What's in a Week - Vol. 39

Wonderful L.A. Times Festival of Books, Limited Stock of Personalized Books, Indie April, and more!

First, a Note of Thanks

Just wanted to thank those of you who chimed in on my post last week about the state of things. I will say that news since then improved my outlook in some regards, as you'll see below...

Los Angeles Times Festival of Books

I can honestly say that the LA Times Festival of Books was not only the best book festival I've ever been to, it's one of the BEST EVENTS OF ANY KIND I have been to in my 50 years of life. Just a complete triumph: organized, outdoors, gorgeous setting, so many helpful people, wonderful booth–see below for the fab book decorations–thanks to SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, of which I'm a member), even LA Metro staff close by so wonderfully helpful with transit questions.

The best part: THOUSANDS of BOOK LOVERS. I was feeling low last week, but I am rejuvenated and in awe and so grateful to the book-reading public. If you were there, thank you. Particularly those of you who bought my book! If you weren't, I can't recommend it enough. I hope I go back every year forever. And what a testament too, to Los Angeles, truly a fabulously supportive city for all the arts. I do love it here.

Enjoy my gallery from the festival:

Indie April

It's still Indie April! Support indie (self-published) authors all through April. My space opera series, THE QUESTRISON SAGA, is my indie series. The books are HELIOPAUSE, EPHEMERIS, ACCRETION, and LUMINIFEROUS, and they are written under my J. Dianne Dotson pen name. You can also find them by searching for Jendia Gammon. Every purchase goes mostly to me (the maker and distributor Ingram gets a small cut for their services, but that's it). Order these books from your favorite bookseller! They represent my longest writing history, and will forever be the favorite things I've written.

Library Fundraiser

My hometown library in East Tennessee seeks a renovation and needs our help. Let’s get this Appalachian community supported! Without it, I wouldn’t be the writer I am today. I want all generations from now forward to have a library they can be proud of. Donate here and feel free to share.

Yeah, So My Laptop Died (Ouch)

There have been challenges this April which really put me in a mood. The worst was the demise of my old laptop. So that was an unplanned, massive yet essential expense that has set me back financially for months, unless some windfall happens. To that end...

Limited Stock of Signed Books Directly from Me

I sold several copies of THE INN AT THE AMETHYST LANTERN, my Nebula & BSFA Award finalist book, at the book festival. I do have a limited supply remaining, which I can sign/personalize and ship to you if you live in the U.S. Unfortunately, shipping to other countries is prohibitively expensive, but I do have a few book plates left, so if you want one of those, do inquire.

Buy your copy of the book in my Ko-Fi Shop, which is also a place where you can also buy me a cup of coffee or donation, incidentally!

The Inn at the Amethyst Lantern

The Nebula & BSFA novel by J. Dianne Dotson (Jendia Gammon). Paperback, signed/personalized by the author.

Buy a Signed Copy

On the Screen

Finally watched BULLET TRAIN, the ridiculously over-the-top comedy thriller starring Brad Pitt. I went into this cold, and I'm glad I did. Violent and gory but absolutely hilarious, and even heart-warming.

On the small screen, I've continued the chilling and mesmerizing RIPLEY on Netflix. I've also started Colin Farrell's surreal noir mystery, SUGAR (on Apple TV+), about a private detective named John Sugar on the trail of a missing young woman. There's something strange going on with him, though.

Secretly, I hope he's a robot. Lol.

On the Page

Still reading TWELVE TREES by Daniel Lewis, which is perfect for Earth Day.

Writing Update

Last week, I announced my short story acceptance in the fascinating anthology MOVING ACROSS THE LANDSCAPE IN SEARCH OF AN IDEA, out late August from Air & Nothingness Press, and you can read more about my story HERE. As you can see in the image above, the table of contents authors have been released. An impressive group, and I'm honored to be with them in this book. This will be a limited release, so as soon as preorders go live, you'll want to jump on them.

In standalone book news, both the dragon fantasy and the campy horror book are now with more editors at publishing houses. I'm very excited to see what happens next. Hopefully someone will make an offer on these books in the near future!

Meanwhile, I've just submitted a new short story to kick off the week, and I have more short stories in the works. I'm pivoting between four novels in progress at the moment, and starting to focus a bit more on the sci-fi/fantasy mystery book, which has become quite intriguing.

Otherwise, it's science writing deadline week, so I have work to get done by Tuesday.

The Week Ahead

No events planned this week, only deadlines, and job searching continues for more income streams. A typical week, in other words. I'm fine with that!

Thank you, as always, for your support.

Write on!
Jendia