Beyond the book release, and an artist invitation

Well, kind of. You've seen the reblogs and are probably all aware of my new release. I'm trying to reblog those posts with reviews, or where I wrote part of them. I'm also trying to surf back through the cover reveals and participate in comments.

Sales are still in double digits, and I would like to break 100 before Amazon delivers. The rumor is the pre-sales all count on the day Amazon delivers. More pre-sales equals a higher ranking, and can lead to more sales.

I've been answering a ton of emails, and writing some requested stuff for others.

My wife and I went to pizza and beer last night. Life still goes on outside of work and writing. Had a great pumpkin beer on tap. Forgot to write down the name though, so I can't share it with you.

Had a lovely conversation with my parents today. It's a Sunday thing I insist upon. I missed last week, because I was driving back from the coast.

I finished my critique work this afternoon, and loaded them in my truck. This is a habit I developed years ago, because I tend to forget things. Nothing like showing up for critique group and not having your stuff.

I even managed to write another Macabre Macaroni story today. I may be able to pull this off after all.

I publicly debated not doing Macabe Macaroni this year. Commenters encouraged me to post my micro-fiction again. If I post one story every Tuesday, I only need four. I now have enough stories.

You know how doubt works though. There is always one story you know is awesome. Likewise, there is always one you worry about. Last year my awesome story ranked right in the middle and surprised me. The one I worried about was my most popular one.

When I sent out ARCs of The Experimental Notebook, there was one story I worried about. Two different advance readers chose it as their favorite. I feel the same way about my stories for this year. It will be interesting to see what everyone likes.

On to the challenge. Since I'm doing Macabre Macaroni again, I think it deserves some artwork. Those of you so inclined can send your pieces to: Coldhand (dot) Boyack (at) gmail (dot) com. If I get one, I'll post it with all the stories. If I get enough, I'll do one per post. If I get too many, I'll figure out how to do a seperate artwork post. I'll give the artists a nod of course, so include your contact information. Maybe I can drive you some blog traffic or clients.

So come on you artists out there. Your theme is Macabre Macaroni. If you want to glue macaroni to a board and photograph it, that's cool. Maybe you have some creepy idea to actually cook up and photograph. Maybe some of you can paint something involving a casserole dish and body parts. Use your imaginations, as long as it involves both words “Macabre Macaroni” it's good.

I can't wait to see what you come up with.