Blog No. 326
So far, February has been a blur of activity, work, and circumstances. Unexpectedly, it may end up being the busiest month I have this year. I thought April would be a shoo-in, but I may end up not going to Shock Stock (they may not have the room). I still have two other events that month, but neither of them is overnight. The Neon Heart is due in April as well, but since I am currently working on that right now (furiously) I don’t think I will be any more busy with it. (Famous last words, perhaps?). I do hope to get a first (and maybe second) draft of a novel done this year, but while that will be a ton of work, it will be spread out over months. I could end up having some absolutely monstrous months head, but for now, February has completely taken me by surprise.
I don’t want to dwell on my medical issues (partially because compared to some other folks they are not so bad and partly because that’s not what this blog is all about). I did have a night in the hospital this month, though. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great. It’s the nature of my ailment. This are usually good, but simple things can knock it off course, and I need some help to get things right. Within an hour or two of getting the medication I needed, I was feeling okay. The overnight was just a precaution. The larger issue was that I had to drop every other ball I was juggling. That meant GenreCon in Guelph (two days later) was a scramble and the things I was getting done for the Biblioasis reading dropped into Christian’s lap. Thankfully, I was able to get right back to relative normal within those two days, but it added a lot of useless stress and I’m always so constantly far behind that even a two day write-off can cause problems.
Thankfully, things worked out fine. Guelph was good (as you may have read about last week) and the Bilioasis reading went about as smoothly as it could have. Actually, that’s not fair. It was a good event. A successful event. There was a pretty good turnout, Vanessa Shields was a good host for the night, bringing energy and connecting with the audience. The readers all did well, I would say myself included. Biblioasis was, once again, an accommodating and super cool venue. I sold some books, met some folks, and kept myself somewhat in the limited public conscience where I currently reside. (Usually mislabeled at that other horror guy even thought I have never written any horror). Brittni Brinn brought some friends and was as professional and pleasant as always. Elly Blake did a better job than she though, giving a perfectly good and interesting reading. She also brought friends (and family) and helped our social media reach levels I have not attained on my own.
It was a pleasant night. I feel like those who attended had a good time, and those who didn’t should feel sorry for themselves for having missed it. We even did a bit of a Q&A that was not planned. Vanessa insisted and we had more questions that I thought we would. I’m not sure how many books I sold, but I signed a bunch. I will find out when Biblioasis does their routine accounting and payouts. But, it was fun. Can’t say that about every event. Now, I’m focusing on getting the edits done for Neon Heart and starting the layout. Also, I’ve met with Sean Meraw who did the cover for The Thinking Machine, and has kindly agreed to do the cover for this one too. He is an excellent tattoo artist who did an amazing job with the first book. He even goes so far as to get my feedback and make changes as he goes. Some artists won’t do that, no matter how much you pay them. Either way, the busy season continues. The next scheduled event is the first ChiSeries of the year, March 27th at Phog. Details to come.
Ben Van Dongen 