What a wild, unexpected, and absolutely tragic last year. Who knew a pandemic was going to sweep the planet? In the middle of the damned thing, my collection Dark Black was published. What made things challenging and, frankly, disappointing, was that I had the most extensive book tour I have ever scheduled totally upended and unplugged.
Paris. London. New York. Los Angeles. And many points in between.
C'est la vie. I am just grateful that my family and I are all healthy. So many people have lost loved ones through this thing, it is just beyond sad. Furthermore, I have had the chance to spend such incredible, quality time with my wife and kids. It has been glorious. When my kids are all grown and have flown, I will never regret these days spent together, riding bikes, binging Avatar: The Last Airbender, and taking long family walks. We even added a second dog into the familial chaos.
Another unexpected silver lining to this whole pandemic was when Dark Black was released on September 22, it forced my erstwhile publishers and me to be nimble on our feet, to think out of the proverbial box, and to adjust accordingly. This is how life works. It’s all good. I revel in DIY marketing. It speaks to my inner punk rock aesthetic.
I’m thrilled and ever grateful that Dark Black received a lot of great reviews and a lot of media coverage.
The creative marketing geniuses at Hat & Beard Press and I adjusted and found new ways to promote Dark Black when all events were cancelled because of Covid-19. The great news is that sales have exceeded pre-pandemic expectations, and we are on the precipice of selling out of the first edition with a second print run now looking eminent. As a cool promo, we partnered with Hop Butcher beer to release Dark Black stout and it sold out in three days! Publishers Weekly even picked up the story.
So, thank you to all who bought the book and supported us. And thank you to everyone, specifically, who ordered Dark Black directly through Hat & Beard, effectively cutting out the further enriching of Jeff Bezos, and eliminating the traditional and outdated distribution structure of old guard publishing. Illustrator Dan Grzeca and I literally signed hundreds and hundreds of copies of Dark Black, doodling in most of them, and these were only available through the publisher. Again, thank you all for your support! If you are able to, please review the book on Amazon, even if you didn’t buy it there!
Now, on to what I wrapped this past year, and to what’s next…
People have been asking on Twitter what I am working on. Covid has provided more time at home and at my studio space to write. The motivation has ebbed and flowed (hey, pandemic fatigue is real), but I’m excited to have finished a few things, and to be working on a number of new projects.
Last March, as we went into lockdown, I published a ridiculously absurd piece in The Satirist, spring- boarding from my lifelong affection for the rock band KISS. Gene Simmons retweeted it, which was hilarious.
In May, Neil Gaiman and I sat down for a virtual discussion for the Bath Festival in Bath, England. Neil and I talked about our mutual love for Ray Bradbury on the occasion of his centennial year. The conversation was rousing and inspiring and Neil was absolutely on fire with brilliance. As ever, Neil burned bright!
In late December 2020, former National Endowment for the Arts Chair, Dana Gioia and I convened for a discussion of Ray Bradbury at 100, as well. We talked about Bradbury’s sweeping influence on popular culture, and why his legacy continues to expand like the universe itself. Dana waxed eloquent, as usual. This convo was a pure delight.
I just finished an essay on Ray Bradbury and the Pandemic of 1918. I uncovered quite a bit of revelatory new details about the Bradbury family and the great influenza of 1918. I will post information on where this will be published very soon.
I am at work on two books, a novel about monsters, and a narrative nonfiction book rooted in the dark and arcane underworld of the occult. My hope is to be done with a draft of the novel by the end of this summer, and then I will finish a proposal on the nonfiction book.
It’s good to be busy. Ray Bradbury used to tell me often that “work is the only answer.” He believed that in accomplishing and creating even a little something, we feel better about ourselves, and he was right, of course.
Again, I cannot thank you all enough for your support of Dark Black this last year. It has meant so much. I look forward to getting back to live events soon, and to thanking you all in-person.
In the meantime, be well. Stay safe. Stay in touch. And STAY CREATIVE! It is the answer.
