Friday, January 30, 2009

Promotional anxiety

I just ordered a bunch of postcards for Rain at Midsummer to bring to the Fetish Flea in Providence. (Phaze will have a booth there. Stop on by!)
And weird as it sounds, my heart was racing as I clicked BUY. I am fairly cheap at the best of times, but I have a real problem spending money on promotion. I think it's in part pure guilt that I'm spending money on promoting work that, fulfilling as it is, hasn't brought in half the mortgage yet. Illogical, I know. I used to work in advertising and marketing, so I know you have to spend some money to make money. But damn it's hard to do.

I think part of it is a legacy of my family. It's a complex subject that I'll explore in more detail some other time. But the Revered and Gifted Ancestor, the one my beloved grandmother taught me to look up to, the architect of notable genius and drive, believed "Fools' names as well as faces are often seen in public places." He believed talent was a gift from God and nothing to be proud of, and that while it was all right to be proud of your work, he himself never put his name on it. He also often passed up payment for jobs he did for the Catholic Church (which was most of them). And the family cemetery plot had no individually marked graves.

I have reason to believe he was mildly bug-nuts, in the way that only very brilliant people can be bug-nuts. And he died in the late 1800s, at least a decade before the grandmother who taught me of him was born. But his legacy endures a little bit, in a descendant who's blessed with gifts that are verbal rather than spatial and visual and who follows a completely different religious path, yet who still hears "Fools' name..." whenever she tries to get herself some publicity.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Bummer!

I was pretty excited about the Best Lesbian Erotica 2009 reading today. The readings at Good Vibrations don't usually draw a huge audience, but they're always fun.
Until I woke up to 6 inches of snow and more falling. I don't live that far from Boston--it's about 40 minutes on a good day--but in a blinding snow storm? Not the best idea. It's one thing to drive on a quiet road in the snow, but Route 95 is anything but quiet. You see, it's not the snow itself that scares me (I learned to drive in the Finger Lakes of central New York, where this would be a pleasant winter day, and Jeff spent years in New Hampshire.) It's the other drivers.
And the fact the town still hasn't plowed our road.
I hope none of you ventured out into the snow in hopes of hearing me read. If you did, I apologize.
And I hope you bought a book to thank the braver writers who ventured out in this mess!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Best Lesbian Erotica Reading


When: Sun, January 18, 3pm – 5pm
Where: Good Vibrations Brookline Store, 308-A Harvard Street (enter from rear parking lot), Brookline, MA 02446
Description: For over a decade, the Best Lesbian Erotica series has turned up the heat with scorching stories of Sapphic sexual experiences. Come hear the hottest new authors from Best Lesbian Erotica 2008 and 2009 editions. Writers scheduled to read include Alicia E. Goranson, Sacchi Green, Zaedryn Meade, Peggy Munson, Teresa Noelle Roberts, Sharon Wachsler and Anna Watson. Books will be available, with a wine and cheese reception to follow. (617) 264-4400 http://events.goodvibes.com

NOTE: Peggy and Sharon will not be present in the flesh, due to health problems, but intend to provide DVDs of their readings.

I have a lot more to report, but this will do for now! Please come join me if you're in the area. I'll be reading "Tough Enough to Wear a Dress," which was previously published in Rachel Kramer Bussel's Cross-Dressing anthology and is one of my favorite stories.

OK, they're all my favorites. My babies. But I had a lot of fun with this one.