Saturday, March 56:00pm – 10:00pm |
Method.
1529 Grand Blvd.
Kansas City, MO
|
Category: Marketing & Promotion
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Live Reading TONIGHT (again). Free Beer (again).
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Live reading, TONIGHT. Free Beer.
Friday, March
4 · 6:00pm – 11:00pm
Slap n Tickle Gallery
504 E. 18th StKansas City, MO -

Pre-orders for Stranger Will are now open. Be cool before being cool gets cool.
Stranger Will is officially available for pre-order. What does that mean to you? Lots.
- You know that tingly, nether-region feeling you get when you’ve got amazing leftovers in your refrigerator ready for the next day’s lunch? You can have that feeling now with just a few mouse clicks.
- Feel like the hipster component of the upcoming Stranger Will Tour for Strange, like when you know the opening band’s catalog and will take every opportunity to tell fellow concert-goers how much better they are than the main band. In this convoluted comparison, the main band equates my inevitable super fame, and the opening band equates my current z-lister status.
- Your bookshelf will also get that item #1 feeling.
- Ef you Christmas in December! Try Christmas in March.
- Perhaps most important of all: Pre-orders will be personally inscribed. I try to make pre-orders special with all of my books (see video below, created to document the extra special Make Books Smell Like a Bar Bathroom promotion). With Stranger Will, I have some special things in mind, but I’ll keep them secret for now. Don’t worry though, Stranger Will probably won’t reek of smoke.
Preorder Stranger Will here, in either hardback or paperback versions.
About Stranger Will:
William Lowson has less than two months until fatherhood – a state he abhors, existing in this world governed by the limit of a human lifespan. To birth is to ultimately kill. His admittedly pessimistic view comes as a result of his work as a Human Remains Removal Specialist – professionally cleaning the stains left from dead bodies.
As his fiancée nears term William becomes increasingly desperate for a solution to, what he calls, “this fault of human ego.” His friend and mentor, Mrs. Rose, an elementary school principal, nurtures and sympathizes with his cynicism, blaming his dilemma on an imperfect world. But she has a plan around this impediment: a group of strangers-a devout collection of kindred minds who have dedicated their lives to cultivating a unique idea of perfection, and she wants William to join.
But once he is in can he get out?
In this novel of impending fatherhood, an idealistic teacher recruits a pliant protégé to join her group of Strangers – a devout collection of kindred minds who have dedicated their lives to cultivating a unique idea of perfection.
But joining is easier than leaving.
Preorder Stranger Will here, in either hardback or paperback versions.
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The Velvet Podcast, interview with Jane Friedman, social media expert
Over the past few weeks, Jane Friedman and I have gotten to know each other almost entirely by way of Twitter. With online social media playing such an important role in our introduction and ultimate in-person meeting it made sense that we should take a few moments during the recent AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Projects) conference in Washington DC to discuss the role of social media in the author’s life.Jane’s passion for the world of e-media is evident. She is the former publisher and editorial director of Writer’s Digest, has spoken at 36 billion writing events since 2001 (give or take a few), and is known within the publishing industry as an innovator, cited by sources such as Publishers Weekly, GalleyCat, PBS online, and Mr. Media. Jane currently serves as a visiting professor of e-media at the University of Cincinnati, and is a contributing editor to Writer’s Digest.
Playing the role of the tech-deficiant, Nik Korpon (Stay God) joins us for this hallway conversation (please, pardon the background noise).
Head to The Velvet Podcast to hear the interview. While there, subscribe via Feedburner, Podcast Alley, or iTunes.
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Life in 100 Words or Less

I was recently approached to write a short piece for a project called Life in 100 Words or Less. A quick perusal through the aptly named Life in 100 Words or Less blog revealed some very interesting takes on this morbid, though inspiring, topic. A deeper dive left me feeling dirty, but not so much that I didn’t decide to offer my own few words.
Read mine here.
Read the rest here.
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I talk the role of social media in the author’s career (then I tweet, blog, Facebook, etc. about it)

Recently, I was kindly invited to participate in a panel on social media during the 2011 AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) conference in Washington DC. Joined by Tanya Egan Gibson, Dan Blank, Bethanne Patrick, Christina Katz, and moderator Jane Friedman, the panel succeeded in opening up and emphasizing both the possibilities and importance of social media in developing an author’s platform.
Having never before participated in an AWP panel (though I have attended many), I was initiated only from the perspective of an audience member. Knowing that an uninteresting topic coupled with boring presenters may drive the audience to mutiny, I came prepared to be as concise and witty (hopefully) as possible. Overall, I consider my effort a success. Of course, having the aforementioned panelists at the dais made failure near-impossible.
I’ve argued before that and author should openly embrace social media; the goal of both online social engagement and book-bound literary endeavors are the same: communicating on a human level. While naysayers abound, the consistent monologue about the form (such as this very AWP panel) seems to slowly be cultivating a more accepting and even more eager mindset.
Listen to the entire panel at The Velvet Podcast, here. Or you can subscribe to The Velvet Podcast via Feedburner, Podcast Alley, or iTunes.
Here’s the official description of the panel:
The Art and Authenticity of Social Media: Using Online Tools to Grow a Community. (Jane Friedman, Tanya Egan Gibson, Dan Blank, Bethanne Patrick, Christina Katz, Caleb J. Ross)
Social media is easy to disparage as meaningless socializing, undignified shilling, or time better spent writing. Yet sharing information online and having conversations with readers is critical to spreading the word about what you (or your organization) does. Online community building can help develop a long-term readership, plus open up new opportunities.

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Guess who paid to be one of 65 authors included in No Colony’s Pushcorpse project.

A single story? 65 authors? Yes. Who? These:
Shya Scanlon, Christian Ochoa, Brian Spears, David Erlewine, Christopher Higgs, Alan Horn, Jason Cook, Matt Kirkpatrick, Amy Letter, Gene Morgan, Vaughan Simons, David Peak, Brian Carr, Claire Kohne, Caleb J. Ross, Michael Jauchen, Alec Niedenthal, Christopher Heavener, Jac Jemc, Peter Rawlings, Joseph Goosey, Darby Larson, Nathan Tyree, Michael Inscoe, Roxane Gay, Jonny Kelly, Alan S. Carl, Aaron Gilbreath, Travis Kurowski, Caitlyn Dibble, Jackie Corley, J.A. Tyler, Andrew Borgstrom, Christopher Newgent, Phoebe North, Laurence Wilhelm Lillvik, Jonathan Keeperman, Christian Smith, Meredith Turits, Audri Sousa, Barry Graham, Matt Jasper, Danny Barron, Matthew Savoca, Josh Kleinberg, Robert Alan Wendeborn, David Naimon, Benjamin Spivey, Hassen Taiari, Christopher Stokes, Josh Maday, Bradley Billey, Christopher Deal, Elizabeth Ellen, Alexander Fletcher, Nik Korpon, Richard Thomas, Christopher J. Dwyer, Kellie Walsh, Kasey Carpenter, D. Hammer, Timmy Waldron, Angi Becker Stevens, Erin Flaherty, Ryan Call
Want to own? Buy here.


