Where I've Been...

I think this is the longest I've gone between blog posts ever. It's testament to my hectic schedule promoting Conquering Venus, my day job and working on events for Poetry Atlanta and the Atlanta Queer Literary Festival. We had the latest Poetry Atlanta Presents... on Tuesday night with Karen Head, Bob Wood and Robin Kemp (pictured) at the Decatur Library. If you haven't looked at the schedule for the upcoming AQLF -- Nov. 4-7 -- we have some amazing writers coming to town.

With the initial release buzz over, there's been a decline in sales of the novel, so I've been trying to round up new interviews, reviews (please, folks, I'm begging -- if you've read it, please post a review on Amazon or BN.com!) and other publicity. Author Ben Tanzer kindly put me in touch with some outlets to help whip up some publicity and dozens of review copies have been sent out. Vanilla Heart is nominating Conquering Venus for the Lambda, Publishing Triangle and Pushcart awards, so I would love to even be a finalist to help spread the word about the novel. You think promoting a collection of poetry is hard, it's cake compared to being a debut novelist. I feel like I've been swimming upstream for weeks.

Last night I recorded a podcast with Will Kenyon, which will appear on his site soon, and I also completed an interview with SubtleTea.com editor David Herrle, which might appear this weekend. In a couple of weeks, my essay about Conquering Venus will appear on The Page 69 Test, where authors discuss what's on that page and how it relates to the rest of their novel.

I'll be jetting off to New York for two events on Oct. 18-19: Fierce and Just Working On My Novel. Both of these events are being held at The Tank. I'm excited to read with Elise Blackwell, Katie Kitamura, Sarah Raineone and D.E. Rasso at Fierce as well as hosting JWOMN with Elise. Bluestockings will be on the onsite bookseller for the event, so bring your check, cash or cards!

Before New York, a last minute reading here in Atlanta at Bound to Be Read Books in East Atlanta Village on Sunday, Oct. 11, at 3 p.m. The store is celebrating its fourth anniversary and I'm excited to be involved. I'll be reading something new from the novel and talking about the trilogy. Drop by and say hello!