Good morning, friend!
Here are some developments happening with Virago that I’m excited to share with you! Read on for musings on self-promotion and to find out what’s ahead for Escape Into Storytelling!
Podcast
The podcast isn’t going anywhere, but I am reducing output to one episode a week: this means I can both focus on episode quality AND rest my voice. As always, there will be no charge for the podcast. I hope to have all episodes uploaded to Spotify in the next few months. There’s no date for that yet. Also, each episode will have a more detailed events summary to help people re-orient between episodes. AND some better art, metadata, etc attached to the files. I’m sure anyone listening has not failed to notice my severe lack of branding. Gotta work on that.
There are SEVEN episodes left! Feels like just yesterday I uploaded the first one.
I do have some more short stories to record and upload, but I will wait until Virago’s conclusion and post them as space fillers between Eyam-related projects.
A BIG thank you to the folks who’ve been listening since the beginning, and offered vital feedback about sound quality, a character list, and other matters! You have been hugely helpful and I must figure out a way to thank you!
Print/Ebook
The print/ebook version of the novel will be available in the fall – I have a date in mind but want to double-check some things before announcing.
Yesterday I had a brainwave for a new cover design to replace the frankly suck one I created 6 years ago. I was able to create a mock-up that really captured the feel of the story while still being distinctive and high-concept. It’s pretty cool and I’m very proud of it. I’ll do a reveal later on.
Book covers that always caught my eye were the ones using non-traditional media on the cover , like those here.
A.A. Attanasio’s The Dragon and the Unicorn; Michael Moorcock’s Elric: Song of the Black Sword; China Mieville’s Perdido Street Station, all displayed on the blanket I got in San Diego.
Along with the cover I will have more art, including a map of Glendale and Vitral. I’d love to create individual chapter icons that show both the characters and events appearing in the chapter – but that’s A LOT of art. We will have to see.
Promotion
Barf. I hate promotional stuff. I don’t like doing it, but it’s a necessary evil. It’s not that I don’t believe in my work, it’s that I don’t believe in my ability to sell my work. I always feel like that blues violinist in The Simpsons that makes some impassioned speech to Lisa about music, but who’s actually just trying to sell a CD from the back of her car. Or, God forbid, GIL the sweaty, desperate salesman.
So I have to do the stuff. The SOCIAL stuff. Unless you’re winning awards right out the gate or have friends and family in the industry, there isn’t much room for the kind of I writer I aspired to be, like J.D. Salinger or Harlan Ellison – antisocial weirdos who write the words then disappear into their hermit crab shells once the words are out in the world. I learned how to sell myself in job interviews, so I should be able to do this, too.
The Future
After the Virago podcast concludes and the book is available for purchase, there will be another book – The Secret Wilderness – which is Adelaide’s backstory. That book was originally the beginning of the series, but since it is dark and only deals with Adelaide and Neville I decided to make it the second since Virago, being a broader story, had wider appeal. It’s only 12 chapters, so it will go quick.
And then – Barghest. The third book in the series! The other two books were workshopped to death, so I’m curious how this one will fare. I definitely need to find beta readers.
So that’s the future of Escape Into Storytelling!
