The ArtVoice 2011 Best Of Buffalo Awards came and went and Jon Elston (the resident playwright for the Road Less Travelled Theater Company) won for Best Writer. To be honest, there's no one I'd rather lose to. Jon's a talented and prolific writer in addition to being a great guy and we've known each other too long to let something as petty as an awards show get in the way of our friendship. Congratulations are long overdue for Jon and his accolades are well deserved. I suppose I'll just have to campaign harder and start earlier next year when it comes to AV's poll process.
On to more pressing business and the importance of timing, though. A funny thing happened on the way to the Caz Coffee reading: I checked my inventory and somehow I've gotten down to two remaining copies of Mockery. The book has performed so well for the initial slate of launch events that my first payload is depleted. The book is doing very well and it's selling a lot faster than I expected, surpassing the break even mark (recouping production and design costs) and far exceeding it. More copies are on order and they'll be in stock in time for the Talking Leaves Main reading next Thursday (7 p.m.) as well as the reading and signing at Stockman's Tavern with Mark McElligott on the 21st (7 p.m.). If you want or need a copy before then, you can pick one up at either Talking Leaves location or order direct from my distributor at http://www.lulu.com.
As far as book releases go, I've always tried to release no more than one of my own books for year. That policy is changing. With the amount of people who have voiced their interest in the autobiography (Icarus On The Mend), there's another side project that's been scooted front and center in order for me to release an Icarus limited-run numbered hardcover in the fall of 2012 (50 copies) followed by a two volume trade paperback launch in 2013. The manuscript for the memoirs is massive, and it'll take no less than six months to proof, edit and revise. After promoting Mockery and doing some light piggyback promotions in the fall with Mark McElligott, I'll be blocking out some time to dig my heels in and get the work done.
This week I finalized the structure and the basic manuscript for Poke The Scorpion With A Sharp Stick, my third book of poems. Unlike Breathing Room Volume I and II, it's a step in a different direction: an original one. While both Breathing Rooms were an homage to the people who inspired me to write poetry (Charles Bukowski, e.e. cummings, Rosemary Koethe and Tracy Zullo, respectively), Scorpion shows evidence of an emerging, original voice. Like any writer (and much in the same manner in which I started out writing essays), I aped my favorites.
The wake of that process has a momentum of its own, and the result is an amalgamation of some standard tricks along with quite a few new ones. The Breathing Room books were never blockbusters in terms of sales, but the content was important to me, and they've sold slowly and steadily enough to warrant a third collection. The response I've gotten from those of you who enjoy poetry as well as those of you brave enough to try something new has been overwhelmingly positive encouraging.
The only speed bump in working on the layout was dealing with comments from many of you that Volume I: Free Verse was the best book I've ever written. How in the hell do you top a comment like that? With hard work, frequent revisions and a liberal dose of elbow grease. Much like the pre-production on Mockery, I've gone out of my way to creative a cohesive, seamless book that can be read in one sitting. Anything that didn't feel right got tossed and anything written after the initial draft that felt like it belonged alongside the source material was added. I hope that you'll be pleased with the results. Poke The Scorpion With A Sharp Stick is slated for a September release this year. I've already got an artist working on the cover art (mixed media) and Brian Platter from Six Shot Studios will be working on the interior design and cover layout. More details as we get closer to the launch.
Meanwhile Mr. Mark McElligott is doing quite well with his Random Thoughts From A Broken Mind. His debut collection of rants broke even the week it came out (within two days of sales) and the word of mouth on how funny the book is has been generating a lot of referral sales. While my humor leans towards the universal, sarcastic and psychotic, his headspace is a lot more user friendly. Mark's manuscript won me over with his unique voice, his left-field observations and his bravery in the face of self-deprecation. It's paying off. Doubt It Publishing's first release from a single author is a hit. The book will continue to reach new heights (and sales records) once we actually begin promoting it next Saturday at Stockman's.
And finally, I'd like to work a plug in for an old friend and comrade. JR Finlayson (whom you may remember from the Monsters Of Verse) has released Multiples Of Eleven, his first full-length collection of poems for the clever price of $11.11. To buy a copy of the book, click on over to:
With one new poetry book out and another one on the way could there be a Monsters Of Verse revival?
I certainly wouldn't rule it out.
Have a great week and I'll keep you posted,
Tom Waters 
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