Craft Fairs, Book Signings, and Other Fun Stuff

Good gosh, a'mighty! Three months? It's been three months since I last posted? Boy, did I miss a LOT!

In a nutshell:

• I'm still alive;
• I'm still writing Awen Tide and am very near THE END (for the whole trilogy, woohoo!);
• Spring has sprung in most parts of the US. We're seeing signs and having some warmer days here in Cheyenne, Wyoming, but winter still has us in its grips. There's another storm rolling in, with, yes, another one-two punch. The first hits tonight, the second tomorrow, and we'll get somewhere between 3 to 12 inches of wet snow. Right now, our landscape is dead grass. By this time tomorrow, it'll likely be white again;
• I signed a contract with the Authors in Grocery Stores Program. I will soon begin doing book signings at our local King Soopers in May, down in Aurora, CO, on the weekend of April 21-22, and later in May, down in Fort Collins, CO, then off and on through the rest of the year. I will post the dates/times in advance on Facebook and Instagram, so make sure you're following me there for the most up-to-date news;
• This past Saturday, I did my first book sale/signing of the year at the Spring Business Fair at the Cheyenne Ice & Events Center. I felt like whale poo but managed to show up, and I'm so glad I did! I met lots of new people - other vendors, browsers, and readers with wide eyes that made a beeline for my table when they saw the book covers of Awen Rising and Awen Storm. It was so rewarding to see their excitement and to chat with them about the Awen Trilogy. Here's an after-show video if you're interested;

  @ojbarreauthor #Prequel ♬ original sound - Olivia

• From now through the end of the year, I will be appearing at craft fairs at least once a month, mostly in Cheyenne. Barnes & Noble is reopening (supposedly this summer), and when they do, I plan to arrange a book signing there. Keep an eye on Facebook & Instagram;
• I've yet to make plans, and it may not happen this year, but I want to book a trip to Atlanta and schedule book signings at the Villa Rica Library, hopefully in conjunction with the launch of Awen Tide and their Book Club Meeting, Underground Books in Carrollton, and a couple of other book stores in Atlanta and Decatur;
• Hmm, what else? OH YEAH! My paperback books will soon be available at 307 Made, a store in downtown Cheyenne that carries crafts, artwork, oils, and many works made by local artisans. We'll also be doing a book signing there in the next few months. Again, keep an eye on my social media (FB & Insta) for the most current news.

As for recreation, I mostly stay home but do indulge occasionally:

• I regularly visit the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens and Lions Park to get my nature fix. There's a small lake (Sloan Lake) and willows, firs, and pines where the crows congregate to sing a serenade. I posted a video to FB a week or so ago of me walking the labyrinth, though it cut off the ending;
• We have one movie theatre in all of Cheyenne, but over the last few weeks, I have enjoyed Champions, 80 for Brady, Jesus Revolution, and most recently, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. If you're interested in my reviews, browse my Instagram or FB page;
• Last week, the kids were on Spring Break, so we went down to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and the Planetarium for a fun day with the dinosaurs, rocks, gems, and outer space. Oh yes, they have much more than that, but we oldsters like to take longer to look at and admire the displays, so we went our separate ways.

Th-th-th-tha-tha-tha-that's all, folks! Hopefully, I'll be back here at least once a month. I'm sorry for the huge delay!

That Rebel, Olivia J. Herrell, writing as O. J. Barré.

O. J. Barré is the author of the Awen Trilogy, a fun, fast, and epic urban fantasy set in 2042 Atlanta. Steeped in current, ancient, and future history twists, Book One, Awen Rising, debuted July 2019. Book Two, Awen Storm, released May 2020. Book Three, Awen Tide, will release in 2023. All are (or will be) available in both paperback and ebook, and the hardback versions will be available soon.

Free For Subscribers

O. J.'s Awen Prequel novelette, The Druids of Marduk, Part I, is also available as an ebook - for purchase on Amazon (or free by signing up for her newsletter). The second installment, The Druids of Marduk, Part II: UnderEarth, is an ebook novella on Amazon. Part III: AboveEarth, is scheduled for a 2023 release.

Feeling Fragile

I'm tired of being fragile.

And when, pray tell, did this happen? One day I'm a hellion carving my way through the world, the next, I'm this ephemeral... thing.

And just how did this happen? Is it a function of aging, compounded by letting go of my day job and relying on Social Security to pay my way? Or is it the breaking down of my body compounded by my shitty diet and lack of exercise these days? Thank God for the healthy smoothie packed with fifty fruits and vegetables I consume daily.

I'm trying to do better. I am, I promise. But the truth is, I'm fragile, y'all. And it ain't a laughing matter. 

As I free write, I seem to be reverting to my native Southern. I'll likely leave it here. I hope you don't mind.

As usual, today I woke early and had my shot of cacao, followed by my tall cup of White Peony Tea, while checking my KDP dashboard to see if the ads I'm paying for are bringing in sales. Then, perusing social media, there's a tickler message on Facebook about two books I keep forgetting to mail. Dang.

So, rather than dressing right away for the library, I trudged downstairs and looked at/around/into every box in the basement, trying to locate the large box of envelopes I special ordered from Uline to mail my signed books to readers. Y'all, we have a lot of boxes. But these two books need to go out, don'tcha know. I found nada. The envelopes refused to be found, and I'm wondering if they made it here from Idaho.

So, now I'm frustrated. Plus, there's a weather alert beeping on my phone (they're like amber alerts, y'all, and my first EVER!). A snowsquall's coming.

Huh. Really? It's sunny and beautiful outside, so I decide it'll likely pass us by, and I'm about to change for the library where I plan to write, and SHIT!!! There's that freaking snowsquall! A minute earlier, the sun was shining. Literally. 

I wished I'd taken a picture. For ten minutes, maybe longer, the wind howled, howled, I tell you. HOWLED. And it was white outside. Not solid white. That would be crazy scary. But sideways white—fine ice crystals mixed with snow, blowing and blowing and blowing—white air blowing twenty-five miles per hour. Then it petered out and stopped. Then, the sun came back out. But my plans to go to the library didn't.

See, y'all. I told ya I'm fragile. And it ain't no laughing matter. It's keeping me from writing. From living. From having a life.

Oh, poor baby. People would kill to have your life. Sitting at home day after day watching movies and eating ham sandwiches and watching tv and drinking Coca-Cola and Perrier and loving on Rambo.

Most days, the only exercise I get is letting the dogs and cat out and in, out and in. Oh. And trekking to the bathroom and back. And the kitchen, 'cause Lord knows I need to keep pushing food and drink into my mouth. Why is that, y'all? Why? Why?

Because it's comforting, baby. And when you're fragile, comfort is the thing you seek.

Just ask me. I know. I'm fragile.

That Rebel, Olivia J. Herrell, writing as O. J. Barré.

P. S. With any luck at all, I'll toughen up. But wait. Why? After sixty-five years of kicking and screaming and bucking the odds, did I not earn the right to be fragile?

P.P.S. David at Davissa Ranch (Northeast of Cheyenne) caught the snowsquall on film and posted the video to Instagram.

P.P.S.S. Check out this really cool inspirational website I found called "I'm Fragile."

P.P.P.S.S. Ooo, when I entered the labels for this post, "I'm Tore Down" popped up. Yeah. That fits too. And here's my old flame Calvin B. Streets performing Tore Down.

O. J. Barré is the author of the Awen Trilogy, a fun, fast, and epic urban fantasy set in 2042 Atlanta. Steeped in current, ancient, and future history twists, Book One, Awen Rising, debuted July 2019. Book Two, Awen Storm, released May 2020. Book Three, Awen Tide, will release in late 2022 or early 2023. All are (or will be) available in both paperback and ebook, and the hardback versions will be available soon.

Free For Subscribers

O. J.'s Awen Prequel novelette, The Druids of Marduk, Part I, is also available as an ebook - for purchase on Amazon (or free by signing up for her newsletter). The second installment, The Druids of Marduk, Part II: UnderEarth, is an ebook novella on Amazon. Part III: AboveEarth, is scheduled for a 2022 release.

November News - Words, Snow, Review, & a $300 Gift Card

It is getting colder in Cheyenne, Wyoming, but my writing has heated up. So far, during the month of November, I've added 12,000 words (representing several chapters) to Awen Tide, bringing it to 90K out of what will end up being around 120K. Or so.

Then, last Friday, November 6, we had our first significant snowfall of the year, getting 6 inches in 6 hours. The next day, the winds screamed in and blew it all away. Or mostly. But it sure was pretty while it lasted.

I also read a book. That might sound funny, but I rarely indulge my fiction fetish because I'm supposed to be either writing, researching, or chilling out watching streaming services. But while doing category research for Awen Rising ads on Amazon, I ran across Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House and, after reading the blurb, had to buy the darn thing. Then it took me a whole month to finish it, but dang, what a ride!

I was struck by Ms. Bardugo's writing style, which is very much like mine. Here is the review I left on Amazon, Book Bub, and Goodreads:

And in case that's too small to read, here it is:

"While researching comps for my Urban Fantasy books, I read the blurb for each of the top 50 in my categories to ascertain similarities. Out of these, the one description that reeled me in was Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House. As a Gilmore Girls fan, I was intrigued by the references to [Yale's] Skull and Bones. Ninth House is all over that... and the other societies as well.

In the beginning, I was a bit confused with the non-linear POV changes between Alex and Darlington... and with the occasional inclusion of a page from Lethe House's manual. But Bardugo's easy, loping writing style kept me reading. Like Alex, I got caught up in drugs and that lifestyle as a teen. And though I was lucky enough to avoid any fatal consequences, I could totally relate to her and loved her as the main character. She is flawed, imperfect, stubborn, persevering, determined, and a total badass with heart and common sense.

I also appreciated the third-person POV, the fabulous insights into New Haven, Yale, and the societies, the moral dilemmas, the slow friendship between Pammie and Alex, the flashbacks, the twisted ending, and the setup for Book 2. Kudos, Ms. Bardugo!"

So, if you enjoy my books, and I'm guessing that if you're here, you do, you'll likely enjoy Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House. By the way, I haven't yet read her other books, but I'll soon plunge into Shadow and Bones on Netflix, the adaptation of her Grishaverse novels, and if I like that, will probably be buying those books as well.

OH, I almost forgot. If you would like to find new Fantasy and Sci-Fi authors to read and follow, you can do that while entering to win a $300 Amazon Gift Card AND support me at the same time. Here's the contest info. Just click to enter.

Click Here to Enter to Win a $300 Amazon Gift Card

I am looking forward to the next twenty days of November. Why? I will finish writing the first partially-edited draft of Awen Tide, and that's a big deal for me. Plus, for the first time ever as an author, I have a booth at a craft fair. It'll be in downtown Cheyenne on November 26th - the day after Black Friday - and I'll be selling and signing paperbacks. If you live in the area, please stop by. I hope to connect with many new readers.

How is your November shaping up?

UNTIL NEXT TIME!

That Rebel, Olivia J. Herrell, writing as O. J. Barré

O. J. Barré is the author of the Awen Trilogy, a fun, fast, and epic urban fantasy set in 2042 Atlanta. Steeped in current, ancient, and future history twists, Book One, Awen Rising, debuted July 2019. Book Two, Awen Storm, released May 2020. Book Three, Awen Tide, will release in late 2022 or early 2023. All are (or will be) available in both paperback and ebook, and the hardback versions will be available soon.

Free For Subscribers

O. J.'s Awen Prequel novelette, The Druids of Marduk, Part I, is also available as an ebook - for purchase on Amazon (or free by signing up for her newsletter). The second installment, The Druids of Marduk, Part II: UnderEarth, is an ebook novella on Amazon. Part III: AboveEarth, is scheduled for a 2022 release.