New York Comic Con 2012 - Part Two

Meet my best gal pal in NYC, Lauren. She wasn't working for me on Thursday, but she was stopping by often, and so we snagged a pic just before the con started on Thursday. As you can tell by her shirt, she was working for our friends at Vampire Freaks that day. :)

I've been wondering what you all would want to know about the con other than pictures...so I've got two great stories for you.


Lauren with her new swords
(and yes, she knows how to use them)

The first story would be this: I had a woman and her young daughter come up to me and I got talking writing with the teenage girl. She had short hair like me and glasses (which I actually wear most of the time) and as we spoke, I found out she was a Cancer survivor. Well, seeing as my day job is at a cancer hospital I was so happy, I had to hug her. I was so excited to meet a survivor, seeing as book 4 of the Windfire Series is dedictated to a young woman who did not survive. I showed it to this girl, told her of Shannon and held it together just long enough for she and her mom to buy two books and leave the booth. At which point I burst into tears.

Thankfully Lauren was there at the moment and knows the story of Shannon (go HERE for her story) and was able to help me find my center again and get back to work. But it was just one of the most amazing moments at the con. To meet a survivor and share the story with her. It meant a lot. If you make it to Book Four, Cydonia, read the dedication. Shannon deserves you to know.



My view of my gals on Saturday...MANY took pics of them

That said, my second favorite story happened at the very end of the last day. A pair of teen gals ran over to the booth and the one gal, who had bought books one and two on Saturday, said, "It's your fault I've hardly had any sleep!" I laughed and asked why. She said she'd started reading the series and couldn't put it down. She just HAD to have the next two (which were my last two of those books, btw) and then her best friend said she better get books one and two since she knew her friend wouldn't share. Then, they told me they'd met Stephanie Meyer and gotten a signed copy of Twilight WAY before it blew up and predicted I would be next.

The WINDFIRE Series

That was my last sale of the day...of the con...and a great thought. I'd very much like for TONS of kids to read this series (and adults too). Though, I'm sort of the "Anti-Twilight." Sure, I have vampires (they don't sparkle), werewolves, witches and shape shifters...but I have very strong female characters. Girls who fight and kick ass! Girls who take the bull by the horns and even if they make a mistake, forge forward into the darkness...because that's how life is. You push forward. You make mistakes and you learn. So I very much hope kids read these and see that being a strong woman is just as sexy as being the damsel in distress. And men can do more than just save you from physical danger...they can be the support system and partner in your life that save you from yourself.

Part III with silly pics of a fun night out to dinner coming up in Part III...so stay tuned!

xo

Tamsin :)

New York Comic Con 2012 - Part One

I SURVIVED NEW YORK COMIC CON 2012!

---wish there were shirts that said that---

What an AMAZING and EXHAUSTING weekend! I slept almost 14 hours on Monday to recharge my battery and my voice is just now (two days later) coming back. My feet and legs are still sore but...I wouldn't change much of anything! I learned a lot...about what worked, what didn't, and what to do next year for the convention that would use my time more wisely. But that's how it goes...you do cons and you learn.

Anyhoo...that's me above...standing in front of my booth at New York Comic Con (NYCC) with my banner and booth of books (mine and my booth-mates stuff) behind me.

Below is the layout of my books/swag/short stories I had out for the masses. And I do mean MASSES. NYCC pulls over 100,000 each year, and that's not counting the Exhibitors, the people that work in their booths, or the kids 11 years old and below that get in free on Sunday! That said, below you'll see that I was selling four books, a short story with color cover (Heroes Square), and the Moon Over Manhattan posters. Free swag included stickers, Sanctuary Radio flyers, bookmarks, Vampire Freaks cards and stickers, and business cards for me and others. My "booth babes" were handing out bookmarks and Sanctuary Radio flyers to passers by, urging them to come in and see the rest.



Tamsin Silver's NYCC Table



Darth Maul made of Legos

All in the booth did well. I sold out of books three and four (as I ordered less of them than books one and two) by the end of the con. Which was a wonderful surprise, seeing as my editor thought I'd maybe sell 5 of each and I sold three times that. In fact, I sold over 100 books this weekend in total. O_O  After only selling 17 at Heroes Con (and many of those being to friends) I was leary of what I would sell. But I surprised both myself and my editor and exceeded our expectations by quite a bit. That said, I saw nothing of the convention (or should I call it a Trade Show?) than I'd have liked to have.


Gandalf & Bilbo made of Legos



For instance, I'd wanted to meet Nicholas Brendon (Xander from Buffy), Carrie Fisher (if I have to say who she was you lose all your nerd cred points), and Anne Rice. But alas, I was in my booth selling my bum off. Which is why, next year, I'll set up on Thursday morning vs. Wednesday and then wander the con and open on Friday. Cause we were DEAD on Thursday.

That said, I did get some GREAT photos of costumes and had some unique experiences...First we'll show pictures! Here you go! We'll start with my favorite shot...



Drag Queen of Aqua Girl posing with my "Booth Babes" on Saturday



 



One of my fave Steampunk Cosplay's



Jessica Rabbit



Green Goblin



After this green guy walked by, so did the MIB...and we had them take him in...

 

 





A Border Collie!
(The woman made this herself!)

My girl, Sheri, with Gumby & Pokey!

I will leave you with that...as this post is long enough. I'll do Part II next...

xo

Tamsin :)





New York Comic Con, Sanctuary Radio, and Tryskelion!

IT'S HERE! NEW YORK COMIC CON IS HERE! (Oct 11-14, 2012)

**Throws confetti and pours a large glass of a caffinated beverage**

We loaded in today! That's right, we shuffled eight boxes, two tables, four suitcases, and a big ol' rolling cart to the Javits Center from the upper tip of Manhattan. How, you may ask? Well, by using a car service (cause most New Yorkers do not own a car). And yes, that was as interesting as you are thinking. LOL! But...we are all loaded in and set up for FOUR days of CRAZY awesomeness!

And guess what?! I've got two lovely groups backing me for the convention! That's right! The first, seeing as my books partially revolve around Wicca, is TRYSKELION, a Pagan recource site. This amazing Coven has given me permission to use their rites/rituals from their site in my novels. In fact, you will find their YULE rite in Living Dead Girl, the second book of The Windfire Series. I'll have their business cards and bookmarks at my booth, too! A huge thank you to Lady Shyra and the rest of the Tryskelion Coven. Blessed Be, to you all.

The second group backing me this weekend is SANCTUARY RADIO! DJ Rob (and others) on the station will be announcing me all weekend long! I'll have flyers for them to spread the word about them...and...if you read this post or heard my name on the air...here is what you can do to get FREE stuff...

COME TO BOOTH 2167 AND SAY THE WORD "SANCTUARY" WHEN YOU DO, YOU'LL GET A FREE SHORT STORY WRITTEN BY ME AND A DISCOUNT OFF MY BOOKS IN THE WINDFIRE SERIES!

Don't know what Sanctuary Radio is? For shame! It's a 24/7 online radio station that plays Goth/Industrial/EBM on one channel and Retro/Alternative 80's on the other! No Commercials!!!! And, they survive on donations only! That means more people need to know about them to keep them on the air!

So...go listen...donate...come by my booth...mention SANCTUARY and get discounts on my stuff!

As a bonus, I have other authors at my booth as well! They too have great books for you to see!

One of them is John Hartness and he has great, funny, high energy vampire novels (The Dark Knight Series) as well as something perfect for the Halloween Season...Bubba the Monster Hunter!

The other is the bubbly and talented Emily Imes! She has YA Adventure books! Perfect for your teen, especially if they are into Manga or Anime!

So come on out to the convention and come by our booth! We'd love to talk to you about writing, music, Anime, Fantasy, Vampires, Witches...and whatever else comes to mind. Trust me, we have opinions on tons of stuff. ;)

BOOTH #2167 IN THE SMALL PRESS AREA!

And remember...if you can't make it to the convention...scroll to the next blog entry for how you can get copies of my new series in both PRINT and E-COPY!



The Windfire Series is OUT!

Hello!

So, here they are in all their glory!

Books One through Four of The Windfire Series...

Links to purchase are below. Just click on the version you need/want (Print/Kindle/Smashwords) under the book name you want and it will take you to where you can read the synopsis and purchase. Print copies run $7.99 while e-copies run $2.99.

WINDFIRE (Book One)
PRINT or KINDLE or SMASHWORDS

LIVING DEAD GIRL (Book Two, The Windfire Series)
PRINT or KINDLE or SMASHWORDS

METAMORPHOSIS (Book Three, The Windfire Series)
PRINT or KINDLE or SMASHWORDS

CYDONIA (Book Four, The Windfire Series)
PRINT or KINDLE or SMASHWORDS

For those who do not know...Smashwords is a website that contains ALL forms of e-books. So no matter if you want a PDF, a Kindle file (mobi), a Nook file (epub), a Sony E-Reader file, or a iBook file...you can get multiple types there to download to whatever device you have.

Special Note: If you read "The Betrayal - A Living Dead Girl Novel" then you should start with Book Three in The Windfire Series. It picks up where you left off.

Scroll down to see all the book covers AND a special surprise...the cover of Book Five; Identity.

KEEP SCROLLING TO FIND PROFILES OF THE CHARACTERS IN THE WINDFIRE SERIES!

A Moment Of Reflection

NYC in the fall.

My fave time of year.

It's when a lot of things are going on...especially in October. I got to thinking about last October and decided to write the following.

I don't know how often you look back a year in your past...but I recommend it. I feel very blessed right now. Read below to see why.

xo

Tamsin :)

----------------------------------------------------------------

Last year, as those of you who follow this blog know, my book, The Betrayal - A Living Dead Girl Novel was about to come out (it showed up on October 11, 2011 on Amazon) through Eirelander Publishing. It just so happened that New York Comic Con was at that EXACT same time. My best NYC gal pal, Lauren, and I dressed in corsets and walked around the convention handing out postcards of the book, attempting to drum up sales. We brought our own lunches to save money, and were on our feet all day, walking everwhere handing out cards and Vampire Freaks stickers. :)

We walked that floor from noon to 7pm on Friday and Saturday and then roamed to just shop and enjoy the con on Sunday. All the while we kept saying, "Next year maybe we will have a booth."

I didn't actually think I would. It was a pipe dream. Something to make my sore feet feel better.

Why do I say that?

Well, because I'm an Indie Author. I don't have the money behind me that Cassandra Clare, L.J. Smith, Anne Rice, and so on have helping them promote their work. I have to pay for this out of my own pocket. Not just the books to sell, but for the covers, logo's, bookmarks, banner printing, booth rental, etc.

HOWEVER...

I DO HAVE A BOOTH AT NEW YORK COMIC CON THIS YEAR!

**Throws confetti**

I was overjoyed! A booth with my friggin' name on it and friends to join me in that booth!

Then something happened...

I came to the understanding that my book just wasn't selling well sitting in the Adult/Paranormal Romance section...if that's how you'd classify it. It wasn't being found by people who would enjoy it. And thing was, everyone who read it loved the story, but it just wasn't moving off "shelves." I had two options. A) Fix the problem  B) Quit.

Those who know me personally know that Option B wasn't really an option. I want this too bad and I'm too determined to quit this soon in the game. In fact, I refused to. So I called upon a good friend from college, who is a successful indie author in my genre, for advice.

John told me..."Leave your publisher...get the rights back to your story, re-edit the book with a pro, split them up to make them shorter, republish on your own. Take control of your series."

This was THREE MONTHS prior to New York Comic Con, btw.  O_O

I was petrified.
I was unsure.
I was on uneven ground.

I'll be honest...I prayed about it, I spoke to my closest friends and family about it, and I decided John was right. It was a difficult decision. To go out on your own as self-published. SO MANY people still see that as "bad writing." *cough cough* 50 Shades of Gray *cough cough* 

But it doesn't need to be.

So I left Eirelander, found a new editor, and with her help we reinvented what used to be The Living Dead Girl Saga into the Young Adult saga called The WINDFIRE Series. The Betrayal has become two books; Windfire and Living Dead Girl. And what would have become Book Two (entitled, Shattered) has become Books Three and Four; Metamorphosis and Cydonia.

Let me tell you about my new editor. She is amazing. She busted my butt on many things and I'm sure she still will. She helped me see errors I'd made in the story, errors in grammar, errors in titles (cause the cool titles we have now were NOT what I'd originally chosen), and error in demographic for sales.

She is the reason these books are now YA.

She is the reason these books look better.

She is the reason these books have better names.

So Chris...thank you.

And John...you were the spark that lit the fire. Thank you.

And to Lauren...this year you get to be at my booth, work at the VF booth, AND Loaded Barrel Studios booth! It's amazing what can happen in a year. I'm so excited to see us take this next step together. Thank you for your never wavering support!

And to all of you who enjoyed The Betrayal...you'll enjoy Metamorphosis and Cydonia...as the story continues to unfold for Atlanta Hart. There are not large changes but there are some...so if you are considering getting Windfire and Living Dead Girl...I suggest you do. There's a new dream at the top of Living Dead Girl that hints to something coming up in Book Six, there's a whole new scene in Windfire, and other small things here and there. But, for the sake of saving money, you'll be fine starting with the new Book Three; Metamorphosis.

Of course...right now, Amazon is having a sale on my books. If you buy the first three, the fourth is free...PLUS FREE SHIPPING! Not bad! If you want that deal, go back up to the first post (which will be the Windfire Release Post for awhile) and click on the PRINT option for WINDFIRE.

And...if you enjoy them...please...tell people and write reviews online!

These books are on Smashwords, Goodreads, Amazon, and soon...Nook. So read and REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! It's those reviews that grab the attention of publishers and agents. Even if all you do is go in and click the number of stars for it and say one sentence of praise (ya like how I decided you're going love it?) and go on your merry way. Please, if you enjoy my work, help others find it to enjoy as well.

Best,

Tamsin :)

P.S. And if you are an Indie Author and like my book covers...I highly recommend Baum Book Designs. Kathy Baum is great to work with, understands your vision, and really helps give your book a professional look. She also has experience working at designing postcards, bookmarks, business cards, and back covers as well as spines to go with your cover (ie: Createspace). She also can print posters (thick and thin) for you. She seriously has her black belt in Photoshop! :)

FREE short story in honor of NYCC 2012!

(Originally Posted on Oct.3, 2012. Moved up to be found easier.)

In honor of NYCC starting in a week...I thought I'd offer up my newest short story for FREE for ONE WEEK ONLY. As of October 11, 2012, it will go back to its normal price. Not that 99c is a big price, but free is better...so snag it while you can! It's really simple! Three easy steps!

1) Go HERE
2) Put in Coupon Code XD84R
3) Download it in any E-format you want...from PDF, to Kindle, to Nook!

Here's what it is about....

In the year 2131, humans thought they could fix the dissolving ozone layer and global warming by releasing a biological agent into the sky.

It backfired. Many died.

Luckily, the Clandestine People, comprised of witches, werewolves, vampires and shape shifters, foresaw this outcome and saved as many of the humans as they could.

By the year 2144, as the remaining humans grow in numbers,

not all are happy to live alongside the Clandestine People.

The humans feel threatened.

They want control.

They want war.

Prejudice. It’s not as old fashioned as you might think.

New Bookmarks for The WINDFIRE Series!

HERE IT IS! Isn't it fantastic? I just love it! My cover artist (Kathy Baum of Baum Book Designs) helped me get these ready in time for New York Comic Con.

The Front boasts of the main character of The WINDFIRE Series, Atlanta Hart (and its the same pic from the cover of book one) as well as a quote I had on the series (back when it was the Living Dead Girl Saga) on Amazon.

The Back boasts of all four covers of the new...revamped (ha ha) series and a quote about my writing from Chaos Hour Book Reviews.

The logo girl is is white so I can write booth numbers for conventions there. Cool idea, huh? Credit goes to Ms. Baum!

These will be handed out all over the convention...and be sitting on friend's tables. You'll easily find them at Vampire Freaks booth, for one...and a few others.

Can't wait to see you all at NYCC!        -Tamsin :)