Hello, everyone!
Hope this newsletter finds you well and laughing as the world burns. August is here and for me that means two great events and a paperback release. I have a lot to talk about, so let’s get started.
I TURNED IN THE NEXT NOVEL
Every editing experience has been different for me. With The Devil Takes You Home, I did two round with my wonderful editor, Melissa Danaczko, and then the same with Josh Kendall, my editor at Mulholland. This time around, I sent the first draft to Josh and he made some general comments. I tackled those and then Melissa did a deeper edit and help me cut about 20k words. Yeah, that’s a lot, but some of the things Josh wanted made me add a lot of stuff and I ended up with a 124k-word novel. Hah. Anyway, the thing is leaner, meaner, sharper, weirder, and more violent now, and it’s in Josh’s hands. While I wait for the official editorial later and get on it (with a tight deadline), I’ll be working on the next book. You know, because I can’t stop and books don’t write themselves.
ARMADILLOCON
ArmadilloCon is a great conference. It’s always here in Austin, which means I get to have a good time without the hassle of flying. I’ve been a few times before and always had a blast. This year it’s special for me because I’m a Special Guest. One of the best things that came from The Devil Takes You Home is special guest/guest of honor stuff. For years I wanted to go to events and couldn’t because I couldn’t afford the flight/registration/hotel/food mix that keeps so many writers from doing events. Going to places now and having them fly me/put me up at a hotel/feed me feels incredible. Anyway, if you’re around, I hope we get to chat for a bit. Here’s my schedule:
— Friday, August 4 —
7pm - Opening Ceremonies(Ballroom D)
9pm - Horror for the Last 10 Years (Southpark A)
—Saturday, August 5 —
12pm - Gabino Iglesias Interview (Southpark A)
1pm -Autographing: Special Guest Gabino Iglesias (Dealers Room)
4pm - The Van Show Interview #5 (Sweetwaters)
7pm - Worldbuilding for Horror (Ballroom D)
— Sunday, August 6 —
10am - Stress Management for Creative People (Ballroom D)
12pm - Reading - Gabino Iglesias & Tonia Ransom (Conference Center)
I’m looking forward to seeing friends like
Joe Lansdale, Tonia Ransom, Lee Thomas, Rick Klaw, John Hornor Jacobs, and many others. I’m also looking forward to meeting folks whose work I love like Cory Doctorow and Sequoia Nagamatsu. I’ll try to remember to take some photos so I can tell you—and show you!—some highlights in the next newsletter.
IT’S PAPERBACK TIME!
The Devil Takes You Home was my first hardcover, which means it’ll also be my first paperback release. The book turned one yesterday and I had all kinds of feelings about it. I was sad, angry, broke, and desperate when I finished it during the pandemic (you know using my time well because I was unemployed) and sent it to my agent. That book changed my life. It’s a Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson Award winner and received Edgar, Anthony, Locus, and Reading the West nominations. It was named one of the best books of 2022 by NPR, Chicago Tribune, Vulture, CrimeReads, and some other venues. Anyway, the point is that little book and I made history together and it will always be special for me, which means I’m stoked about the paperback and having a perfect excuse to talk about it again. Oh, and the kindle version is on sale for a limited time! You know, in case you haven’t read it yet: https://www.amazon.com/Devil-Takes-You-Home-Novel-ebook/dp/B09N5R5K8W/
UTAH
I’ll be done with ArmadilloCon on Sunday…and then I’m off to Utah on Wednesday for the Quills Conference, put together by the League of Utah Writers. I’ll be one of the keynote speakers and will teach a couple workshops as well. Looking forward to it! More on that next time.
BIGFOOT
Sometimes I get tired of watching movies and I watch documentaries (there was some of that in the previous newsletter), true crime stuff, and Bigfoot stuff. I find it very interesting when done well and hilarious when done bad. I thought about binging Bigfoot documentaries a while ago, but managed only two or three before life got in the way. I’ll be starting that again tonight…
Stay awesome, be good to each other, and take care of yourselves. Thanks for reading!