RED MASS is available for purchase on the CreateSpace eStore! Click on the link and add it to your cart!
https://www.createspace.com/3623977
https://www.createspace.com/3623977
I got my proof back from CreateSpace last week. I hated the way the cover looked when actually printed out (which is why the option of ordering a proof is top-notch). So, I realigned some things, used a new photo of the same design, changed the tint (CreateSpace tint comes out a little darker) and resubmitted. I just got back proof #2 today and I am gasping with joy! This ... is ... it! This is my book! Three years of blood, sweat, and tears!
Look very soon for the RED MASS release! As in, a day or two....
(Happy jumps!)
Just recently, I embarked upon my paqowachu, the vision quest to encapsulate my Pachakuti Mesa apprenticeship. I will not go into details about my vision, I am sure that will manifest in who I am and how I express myself over time. I will, however, post some photos of the areas and logistics.
I went to the Great Sand Dunes area in Southern Colorado, the Sangre de Cristo range. Below is a pick of the Dunes, looking to the North/Northwest. The Sangre de Cristo arch around from the North to the Eastern side fo the Dunes, forming a peninsula of fourteeners. The jagged peaks to the left are Crestone. It was Crestone Peak that originally called me to the area, though is not my primary apu (mountain lord).
This is Mount Herard. I had some questing there to do before I set off for Blanca, my primary apu. Herard called for my blood and sweat and toil. Go Herard...
Then I set off for Blanca Peak, in the Eastern peninsula, the Southern most section fo the Sangre de Cristo, and the Eastern Gate of the Dine (Navajo) Nation. Blanca is said to be fastened to the Earth by lightening.
Blanca is the left, though just looks smaller because the range to the right is closer. I have no idea what the peak on the right is called, so I just called her Mount Moraya, after my new medicine kitten at home.
I went far up the mountain. Here was my view when I settled. You can barely see Blanca on the left.
Better shot...this was my view of Moraya the whole time, facing East. Moraya was my beacon to Blanca, because Blanca is much too high and treacherous to get any closer to.
When I turned to the West, this was my view of San Luis Valley (though my direct view was a little more to the South, didn't get a great pic at the time....was busy questing).
There were many wonderful confirmations throughout the trip. Here was a random hovel in the rocks on the side of the road leaving San Luis Valley. Perfect resonance with my experience.
And Garden of the Gods on the way out through Colorado Springs. Ancestors are heavy there...a lot of good medicine when the tourists aren't around.
Overall, a perfect trip. Again, can't really go in to it, but maybe I'll do a painting soon that speaks more the essence of the journey. Llankay munay yuyay yachay hunuy...
I went to the Great Sand Dunes area in Southern Colorado, the Sangre de Cristo range. Below is a pick of the Dunes, looking to the North/Northwest. The Sangre de Cristo arch around from the North to the Eastern side fo the Dunes, forming a peninsula of fourteeners. The jagged peaks to the left are Crestone. It was Crestone Peak that originally called me to the area, though is not my primary apu (mountain lord).
This is Mount Herard. I had some questing there to do before I set off for Blanca, my primary apu. Herard called for my blood and sweat and toil. Go Herard...
Then I set off for Blanca Peak, in the Eastern peninsula, the Southern most section fo the Sangre de Cristo, and the Eastern Gate of the Dine (Navajo) Nation. Blanca is said to be fastened to the Earth by lightening.
Blanca is the left, though just looks smaller because the range to the right is closer. I have no idea what the peak on the right is called, so I just called her Mount Moraya, after my new medicine kitten at home.
I went far up the mountain. Here was my view when I settled. You can barely see Blanca on the left.
Better shot...this was my view of Moraya the whole time, facing East. Moraya was my beacon to Blanca, because Blanca is much too high and treacherous to get any closer to.
When I turned to the West, this was my view of San Luis Valley (though my direct view was a little more to the South, didn't get a great pic at the time....was busy questing).
There were many wonderful confirmations throughout the trip. Here was a random hovel in the rocks on the side of the road leaving San Luis Valley. Perfect resonance with my experience.
And Garden of the Gods on the way out through Colorado Springs. Ancestors are heavy there...a lot of good medicine when the tourists aren't around.
Overall, a perfect trip. Again, can't really go in to it, but maybe I'll do a painting soon that speaks more the essence of the journey. Llankay munay yuyay yachay hunuy...
My manuscript and cover submission to CreateSpace is complete and accepted! The great thing about CreateSpace is that you can do it all yourself (costs way less, practically for free). The hard thing about CreateSpace is that you can do it all yourself (formatting can be a bitch). I would like to thank especially Genevieve Margherio at Red Lemon Creative (www.redlemoncreative.com) for assisting me with the cover formatting! I could not have done it without your generous expertise, Genevieve!
All in all, so far in my self-publishing process I do recommend CreateSpace as they are very easy to use and provide a ton of options for all types of creative projects: books, comics, music, films, etc. There is alot of debate about it either way in the self-publishing community, but I gathered in my research that it is overall best to purchase your own ISBN. Mick Rooney, author of To Self-Publish or Not to Self-Publish? had this to say in an on-line forum on the subject of ISBNs:" The publisher of the book is the person/company whose name the ISBN's are registered in. So, you would need to buy and use your own ISBN's to properly self-publish - in effect, only an author can actually self-publish. Even creating your own internal and cover files and listing your own imprint on the title pages and back cover will still result in database and online stores listing the book as published by CreateSpace, once a CreateSpace ISBN is used." So, that's what I did. It's a bit extra money, but worth it.
The other benefits of using CreateSpace is the venues of distribution. My book will be on Amazon, the largest book distributor in the world. But, they also give you a free webpage to promote your book. I actually get more proceeds if people purchase the book through that web page, but that's fine. I can send people there first through my marketing material, but Amazon is fine too. Either way, whatever gets it out there. Here is a screen-shot of the webpage provided....authors can modify slughtly with their own banners and changing the text coloring, and background if needed:
I will send the link out once the book is completely ready. CreateSpace is printing the first copy now and sending it to me for proofing. I have a chance to look at it in its final form and make any last minute changes if necessary. Can't wait to see it! Over all, I'm enjoying the CreateSpace experience and would recommend it to anyone.
Stay tuned for the Red Mass release. There will be a book signing/release party at Aquarius Bookstore in Kansas City soon....will get that date out there as soon we get it pegged down! Cheers!
All in all, so far in my self-publishing process I do recommend CreateSpace as they are very easy to use and provide a ton of options for all types of creative projects: books, comics, music, films, etc. There is alot of debate about it either way in the self-publishing community, but I gathered in my research that it is overall best to purchase your own ISBN. Mick Rooney, author of To Self-Publish or Not to Self-Publish? had this to say in an on-line forum on the subject of ISBNs:" The publisher of the book is the person/company whose name the ISBN's are registered in. So, you would need to buy and use your own ISBN's to properly self-publish - in effect, only an author can actually self-publish. Even creating your own internal and cover files and listing your own imprint on the title pages and back cover will still result in database and online stores listing the book as published by CreateSpace, once a CreateSpace ISBN is used." So, that's what I did. It's a bit extra money, but worth it.
The other benefits of using CreateSpace is the venues of distribution. My book will be on Amazon, the largest book distributor in the world. But, they also give you a free webpage to promote your book. I actually get more proceeds if people purchase the book through that web page, but that's fine. I can send people there first through my marketing material, but Amazon is fine too. Either way, whatever gets it out there. Here is a screen-shot of the webpage provided....authors can modify slughtly with their own banners and changing the text coloring, and background if needed:
I will send the link out once the book is completely ready. CreateSpace is printing the first copy now and sending it to me for proofing. I have a chance to look at it in its final form and make any last minute changes if necessary. Can't wait to see it! Over all, I'm enjoying the CreateSpace experience and would recommend it to anyone.
Stay tuned for the Red Mass release. There will be a book signing/release party at Aquarius Bookstore in Kansas City soon....will get that date out there as soon we get it pegged down! Cheers!
Final book cover is about one day from being done! Working on a few more last-minute edits to the text. Have already started a series of marketing collateral. Here is a first version of a book mark for advertising.....may tweak the actual image, but I like the idea.
After a year of sending off queries to literary agents and big-time publishers, I figured out how many hoops I would have to jump through in order to get someone to even consider looking at my submission. I promised myself I would give it a year...not to get a "Hey, I'll publish you!" response, but to at least get a non-templated response with some actual feedback or criticism. I got none. Even talking to some agents (the Book Doctors from Pitchapalooza) they explained the game of agentry in which I would have to go out of my way, devoted full-time to kissing some stranger's ass to even get them to think about looking at my work. I work full-time. I'm a full-time parent. Plus, I have a life I'm not willing to give up to hit the "big time." So, I said forget it.
After much research I'm going to go with CreateSpace as a self-publisher. It is by the far the cheapest option (if you do the formatting and cover yourself, which I am) and you get automatic distribution on Amazon (the largest in the biz). Its only fallback seems to be Amazon's buy-over of recyclable ISBNs, which prevent one from moving to other distribution channels and can cause all sorts of headaches. So, I purchased my own ISBN (thank you Mom and Dad) and Red Mass is already registered as a book in the database.Of course, as with most self-publishing, I will be responsible for the marketing.
I've spent the past week formatting the text to CreateSpace's uploading specifications (a major bitch) and now working on the final formatting specs of the cover (even more of a bitch). But I think within a week or so the product will be fully loaded into CreateSpace. They will take a few weeks (or maybe months) to review and make sure it's not pronography or anything, then send me a draft copy for my own review. After that I send whatever changes I do or do not have and then.... TA DA!!! I'll have a book!
I'm in discussions to have another distribution channel through Shaman's Market (http://www.shamansmarket.com) which will be a perfect audience for Red Mass. Also, the owner of Aquarius Books (http://www.aquariusbooks.com) Barbara Criswell has talked with me about doing my first book-signing/release party. Much in the works.
Will keep updating when I can. In the meantime, here is a preview of the back cover. Cheers!
After much research I'm going to go with CreateSpace as a self-publisher. It is by the far the cheapest option (if you do the formatting and cover yourself, which I am) and you get automatic distribution on Amazon (the largest in the biz). Its only fallback seems to be Amazon's buy-over of recyclable ISBNs, which prevent one from moving to other distribution channels and can cause all sorts of headaches. So, I purchased my own ISBN (thank you Mom and Dad) and Red Mass is already registered as a book in the database.Of course, as with most self-publishing, I will be responsible for the marketing.
I've spent the past week formatting the text to CreateSpace's uploading specifications (a major bitch) and now working on the final formatting specs of the cover (even more of a bitch). But I think within a week or so the product will be fully loaded into CreateSpace. They will take a few weeks (or maybe months) to review and make sure it's not pronography or anything, then send me a draft copy for my own review. After that I send whatever changes I do or do not have and then.... TA DA!!! I'll have a book!
I'm in discussions to have another distribution channel through Shaman's Market (http://www.shamansmarket.com) which will be a perfect audience for Red Mass. Also, the owner of Aquarius Books (http://www.aquariusbooks.com) Barbara Criswell has talked with me about doing my first book-signing/release party. Much in the works.
Will keep updating when I can. In the meantime, here is a preview of the back cover. Cheers!
It's been a while since I've done a Tripland cartoon, a series which I wanted to put out more regularly. But, as I read the latest editorial by my favorite columnist Ted Rall today, I got inspired. You can read the article here: http://www.rall.com/rallblog/2011/06/08/syndicated-column-being-nothingness-and-anthony-weiner
The particular quote by Ted Rall that inspired this episode of Tripland: "I would love to live in a country in which lying to the public was cause for resignation. It sure would make for a lot of vacancies in government. But we don’t–and it seems weird to hold a sexter to a higher standard than a warmongering mass murderer."
Enjoy!
My article "The Universal Heart" has been published in the UK hard copy magazine, Sacred Hoop! You can go to their website and purchase a hard copy or a downloadable version: http://www.sacredhoop.org/
Notice I got a cover blurb: "Facing Fear." Below are the cover and Table of Contents. Thank you Niccholas Breeze Wood and everyone at Sacred Hoop for the opportunity!
Notice I got a cover blurb: "Facing Fear." Below are the cover and Table of Contents. Thank you Niccholas Breeze Wood and everyone at Sacred Hoop for the opportunity!
Given to me in a recent medicine journey, an homage to San Cipriano.
Aho Mitakuye Oyasin.
Aho Mitakuye Oyasin.
