A Year in the Life
Yesterday was the one year anniversary of Ash to Ashes going to print. I wish I could say it was a big blowout of an event, but honestly it was pretty tame. My mother took me out to dinner to celebrate the night before (Which was lovely. Thanks, Mom!). I bought a snack cake and stuck a candle in it for a promotional shot on Facebook and Twitter. The snack cake was tasty. The day went by and the world kept turning. I woke up today to learn that North and South Korea had signed a peace treaty officially ending the Korean war. I'll pretend for a moment that the two circumstances were not mutually exclusive and that the Chronicles of Chalisaria can promote world peace. You're welcome.
In related news, I said I would announce the winner of the anniversary contest drawings today!
*Drumroll*
*Rimshot*
And the winner is:
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a tie!
Congratulations to Nobody Smith and Empty Mailbag!
With equal scores of perfect zeros, it made the drawing process pretty tight, but a decision had to be made.
Nobody will be getting a signed copy of Wolfkin: a Fairy's Tail when it releases, a limited edition promotional t-shirt, and a limited edition ball cap.
Empty Mailbag reaps the rewards of the limited edition promotional t-shirt, a limited edition ball cap, and a full set of promo prints by Kent Willmeth.
Congratulations to Nobody and Empty Mailbag! You're super fun loot is on its way!
***
Snark aside, I feel like this promotional contest has pretty well confirmed for me how beneficial Facebook and Twitter are NOT in their current formats. The fact that I had absolutely zero submissions even after I simplified the questions tells me that either A.) E-mailing somebody to get a shot at free stuff is too hard for the average person, or B.) I was right and Nobody is seeing anything that I post on these platforms.
Talking to my author buddy Lynn Main last night, he did suggest an equally reasonable option C.). The people who saw the posts promoting the contest felt too close to me as an author to submit an entry. They didn't want to take advantage of my giving away free promo gear, or perhaps take away that opportunity from somebody who isn't as personally connected to me. It's a much better position to consider than "nobody cares."
Lynn does a pretty good job of helping me find perspective in these situations. His timing is usually remarkably good too. He's talked me off the "F*** It" ledge a few times now, so I owe him some pretty solid "Thanks."
Redirecting...
It's been a pretty wild year since Ash to Ashes went to print:
I met Felicia Day and gave her a two-day-old copy of the book.
I did two signing events at Cornerstone Coffee Haus.
TopCon was my first Convention ever.
I've attended the fall and spring shows for Little Apple Comic Expo (LACE)
I also did Freestate ComicCon in Lawrence where I only had one sale, but that guy's excitement about the book made it worth it.
I met some marvelous people including Lynn Main, Susanne Lambdin, Seth and Macey Groves, Dakota and Jordan Caldwell, James L Young, Jessica Young-Benoist, Raychel Smith, and countless others.
I found a talented editor and cover artist in Mae McIntosh right when I needed her most.
I lost the benefit of CreateSpace Creative Services and had to figure out how to adapt to a whole different publishing experience.
I finished Volume Two (Wolfkin: a Fairy's Tail) and am currently pushing to get it ready to go to print just as soon as I can finish jumping all of these techical hurdles.
It will be interesting to see where the next year takes me following the publication of Book 2. Here's hoping that the adventure continues to be grand, indeed.
