Hello, friends!
Whatta week! Very busy at school with grades and reading more scripts (h e l p) and friends out sick and just…man. It’s a lot. Yesterday I had a signing at a Barnes & Noble, which I’ll write about below.
Anyway, let’s get into it!
Welcome to the 90th installment of Gauthic Times, the newsletter about my writing, my life, and my book signing.
Becoming a paid-Patron on my Patreon would help me write even more. On Patreon, I write about things in more detail than I do in the newsletter or on my website and include the actual names of my works-in-progress and not just codenames. The lowest tier for Patreon is $1 but at $5/month, we’re looking at some serious help.
If every subscriber or reader of this newsletter, or every social media follower I have became a Patron at even just the $1 tier, I could write more and pay my bills better. The same would happen if they bought copies of my books.
You can also buy me a coffee through Ko-Fi.
Grab Echoes on the Pond if you haven’t already. If you have bought it already, books make great gifts! And if you’ve read Echoes on the Pond, please consider reviewing on Amazon or Goodreads, and wherever else books are sold and reviewed.
You can also get my collection Catalysts or my novellas Alice on the Shelf and Shadowed.
Anyway, let’s do this!
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I hit page 135 in Project: Amusement. We’re still in 1985 in the novel but the scary stuff has really come around. I feel like I’ve been distracted a lot in my editing because I’m doing it while everyone is awake so I’ll need to go over things again, I think. It happens. I suppose I could set up the small table thing I have to work on my bed in my bedroom, but I kind of like being with my family. By the time they go to bed, I’m usually too tired to work. We’ll see.
Anyway, the edits are going well and I’m pretty happy with the book so far.
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Paid-subscribers on Patreon get an art/comic book update here. Become a Patron and see what’s in the works!
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Yesterday I had my signing at the Barnes & Noble in Smithfield, Rhode Island, and it was terrific! I’m still a little in shell shock about it.
In the morning, I got my stuff together to go. I found ten print copies of Alice on the Shelf in a box and decided to bring them. Alice on the Shelf has pretty much been out of print in hardcopy for several years. When the original publisher was ready to pull it from stock, I bought up the copies that remained. I suspect that there was more or maybe their print-on-demand magic helped because I noticed copies going on eBay from the publisher that I was never paid for. That seems within character. Anyway, the ebook is available from the fine folks at Crossroad Press. More on Alice later.
The books and my stuff.
A little before 11am, I headed out for my 40+ minute trek out to Smithfield, Rhode Island, from my Southeastern Massachusetts town. The drive wasn’t bad (except for in Providence…what the fuck is up with that city’s traffic and driving?!) and I got to the Barnes & Noble about 20 minutes before my scheduled time. I found a parking spot that I think was reserved for me since the car in front had my initials in the license plate.
So once I made it, I went inside and was confronted by my fate as soon as I walked through the door.
I gazed upon what would be my home for the next two hours and did what anyone who’d just driven 40+ minutes would do: find the restroom. Luckily, most of the bigger Barnes & Nobles have similar layouts so I found the potty with relative ease (and only a little help).
With that over, I had given over my copies of Alice on the Shelf to Luke, my handler here. Let me give you an aside on Luke. He was the guy who took care of me at my signing in Wareham back on July 13th. He was eager and excited and a fan of horror. He’d told me that Saturday in July was his last day at the Wareham B&N because he was going to Smithfield. Once he was settled, he’d said, he’d arrange an event. And he kept his promise. Luke is the quintessential bookseller. He is a fan of the written word and, for those of us who are practitioners of the dark and morbid, he’s the kind of reader who is in a position to help. That’s what good booksellers do. And I’ve been very fortunate now to come across several at the Barnes & Nobles that I’ve worked with. It’s easy to think of the chain bookstores as enemies because their corporate policies are often bullshit and fuck big corporations, but the bookstores themselves are often run by booksellers who love the written word. Luke and his colleagues made me look good and I am so appreciative of it. I meant to get a selfie with him but forgot because my head was spinning.
Anyway, Luke brought the consignment papers to me for Alice on the Shelf, I signed, and then we were set to go.
Wait. You’re confused. What is it? Ooooohhh…. The bookmarks. Yes, I designed some bookmarks and had them printed through VistaPrint.
I’m pretty happy with them. I consider bookmarks an author’s business card for readers. They actually have another side that shows all the books again and the links to my website and my Linktree.
We’d hardly started when a young woman approached the table. She shyly asked if I was the author of this book, and she pointed to Echoes on the Pond. I said I was. And the strangest thing happened…she mildly fangirled! She’d read the novel and loved it. Her aunt had read it and enjoyed it and passed it to her. She’d read it and loved it and gave it to her mother, who wasn’t much of a reader, and she loved it. She had a copy in her car because she was bringing it to her boyfriend’s mother to read. I was already humbled and shocked, when she went further. In one of her high school classes, they’d been asked about books they’d read and enjoyed and a classmate of hers head mentioned Echoes on the Pond and me!
I’m writing this and am still in shock. I sincerely hope it’s not coming across as bragging but this is the first time something like this has ever happened to me.
And we weren’t even five minutes into the event. My 40+ minute drive was totally worth it for this interaction alone. Luckily, there were many great interactions.
People were coming and buying books and we talked and it was good. I was asked once where the bathrooms were, once again solidifying my place as an Author. It was a really great experience.
It was scheduled for 12-2 but I ended staying an extra half hour, which was good because I sold two more books.
At the end, this was what I left behind. Two signed copies of Echoes on the Pond, a signed copy of Catalysts, and a few bookmarks (I brought the rest home with me). I was told that within 90 minutes after I left, the two copies of Echoes on the Pond had sold.
The biggest surprise: Alice on the Shelf sold out first. I expected I’d be bringing most of them back with me and would bring them to my next event. That won’t be the case. As soon as I’m done writing and posting these updates, I’ll be emailing the Davids at Crossroad Press about bringing Alice on the Shelf into hardcopy. People obviously like the idea of it.
Anyway, the signing went great and I left humbled and encouraged. As I promoted it, I’d write, Come for the books, stay for the witty banter and dad jokes, and that’s exactly what happened.
I’m so grateful to the folks at the Smithfield, Rhode Island, Barnes & Noble for hosting this and making it a success. And I’m grateful to all the readers (most of them new) who took a chance on my work, in many cases buying all three books.
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Speaking of events, October 26th is going to rock!
I’ll be appearing with Paul Tremblay, Greg F. Gifune, Maureen Boyle, Kathleen Brunelle, Christa Carmen, and Derek Mola at the Barnes & Noble in Wareham, Massachusetts, as part of a Halloween event!
Space is limited so make sure to reserve a spot at 774-667-0282.
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A few weeks back I posted a short story called “The Death Museum” for paid-Patrons as a thank you. This week Patreon began allowing creators the chance to sell individual posts or collections of posts through our shops. As a result, I’m selling “The Death Museum” to anyone who wants to read it.
The price through the Patreon website is $3. The price through the Patreon Apple App is $4.50. Because of recent changes that Apple has made with its commerce stuff, subscribing and buying through the app actually costs more because Apple is charging Patreon (and its creators) more. I will see the same amount of money no matter how you pay for it.
This is a story that I really like so I’m hoping people will read it.
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Thank you for reading and for your support!
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Get my collection Catalysts, my novellas Alice on the Shelf and Shadowed, and definitely order Echoes on the Pond, out now!
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And maybe call your local brick-and-mortar bookstore and demand they carry it! I’ll even sign copies! Well, if they’re local to me. That means Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and maybe some of the other New England states.
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Gautham: Bill Gauthier.com 
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