Finalist in both Spirituality and Religious Non-Fiction for the 2016 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Inspired by the delusion that I was the Second Coming of Christ, this is my story of mental illness, spiritual awakening, and lasting recovery.
To my faithful Pre-order Partners:
Thanks to all of you, we now have 313 pre-orders: almost one-third of the way to the 1,000 goal set for February 10, 2016.
Today I thought you might want to read one of the excerpts I've been reading at the book events sponsored by N Street Village, the organization Miriam's House merged with in 2011.
Feel free to forward this message to anyone you think may be interested in Nowhere Else I Want to Be. I have placed one pre-order link at the bottom of the page, and one HERE.
This period of time, from spring to winter 1998, turned out to be the first of several over the years about which we staff members later learned to tell one another enjoy the lull now, take care of yourself and rest, because it will all change soon enough.
But at that point we had not yet learned that bit of wisdom, so the change, when it came, caught us by surprise. As I enjoyed the bit of quiet that I could not know would end abruptly in December, I somehow thought that we would go on together, these women, the staff and Miriam's House, forever. Perhaps, in believing the worst times were over now that we were three years into being, I forgot that death and relapse and chaos could cycle back. I did not know that the not-worst times could still be very, very difficult. And, of course, we didn't know that Nickie, who had just moved in that May, was coming to the end of her life that December.
We didn't know until she was just about gone, until our nurse, Kathy, who was with Nickie to help her dress one morning, saw her suddenly collapse with a groan; until she raced up the hall shouting for me to dial 911 before running back to Nickie. What I remember is the look on Kathy's face as she knelt at Nickie's side, there on the floor in the bathroom, and that Kathy's eyes told me what we hadn't known.
I followed the ambulance to Howard Hospital, just a few blocks away, I saw them pull the stretcher out of the back of the vehicle, the oxygen canister on her abdomen and a mask over her face, one EMT scrambling alongside the stretcher performing CPR while the others rushed it indoors. I parked the car and ran into the ER and they let me into the back without question once I said who I was and why I was there. But I was not allowed into the trauma unit, its curtain billowing outward with the hurried movements of multiple doctors and nurses, so I sat in a chair in the hallway, heart pounding. Twenty minutes later, a doctor sat down next to me to tell me, kindly and softly, that they had not been able to revive her.
"May I see her?"
"We need to clean her up first, but in about fifteen minutes, you can go in."
I told her that we had a community of people who loved Nickie and asked if I could call them to come up and say good-bye. The doctor conferred with other ER staff, then returned to say we could have half an hour. I called Miriam's House to tell Tim and Angie. Then, seeing the activity in the trauma unit had ceased, I stepped in to say good-bye. But I could not control myself and was afraid that if I were heard the permission to visit Nickie would be withdrawn. So I gave Nickie a kiss on her forehead and went outdoors to wait for my friends from Miriam's House, take some deep breaths, and let the sun dry my cheeks.
Tim drove a group up in the van, and the rest walked. I recall standing with one hand resting on Nickie's foot, the other grasping Angie's hand. I tried to comfort the residents as they slowly entered the unit, stunned.
But I don't know what happened after that, because I had to go to Nickie's father's apartment to tell him his one remaining daughter had died. He lived in senior citizen subsidized housing near Union Station. I drove there filled with dread, unsure of what to say and how to say it. I remember the smell of stale urine in the elevator. I remember wishing I had taken the stairs but then realizing they probably smelled worse and might be unsafe to boot. I remember the greasy feel of the air in the hallway, the dingy, indeterminate color of paint applied ages ago, the scuffed tile floor scattered with trash and cigarette butts, the yellowed ceiling above.
I waited long moments after I knocked, listening to the shuffling sound of his approach, the wheeze of his breathing. Struggling for composure, I breathed deeply but choked on the stench. As Nickie's father opened the door I saw that the apartment was dark. Roaches scuttled away from the splash of hallway light on the kitchen floor and counters.
"Mr. Moore? My name is Carol. I work at Miriam's House, where your daughter, um, lives. May I come in?"
He opened the door further and I walked in to the same smell as the hallway, only concentrated. Breathing through my mouth, I wrenched my mind away from the wretched place and the disturbing thought of his living there. The elderly, infirm man shuffled and wheezed his way to the only chair in the tiny space.
"Who are you?" He had sat down heavily and he peered at me from rheumy eyes that I was not sure could distinguish anything much at all. I stood uneasily before him.
"I'm Carol." I tried again, "I work at Miriam's House with Nickie. I came to talk with you about her."
"Nickie?"
"Your daughter," I said faintly, quelling the rising nausea that now had less to do with the smell than it did with consuming sorrow that any human being had to live like this. I looked around the dingy apartment to find a phone, a conviction growing in me that I would be unable to make him understand, and hoping to call someone, maybe a neighbor, to come over.
"Sir, I'm afraid I have bad news for you. I am so very sorry. Sir?"
He had dropped his head and I noticed for the first time a fine trembling of all his body, as though within him sounded a tightly tuned cello string. I could not tell whether he had understood what I'd said.
"Sir?"
"Nickie."
"Yes. Yes, sir, I have come to tell you about Nickie. Your daughter." A fathomless river of suffering flooded ancient banks and boiled up through the soles of my feet.
He shook his head. "Nickie? Where is she?"
"Mr. Moore, do you have a friend living here? On this floor? Is there someone who can help us right now?"
"Herman. Next door."
And that is where my memory stops. I must have found Herman, he must have helped me find phone numbers for Mr. Moore's two sons. We must have called them, because I know I left with the assurance that a son was on his way. It would be a family member and not a stranger who would try to make this father understand that his only daughter was dead
Pre-order HERE
Readers,
The contributions are in from Jennifer Tseng, Catie Disabato, Chris Hedges, Edan Lepucki, Christopher Irvin, and more! Themes like desire, escape, and danger are presenting themselves, and we can't wait to share these wonderful literary pieces with you.
Check out the media coverage WHAT HAPPENED HERE has been receiving:
From Publishing Perspectives: http://publishingperspectives.com/2015/09/indie-bookstores-use-inkshares-to-publish-own-anthologies/
From Shelf Awareness: http://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=2592#m29809
From Publisher's Weekly: http://publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/68020-papercuts-j-p-marks-first-year-with-a-book.html
From Dig Boston: https://digboston.com/deep-cuts-papercuts-jp-celebrates-one-year-birthday-with-first-anthology/
We've also added an excerpt from "Growing Things," a story from Paul Tremblay (author of A HEAD FULL OF GHOSTS) that we are so excited to be publishing!
Thank you for pre-ordering, and please help us spread the word about our exciting project!
xoxo
Kate & Katie
NYCC - What an amazing time! Four full days of AWESOME! Here are some EPIC PICS!
TL;DR
(You can read my FULL blog post of NYCC here, below is just an excerpt!)
I want to give a HUGE shout out to all my “new” New York Comic Con Friends and welcome you to the RUNE OF THE APPRENTICE community! We are all pretty excited for the book to come out, but because it is months away from being in your hands, we are biding our time by playing video games, doing local D.C. / NYC meet ups, and hanging on Twitch, Facebook and Twitter where we talk and enjoy books/ comics/ videogames/ movies and all things related. Most importantly we are super happy to have you new folks join us! In that same vein, if you know of anyone else who loves EPIC Fantasy/Science-Fiction storytelling, ask them to get the book and join us, too—all for free!
YES I SAID EBOOK FOR FREE, because of you (and the epicness of Comic Con) your friends can get an e-book version of RUNE for FREE! Inkshares (my publisher) is really excited to spread the word about RUNE and (FOR A LIMITED TIME, SO HURRY) is still offering promotional credits to new community members via referral. Because of this, people can either get the RUNE e-book for free, or the hard cover for half off! Enjoy the credits while they last though, because word on the street says they will be going away VERY SOON (we are talking days here, people, so hustle!)
To get this SUPER DEEP discount all YOU need to do is share RUNE on FACEBOOK or TWITTER via the Inkshares website (Facebook/twitter/email thumbnail) and then tell your friends to click the link. Once on the Inkshares site, your friends just need to create a new Inkshares account and then click the “follow” button on either RUNE OF THE APPRENTICE or myself, the author Jamison Stone (that's me!) and then wait 10-15 min for the new credits to arrive.
After that, your friends will then have enough credits to be able to get the RUNE e-book for free! (If they want to get an additional $5 in credits then can then click the “recommend on Inkshares” button, too.) Also, once the credits are up, not only can then get the e-book, BUT YOU get $15 in Inkshares credits for referring them and you can spend said credits on another copy of RUNE or another of the great books on Inkshares. For suggestions check out CORA (SF) and BLOOD DAWN (Fantasy) both are great reads!
This is a great opportunity to get some really amazing storytelling at no charge and join a super passionate community, so don't pass it up! The publisher won't be doing this for much longer so HURRY PEOPLE and don't miss out!
ALSO, always feel free to drop me a line in the comments, and come visit on Inkshares. RUNE OF THE APPRENTICE is for you all to enjoy, and just because the book is not out yet, does not mean you can't get your RUNIC fix over at Inkshares, Twitch, Twitter, or Facebook!
Keep in touch with me and our community, not only to hang out and play games in person and via Twitch but also to get access to the insider scoop about new Cons (you will NOT want to miss out on the SECRET CON which is having its soft launch in March, see my full blog posting for more details about how you can win tickets!) Also, Twitch is the best way for us all to hang out because I am horribly addicted to video games, but also because we can actually hang out there via webcam, chat, and actually play games together! Just hit the "follow" button on my Twitch page, and you are good go!
Lastly, if you have extra Inkshares Credits to spend, I suggest taking a look at CORA (SF) and BLOOD DAWN (Fantasy) They are both great reads! Enjoy!
Remember, this was only an excerpt of my FULL blog post of NYCC which you can read HERE! I look forward to hearing from you all on Inkshares, Twitch, Twitter, or Facebook!
See you space cowboys/cowgirls!
Dear, dear Readers,
Thank you for helping ENHANCED finish the Nerdist/Inkshares Contest a strong 12th on the Leaderboard. You kept us in the top 3.6% the entire time. That's something to celebrate. But after 6-1/2 weeks of every introvert's waking nightmare -- self-promotion -- I needed to take 3 days off. Well, maybe a week. Well... Now it's been two glorious, freeing, soul-replenishing weeks, and I feel almost human again. And ENHANCED is still here, growing.
While Robb and I would be grateful if each of you convinced a friend or three to pre-order ENHANCED, maybe you know an independent bookstore owner who would just love to corner the market on a Young Adult scifi book with the potential to spread its appeal like Harry Potter, and get said owner to pre-order, oh, say, 500 - 700 books. That's be super.
In the meantime, there are a few other books you really should take a look at.
Inkshares only Roach Punk entry, Single Version, by Scott Barsotti is unique and intriguing and, I feel, the best written book in the Top 11. He's 195 orders away from meeting his ebook goal. He needs 6.5 orders a day to get there. Please take a good look. And bring your friends.
Disintegration by Steve Soldwedel is a quick-paced, hard-driving, fight against an overwhelming foe with warriors, intrigue, and adventure tied together with strands of homemade hope. He's got six chapters up. Read enough of them to see if you don't agree it deserves to be published, then support him if you do. I know I do, and I have.
If you like humor reminiscent of Monty Python or Douglas Adams, check out this romping farce focused on England's National Health Service, Presenting Complaints by Jamie Brindle, who just so happens to be a doctor who works in the system and writes to keep his sanity.
For good old classic scifi with a contemporary flavor, try Ghosts of War by Paul Robinson. It's got everything: planet hopping, revenge and retribution, action and adventure, twists and turns, and fun.
See? Something for everyone. Even you.
5 authors got lucky on September 30th, when The Contest ended, but there are more on Inkshares who need Readers to see their value and believe in them enough to turn them into publications, too. You can do it. Pick your favorites and tell your friends.
Thanks for your help and your foresight. Thanks for believing.
Sue
Two weeks ago I received my Developmental Edits from my fantabulous editor Lindsay from Girl Friday Productions -- a day or so before I was beside myself with anxiety and anticipation, so I posted this on Twitter:
Dev edits coming in on Friday. SCREEEOOONNNKKK. Was that my heart making a Godzilla noise? Why yes, yes it was.
Happy Satupdaturday!
Quick update to let you know how things are progressing, particularly since people keep stopping me and asking when they can get a copy of the book.
Hey all,
Have some big news to share today -- Feyside has an illustrator! The massively talented LJ Ruell has agreed to grace the project with his keen design eye. LJ is an artist and illustrator with a number of projects and gallery showings beneath his belt. Internet historians may also recall an art project of his as the beneficiary of the first successfully funded Kickstarter... don't ever tell him, but I therefore consider him a good-luck totem and his participation a major source of positive ju-ju for this crowdfunding project!
LJ will be helping to lock down the depiction of the characters, the gear, and the worlds of Feyside and the Sixteen Baronies. We're also talking cover art and interior flourishes! Below are some of his keen preliminary designs for our four lead characters:
...and this is just the beginning! I'm very much looking forward to sharing with you more of LJ's brilliant depictions as we proceed.