Blog No. 283
The Thinking Machine is here! You can get it right now at Anchor Coffee House on Huron Church, Anchor Bakery and Espresso Bar on Lincoln, at Biblioasis, or in person, from me. I still have a bunch of events (one a week from now until the end of May) so there are a bunch of chances to get your hands on a copy. And believe me, when you see it, you are going to want to pick one up and hold it. I’m going to do a whole behind the scenes at some point in the future, but for now, the idea to have a pocket sized novella seems to have worked. Everyone’s reaction so far has been exactly what I hoped for. Plus, Anchor letting me sell the book at both their locations is beyond what I’d hoped for. Between the two, that’s a pretty big part of the city covered. Also, since I wrote it there, it seems fitting that you can buy it there.
The Book Page is up here and on the Adventure Worlds Press page. I did a little announcement on that page too. It’s also up on Goodreads, so feel free to leave a review when you finish reading it. The book won’t take you long, and reviews (even-not-so-good ones) are one of the best ways to support any local artist. It will be up on Amazon any time now, but the price is higher than I’d like (I don’t get to set it there). I am working on the ebook version, too, but I think you’ll want to own the physical when you see it. I worked pretty hard on it and the cover art by Sean Meraw is much more impressive in colour. The second book in the series is being written now, but you’ll have to wait for more information on that one. I suspect I’ll have a week in the near future where I have nothing better to talk about and I’ll spill the beans then. For now, I’ll say it’s an unconnected sequel.
A bit about last weekend’s event. I had the pleasure to sell copies of All These Crooked Streets at Indigo in Tecumseh, and it was a pleasure. The staff was welcoming and supportive, the customers receptive and curious. All three of us were there (Ed, Christian, and me) so it was easy take turns and switch up tactics when selling. There wern’t a ton of people (it was a nice Saturday) but we sold ten copies (and were assured that was a good number by the manager). There are still some there, so if you live out that way and missed us, you can pick it up and get it signed another time. I’m sure we’ll be back. Book Store signings are relatively painless. It’s three or four hours in an air conditioned store surrounded by books. Some people call that a good day right there. We seemed to make a good enough impression to be able to come back in the future. Another Chapter’s signing is already in the works for the fall.
And now, on to this upcoming weekend. The infamous Shock Stock is back in London and I’ll be there again. Christian and I made the guest list again (in trade for some stories for their magazine). That’s kind of amazing considering their headliner is Kane Hodder (one of the best known Jason actors). Last year was kind of nuts. We did our best to take part in everything and that means a lot. There is almost something going on for the entire 50 or 60 hours of the convention. It’s fun, don’t get me wrong, but it’s also wild. It’s nice to get a taste of that for a couple days, but also have a hotel room to hide in when it gets too much for my sensibilities. Everyone is really nice, though, so it’s become something I look forward to every year. This year I’ll have two new books with All These Crooked Streets and The Thinking Machine, so there is a slim chance I’ll break even too. You can bet I’ll have a whole rundown on the event next week. For now, be excited about The Thinking Machine being available for you to read, right now! Go get one, you won’t be disappointed!
Ben Van Dongen 