What you’re seeing above is a very small glimpse of Daniele Serra’s beautiful work for OCTOBER ANIMALS. And, besides some snippets published online and in my newsletter (which you should subscribe to), this art makes the book finally feel… real. If that makes sense? I mean, I wrote the damned thing, you think it’d be real to me. But, you know, life has been rough. Continue reading “OCTOBER ANIMALS has been a ride”
Until very recently, I had several active titles in print. No longer. After some internal deliberation, I have reacquired the rights and interests in all my solo work. There may be a few copies floating around out there on various retail platforms, but the books are very much out of print. Every single title.
Continue reading “Now I am become out-of-print, the destroyer of sales”
Firstly, if you’re reading this, then thanks for stopping by! I truly appreciate it.
Secondly, I’m (mostly) migrating from social media and utilizing this site AND a newsletter. I long ago dumped Facebook. However, I will keep the Twitter account running, as long as it does what I need it to do: move books.
I will be 100% honest: I am only on social media because it is a free and easy marketing tool. I do not have representation and, thus far, the presses I have worked with do not have marketing departments or marketing budgets. So, social media is where that proverbial buck stops.
“Now I am become Marketing, the destroyer of disposable income.”
And, there’s a lot of “cult of personality” types on various social media platforms. I am not one of those. Now, I certainly do not begrudge one’s interest in flexing their cult-building skills. If that’s your bag, then go out and drop those hot takes! There’s a whole load of folks who love hot takes. Hot takes, I’m sure, have even nabbed a sale or two. In general, I don’t give a single shit for hot takes.
But, I will tell you what I like about hot takes, even if they aren’t my particular bag. I like hot takes because I like reading people as much if not more than I like reading books. Hot takes, more often than not, are an open door into someone’s head. Enough hot takes, and you can start piecing together the inner workings of a person. I don’t mind taking a walk through your head, and I will do so if you open that door enough times.
Now, I get that a lot of shit on social media is, at best, performative… but so are interactions in the real world. Any single person is a multitude. You are getting to know someone, whether it is the subjective “real” or the projection. The distinction is awfully ethereal outside of true performance art. And, I am not picky. I’ll take whatever you’re giving.
Finally, if you’ve made it this far, I thank you for a second time. I’d be thrilled if you signed up for my newsletter, and it will be the only way to get my upcoming novella, OCTOBER ANIMALS.
I am taking a (short) break from OCTOBER ANIMALS, but then it is back to work. It feels like I have taken a lifetime to work on a book so short. I even had a (for myself) pretty detailed outline to work from. But the narrative started mutating right out of the gate and anytime I tried to force the outline it simply wasn’t working. The narrative wanted something else, and I have stopped fighting. Instead, I am giving the narrative what it wants and letting it go.
“If you love something, let it go” says the old adage. Except, i don’t expect this thing I love to “come back” and be mine “forever” or what have you. I intend to let it go, piece by piece, word by word. Every sentence, this story grows nearer to completion, and further away from me. As it should be. Someday, soon, I will let OCTOBER ANIMALS go and it will be yours, not mine.
And then, over time, my perception of the book will become foggy, as it has with works I’ve previously written. Narratives are like memories, in that way. An experience so utterly involving that shatters apart with passing time, to become hardly more than idle thoughts, half-remembered details.
Memory is palimpsest.
So are books.
I write a story to be half-remembered by myself and you read said story and you bring your own life and experiences and this perception of yours is grafted onto to certain words and passages, and so the story conjures thoughts and feelings and narratives within the reader, all of which is beyond my control. And that, is a kind of magic. I may put down the words, but it is the reader who gives life to the story. In their own way, every book is a spell.
And now, I must return to OCTOBER ANIMALS. I have spells to cast and creatures to conjure.
Thanks for reading.
My last post was on June 30th, and three days later my father died, just short of his birthday. He would have been 67. I tried making it out to Illinois every year, but because of the pandemic, I had yet to make it in 2020. My brother and my mother were with him when he died, and I find some solace in that. Turns out, the last time I would ever see my father was the morning of August 6th, 2019. The last picture I took of him was in 2018. He was playing with a dog at an animal shelter. He loved dogs.
Continue reading “Making up for Lost Time is literally impossible. It’s just gone, forever.”
I keep making my handwritten notes, and I have a stack of books to read for research, and in a few weeks time I will “officially” begin working on my next manuscript:
THE BODY IS A MACHINE THAT MAKES GHOSTS.
I recently posted about GRIND YOUR BONES TO DUST selling quite a few copies since its debut (500+, as of this writing, which is not too shabby for a newbie micro-press and a debut novel), and I have had more than one person ask me for “tips or tricks or secrets” that I might be able to share, so… here I am, sharing.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Time To Start Promoting Your Book?”
Today is the first day of May. It is very, very nice outside. All the green is returning and flowers are blooming and the days are getting warmer. And, on top of all that, I’m receiving emails asking about the film/TV rights for my new collection, Nobody Gets Hurt and Other Lies. And from a very reputable company, to boot. Chances are, you’ve seen their handiwork.
This is exciting, while also not being that exciting. Let’s discuss!
Nicholas Day 