Joseph-Beth Homecoming and On the Road Again to InConJunction

It has been quite a week overall, as I begin the third day here at InConJunction in Indianapolis.

Last Friday saw my homecoming visit to Joseph Beth. For me, this is always a very special signing event. Joseph-Beth in Lexington is one of the most impressive bookstores in the nation. Walking into the place, with its huge atrium, you immediately know why this is one of the main stopping points for all of the New York Times best-selling authors. To have a store like this for my homecoming signing is incredible. From Andrew, one of the resident booksellers who is a sci-fi/fantasy whiz, to Brooke, the head of PR and events, the Joseph-Beth family has always treated me very well, and I always feel a little pressure as I want to bring a nice event to the place when they have me in.

For this one, we did have a very nice program. I did a presentation that included a little talk about The Storm Guardians, some discussion of the others involved in the release such as cover artist/illustrator Matthew Perry and editor Amanda DeBord, and a giveaway of about fifteen door prizes (which included some contributions from Apex Book Company, one of the best small presses out there who just happen to be based in Lexington! Their head editor/founder Jason Sizemore attended).

We also introduced an exclusive collectible print that was given away to all who attended this event. We started this practice at the signing for Crown of Vengeance. People got a color print of the Enki artwork featured in The Storm Guardians. Other than the cover, this was the only image of the batch where the original was in color and not grayscale. I think that people really liked the print, judging by the responses I saw.

I then spent the rest of the time signing and visiting with the crowd, which turned out to be the best one I've had at Joseph-Beth yet. Friends and new faces alike, I took my time and really enjoyed this part of it while others went next door to Bar Louie's (a restaurant located next to Joseph-Beth) and got the after party-celebration underway. I joined this part in progress after I had finished with the signing. We had about 50 people join us for the after-party, which turned out to be a very nice addition to round out the night and one that I will certainly keep for the next signing around January for the followup to Crown of Vengeance.

Just a great, great night!

The week in between was pretty much a blur, as I've been working on book 2 of the Fires in Eden series, and staying on top of everything in the book world and tackling pre-production needs for the forthcoming Swordbearer short film. The first reads are occurring next week for parts, and location scouting is underway. Lots of detail to go over. Compiling a nice shot list for the DP for this one, Aaron Champion, who is superb.

Had to head to Indy on my birthday, July 2nd, for InConJunction, a mixed media Con in Indianapolis that I really like. They had me slotted for a record 9 panels, including another record of 7 in one day. I've never done more than 5 or 6 at a Con, so this was a bit of a challenge in that I was also exhibiting and had to have some people who could watch over all of my stuff while I was on panels. Thankfully, my friends TammyJo Eckhart and her husband Tom were the table next to me, and across from me was Travis Clemmons and Karen Nagel, so I had some folks who I trust to watch over things. Being next to TammyJo always has additional bonuses, as she is the High Priestess of the Chocolate Cult, an online Chocolate review blog, and she ALWAYS has lots of exotic chocolates and chocolate-related treats!

Got to catch up with lots of Indianapolis area friends like Michael West, Stephen Kendall, Chuck Budreau, Mark Racop and all the Magichouse Production gang, and meet new faces such as C.S. Marks (author of the Elfhunter Trilogy), Elizabeth Darville, and filmmaker/author Kate Chaplin.

It has been a good Con so far, though I'm a bit tired here on the fourth. There'll be a cookout waiting at home when I get back in the late afternoon, and I'm looking forward to it very much! Need to do one more panel,spend a little more time exhibiting and hopefully meeting a few new readers, but then it will be time to pack up and head out!

Progress, New Books, New Podcasts, InConJunction, and more!

The past couple of weeks have definitely been very busy on this end.

First off, as you know from the last post, my wondrous editor Amanda DeBord turned in her edits of the first book of the new medieval fantasy series to me on 7/7. I am well underway on working with the red ink. It is a very healthy process, as Amanda often saves me from myself, and she really "gets it" as far as the series and what I'm trying to do with it.

Matt Perry is underway on the artwork, narrowing down design ideas and beginning initial sketches for what we hope will be at least 10 illustrations, the cover, and a bonus illustration for the limited edition version of the medieval fantasy series kickoff. Matt has some really intruiging ideas regarding the approach that he wants to take for this series of art, and I can guarantee you that it will come out first rate.

And as if that all is not enough for you...

I do have a short story that I am sending over to Amanda for a new horror anthology that she is editing together, to be released this fall via Seventh Star Press. This story is being used by Matt Perry for a special sequential art project kicking off at the beginning of September. I'll have some news posted here about that.

This has all led to some notions that I am exploring regarding a full-blown "Books of Blood" style horror anthology. I have several stories and story ideas in "The Vault" which have some thematic continuity, and are straight out horror genre pieces. LIke the short story I am sending over to Amanda that is being used by Matt for his sequential art project, these stories are very macabre, visceral, and definitely reveal a little of my Clive Barker influence...very different from the fantasy series material in the Rising Dawn Saga and the new medieval fantasy series. Matt and I are discussing doing a full blown graphic novel-style version of a series of short stories later, once a narrative version has been released. This is slowly growing into an exciting project. I don't project more than 5-6 stories for the first release, if this all moves ahead.

Stay tuned on that one for sure!

I am hopefully going to be announcing a very exciting new short film project involving H. David Blalock's novel Ascendant. We are looking at doing a short film revolving around a pivotal fight between champions of good and evil that takes place in the book, and it looks as if we are going to move forward pretty heavily in August on this project. I will be serving as a director and producer, and will be working on the adaptation of the novel elements to the screen. I am very, very enthusiastic about this project. We are already beginning to reach out to some professional Mixed Martial Arts fighters in the superheavyweight class to look at for casting the two main fighters, if that gives you any idea of the imagery and explosiveness we want to capture in this fight scene.

I am also an acting producer on a short film project with my pal Scott Sullivan, which we hope will be shooting in late August/Early September. More on that shortly as well.

I am also going to be launching a new series of blog interviews/reviews and podcasts for Seventh Star Press featuring authors, small publishers, and the like. It will be carried at the Seventh Star Blog site. It will spotlight writers and small press figures that I have met during my adventures to various Cons and other events. I will highlight books that I would like to bring to people's attention. Jackie Gamber, Lettie Prell, D.A. Adams, H. David Blalock, Nic Brown, Maurice Broaddus and Tammy Jo Eckhart are among the first batch that I will be looking to cover, as far as reviews/interviews go. I also hope to do a piece on Meadowhawk Press and another on Apex Publications.

On the film side of things, the Indie Movie Masters blog interviews are well underway, with recent visits with the indie film site Dead Harvey, as well as Ken Daniels, the director of the Fright Night Film Festival. Next on deck is an interview with Stephen and Suzie Lackey of the Con Trek series that is currently being featured on the XboX. We will soon integrate the IMM Podcast on the Indie Movie Masters blog page, and will likely have Stephen and Suzie on the kickoff interview. I hope to soon be visiting with guests such as Jon Klement of Smerdiverse fame, Wayne Clingman of Indy Film Wisconsin, Mark Racop of the Starship movies, and more!

My journey to InConJunction did go very well, by the way. I served on 4 panels, and had a fairly smooth experience all around. The Con is more of a full media event, and as such I got to participate in a couple of panels on blogging, in addition to a couple of literary panels that were stacked with some really fantastic authors (Such as Maurice Broaddus, pictured with me in front of the Apex Publishing banner.

I finally got to hang out a bit with Jason Sizemore of Apex Publications, who is located in my home base of Lexington. I hope to be doing some work with Jason with the Imagicopter project in the near future, as well as some other activities related to promoting small press in our area.

On the film side of things, I got to meet Chuck Budreau of Indy Film News, a resource and networking group for Indiana Filmmakers. I also caught back up with Mark Racop of MagicHouse Productions, who is in the process of finishing up his new sci-fi movie Starship II. I met Mark at a DragonCon a few years back, and he participated in a film/music industry conference I ran for a few years here in Lexington, and it was fantastic to get in touch with him again. His new movie looks like it is going to be really good, with some really nice visuals, so be sure to check out Starship II when it is released.

I also wanted to mention that it was a real pleasure meeting Tammy Jo Eckhart, a very good writer (I am going to be posting a review and interview with her for her book Servant of Destiny) who also happens to be the mastermind behind The Chocolate Cult. Yes, there really is a cult of chocolate now, officially!

Michelle Gussow was also awesome, and I can't wait to see her new short film, Soldier's Song, which looks to pack an emotional wallop! (and big kudos to her as a director for having a scene with a very extended single camera shot! Nice to see someone can still execute something like that in this world of five cuts per second editing)

Also, stay on the lookout for a new book by Angelia Sparrow and Naomi Brooks. I had the great privilege of getting to read this book in advance for consideration of giving a blurb, which I was happy to do as the writing was excellent and the story imaginative and tight. I can't wait to talk more about this book when it goes public.

Well, that about sums things up at the moment! Be sure to stay tuned as there are going to be alot of updates and notices forthcoming!

7/7 and Seventh Star! Final edit of the new book is done!

Had to put up a quick post...thoughts on my adventures at InConJunction are forthcoming, but I just realized that it is 7/7 today, and Amanda just handed in the final section of the edit of the first book of my new medieval fantasy series. As it will be out this fall through Seventh Star Press, I guess that 7's are up!

I also am happy to say that the target is spring of 2010 for the sequel to The Exodus Gate, and Seventh Star Press will also be releasing a horror anthology this fall (focus on paranormal/supernatural).

It was a great meeting today for sure!

InConJunction, Bowling Green Signing, Upcoming Blog series, IMM Blogs, and more!

Whew, the title to this post says it all. Not enough hours in the day!

I'm getting ready for a trip to InConJunction in Indianapolis this weekend. I'm glad that the drive won't be too far, and I am really looking forward to participating in the convention. One of my favorite writers, E.E. Knight (Vampire Earth series) is attending, and I have the good fortune of being a co-panelist with him. I will be sure to give a report here, along with some pictures.

I just realized that I didn't put up a post on my Bowling Green signing at Waldenbooks! I did a signing there back on June 13th for The Exodus Gate, which turned out to be a very positive experience. I ended up getting to meet alot of new folks, some of who picked up the book and had it signed. I had a few individuals show up that had seen promotional material in the store leading up to the event, and there were others who just happened to visit the store. Everyone was very, very friendly and the staff and management at Waldenbooks made me feel right at home.

Also exciting was the fact that I found my book on the shelf right under Tolkien again! This happened at Park Road Books in Charlotte NC. Having a last name that begins with a Z, I do not think that this will be a common occurrence, so I can't help myself taking pictures of it!

It is not an easy thing being a brand new small press author in a bookstore appearance, but the people who visited with me at my table made it entirely enjoyable. I hope to hear back from the ones that picked up the book, so if you read this, be sure to email me from my website (www.stephenzimmer.com) or find me on Facebook or MySpace.



Here are a couple of other images from the signing...both featuring me with the store's general manager, Sheila Burden





Waldenbooks in Bowling Green Kentucky is definitely high on my list! I can't wait to go back and visit, hopefully in the fall when the first book in the medieval series comes out.


In regards to blogs, my interview/article series for Indie Movie Masters is well underway over at indiemoviemasters.blogspot.com

There will soon be an interview/review series focusing on authors and small press publishers that will be posted at seventhstarpress.blogspot.com, so get ready for that one.

As if all that wasn't enough, I am getting ready to do a podcast series in each area. Probably won't tackle more than 1 or 2 a month as we get underway, but topically they will be similar to the blogs in spotlighting indie filmakers and others in the indie film world on one podcast, and then authors/small press publishers on the other. These should be alot of fun once we get the kinks worked out. The first few episodes should be adventures at the least!