December 2005 Blogs

The December Photo of the Month was largely my wife's choosing. For some reason, she really thinks this photo is funny. It comes from an afternoon, not long ago, when I got out the digital camera and tried out my acting chops in the back yard. In this photo, I was trying to express the emotion of being startled. Specifically, I was imagining myself looking up and seeing a mountain lion twenty feet away.



Wednesday December 28, 2005
Click here to listen to Stacey's 12-28-05 Audio Blog


Sunday December 25, 2005
Merry Christmas, everybody!

So, what did you get? What did Santa bring you?

Drop me a line via the comments box up above and let me know what you got!

Here's a photo of me with a copy of Karin Slaughter's Indelible, some new underwear and T-shirts, and my new black dress shoes. Also on the table is my new collection of Rock Music for guitar and piano, my gift card to J-Crew (thanks Mary Kay and Dave), and two CDs from Target. Also in the photo, I am wearing a new pair of jeans. Very cool...





Friday December 23, 2005
Well, so, yesterday I had my first school event for Amber Page and the Legend of the Coral Stone. I was a little nervous, but I made good notes and prepared well. I spoke with about sixty 8th Graders at a local middle school near where I live.

During the first part of the discussion we talked about the Writing Process, and during the second part, I talked about how to get published. I did a give-away of several Amber Page magnets, and did a drawing to give-away one copy of the book. At the end, I handed out flyers for a booksigning event Saturday down the road from the school, where copies of the book will be for sale (books could not be sold at the school).

A bunch of the kids wanted me to sign my autograph on the flyer, and so the last five-ten minutes I sat a table and did so. It was flattering.

I got the event by looking up the school’s website and calling the principal. I actually left a message on his voice mail the first time I called, and he called back the next day and put me into contact with one of the 8th Grade writing teachers. The teacher and I spoke on the phone a few days later and arranged the date and time for me to come in. I made one drop-in by the school prior to the event to meet her.

For the event yesterday, I was dressed in jeans, a white dress shirt, and a black jacket.



Saturday December 24 (tomorrow), I’ll be at the Gecko Espresso in Gold Canyon, Arizona to sign and sell copies of Amber Page and the Legend of the Coral Stone between 1-3 P.M.

On a different note, my wife and I got our Christmas tree up last night. It’s a cutie!





Thursday December 22, 2005
This morning I met with a group of sixty 8th Graders at Thunder Mountain Middle School to discuss Creative Writing, the writing process, and some publishing business fundamentals. The group was great, and I gave away a couple of Amber Page magnets and a copy of Amber Page and the Legend of the Coral Stone.

This Saturday (Christmas Eve), I'll be at the Gecko Espresso in Gold Canyon, Arizona to sign and sell copies of the book between 1:00 and 3:00 P.M.


Monday December 19, 2005
Click here to listen to Stacey's 12-19-05 Audio Blog


Thursday December 15, 2005
Wow, I've been super busy lately. Everything is going really well. I've been working on revisions to Maggie McClure: Code Name Inferno, which is the young adult novel I wrote earlier this year that I workshopped back in October. It took me a couple months to work myself up to doing the revisions, but now that I'm into them, I've done pretty well.

That means that Dr. Plant has been on hold the past three-five days, which is fine because I got the novel to a point where I was ready to step away from it for about a week. I will hit the 200,000-word mark (and 1,000-page mark) almost certainly the next time I sit down to write on it, and I want to have it done under 230,000 words by February.

Meanwhile, Amber Page and the Legend of the Coral Stone has been selling pretty well since the booksigning last week. A couple of people have actually bought copies since the event by asking at the coffee shop, where I did the event and then having them pass the word on to me.

I have an article coming out in the Apache Junction Independent next week, and I'll be at the Thunder Mountain Middle School next Thursday December 22 to speak with 8th graders in a Creative Writing workshop.

Without a doubt, the biggest good news in the past few days was that I got a positive e-mail after a couple of phone call back-and-forths with the Teen Services Coordinator at the Main Phoenix Public Library. She's interested in having me for a Creative Writing workshop for teens sometime in the new year. I'm totally stoked about this because it's the largest public library in the state. If I get an event there, it would be like the little engine that could for me and my self-published novel. It would be a great experience.

If I'm not careful, I might find myself actually saying I'm doing this thing of being a writer. :)

Stacey


Saturday December 10, 2005
Well, the booksigning was a success. All total I did three readings, spaced about thirty minutes apart, and we had a good turnout. Everyone was just so friendly and nice and interested. If every booksigning I'll do in my life could be as comfortable and fun as the one last night, I'll count my career a complete success!



The announcement flyer. I personally handed out about 200 of these at a local library on three separate days the week before the event.



Some people had questions about how the book was written, the process that I took to write it, what font I use when writing a manuscript. I love talking about this stuff with folks who are interested!


I even signed a few books.


Everyone was happy and excited!


We had a number of kids at the reading. They were wonderful...


Some folks enjoyed hot cocoa...


Others enjoyed talking about the book's message.


All in all, a good time was had by all. This was only my second booksigning ever, really.

I did a booksigning in November 2004 at the World Fantasy Convention, but last night's was the first where I had arranged the event with a store owner, done promotional materials for it, got my name in the local paper, etc. In its own small way, it was quietly my first professional booksigning.

It was a special night.

Stacey


Friday December 9, 2005
Hey, folks, check out the name at the bottom of the Apache Junction Public Library homepage. That is so cool!

I'll be at the library leading a Creative Writing and Publishing Fundamentals workshop on January 17, 2006. If you're in the area and a teen, you are invited to come to the event!

It should be a lot of fun.

Stacey



Thursday December 8, 2005
Click here to listen to Stacey's 12-8-05 Audio Blog

One day left before the first booksigning event for Amber Page and the Legend of the Coral Stone.




Wednesday December 7, 2005
I'd like to begin a new segment here at staceycochran.com this week titled "World's Great Speeches." Each week, I'll read one famous speech from history.

This week's speech comes from January 20, 1961. John F. Kennedy's famous "Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You" speech was his inaugural address.

Click here to listen to 'Kennedy-Inaugural-January-20-1961'



Sunday December 4, 2005
I've been letting an idea for a new website gel in my mind for about a year. What I'd like to do is have an online magazine of short stories and interviews, but to make them all available as audio files for download. The way I've begun envisioning this is like the old radio shows of the 1930s and 40s.

Here is a snippet of the kind of stories I'd like to broadcast on this new site.

Click here to listen to the audio book version of The Kiribati Test

The idea is similar to what the guys at podiobooks.com are doing, except that my site would be primarily short stories. I'd have writers submit stories the old fashioned way -- in manuscript format, in a brown manila envelope -- but instead of printing just the words, I'd read the stories and podcast them like a radio show.



Friday December 2, 2005
Today, I'm going to write. With Dr. Plant, I'm beginning to get that edgy feeling I get towards the end of a novel, when the wheels are beginning to grip the dirt, and an end, though not in sight, seems right around the corner or over the next ridgeline.



Wednesday November 30, 2005
Click here to listen to Stacey's 11-30-05 Audio Blog

Busy, busy, busy...

I've started doing a daily "To Do" list. Yesterday's took up the front and part of the back of a whole sheet of 8.5x11 paper. Today's was better, just taking up the front of one.

I love making stuff happen.

I have a couple of newspaper articles coming out in local papers next week. I'll be at Gecko Espresso next Friday. This weekend and next week, I'll be handing out flyers all around the east valley to try and attract folks to the event.

I met with two 8th grade teachers yesterday at Thunder Mt. Middle School to discuss a speaking engagement I have at the school on December 22. I've visited two more local libraries to set up Teen Events, called the Main Phoenix Public Library to discuss the possibility of setting up an event, visited five more bookstores to ask about setting up events, called two Barnes & Nobles in Tucson, called every NPR radio station in Arizona, spoke with one on-air host about the possibility of setting up an on-air interview, got another bookstore event (this one in Sedona), and arranged to hand out flyers at a local library this Saturday announcing the event for next Friday.

This morning I spoke on the phone with Melinda Siegel who produces KCRW's Bookworm, based out of Santa Monica, California.

Stacey