Month: July 2023

As I was writing Revin’s Heart, I had created a map (in Inkscape) to show the relative positions of the islands where the stories are set — mainly for my own use, to keep track of directions and orientations. But I rather liked the map and wondered how I might share it with readers. On the advice of my publisher, as part of the run-up to the release of Rewriting the Rules, I did a series of social media posts with the map and brief descriptions of the islands. Then I had an even better idea…

I made a little ‘zine to hand out at BayCon2023! I created it using Scribus, which is the Right Tool for such things. It turned out really well and was a nice giveaway. My publisher printed 50 copies for me and, whenever I had a few minutes, I would fold them up to hand out. I kept some in a little brochure holder on the dealer table and also tucked one in each bundle of Revin’s Heart that I sold. When it became clear I’d have a few left, I took a few out and tucked them in Filthy Pierre’s rack of freebies. And I came home with 3 or 4.

If you would like one, you can download the PDF, print it out, and fold it up (here’s a guide).

Note that you don’t have to print out the ‘zine to read the content as I posted it as a blog post as well.

BayCon was a thing! My younger son Daniel and I drove about 5000 miles through 14 states over 14 days to get there. It was an amazing road trip. And, at the end, we spent four glorious days at the Santa Clara Marriot enjoying BayCon.

As I’ve written, I’m rather introverted and I find attending conventions exhausting, so I prefer just sitting off in the corner and watching. And that’s what I did here: I spent most of my time in the Dealer Room selling Revin’s Heart. It was great! I got to meet hundreds of people, tell them about my books, and sell a goodly number — I sold all the ones I had anyway. I also sold books by other Water Dragon authors too.

And I finally got to meet a bunch of Water Dragon folks I had only interacted with online! What a nice bunch of people! Everyone was friendly and gracious. And lots of fun. I’m so grateful to have found this little community of charming, delightful, and eccentric people where I feel like I fit in and am accepted.

Daniel appeared to have a great time. He hooked up with Magic the Gathering folks, bid on several items in the art show (one of which he gifted to me!), and attended a bunch of panels. He would stop in to visit me in the dealer room periodically, but seemed to having a lot of fun. He did take one day off to drive down to Monterey to see the aquarium and, on my recommendation, to visit Point Lobos.

After I sold out of Revin’s Heart, I steeled myself and spent a day attending panels and presentations. They were all pretty good. I got to get to know some people I had previously only known by reputation, so it was all positive. And I just did some fun stuff too, like visiting the Art Show and watching the Lux Saber Corp put on a light saber demonstration.

When the convention finally came to an end, and we’d packed everything up, Daniel and I got a good night’s sleep and then headed home. Rather than driving, we abandoned the rental car at the airport and flew home in two legs. (Not very aerodynamic, legs. hur hur hur) We finally got home around 1am. But far better than another 5000 miles of driving.

As the conference wrapped up, someone told our publisher than his authors were conspiring to attend LOSCon. That sounds like a conspiracy I would interested in joining.

At BayCon, I spent a fair amount of time in the Dealer Room selling copies of Revin’s Heart. And sales were brisk. I sold all of the bundles of printed copies I had and could probably have sold twice as many. I am not certain, but it may have been the most popular item at the Water Dragon Publishing table.

I’ve got my pitch down. I had a great spot to sell from: right at the entrance when people come into the room. If someone pauses coming in — or if I can see that they don’t already have a ribbon, I ask, “Would you like to be an airship pirate?” and point at the ribbons. Nine times out of ten, they’ll say, “Ooh! Yeah!” and take a ribbon. (Tho there are always a few weirdos who say, “No.”) While they’re putting on the ribbon, I say, “It’s for my steampunky fantasy adventure Revin’s Heart with pirates and airships and a trans protagonist.” After they digest that, I say, “It’s a series of 7 little novelettes that are five dollars each. But right now you can buy a bundle of all seven for twenty-five dollars. [pause] It’s like you get two free.” Then, I hold up the bundles and say, ‘And you get a choice! Do you want it tied up with a white ribbon, a red ribbon, or a GREEN ribbon?”

The hook and ribbon draw people to the table. They sell themselves on the story. And the choice of ribbon gets them invested in the decision. It’s a one-two-three punch that knocks it out of the park. I’ve been rather surprised at my own ability to sell.

Even after the physical bundles were gone, I had good luck also selling the digital bundle. There is a QR code I can have people scan. People are surprisingly willing to fight with their phone to navigate the complex interface to buy something.

To be honest, it’s not an a economic winner for me: in monetary terms, I don’t really make any money doing this. All of the royalties I’ll earn don’t equal one meal in the hotel, let alone the cost of the travel to get here. But every fan is precious because they talk. And have friends. And it contributes to building a following.

And it’s super fun and rewarding to see people enjoying your creative work, which is worth a lot more than any amount of money.

Mount Shasta

I was extremely gratified to receive a positive review for all of Revin’s Heart by The Faerie Review. She said:

I was not expecting to come to love Revin, Grip, and Will as much as I did over the course of the series. […] Brewer has done a masterful job of bringing this world and it’s inhabitants to life, and while there have been some dark moments, they’ve been balanced by the light-hearted and heart-warming ones.

Liliyana Shadowlyn in the Faerie Review

As Sssindy would say, “Now you’re makin’ me blush!

When I was hospitalized in February, it threw my BayCon plans into doubt. Finally, I decided to travel by throwing caution to the winds and making a cross-country road trip with my son to sight-see along the way. We rented a car drove from Massachusetts, through Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, finally arriving in California. We saw the Dells, the Badlands, Yellowstone, Portland, Crater Lake, and drove the Coastal Highway — about 5000 miles in total. And, after BayCon, we will surrender the car at the airport and fly home. It’s been an incredible odyssey.

I’m looking forward to BayCon. I mostly intend to be at the Water Dragon Publishing dealer table to sell books. It looks to be a great weekend. Drop by to say hello!