Local Authors Event: Barnes & Noble at Wiregrass in Wesley Chapel

It's from 2pm to 4pm.

Attendance is MANDATORY.

Everyone show up, or else you get an Incomplete on your report card.

Here is location.  Map provided.  If you get lost you will be stuck in East Pasco.  Gods have mercy on you if that happens.


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Coming Attractions At This Saturday's Local Author Event

Just a reminder to the seven people reading this blog, I've got the Local Authors event at the Wesley Chapel Shops At Wiregrass Barnes & Noble this Saturday (May 18th) from 2 pm - 4 pm.

As part of promoting my self-published works while there, I'm also going to promote the horror-humor anthology that's publishing my short story submission.  I asked the editors if they had a flyer available so I can promote that anthology and here it is:

Ta-da!

If you zoom in you'll see my submission - "I Must Be Your First" - listed as the third title!

Yes.  Feeling chipper, I must say.

Regrets I've Had a Few

And the thing I'm regretting right now is not keeping on file any of the training handouts I made for Microsoft Excel from when I taught computer classes at Broward Libraries.

...Gotta go re-type it by hand... mutter grumble explaining Autosum all over again mutter mutter...

Things I Learned At Florida Library Association Conference 2013

1) The hotel where the convention is being held sells $12 sandwiches.  Note to self: pack a lunch next year.

2) About half of the librarians I worked with between Broward County Libraries and UF Libraries are retired or going to retire this year.  I did not do a good enough job keeping in touch with a lot of them.  :(  P.S. if any of them cross this blog, please get in touch with me...

3) It's less a question of keeping up with new technologies - although you really have to - and more a responsibility to make sure you train your library patrons to be comfortable with said new technologies.

4) No, seriously, $12 sandwiches.  It's cheaper to walk down the street to the McDonald's.  Plus you get more exercise.

5) I decided against bringing my Nook eReader device with me (it functions as a tablet as well, although not as effectively as an iPad).  Turned out to be a bad move: I realized I was out of email communication with everyone for most of the day!  ...still shaking off the withdrawal symptoms...

6) The primary thing being discussed at the conference sessions - at least for this day when I attended - was community outreach, keeping libraries involved with their communities.

7) I saw a 3D printer for the first time.  I bowed and prayed to the Maker Deity, the provider of All Things Plastic.  And It made for us a miniature plastic Mayan temple.  Because It could.

Anyone got any questions about the conferencing experience?

Update: Writing and Marketing April 2013

1) Still working on finishing up a novel idea from 2010 NaNoWriMo.  Need to get it done soon and edited and uploaded to ebook before May because...

2) Local Authors event at Barnes & Noble at Wiregrass in Wesley Chapel FL on May 18, 2013.  From 2pm to 4pm.  It'd be nice to have a new book to promote alongside the published stuff like Last of the Grapefruit Wars, Welcome to Florida and Hero Cleanup Protocol.  Before which I'll be...

3) Attending the Florida Writers Association meeting in Lakeland FL this April 16, where I'll be asking about post-meeting for quick hints on self-marketing with a Facebook page perhaps or other methods.

So I'm off to work!  Just three more chapters to go!

P.S. it'd be real nice if I can get support of people in the Tampa Bay area to come to the Local Authors event at Wiregrass.  I mean, just to show up: the last two times I've done this, turnout was shamefully low.  :(

I Submitted a Short Story to a Horror Humor Anthology And All I Got Was This Writer's Agreement

...'cause I really don't need another t-shirt at the moment.

Wait, am I just admitting to the possibility I might have an honest-to-God story published somewhere?

The small-press Mystery and Horror LLC is starting up an anthology collection titled Strangely Funny.  They put a call out for submissions, got shared on Facebook, and I gave it a look-see.

I'd like to think I'm good at writing humor stories - the handful of comments I get back on my self-published collection Last of the Grapefruit Wars are for the funnier stories I wrote (my absurdist office golf tale is an award winner no less) - so I set myself down, pounded out a tale about a vampire coping with a slayer-wannabe breaking into his home, and submitted it.

They were nice enough to send back a Writer's Agreement to secure permission to include that story.

Now it's not a 100-percent guarantee it will get printed - if they get better submissions and lack the room I'll understand - and of course the editors can revamp - heh I said vamp - that story as they deem necessary.  I'm okay with the editing process just as long as they keep the core component - that Christopher Lee is a badass - of my story intact.

Meanwhile, they're still taking submissions for that Strangely Funny anthology.  Deadline is June 10th 2013.  It wouldn't hurt to submit something, you think?

Bartow Public Library links

I've added two links to the Bartow Public Library over to the right of this blog.  In particular is the link to the Friends group, the volunteers who support the library 24/7 (excepting holidays of course).

Please visit.

Danke.