For the past two weeks, I’ve been running a book giveaway to find homes for three advance reader copies of my upcoming novel Trajelon, due out 11/24/20. It is now my pleasure to announce the three winners!
Using Random Name Picker, they are nevadawolfe, terriwriting, and notimeforpants (which is one of the best usernames I’ve ever seen.)
Congratulations to our three winners! Get in touch with me at your earliest convenience at alyssabethancourt@gmail.com with the address you would like your book sent to!
Q: When is this party? A: Tuesday, November 24th, 2020, from 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time until we’re all partied out.
Q: Is this event in-person or virtual? A: Due to COVID-19, this book launch event will be exclusively virtual. The author will be joined at her home by her husband, fellow writer Jonathan R. Skocik, but all other attendees will log into the party virtually via Zoom.
Q: Will it be live? A: Yes! Live and interactive, so be sure to log in on time.
Q: Is there a hashtag for this event? A: #TRAJELONparty
Q: The announcement mentions a raffle. Do I have to purchase tickets? A: No. Your attendance at the Zoom meeting is your ticket to entry in the raffle. All attendees will be eligible for all prizes.
Q: What are the prizes being offered in the raffle? A: Some of the prizes remain TBD, but the grand prize will be a Trajelon release poster signed by the author and the cover artist.
Q: Do I need a password to enter the party? A: Yes. Use the link provided and enter invite code 2TRAJELON to join the Zoom meeting.
Q: What is this card game mentioned in the event announcement? A: Alyssa has arranged for a few fellow authors and artists to join her in a game in the style of Cards Against Humanity, using a custom card deck that has been created for the occasion. It references the fantasy genre, writing, the world of Asrellion where Alyssa’s novels take place, and the settings of the other players’ created works.
Q:Trajelon is the second book in a series. What if I haven’t read the first book? A: The first book, Mornnovin, is available to purchase on Aerio, Amazon, and most other major book retail sites in both eBook and trade paperback format. It’s a good read; you should absolutely check it out!
Q: I’ve never been to a virtual launch party. How does this work? A: The good news is that we’re all just figuring this (and 2020 as a whole, really) out as we go, so there’s no wrong way to do it. We suggest wearing something comfy, nerdy, or fancy — whatever makes you happy — rounding up some snacks and a festive beverage or two, and settling in with your screen someplace quiet. Alyssa will do a reading from the book, the raffle will happen, and then we’ll all just relax together and chat while the sure-to-be-ridiculous game unfolds. The main thing to remember is that we’re celebrating a book birthday!
Q: Can I suggest cards for this special custom deck? A: You absolutely can and Alyssa would be delighted if you did. You can leave your suggestions for both White and Black cards in the comments here or email them to alyssabethancourt@gmail.com until October 31st. They may be edited slightly to fit the format of the game.
Q: Who are the other authors who will be attending? A: Given the nature of… all of everything happening this year, some of them have asked to be allowed some fluidity in their commitments to events so far into the future. For this reason, no names are being announced until such time as the party is actually taking place. However, the MC for the evening will be Matt R. Lohr, co-author of Dan O’Bannon’s Guide to Screenplay Structure.
Q: Do I have to talk at this Zoom meeting? A: No! You can mute your mic if you want. Or not. Whatever makes you happy.
Q: I might be a little late; is it okay to sign in after the party has started? A: Absolutely! Join when you can. Just remember that if you don’t get there in time for the raffle, you’ll miss out on the chance to win some sweet prizes.
Q: I’d like to be there, but I might have to leave early. Is that okay? A: Of course. Your presence is appreciated but certainly not required. You do you.
Q: I might miss the party, but I’d still like to see it. Will a recording ever become available online? A: Alyssa currently has the Zoom meeting set to save to the local hard drive. Assuming all attendees agree, a recording will go up on YouTube on November 25th. If they do not, then no.
Holy mackerel, I know some truly wonderful people!
Two weeks ago, I saw this cute post from Guylty, a friend and fellow blogger of the Richard Armitage fandom persuasion. She has gotten into crafting some really impressive projects in the last few years and one of her latest masterpieces are these tiny, tiny book earrings.
photo by Guylty at guylty.net
Little Hobbit books!
Naturally I was charmed, given my special relationship with The Hobbit and also my lifelong love of miniature treasures, and I told her so. To my surprise and delight, she offered to send them to me as a much-needed pick-me-up. Heck yes! I’ve actually been thinking of them every day since she made the offer, wondering how quickly they could get here.
Can you believe they’re here already, all the way from Dublin?!
I always check the mail while I’m waiting for the hot water to boil for my late-morning tea, so this was a lovely little diversion to be able to sit down with at Saturday breakfast.
Look at that adorable envelope. Did Guylty make it herself?
Awww!
Inside I found this assortment of goodies. A really nice handmade Richard Armitage/Shakespeare postcard, the long-expected Hobbit earrings, and… something else? What could it be?
They’re so cute!!! I love them!
But what is this?
Another handmade envelope, this one intriguingly tiny. The postcard hinted at an additional surprise treat to make up for the fact that she’d had to reveal the secret of the Hobbit earrings by asking for my address. I love Guylty’s imagination, so I was keenly interested to see what lay inside this “extra surprise” envelope.
OMG! OMG OMG OMG! SHE MADE MINI BOOK EARRINGS OUT OF MY BOOKS THAT I WROTE!!! AND THEY LOOK SO GOOD!
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
I was so excited that I rushed upstairs to show my husband and promptly fumbled them all over the floor with my ecstatic hands. I LOVE THEM! Looks like I know now what I’m wearing at my book launch party! XD
THANK YOU SO MUCH, Guylty! You are creative, fun, extraordinarily talented, and a good friend! This delivery definitely gave my mood a lift! What great medicine for my soul.
Well we’re heading toward the end of September now, which means that Trajelon comes out in just a little over two months. I’d hinted before that I was working on a book launch party plan.
Today is the day I tell you all about it!
You are cordially invited to join me on Tuesday, November 24th at 8 p.m. EST for a virtual party to celebrate the release of Trajelon, the long-anticipated second entry in The Way of the Falling Star.
After a reading from the book, I have arranged for a number of fellow authors and artists to join me via Zoom in a very special game of the Cards Against Humanity sort for your entertainment, using a one-of-a-kind deck crafted for the occasion. The event will be hosted by the convivial Matt R. Lohr, co-author of Guide to Screenplay Structure. There will undoubtedly be appearances by my adorable husky Hento throughout the evening, as I will be beaming to you from the virus-free safety of my living room. And! I am planning a special little giveaway open to those who attend.
And because I’m all about that audience participation, I will be accepting card suggestions until the end of October. The theme of the deck is writing, books, genre fiction, and Asrellion references, and I am seeking ideas for both White and Black Cards. (There will also be references to the created universes of the other participating authors, but that’s another story. Heh. Get it?) Feel free to leave your suggestions here or email them to me at alyssabethancourt@gmail.com.
Surprise, surprise, I don’t actually know how to have a virtual book launch party in the middle of a global pandemic, so I’m still tinkering with the technical logistics of the thing. For now just put a pin in this date and time; I’ll send out the relevant link for the party when I have it all worked out, soon. It will in all likelihood take the form of a big Zoom meeting.
So grab yourself something sparkly to join me in a toast, and a little snack or two, and settle in to watch an evening of Authors Behaving Badly on 11/24/20 as we launch this beautiful book out into the world!
I was given this orchid plant last October, as an anniversary present from my wonderful partner in crime. It had a number of exquisite blooms on it at the time, which started thinning and getting ready to fall right around Christmas. The last of them hung on until mid/late-January. I derived much joy from them in that time.
After the last flower fell, the flower spike itself soon began to wither. That, I concluded with fond regret, was apparently that.
But…
The leaves of the plant still looked so shiny and deeply, vibrantly green. While the plant was brought into our home in order to provide a view of the orchid flowers which I love so much, I do also love leaves on their own merit. And these quite obviously still had some life in them. It seemed a shame to give up on them.
So I cut back the dead flower spike and continued to water the plant as normal through the winter.
In the spring, I noticed that while the plant was still chugging along, it was looking a little droopy. I’m basically an utter novice where it comes to plants, coming as I do from the desert where nothing grows unless it wants to, but it seemed to me that maybe it was overwatered? I cut down to two ice cubes a week from the recommended three. The plant rallied.
But then I noticed it was suffering another ailment: the leaves were drying and cracking. It was getting too much direct sun in the spot I’d been keeping it in. Oops. I wiped the leaves down with a wet towel and moved it again.
In the early days of summer, I made an observation that gave me a tiny thrill of satisfaction: new leaves! There were new leaves coming in! I was managing not only to not kill the plant, but to give it enough love to let it grow!
That satisfaction turned to giddy excitement one day when I saw something else happening to the orchid plant. A small green tendril of some kind was poking out from between the leaves. Never in my wildest dreams had I ever imagined that the plant might flower again under my care, so I thought this was probably a new bit of root. Still exciting, because it would mean life. But to be sure, I asked the internet. The internet told me that I would be able to tell a root from a flower spike by the shape on the end. The end of an orchid flower spike, apparently, has sort of a mitten-y shape.
WELL GUESS WHAT!
I dug out a stake and began coaxing that bad boy into an upward trajectory. As a complete and total flower novice I was surprised that apparently orchids try to grow straight out sideways, but I rolled with it. Every day, I would check its progress like a proud parent marking her child’s growth on the wall. It was a big day when I noticed what looked like the first bud forming. We eventually got six.
The house next door to mine has been empty for the last two years and something of a jungle has grown up on the property, swallowing the crumbling structure whole. I didn’t mind because it blocked the view and also, some wild Rose of Sharon hibiscus sprang up in the space between that property and mine. Lovely. The overgrowth was so intense that it actually blocked the morning light from coming directly in the northeast windows in my dining room, instead giving us nice diffuse sunlight on the dining table.
Because time and perfect lighting stand still for no man, the bank finally sent someone around to chop down the jungle and try to get that house ready for sale. Suddenly the orchid plant was getting blasted with direct sunlight first thing in the morning and the new buds started to sag. I had to scramble to find a new home for it where it was getting light, but not too much. Now it’s hanging out on the other side of the house in the living room, with all of the books.
I was a little worried about those sagging buds that had gotten the full sun blast, but they kept getting bigger and looking more and more like they were about to burst.
And then, yesterday,
We have separation!
How long would it take to see that turn into a flower, I wondered? I have no idea what I’m doing here. This has all just been a happy failure into success. But look what I woke up to this morning.
Maybe it seems silly to you that I would go on and on about one little orchid plant that has sprouted a single flower a year after it was given to me. And maybe it is silly. But maybe, also, this is about more than a plant. Maybe this is also about all of those years I spent dying in the desert where nothing grows unless it wants to, and how I don’t live there anymore because I escaped through epic struggle that didn’t end even after I made it to Pennsylvania.
Maybe it’s about salvaging life when it looks like that life is over. Maybe it’s about perseverance even where there’s no reason to think anything will come of it. Maybe it’s about changing the narratives we’ve come to accept about ourselves — “Oh, I can’t grow anything. I have a black thumb. Ha ha.” — and understanding that sometimes it’s personal growth and sometimes it’s about the environment we’re trying to survive in. Sometimes we just need to leave the desert.
Autistic Wordpainter 