January 2006 Blogs

Tuesday January 31, 2006
I got a good night's sleep last night. It was one of those sleeps where you wake up feeling completely refreshed.

My wife and I had a really good talk last night about the difficulties of getting published. For those of you who have been reading this blog the past couple of years, you've watched me struggle with this.

I've been writing fulltime since 2001, when I graduated from college with an M.A. in Creative Writing. Prior to 2001, I had been writing pretty steadily since about 1994 with the intent of getting a book published.

This is a long time to go without achieving that success, and the past year has been the hardest.

One of the things we talked about was how to enjoy life as a writer who writes full time if you can't get published.

I think there's a kind of "letting go" going on inside of me, where I'm really getting to the point where I just want to be happy and maintain stability every day, regardless of whether I get a book deal or not.

And there's an acceptance going on that has the potential to be healthy, where I shrug my shoulders and say, "It doesn't matter, as long as I'm happy."

My wife reminds me that the key is just to look at the positives that we have achieved, and to maintain the course. Do the work, even if there's no chance of monetary reward. Believe in the integrity of the craft. Work at it daily. And enjoy it!

It's really that simple.

I'd just like to say a special thanks to all the readers of this blog, silent and otherwise. Your support means the world to me.

Stacey



Monday January 30, 2006
It's been real quiet 'round here the past few days. I'm doing okay, it's just not much has been happening.

I'm working through edits on Claws 2 in hopes of gearing up towards writing the latter half of the book come February, March, and April.

I don't like it when things are this quiet. :)

Stacey



Wednesday January 25, 2006
Another milestone today: Amber Page and the Legend of the Coral Stone made it into my local public library's library catalogue.

Depending on the kind of inter-library loan system your local public library has, you may be able to request a copy of this book from around the country.

They also catalogued my sci-fi collection The Kiribati Test.

Stacey


Tuesday January 24, 2006
My first interview was published today at Authortrek.com.



Friday January 20, 2006
I received this nice e-mail late yesterday afternoon:

Subject: Judging-L. Ron Hubbard Writers of The Future Contest

Dear Entrant,

Thank you for entering the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest. Your entry placed in the quarter-finals for the 4th quarter 2005 (July 1 to September 30, 2005). Achieving the level of quarter-finals means that your story was in the top 10 - 15% of all entries received for the quarter and deserves special recognition as such.

Judges for the quarterly judging were Sean Williams, Gregory Benford, Tim Powers, Brian Herbert and K.D. Wentworth. We commend your effort and hope that you will submit another entry for the next Contest quarter, which closes March 31, 2006. The deadline is by postmark..

If you sent an envelope for results or return of your story, this is presently on its way in the mail.

We wish you the best of luck on your next entry!

Sincerely,

Judy
Contest Administrator

This marks the fourth sci-fi story I've placed as a quarter-finalist with this contest in a little over a year, which is really encouraging.

This morning I worked on the Audio Book version of Amber Page. I recorded Chapter Two. The Audio Book version should begin airing sometime in the next few weeks. I'll post more details as they become available.

My plan is to have a CD of the book, so that you could listen to it in your car, on your WalkMan, on your computer, or on your home stereo player. Any place that plays a compact disc.

Stacey


Thursday January 19, 2006
Click here to listen to Stacey's 1-19-06 Audio Blog


Wednesday January 18, 2006
Yesterday evening, I spoke at the Apache Junction Public Library to an extraordinarily bright group of teens during the Teen Chat Café. There were about a dozen teens, and we talked for sixty minutes about Creative Writing, manuscript format, where to send stories to, and the writing process. Some of the questions asked were really insightful, and I had a lot of fun.

The event resulted in two books sold directly to the library for cataloging, and so now, people at the library can check out both Amber Page and the Legend of the Coral Stone and The Kiribati Test.

It was a good time.

This morning, I started tinkering around for the very first time on the cover for my next book The Colorado Sequence. This is what I came up with...

Friday January 13, 2006
Well, I put the T-shirt in the mail to England for the winner of the New Years Eve Amber Page T-shirt give-away today. One final thanks to all who entered.

We're going to be moving to a quarterly merchandise give-away here at staceycochran.com, so if you haven't won anything yet, feel free to sign up up above for the next drawing, which will be held on March 31, 2006.

Who knows, maybe I'll give away some really cool stuff later this year like an Amber Page wall clock or Amber Page magnets. One thing's for sure, as long as we keep getting at least a few people entering from around the world, I'll keep giving stuff away each quarter.

Stacey


Wednesday January 11, 2006
Click here to listen to Stacey's 1-11-06 Audio Blog


Tuesday January 10, 2006
Yesterday, I visited area businesses and asked if I could place flyers in their windows announcing my library discussion next Tuesday. I was successful at a Best Western Motel, Subway, Zona's Grill, a veterinarian, a hair salon, four convenient stores, a pediatrician's office, an italian restaurant, and at two pharmacies. Jack In the Box turned me down, as did a dentist's office. All total I handed out 200 small 4x6 flyers and about fifteen large 8.5x11s.

Today, I received the T-shirt in the mail for the T-shirt winner. I will get that back in the mail (now to England) this afternoon. Here's a pic:



Monday January 9, 2006
Yesterday, I visited the Well Red Coyote Bookstore in Sedona, Arizona. It was about a two and a half hour drive from my home, and it was the second time I’d been in the store. I have an event scheduled there for February 11, and I wanted to re-meet the owners, to get a couple of books on the shelves, and to begin campaigning.

On Saturday evening I printed up two hundred 4x6 flyers and about thirty 8.5x11 flyers.



My plan was to ask if they could place a single 4x6 in the bag of sale for each purchase during the next month. The store owners Kris and Joe Neri thought it was a good idea, and so that’s what they’re going to do. Incidentally, Kris Neri is also an Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity-nominated author. Her most recent book is Never Say Die.

Joe snapped this photo of us out front of the store...



I signed two copies of Amber Page and the Legend of the Coral Stone and one copy of The Kiribati Test. I also left another three unsigned copies of Amber Page and another copy of The Kiribati Test. Check out this photo of Amber Page (third shelf down from the top) on the same book shelf as Harry Potter, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Inkspell, and Neil Gaman’s Anansi Boys (mine is the one with the gold sticker).



Owner Joe Neri was nice enough to give me top shelf status on the Science Fiction shelf for my book The Kiribati Test. Seeing this book on the shelf with Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Douglas Adams is a milestone I’ll carry with me the rest of my life...



After leaving the store, I headed to downtown Sedona where I spent two hours walking from shop to shop, handing out flyers, chatting with people about my upcoming event on February 11, and letting them know about the bookstore. It was campaigning pure and simple. I visited a Starbucks, I visited art galleries, tourist info depots, t-shirt shops, ice-cream parlors, toy stores, every shop that I could. At every shop, I walked in, introduced myself, said, “Hi, my name is Stacey Cochran. I’m a writer, and I have a book signing event at the Well Red Coyote on February 11. Could I put a flyer in your store window or on a bulletin board?”

I had a folder in hand to instantly open and show them exactly what the flyer was.

Everyone I met was gracious and interested, but it took getting over some shyness to do that. After doing the first 3-5 stores, I found my rhythm and did the other 30-40 a lot more comfortably.

Stacey





Friday January 6, 2006
Here's a little known fact about me: I'm a huge fan of fashion design. My wife and I watch Bravo's Project Runway each week, and though most of the designers on the show are newbies (and sometimes painful to watch), the show is fun.

My favorite fashion designer? Favorites are tough. I like Yohji Yamamoto's work. The man is a master.

Stacey






Monday January 2, 2006
Well, 2006 is here, and with it, we’ve got a new winner in the Amber Page T-shirt give-away. Our winner this quarter came from the United Kingdom. I’ve already gotten a positive response from the winner, and so will have the T-shirt in the mail to her within the next two weeks.

Thanks to all who entered.




Friday December 30, 2005
Well, we're gearing up for the big Amber Page T-shirt give-away tomorrow night. The contest has been a modest success the past two months with entries from as far away as Alaska, Canada, and Denmark. I'm going to be going to a quarterly give-away after the new year, so if you don't get your entry in in the next 24 hours, don't feel disappointed. You can enter anytime between January 1 and March 31, 2006 for the next drawing, which will be held on March 31, 2006.

Thanks to all who have entered so far.

Stacey



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