Working Titlez

Working Titlez’s working mission is to deliver book industry news along with tips and resources for authors — and the not-at-all-shy brag about Stephens Press books and authors. This one clearly rates as book industry news — the word “book” being a bit questionable.

So, folks, the Japanese ARE ahead of the curve on this one. This is the same Japanese publishing industry that published more than one bestseller written entirely via text messages on a cell phone.

It seems Japanese child rearing includes tales of a monster that lives in toilet bowls, known to pounce on misbehaving little boys and girls. How this facilitates potty training is beyond me, but I digress.

Koji Suzuki, a writer considered the Stephen King of Japan,  received a commission from the Hayashi Paper Corporation for a horror story with a toilet-related theme. The tale, it turned out, was to be printed on a roll of toilet paper!

The nine-chapter novella that resulted, called Drop, tells of a nasty spirit who makes his home in a toilet.

The perfect hostess gift?

Big congrats to our author John Michael Stuart. John’s book, Perfect Circles: Redefining Perfection was named a silver medalist in the Personal Growth/Motivation category for the Living Now Book Awards from the Independent Publishers organization. These awards are designed to honor the year’s best books that help readers attain healthier, more fulfilling, and productive lives. We’re gratified that the judges saw what we saw — a fine book that makes a meaningful contribution to society — and a personal odyssey, that shared with others, brings insight and inspiration to each reader. Born with Cerebral Palsy, John Michael has not let this disease prevent him from significant achievements in education and career. He is a frequent speaker for organizations and radio interviews, helping audiences exam their own sense of perfection, and how liberating it can be to redefine it. I highly recommend him should your church or organization need an inspiring speaker. Find out more at www.readperfectcircles.com.

Our friends at the Vegas Valley Book Festival have launched a new signature event, “Las Vegas Writes,” a collaborative serial novel that is being written by seven local authors over the next five months. The first chapter was completed recently by Stephens Press author H. Lee Barnes. It was released for public reading today at www.lvcitylife.com.

“Some of the city’s best writers have committed to this project,” said local journalist and author Geoff Schumacher, who is coordinating the project for the book festival and serving as the novel’s editor. “The novel promises to be well written, fast paced and drenched in the sights and sounds of Las Vegas.”

Subsequent chapters, released every three weeks, will be written by John Irsfeld, Brian Rouff, Leah Bailly, John. L. Smith, Constance Ford and Vu Tran. The final chapter, written by Tran, will be released and read at the closing of the book festival on Sunday, November 8^th.

Lee Barnes is the author of five books and teaches creative writing at the College of Southern Nevada. His opening chapter sets the stage for a diverse cast of characters in a Las Vegas setting. He’s followed by an equally fine lineup of local writers.

I’ve been enjoying an “insider’s” opportunity to read these chaps as they are submitted, and I can say the entire concept is fascinating. The writers amongst us will marvel at the notion of picking up another’s characters and plot and moving the story along its arc — and be insanely curious at what subsequent authors will do. It has been a lot of fun speculating what each new chapter will reveal. Bookmark the CityLife website to follow along, and I’ll try to post reminders as each new chap is uploaded.

Now in its eighth year, the book festival is presented by the city of Las Vegas, Nevada Humanities, Las Vegas-Clark County Library District and the Las Vegas Review-Journal with the local chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts as the official branding sponsor.

My enthusiasm for the VVBF continues to grow. As the largest literature event in Las Vegas, the festival will present more than 100 authors in a full schedule of readings, panel discussions and book signings, with most sessions taking place at the Historic Fifth Street School downtown. Other special book festival programs include the Comics Festival at the Clark County Library, the Target Children’s Festival on Centennial Plaza, the Local Authors Fair in the Fountain Courtyard at the Historic Fifth Street School and Poetry Under the Stars on the Lewis Avenue Corridor. More info: 229-5431 or www.artslasvegas.org\vvbf.

Photo by Carmen S. Perez

Betty Auchard is a favorite of ours — she’s so energetic, fun . . . and funny. When I grow up, I want to be Betty! The author of Dancing in My Nightgown: The Rhythms of Widowhood spent last week on a tour across the Vegas Valley, with appearances at multiple Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf shops. The Coffee Bean folks selected Dancing as the Book of the Month. Each signing was a sell out, with fans showing up, R-J ads in hand, to chat with the ever-gracious Betty. She also spoke to the seniors at the Parkdale Senior Center, and had the attendees in fits of laughter as she talked about driving Denny’s cremains home (the first time he didn’t tell her how to drive), surviving and eventually thriving in her new life, sans-Denny, and later her crush on Carpet Man. Books sales were not allowed on the city-owned premises, but not to be deterred, folks followed Betty to the car, where we held an impromptu signing out of the trunk. We also invited the seniors to be a focus group for Betty’s next book, The Home for the Friendless. They provided some valuable input regarding the concept and sub-titles. Betty also worked with translator/editor Gaby Jurica on the next edition of Dancing — Bailando en mi camison and spent her evenings editing the final draft of Friendless. This is one busy lady!

The Clark County Library is sponsoring a Meet & Greet networking event Wednesday evening (June 24) at the Flamingo branch. Writers can mingle with fellow authors as well as industry professionals — editors, publishers, journalists, bloggers, and bookstore owners — at a literary event designed to help build relationships and share views and ideas. Writers groups, book clubs, and and webmasters will also be in attendance. This is a great opportunuity to meet publishing pros and ask questions. Bring business cards and/or sales literature. I’ll be there — join us!

Where: Clark County Library, 1401 East Flamingo, Jewel Box Theater

When: Wednesday, June 24th, 6:30 pm

Info: 702.507.3458

Cost: None, nada, zip!

The first of every month comes a fun little ritual — I pick a new calendar desktop image for my computer. Smashing Magazine has a brilliant win-win for everyone concept: A) Offer up and coming designers, photographers, and illustrators a chance to show off their talents, B) Offer beautiful (and free) calendar desktop wallpapers to computer users, and C) Advertise their online magazine all month long on who-know-how-many thousands of computer monitors around the world. What’s not to like. I’m a two-monitor user (I use two monitors side by side to extend my working space) and I love having a calendar for the month always at the ready. Go to Smashing Calendars and select your fave (there are 70 this month to chose from, in a wide variety of colors and styles). Right click on the image, select “set as desktop wallpaper” and that’s it. Smashing Magazine is a fantastic repository of tutorials, news, and resources for graphic designers and creative types. Enjoy!