Join my Author Q&A on Goodreads.com!

I've started a Q&A group on GoodReads.com, and I will be around fairly regularly to answer questions and join discussions as they crop up.  I'm hoping we'll be able to talk about everything from my first novel, Carving The Light, to participating in NaNoWriMo, to the experience of self-publishing with CreateSpace, to non-spoilery bits of information regarding my next project, Ebon Black and the Seven Dryads!

I'd love to interact with people who've read the book, or want to, other writers, readers, and anyone who has an interest in the industry at all.  I think it'll be fun, and I am looking forward to hearing what everyone has to say, so come join in when you can!

I'd also love to have that as one of the online spots where things like the contest I hope to run during the Ryerson ad campaign could be discussed.  I'm up for suggestions as to what would make my prize ideas even better, not to mention thoughts on other contest ideas that could be run in the future!

So, basically, anything goes.  Come sign up and join the fun today!  :)

Until soon,

S.A.M.

Everything Is Happening

So, here we are, with only 9 days left before I head to sunny California with my lovely girl for a whole week!  Mayhaps we shall even work on illustration ideas for Ebon Black and the Seven Dryads, especially when we will be exposed to such incredible ingenius ideas at Disneyland!  For certain, though, there will be much giggling and good times.  I can not wait.  :)

I am WAY overdue in sending out many thanks to the boys at my photo shoot last week!  Jim, Mark and Ted made it great fun for me, and it was actually kind of hard to leave!  I can't wait to see how it all turns out!  I will be posting it everywhere, once I get a look at it myself, of course!  ;)

Additionally, I have submitted Carving The Light to Guys Can Read, in the hopes that they might pick it as a finalist in their indie author contest!  Basically, they will announce a group of finalists on November 2nd.  If my book is among them, I will be looking for everyone I know to go vote for my book to win.  IF it wins, the guys will read and review it on their podcast!  Which is about the coolest thing I've heard in recent memory. 

I know my book is kind of girly at first glance (you know...all emotions and drama everywhere), but guys have been enjoying it, too, and I think it's likely because the characters are all easy to relate to, no matter what gender you happen to be reading from inside of.  So, hopefully, my little book will be given a shot at finally having a review or two done on it...and if some of those reviews come from the boys' perspectives, ALL the better!  I am really excited by the opportunity, and would encourage all of you to go check out their podcast/site, when you have a chance.  It's truly unique, and I look forward to hearing more from them as we go along!

OK, that's it for now.  I am too distracted to write much at the moment, apparently!

NINE MORE DAYS!  :D

Until soon,

SAM

Ryerson - Chang School Photo Shoot Tomorrow!!!

Everything is coming together for the ad I will be featured in for Ryerson's Chang School of Continuing Education!  The photo shoot is tomorrow morning and, with the exception of a still sore and bumpy eye, I am good to go!

Awesome Link!!!

Just found this awesome link to my CafePress store for Carving The Light! Gifts for Canadian Thanksgiving! Perfect! :)


Canadian Thanksgiving : Holidays Tees, T-shirts & Gift Ideas

Book Review: No Hope For Gomez! by Graham Parke

I loved this book! Gomez Porter is an instantly likeable character, and he draws the reader ever further into his (sometimes off-balanced) mindset through the openness and honesty of his blog entries. As a test subject in an experimental drug trial, Gomez is told to update his blog entries as regularly as possible, and record everything and anything, especially that which could be considered strange. Soon, however, Gomez starts to find pretty much everything in his world strange, and thus the reader is pulled into Gomez's messed-up internal reality, even as he struggles to make sense of it all for himself.


I was fortunate enough to win a copy of this book through a FirstReads giveaway on [...], and I am so happy that I did. The pace is fast and action-packed...from the first page, author Graham Parke takes his readers on one of the strangest, most hilarious rollercoaster rides of the psyche that they are ever likely to go on, and he doesn't let up until the end which, incidentally, just leaves you wanting more.

The story is compact, fun (I laughed out loud more than once while reading this), and while it may have you looking at the world a whole different (and possibly very askew) way, once you've been inside the mind of Gomez Porter, if you're like me, you'll find that you don't mind that one single bit!

Maybe there is no hope for Gomez, but after reading this hilarious, twisted little novel, I personally hope for MORE Gomez very very soon!

Updates and Musings

OK, first off, I should mention that I just got back to work from my first appointment with an eye doctor, to make sure that my injury from a few weeks ago is healing and that no further damage was done.  So, one eye is dilated a ridiculous amount, I am uncomfortable and can't see out of it, and I just want to go home and sleep it off.

Typing ain't easy, either, naturally, but there was some stuff I wanted to talk about, while I have a chance!

Congratulations!

First off, congratulations to all of the winners of the Goodreads.com giveaway!  Five lucky folks were drawn from over 700 entries, and each of them should be receiving a signed copy of Carving The Light in their mailbox sometime soon!  I shipped three copies out today, and will do the other two tomorrow, hopefully.  I'm just waiting a but longer to hear back on whether they would like it personalized, or not.  :)