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Becca Spence Dobias · Author · added over 2 years ago · 2 likes

Hi friend!

I’ve finished two drafts lately—one of my nonfiction West Virginia punk book for WVU Press and one of the sequel to the ska romance, Pick It Up!, which I’ve titled Work it Out! The nonfiction book will head back out to peer review and Work It Out! will sit for a bit while I work up the courage to edit. In the meantime, here are the vibes:

It’s a contemporary romance about two warehouse workers who fake date to hide their efforts to organize their coworkers but end up having real feelings.
While you’re waiting for more, please check out this article I wrote for the Press Enterprise on similar themes!
This month, the books I’m reading and loving include:Come As You Are by Jess K HardyThis is an awesome indie romance about Gen X-ers.River Woman, River Demon by Jennifer GivhanThis psychological thriller had me literally gasping and my heart pounding.Pride and Protest by Nikki PayneI loved this modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice.Philosophical Trends in the Feminist Movement by Anuradha GhandyIt’s continually wild to me how much women’s history my education, even an MA in women’s studies, failed to provide because of US-centrism and anti-communist propagandha. Worth reading if you think you’re knowledgeable about feminism and the women’s movement.
What are you reading? How are you? I can’t wait to hear from you.

Becca

Becca Spence Dobias · Author · added over 2 years ago · 5 likes

Hi Friend!

The last I updated, I had been accepted to the KissPitch mentoring program with Jen Deluca as my mentor. I’ve completed the mentorship, and it improved my ska rom-com so much! I’m really so grateful for Jen’s guidance and support.
Right now I’m reading and loving the fourth book in Jen’s series, Well Traveled, which came out December 6, In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren, and Red Valkyriesby Kristen Ghodsee.
Another wonderful benefit of the program has been connecting with my fellow mentees. They are so talented and compassionate and supportive, and we’ve all bonded through the process of revising and querying our manuscripts. The program has been a huge success for its inaugural year, and over 20% of the mentees have found agents for their work already! A couple have already gotten book deals with big houses too! I’m so proud of everyone and so excited to see their books on shelves.
I’m still in the midst of querying, and it’s discouraging, especially when I learn stats about the numbers of queries agents receive and then of that small number, the stats of books that sell to publishers.
My desire to publish traditionally is getting more and more conflicted, especially in the midst of the Harper Collins Union and strike, Barnes and Noble being awful, and an ever-more consolidated industry (bright note: yay for the failure of the Penguin/Simon & Schuster merger!).
Publishing is frustrating. But I love my book, and I’ll find a way for people to read it. In the meantime, check out the cover mock up I made:

Happy book news! On Home is featured in Tamarack and Shine On WV’s 55 Gifts from 55 Counties Gift Guide, representing Upshur County! I was so honored when I got the email I teared up. The best gift you can give an author is reviews and word of mouth so please, if you haven’t yet left a review, consider writing one! It can be super simple: “I liked it”—and tell your friends. I really appreciate it!
Aside from querying and drafting a new manuscript (more on that another day!), I’ve spent the second half of the year organizing with my local chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, especially with our cadre building committee and socialist feminist working group. Together, we’ve gotten local meetups going, raised money for abortion access, and have a new time bank in the works. Like my Kiss Pitch mentee group, this group of comrades have helped me feel hopeful and inspired in a climate where that’s difficult. I’m so thankful.
This summer, I made a documentary with the support of IE Listening Post on industrial development in Redlands, CA. You can check it out here. I got to be on public radio for the second time this year, talking about this project! Here is that segmentif you want to listen!
I hope you are finding ways to stay hopeful and well. Let me know.

Bonnie Yelverton · Reader · added almost 3 years ago

I never got my copy of your book. I changed my address when asked, but that didn’t help. I hope it didn’t got to my old (Fontana) address.

Becca Spence Dobias · Author · added over 3 years ago · 5 likes

How’s it going? We’re in end-of-the-school year mode over here as well as in prep mode for my sister’s wedding at the beginning of June! I’ve been busy writing for my local newspaper as well as the progressive local news site I’ve been working on.

Some exciting news! I was interviewed by Caitlin Tan for Inside Appalachia, an NPR podcast which airs on West Virginia Public Radio! This was such a dream come true for me, as I grew up listening to WVPR! You can hear the segment here!

Annnnd I got selected to be a mentee for the inaugural #kisspitch, a program that matches new romance authors with established ones! I’m so thrilled to be working with Jen Deluca, author of the Well Met series, to improve my ska romance, Pick It Up! Jen saw promise in my mansucript and we’ll work together on revisions! This is such a huge honor and many alum of similar programs go on to great things! Thank you, Jen, for taking me and my work on!

Reading-wise, I’m finishing up Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder and am getting into the middle of Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay. I also picked up the graphic novel, Daytripper,by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba, which is really great so far. What have you been reading lately?

Thanks as always for your support!

Becca Spence Dobias · Author · added over 3 years ago · 4 likes

Hi friend!

How’s it going? I hope you’re doing well.My kiddos are in school for the last day before spring break, so it seemed like a good time to reach out.

Things are getting busier here, which feels weird after two years of taking it relatively easy. We are headed up to Lake Arrowhead for a few days over break, I’ll be in Palm Springs for a weekend in April for my sister’s bachelorette party, we’re going to Legoland in May, my sister’s wedding is in June, and we’re going to West Virginia for a couple weeks in July. I’m tired just writing all of that, haha.

The West Virginia trip is exciting! I’ll be reading and signing books at A New Chapter Books in Lewisburg on my birthday, July 30! I really hope some of you all can come say hi!

Speaking of books, I finished the rom-com and am querying it—a process that is both exciting and frustrating. There are big changes happening in publishing right now, with lots of editors stepping down because of poor treatment. Agents are frustrated because it means they don’t have a lot of people to submit to, and thus authors are frustrated because they’re getting more rejections. Long story, short…big publishing houses are making plenty of money. It needs to go to all the people who make books happen.

I’m still writing for the local paper here, but I’ve also started a new site, Redlands.town.news, where I can share some more unapologetically progressive hyper-local news. I hope you’ll subscribe if you’re local.

What have you been reading lately? My favorite recent reads are People You Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry, The Lost Love Song by Minnie Darke, the upcoming The Chasm by Jacqui Castle, and the Fifth Season by NK Jemison.Let me know how you are, what you’re up to, and what you’ve been reading! Oh! And if you’ve been meaning to leave a review of On Home on Amazon and Goodreads, this is your reminder. ;)

Thank you!!

Becca

Becca Spence Dobias · Author · added over 3 years ago · 3 likes

Hi friend!

I can’t believe it’s been five months since On Home came out…and almost four since I’ve emailed you. Oops.I continue to get touching feedback from people who are reading the book, and believe me—it means more than you know! I have loved hearing from each and every one of you. But also know, I am totally not judging if you haven’t started it yet. It is a wild world we’re living in.If you HAVE read the novel, and have a few moments, it would mean so much if you’d leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads. It really helps the book and me seem legit and helps it get seen by more people. The review doesn’t even have to be good, though I hope it is, haha. I’ll even send you a sweet enamel pin for your efforts!Speaking of Amazon…screw Amazon. But also, On Home is available as an Audible original audiobook there, which feels pretty amazing. I know this makes it accessible to a lot more people, and I LOVE audiobooks, so hearing my words read by the awesome narrator Erin Spencer is an honor. But also…screw Amazon. If you have yet to purchase the book, or want to get a gift copy, please do so at Bookshop.orgor your local indie bookstore, but if you want the audiobook, yeah…check it out.I’ve been working on all kinds of stuff lately! I got a gig as a stringer for my local paper, and have gotten to cover some cool stuff! I wrote this article on Medium about pregnancy tests and rapid covid tests. I turned in the manuscript for my WVU Press book on the West Virginia punk scene. And I put up the cut prologue for On Home on Kindle Vella. I’ve also been writing a second draft of a romcom that I’m hoping to be ready to query soon!Aside from writing, I’ve been reading a lot, as usual, watching Pen15, listening to Mal Blum, and trying to avoid Omicron. I hope you’re all doing well. Let me know. Becca

Becca Spence Dobias · Author · added almost 4 years ago · 4 likes

Hello, readers!

How are you enjoying On Home?! I’ve been blown away by the amazing response and I appreciate every single message, selfie, and review! Please keep them coming!

I would love to have you join me for one or all of the following events:

This Thursday, September 23 at 6pm EST ONLINE: Queer Appalachian Parents, Sex Work, and the End of the World. Join rural authors Alison Stine, winner of the 2021 Philip K. Dick Award, and Becca Spence Dobias to discuss their new books, Trashlands and On Home. Trashlands is a strip club at the edge of an apocalyptic junkyard where a mother works to earn enough to rescue her son. In On Home, three generations of Appalachian mothers, including one who works as a cam girl, struggle with the weight of the past and the small town they call home. What can rural America—past, present, and near-future, teach us about queerness and the volatile world we find ourselves in today? Stine and Spence Dobias will ask each other these questions and more. Register for free here.

October 6, 6-8pm EST ONLINE: Join Beausoleil Book’s Manager, Alexis and I to talk about the writing process, On Home, and representation of the queer community in literature and pop culture. The $5 ticket supports this incredible inclusive bookstore in Lafayette, Louisiana, or there’s an option to get a ticket for free by purchasing a book from them! Register here.

October 7, 7pm PST IN PERSON at NEW Riverside Main Library Community Room. Join me for a National Novel Writing Event Workshop. I wrote the first draft of On Home during NaNoWriMo in November 2012. In this workshop, I’ll share the journey from that draft to a published novel, provide tips and tricks for “winning” NaNoWriMo, and answer questions. Come prepared to write, as parts of the workshop will be participatory. Signed books will also be available to purchase.

Thank you so much for your continued support!!
Becca

Becca Spence Dobias · Author · added almost 4 years ago · 7 likes

IT’S PUB DAY!!!!!Almost nine years after I started the first draft, over three years since I crowdfunded it…

I will forever be grateful to those of you who helped me get here. Thank you a million times.Thank you!I had an amazing launch event at the wonderful bookstore, The Frugal Frigate, on Sunday. Thank you to those who were able to come out! I signed books, read a passage from On Home, and answered a couple questions about the book. Afterward, a few of us had dinner and book cake on the patio of a Thai restaurant. It was joyful and fun and perfect.

I want to celebrate with all of you, though. Please join me today at 5pm PST/ 8pm EST at a virtual event celebrating the culmination of this long journey. Click here to join, and if prompted, enter the code WVA. While supplies last, I’ll be sending sticker to anyone who joins, and there will also be a drawing for a special prize.SPEAKING OF PRIZES! You can win an On Home candle, enamel pin, and sticker by HELPING MAKE ON HOME A SUCCESS! Any time between now and September 7, order a copy, recommend it to your library, or LEAVE A REVIEWto be entered! Reviews are SOOO important, especially in a book’s first days out, to get it noticed! You can write anything—even just “Loved it." It all helps!tl/dr: PLEASE GO WRITE A REVIEW TODAY! Goodreads, Amazon! Please review!After you review, fill out this form and I’ll send you a sticker and put your name in the drawing! Find all the other links you might need here!Again, thank you, thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I am so, so grateful.Becca

Bonnie Yelverton · Reader · added almost 4 years ago

I’m so delighted to get to read your book finally! We’ve now moved from Fontana to Maine )I was also homesick for "back East!" Congratulations!

M. Z. Urlocker · Author · added about 4 years ago

Congrats! This is a huge milestone. I’m looking forward to reading it.

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