Ash Arceneaux, A.D. Roland, Ash Roland, Audra Steia, and me…wait, what?
I had two other special moments I need to mention: I was also reunited with Ms. Ash Roland, an author buddy who goes back early in my publishing journey. Ash was instrumental in securing my first publishing deal, created the first cover, the book trailer, and who I shadowed at Context in 2010 to learn the whole vending process. She’s a talented horror writer, artist, and friend, and it was terrific to see her again after a four year gap.
Also, through a happy coincidence, my brother and his wife traveled from Indy to Louisville to accompany my niece to visit a nearby college. They just happened to make reservations at the Crowne Plaza, and we had dinner together Saturday night.
I met a LOT LOT LOT of new people….so many, that if I attempted to name them, I would embarrass myself, so let’s just leave it at, you know who you are.
I did my best to impart whatever wisdom I could at my panels, and I know I learned a lot at the workshop.
What followed after was the masquerade dance, a room party, more at the dance, more at the room party, Otters were mentioned in inappropriate conversation, things got late, things got fuzzy. During the dance, Jordan Bell requested Cyndi Lauper (Goonies R Good Enough, whoop-whoop) on my behalf and several people chanted “Oh Awjay.”
Bottom Line: Imaginarium was a blast!! For a first year event, organization and efficiency far above expectations–perhaps the most well-run con I’ve been to. Kudos to Stephen Zimmer and Susan Roddey for that. Imaginarium was well worth the trip. It was an amazing networking and educational experience. They threw a great party. Sales were low, but that’s normal with any first year event. Make your plans now. This is the place to be next year.
With the release of Darkness with a Chance of Whimsy now just a couple weeks away, I wanted to do something new and interesting with my author photo. In a way, I see the short story collection as the end of an era, the time when I was finding my voice and discovering who I was as a writer and what I have to say. While this question will never entirely go away, I feel like I’ve started to get a handle on this in the past five years, and I wanted to celebrate the moment alongside my most popular creations that have been so important in growing my readership.
R.J. Sullivan Fiction 