Travesty Back On Track, Icarus In A Holding Pattern

It's astonishing how much effort goes into maintaining an existing bibliography.

Even if I never wrote another word, there's still always work to do.  Updating bios, links & the book list itself, porting galleys over to new devices, selling from my current inventory when I'm not even expecting it and overhauling or editing from my database of essays.  It's not a full time job, but to do it properly it probably could be.
Last week I said that it would only be a matter of time before I started writing again.  Well, that time has come.  I dusted off the current manuscript for Travesty (the follow up book for Mockery) and started quietly adding to it.  Working on any project (like the new video show) sparks a certain momentum in the creative part of my brain, so everything else is falling into place.  A third of the Travesty  book is already complete, which leaves roughly a hundred more pages.  Piece of cake.
It occurred to me a few days ago that I've had a book published (under the Doubt It Publishing imprint or through other publishers) every other year for the past twelve years.  That doesn't even seem real to me.  I just plug along and write one essay at a time.  They pile up into a book, the book gets put together, proof read, designed and packaged, released and then promoted.
Icarus On The Mend: Memoirs Of A Manic Depressive was a much different project than anything I'd worked on up to that point (2010-2012).  It took a lot out of me, and I wanted to take a break after writing it.  Due to personal problems, the limited print run hardcover was never effectively promoted in clubs, stores or libraries.  I'm not done with it yet, but I'm certainly not going to promote it at present.
The idea for Travesty was largely inspired by working with Mark McElligott on publishing and promoting his book, Random Thoughts From A Broken Mind.  He reminded me that essays (rants, whatever you'd like to call them in this day and age) don't HAVE to be sixteen pages long and that often, they're funnier and punchier when they're short.  I went back to basics when I started writing Travesty.  When I first started writing consistently for a deadline (for the Clarence High School Advocate, which I was also the Editor In Chief on), I punched out essays on a Brother electric typewriter and wrote each one in one sitting.  Essays (at heart) are designed by nature to be written (or read) in one sitting.  They shouldn't be an ordeal that's digested piecemeal.  There's a real joy in returning to the roots of how I got started in this messy business to begin with.
If time (and routine, and my track record) is any indicator, Travesty will be in readers' hands by the fall of 2015.  I have no timetable for the mass market two volume trade paperback launch of Icarus On The Mend.  When all 50 copies of the limited run hardcovers have found a home, Icarus will fly again, so to speak.
And I've been mulling over sharing some of the new writing on my official web site: Big Words I Know By Heart.  I don't want to give the entire book away, but I'll drop a morsel this Friday just to give you a taste of what's going into the pot.  This Friday I'll post 'Your Great American Novel', an essay about the aggravations of being approached when people find out that you're a writer.  After seven days online, it's going back into the vault.  Sound fair?

See you all in three days time,
Tom Waters    

Out With The Old, In With The New

2011 was truly a banner year all around.  If someone told me this time last year that I’d launch three books in the span of 8 months while working on two more and holding down a full time job, I’d tell them they were nuts.
Mockery got better media exposure than my last three books combined and went on to sell more copies faster than any other book I’ve released.  In terms of sales it’s second only to If They Can’t Take A Joke.  It continues to sell steadily even though the inaugural push is over with.
Mark McElligott’s Random Thoughts From A Broken Mind was a resounding breakout success from a talented and previously unheard of writer.  Together we managed to find a larger audience for his idiosyncratic brand of humor in his hometown of Lockport as well as throughout Buffalo.  And while there was no real launch campaign for Poke The Scorpion With A Sharp Stick, it’s turned a tidy profit since its release in August that would make its previous poetry predecessors proud.  The collection was received as an entertaining step forward compared to both Breathing Rooms.
            Somehow this year I also managed to get banned from Time Warner Cable and earned a film credit for the music video ‘I Wanna Be Oprah’ (which is still available on YouTube).  I guess we can chalk both up to being in the right place at the right time.
            As far as Big Words Radio, Season 4 turned out to be the magic number.  Somehow despite the over-the-top comedy and subversive, offensive content the show turned out to be the Little Podcast That Could, finding an audience of over 3,000 listeners per month.  Season 5 promises to be just as crass and irreverent as it’s always been, so stay tuned!
The next two years should be light duty compared to this one.  I’m putting the finishing touches on Icarus On The Mend: Memoirs Of A Manic Depressive before working on the cover and interior design with cover artist Derek Patrick Evoy and graphic designer Brian Platter (Six Shot Studios) for a firm signed and numbered (50 copies only) hardcover release date of October 25th, 2012.  Exactly one year later the book will appear again in two trade paperback volumes for the general public.
It remains to be seen whether there will be a 2012 Doubt It Publishing Author Of The Year.  The book I devoted countless time into proofreading, editing and consultation on fell through due to contract negotiations and after Voices From The Herd I have zero interest in extending a call for submissions.  I am working with someone on something else but time will tell if the concept bears fruit or not.
Thanks for such a spectacular year, everybody.  I look forward to a productive and financially successful New Year!

Sincerely,
Tom Waters

Cheers & Jeers: Events As They Develop

Okay, here's the rundown for this particular week…

            Doubt It Publishing Author Mark McElligott will be reading selections from his breakout debut book Random Thoughts From A Broken Mind  this Saturday at Caz Coffee Café at 7 p.m. in South Buffalo.  Our turnout was less than ideal at Finnan's Pub last Sunday, so it would be really nice to see some of you who might be remotely interested in supporting local arts actually show up.  While we both realize that the weather is nice out, we're in the final stretch of a three month junket and we're busting our asses to get his book out to a new audience.  If you live in (or near) South Buffalo and you're free on Saturday, please show some support and stop out to see us at Caz Coffee Café. 

            Most marketing and PR experts would suggest that I shouldn't complain about a lack of turnout because it makes me look whiny or it makes us look bad.  I simply don't care.  Mark and I have both invested a great deal of time and money into publishing two books and promoting them and it seems as if (now that the weather has improved) most of you have no interest in discovering just how funny his book is.  Please prove me wrong.  Clear up your schedule, skip a forgettable trip to the beach or a laughable summer venue and come out to see something real.  If you're the sort of person who needs a newspaper to tell you what you should be interested in or what you should spend your disposable income on, take a chance for once and discover the actual art scene in Buffalo versus the Reader's Digest abridged version.  Copies of Random Thoughts From A Broken Mind will be available for $15. 

            On the whole I've been deeply disappointed with audience turnout for this junket.  I have no control over it and there's no way to analyze it, but many of you have let us down.  It's easier to do nothing than it is to do something, so take comfort in your complacency.  To those of you who continue to show up for the book launches, readings and signings and those of you kind enough to tell your friends, spend money at our scheduled venues and spend your hard earned money to support our work, we really appreciate it.  If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be able to continue creating and publishing new books.  If there were more people like you in Buffalo, there's a strong possibility that we'd actually be able to make a living wage doing this and we'd be able to produce a larger body of work, but odds are that that will never happen since most people in Buffalo (again) need to be told what art is worth buying by their local media like lost and sluggish sheep. 

I appreciate the cross section of you smart enough to make your own decisions and the fact that you march to the beat of your own drummer.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making your own informed decisions based on internal judgment instead of a deep-seated need for peer approval or a desire to have someone else tell you what is and isn't entertaining.  If you receive this message via email, I understand that it's infinitely easier to delete this message than it is to take the time to read it and react or respond to it, so for those of you who are reading this right now, thank you.  To those of you who reply or react by showing up to a reading, thank you even more.  I'll get off my soap box now.

At the time of this writing it is now June 9th, so the Doubt It Publishing call for submissions is now wide open until November 1st.  Again, if you're a local (Buffalo) writer and you have a completed manuscript or a draft in the realm of fiction, non-fiction, poetry or short stories, please send your manuscript in at: bigwordsmailbag@yahoo.com.  One of you will be chosen for publication in 2011 and I'll give you the full force of my attention and publicity skills to ensure that we both turn a tidy profit on your brain trust in addition to setting up a slate of appearances and book signings.  If you're willing to put in the work, so am I. 

Thanks in large part to graphic designer extraordinaire Brian Platter (Six Shot Studios), Poke The Scorpion With A Sharp Stick is coming along at a brisk pace.  The book should be available by August 1st at the rate we're going, but I won't count my chickens yet.  The format size is being developed so that it bridges Breathing Room Volume I and II.  The size of the book will be somewhere in between both, which says a lot about the content.  The cover looks gorgeous and I couldn't be happier with the bold design choices that Brian has made for the interior.  For those of you daring enough to jump head first into a poetry book, you're in for a pleasant surprise this fall.  JR Finlayson, David Waters and a host of other local poets and I will be touring throughout Buffalo after the festival and concert season in autumn to promote the book as well as other books. 

This Sunday I'll be returning to Think Twice Radio to interview broadcasting icon Brian Kahle for The Big Words I Know By Heart Radio Hour along with local artist and blogger John Kindelan.  We'll be talking about censorship, the line that's blurred between advertising an investigative journalism and the current state of Buffalo broadcasting.  The conversation will be bold and uncompromising, but I'm sure you've come to expect that from me.  Your frequent (and often vocal) encouragement has molded me into the person I am today. 

These are exciting times.  While my pace may be brisk and my candor unforgiving, it's all because I'm building the framework for a larger plan.  The first ten years of my professional career as a writer are over.  I'm headlong into the next ten and the scope and landscape of a grander design is well underway.  For those of you willing to participate and play along, I'm eternally grateful.  As for the rest of you, you're missing out on something very real and extremely fun. 

Race you to next week,

Tom Waters     

A Few Acres Of Ground To Cover: New Books, New Shows & A Reality Check

            What a productive week!  After telling multiple newspapers that I had no intention of writing an essay collection ever again, I found a way to write another essay collection: make it fun again. 

            Unlike any book I've written to date, it started with the title: Travesty.  My goal is to make every piece live up to the title of the book and to make sure that every single rant is shorter, funnier and more offensive than anything I've written to date.  I also set a few ground rules: nothing longer than three pages, every rant has to be written in one sitting and I can't cover a topic I've covered so far.  I started last week with one rant about the supposed Rapture and haven't stopped.  One third of the book is already done.  The only problem is that I have no idea when to release it.  Doubt It Publishing has a full dance card for the next two years, so I may have to piggyback it with the numbered hardcover release for Icarus On The Mend in the fall of 2012 and I'm leaning strongly towards that.

            Pre-production on Poke The Scorpion With A Sharp Stick (my third collection of poetry) is progressing at a rate that's astonishing and well ahead of schedule.  Brian Platter (the graphic designer behind Six Shot Studios) has taken the bull by the horns and he's tackled the book head on with a bold look, some daring choices for the title and content fonts and a beautiful presentation where the headers and footers are concerned.  For those of you who were trusting enough to make the leap along with me where Breathing Room Volume I and II were concerned, you won't be disappointed. 

The content has evolved since the original two poetry books to the point where I'm no longer aping my own heroes and I've developed my own voice where poems are concerned.  While it's not necessarily a jumping off point, it is a progression, so we're working overtime to create a size format that bridges the jump between Breathing Room Volume I and II.  If you buy this book this fall, you'll be pleasantly surprised with the growth.  Two major national literary magazines (The Chiron Review and Chronogram) have already gotten on board with three different poems that they'll be publishing in short order. 

I devoted a week to submitting the content to the top poetry trades in the country along with putting the final touches on the manuscript and it's already paying off.  While poetry books don't pay off as well as my rant collections, it's a labor of love and something I would do whether I turned a profit or not.  This new book means a lot to me and Six Shot Studios is doing a spectacular job on the appearance.  Expect the specialty format this fall by the time Mark McElligott and I get very serious about touring on a regional scale. 

Last night I reconnected with two dear friends in person for the first time in three years: Greg Sterlace and Paula Wachoviak (sp?).  Greg and Paula are back in town for a limited time and he's taken back the reins for The Greg Sterlace Show, his wildly popular Time Warner program spanning back over the last ten years.  The results of the show taping were horrific and hilarious at the same time.  For those of you who catch it on TV, it's the epitome of cringe comedy.  I'll have a link for you in a week or two, but in the mean time, here's a sneak preview of a small percentage of the wrongness at play here on the Mr. Ski Mask show that Mark McElligott and I taped almost a month ago.  Click your way over to:

http://sterlace.com/episodes/index.php/2011/04/the-greg-sterlace-show-832

            And finally, there are two new belated episodes of The Big Words I Know By Heart Radio Hour available online as well as for free on iTunes.  Almost a month after the actual in-store event (I had to pick up a new SD Card Reader), I hammered out the content and edited it for full-scale enjoyment this morning and posted these two abominations.  Here are your links and synopses:

Episode 61: 'My balloon knot will stay firmly tied'

Tom kicks off a comic book promotion at Don's Atomic Comices with a star studded cast of special guests including Carrie & Ron Gardner, Monster Matt, Terry Kimmel, John Kindelan, Michael Hoffert Jr. and Brian Platter.  Newcomer Brian Bogucki gets blindsided while Mark McElligott rolls with the punches.

To hear the show online click on the link below:

http://www.mevio.com/episode/282800/episode-61-my-balloon-knot-will-stay

Tom's Atomic Bonus Round: 'Parting Words'

Tom closes out an evening of hilarity and insanity by getting a few more cheap shots in at Terry Kimmel's expense and dropping a few promotional plugs for once.

To hear the show online click on the link below:

http://www.mevio.com/episode/282797/tom-s-atomic-bonus-round-parting-words

-You can also conveniently subscribe to the show for free on iTunes by searching 'Big Words Radio' under the Podcast section as well as the Comedy listing.  The Literature category is a dead link that is no longer active, so please subscribe and the entire library will be at your command!

            May was a horrible month for the show in terms of downloads and requests, so I implore you to visit the sites or subscribe to the show.  Without a noticeable increase in traffic I see no reason to keep devoting so much time to working on pre-show prep, research, questions, guests, recording time, production and posting time.  If you enjoy the show, please tell your friends, spread the word and download at will.  Big Words Radio has been booming since September of 2010 and it's crushing to see the latest numbers.  For a show production that costs me so much in man hours without collecting any monetary revenue, I could really use your help.  Download, listen and tell your friends.  Unlike some other podcast hosts, I don't cook my numbers.  Despite some recent turbulence that has zero bearing on this month's numbers, I would really appreciate your ears (and your feedback) on the show.  I've spent four years slaving away on a free hobby and it would mean a lot to me if you pitched in and clicked a link or shared the show with the people you know.  All I ask for is a spreading contagion on my stats by the end of June.  Please help me out. 

            Mockery is selling better and faster than any book that preceded it, so thank you so much for that.  Every appearance has been positive and the book is breaking down barriers heretofore unheard of.  You have no idea how grateful I am for all of the people who have come on board and spread the word about my work and my book. 

            Three people in the same week commented or asked about the level of my output lately (a lot) and I wish I had an answer for all of you.   I'm in a good place.   The big picture is clicking comfortably into a lifestyle that leads me to bigger and better things along with the ability to write more and publish more often.  Things will only get better from here.  Doubt It Publishing is not a short term subsidy house or a slash and burn print on demand concept, it's quickly becoming a reality.  I'm going to have to make a hard decision in November when it comes around to picking a new Author Of The Year to work with. 

            At the risk of sounding insincere or faux-humble, here's what's always guided and informed me: William Carlos Williams.  He was a popular poet, a family man and a practicing physician.  After a full overtime shift and an appropriate amount of time eating dinner and tucking his kids into bed and spending time with his wife, he added some hours to his waking existence to writing poems.  I'm an artist from Buffalo.  This is the only option that any of us have for expressing ourselves.  If your work means that much to you, make the time for it.  That's it.  None of us are busier than William Carlos Williams was, so what's your excuse?  If what you have to say and want to say is important, you'll find a way to express it and make the time to do it above and beyond every other responsibility that you have. 

            I'm nobody special.  Writing is the way that I cope with a world that I can't grasp or deal with without figuring it out on paper.  None of us are heroes or gods or legends and the majority of us do it because we need to.  Otherwise we'd lose our minds without the outlet.  All of this is work.  All of this is important and vital and crucial to me.  Whether it's a mountain or a mole hill, this is what keeps me relatively sane. 

Thank you so much for making it a lucrative side business.  In another ten years, I hope to make it a career.  Please help me work towards it.

Keeping busy,

Tom Waters

Elston Takes The Gold, Mockery Sells Through, Random Thoughts Busts Out Of The Gate & A Few Surprise Releases...

            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:

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/multiples-of-eleven/15597052?productTrackingContext=search_results/search_shelf/center/1

           

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        

Better Early Than On Time: Random Thoughts From A Broken Mind is NOW AVAILABLE!

     After a marathon of interior formatting and some quick tweaks on graphic designer Bill Dyson's end shortly after a meeting between Mark, Bill and myself, Random Thoughts From A Broken Mind is now officially published and available for purchase!  Early First Editions are up for sale on lulu for $14.99 weeks before Mark's first official promotional appearance on April 30th at 7 p.m. at Don's Atomic Comics.  Be one of the first to jump into Mark's debut collection of off-beat and self-deprecating rants by clicking over to:

Random Thoughts From A Broken Mind

     You can also click on the 'Random Thoughts' link on the links section of the Doubt It Publishing page at any time to order a copy.  The book is already selling like hot cakes, so see what all the fuss is about or be one of those people who hop on the bandwagon just before it leaves town!

     Congratulations to Mark for his unique mind-set, remarkable talent and a funny bone that's one-of-a-kind.  It's been an honor to work with him and I couldn't think of a better first author to represent for Doubt It's first Author Of The Year.  Please join in on his success by scooping up his new book, meeting Mark on the road during his promotional onslaught this spring and fall or by sampling Mark's musings on his official web site at:

Random Thoughts From A Broken Mind Blog

     Both of us look forward to how the book is received.  Feel free to post your comments, reviews and thoughts on the book on lulu as well as the Doubt It Publishing site here.  

     To Mark McElligott and Bill Dyson, great work!

     Buy Mark's book!

     Tom Waters

     Publisher 

Random Thoughts From A Broken Mind Cover Design by Bill Dyson

 Final Cover Design for Mark McElligott's Random Thoughts From A Broken Mind.  Cover and Interior Design by Bill Dyson.  Cover art by Mark McElligott. 

Spring Appearance Calendar For Mockery and Random Thoughts From A Broken Mind

While these appearances are far from final, here are the events we’re currently looking at for April through June.  When I add more dates, I’ll update this list.  Mark your calendars and get ready to laugh, folks!

Friday April 1st, 7 p.m. to midnight: Mockery Book Launch at Dee’s Firehouse, 4628 Broadway Ave., Depew 651-0711.  Reading and signing at 7 p.m. followed by a live performance by One Hot Minute (Red Hot Chili Peppers cover band) at 8 p.m.  First edition copies of Mockery by Tom Waters available for $15.

Saturday, April 16th, 7 p.m., Mockery Book Signing at Maryan’s, 4921 Broadway, Depew  683-0590.  Live musical performance by David Waters (Whiskey Suicide).

Tuesday, April 26th, 7:30 p.m.  Reading and Signing with author Tom Waters (Mockery) at the Lancaster Public Library, 5466 Broadway, Depew

Saturday, April 30th, 8 p.m. to midnight.  Tom’s Atomic Comic Giveaway! at Don’s Atomic Comics, 6354 Transit Rd., Depew 684-5981.  Buy a copy of Mockery by Tom Waters and get a free back issue.  Midnight madness discounts on graphic novels and collectibles.  Special Guests Josh Tonn (Costumed Crimefighter Comics, Stupid Funny Comics), Mark McElligott (Random Thoughts From A Broken Mind) and Kyle Kaczmarzcyk (The Red Eye, Pulp, Monster Matt’s Bad Jokes Volume I).

Saturday, May 7th, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Caz Coffee Café, 668 Abbott Rd., Buffalo 825-7806.  Reading and Signing with Tom Waters, author of the humor collection Mockery.

Thursday, May 19th, 7 p.m., Talking Leaves Books, 3158 Main St., Buffalo 837-8554.  Reading and Signing with Tom Waters, author of the humor collection Mockery.

Saturday, May 21st, 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Mockery Book Reading and Signing at Stockman’s Tavern (9870 Transit Rd., Depew 688-9896) featuring Tom Waters with live music by musician Chris Squier.

Saturday, June 11th, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.  Caz Coffee Café, 668 Abbott Rd., Buffalo 825-7806. Reading and Signing with Mark McElligott, author of the humor collection Random Thoughts From A Broken Mind.

Sunday, June 26th, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.  Doubt It Publishing presents a book reading by Mark McElligott (Random Thoughts From A Broke Mind) and Tom Waters (Mockery) at Rust Belt Books (202 Allen St., Buffalo, 885-9535).  Admission is free, signed first editions of both books available.

2011: Veni, Vedi, Veci ('I came, I saw, I conquered')

Happy New Year everybody!

            2011 is going to be an incredibly busy year for myself and Doubt It Publishing.  I'm not even sure where to begin, but I guess we'll proceed chronologically.

            The deadline for Doubt It Publishing's Author Of The Year has come and gone and it's time to make the announcement.  I'm proud to let you all know that I've chosen Mark McElligott's Random Thoughts From A Broken Mind for publication this year.  It's an uproariously funny collection of hilarious, 'out there' rants that made me laugh out loud on multiple occasions.  His sense of humor is a blend of Woody Allen, Dave Attell and Steve Martin.  He's goofy, perverse and tremendously talented and we're both looking forward to showcasing his work to a much larger audience this spring!    

            I've got a full slate of new bar assignments for the Buffalo News Gusto that I'll be knocking out at a rate of one bar per week.  After reviewing The Dog House in Alden, I was saddened to discover that they closed until further notice before I had time to do the write up.  My condolences to the owners as well as the staff there for the unfortunate incident that led to their shutting down.  I had a wonderful time when I went and there was a roofing accident a week later that led to their demise. 

            At the end of this month (on Thursday, January 27th at 6 p.m.), The Big Words I Know By Heart Radio Hour will be recording live on location by hosting a free concert with 2010 Buffalo Music Award winners for Best Rock Duo Of The Year Busted Stuff at Dee's Firehouse on 4628 Broadway Ave. in Depew.  If you're free, we'd love to see you at this event!  Dave and Cynthia are great people and they're incredibly talented, so I look forward to hearing them play again.  They're also launching a debut CD of original music around the same time frame, so hopefully they'll have copies on hand to sell.

            As far as my autobiography goes, the first draft is finished.  Icarus On The Mend: Memoirs Of A Manic Depressive clocks in at a hefty 430 pages (so far) and if the book gets any larger upon revision, I may have to split it into two volumes from a cost standpoint.  I'd prefer not to charge more than $30 for the book in a soft cover format, so that could be the direction I take when the book is released in either 2012 or 2013.   The book is unlike anything I've written before, and while I've been guarding the manuscript for its explosive content and the cacophony of sensational revelations within, I'll be auctioning off the second draft this spring.  The current bid is at $50.  If you want to read the book before it comes out, feel free to email me with a bid before spring.

            In February, I'll be interviewing artist/writer Dylan Horrocks (Hicksville), who hails all the way from New Zealand.  This will be a studio show for The Big Words I Know By Heart Radio Hour.  His breakout book was just republished this previous summer from Fantagraphics press and it's one of the best graphic novels I've ever read.  Don will be co-hosting with me.

            By April, my ninth collection (Mockery) will launch online and in stores.  It's a 130 page collection of nothing but finely tuned rants and the book is layered like a stand up comedy act.  This is the first book where I've worked diligently on the pacing of the humor throughout the book and the effect on readers should be noticeably different and vastly improved.  It'll retail for $14.99 and while I never say never, this may be my final essay collection.  Eve Barbour (of Eve Barbour Designs) will be working on the cover layout and interior and Ryan Miller took the cover photo (a black and white picture of me laughing at a little girl who dropped her ice cream cone).  I've started working on a fiction novel which I'm not prepared to discuss in any capacity yet as the work is still fresh. 

            I'm not sure what the back half of 2011 will hold for me, Doubt It Publishing, Mark McElligot and The Big Words I Know By Heart Radio Hour, but I'm certainly looking forward to it.  This is going to be a great year and I look forward to taking the journey with all of you.  As always, stay tuned to the web sites for more details as they emerge.  To sum everything up, get ready to laugh.  A lot. 

Sincerely,

Tom Waters