Facing Fears

Yesterday, my

book

came out.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We know, Pam. You've inundated Facebook and Twitter with posts and we're kind of over it.  

Well, folks, to be honest with you, so am I. As a self published author, I have to wear many hats, including marketer and publicist. I would really prefer to sit in front of a computer by myself and write, but now I have the responsibility to put myself out there. Putting myself out there involves conversing with people and reading in front of them. At one point in my life, the idea of standing in front of others and moving my lips scared the pants off of me. Not literally, of course, but it certainly felt that way. I felt naked and vulnerable, eyeing the room for the closest exit.

But not anymore!

Last night I spoke at the

Pine River Public Library

in lovely Bayfeld, Colorado. The event was slated to begin at four and there were about 5 people. Easy peasy lemon squeezy, I thought. But as I began to read, people crept in and the room began to fill. While Bayfield isn't known for its punctuality, it is known for its support. 

Dan Miller.  He's in the book.  

For those who know me, this picture right here is a rarity. I'm giving people hugs. It happened a lot last night. I deem the event "Hugapalooza 2015." It felt so wonderful to be back in my hometown with people I haven't seen in five years.

Here I'm chatting with an old friend and the lady to my right just showed up. I felt like such a celebrity!

Last night I learned that the library is having a local author book sale in December. I am sending them signed copies of my book (Yes, I decided to have it printed.) All proceeds will go to

Cate Harding

and her family. So, if you're in the area go buy one.

A Party at a Funeral Home

Who would have a party at a funeral home? (Well, it wasn't actually a funeral home in the traditional sense. It was the

Neptune Society

.) 

Me.

And right here next to me is. Amber. She won the coffin that contains the cremated remains of my edited pages.

Check it out.

Is that sweet or what?

Even though I self published, I still wanted to have a party to celebrate the book. Since Barnes & Noble was out of the picture, I chose the Neptune Society to host the party because...a.) the book is about death and b.). I think cremation is the way to go. It was a match made in Marketing 101. 

Anyway, I chose to have the party on November 1, since it is the Day of the Dead and there were three people I wanted to honor--Tommy, Khristian and Lovina. They all died in the month of November, so I thought it was a fitting time to release the book.

The book officially comes out on November 13. I will be having my official "Launch" party in Durango, Colorado at the Pine River Public Library. There will not be blood. There will be cupcakes.

If you haven't already seen it, here's my book trailer. 

Thanks to all the people who showed up at the party. I REALLY appreciate it.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

I went to the library to get some spooky movies for Halloween, but everything was pretty much picked over. Undeterred, I ventured over to the new release shelf and I found this gem. I'd never heard of

Me and Early and the Dying Girl

, but that's not saying much. I am way outside of the pop culture loop.

This movie is not spooky or scary in the Halloween sense, but if you liked

The Fault In Our Stars

, you will totally dig this movie. My daughter and I loved it. We laughed. We cried. Oh boy did we cry. It was probably a good thing we watched this at home with a large supply of Kleenex.

Without giving away spoilers, the basic story is that a teenage boy is encouraged by his mother to befriend a girl with cancer. And that's all I'm going to say.

Have you seen it?

What did you think?

Does crying in the movies embarrass you?

Do you like movies that make you cry?

I do.

In unrelated news, Karen Lemke won the Fire Tablet for posting on the blog in October. It's in the mail!