With all of the responsibilities and craziness of getting “Season On the Brink” out into the world and getting the word out I have not been able to get on the blog in a while and update people on what's up. So, here's what's up.
I've already begun the sequel to “Season On the Brink.” I began on July 11 and have about 25 chapters of my first draft done. I'm hoping to have a complete first draft ready sometime in September. I've got the story mapped out, and I know the major beats, it's just a matter of connecting the dots and putting the pieces together now.
I created one new character that I'm love with for the sequel. She's a transfer student that starts off as an antagonist to one of our heroes. She's a major pain in the butt in the beginning. Haven't decided quite yet if she will still be a jerk in the end. She's got some issues of her own. It's not easy being the new kid, after all.
I haven't decided on a name for the sequel as of yet. It has to be just right, and I haven't come up with one that I just love, yet. It will come. For now the working title is “Sequel On the Brink.” You can bet that that will be changing. I may be having another book signing event in September for all of you that could not make it out to the first one.
I was approached recently by someone that hosts such events and he said that he was hoping I could do one at his place. Talk about being touched. It came out of left field, and really made me happy. It's just cool when people are noticing what you're doing. I'm also trying to set up a speaking engagement at a local church for September or October. The themes in SOTB are important for young people to hear, and discuss. I'm hoping that we will be able to have the parents come too. Selling a couple of books would be great, but having a platform to put good into the world is the biggest reward.
Speaking of putting good into the world, it is no secret that I love my hometown of Falmouth. It's a great place. It ain't perfect, but it's pretty cool. Last night Lyra and I were able to do something that made a difference, and was the most fun we've had all summer long. Our local rock stars, Crooked Coast, held the first ever Coast Fest in Falmouth Harbor. The two of us volunteered, and got so much more out of it than we gave.
Lyra served at the merchandise table, selling t-shirts and hats and CDs and stuff. She enjoyed it, and met some great people along the way. I had the difficult job of being a sort of backstage liaison for the talents and their guests. Basically, I kept the water cooler full and cold, directed people to where stuff was, had some fun conversations about rock and roll, and got to watch six hours of great indie music from the side stage. Oh, I also made a beer run late in the day for CC and was told I was a superhero for getting back before they went on for the last set of the night.
If you live on the Cape and didn't get out to see the show, you really need to plan on Coast Fest 2020 because it will be even better. All of the bands that played last night put on great sets, and had so much fun doing it. The highlight was obviously Crooked Coast. They were great, the energy was fantastic and the crowd sung along to every word. I also really dug The Quins and Naomi Westwater. I believe all of them can be found on Spotify.
If were to recommend one song to give you an idea of who Crooked Coast is, I'd say start with “Icarus.” It's such a catchy song. They opened with it, and it's been my favorite since they debuted it a year or so ago. “Cape Cod” is also a lot of fun, and I dig “Rumrunner's Prayer” and “People Say” as well. Just being out there really made me feel a connection to my awesome community. Obviously, I know a lot of people in town, and ran into some faces I had not seen in years. Off the top of my head, it was great to run into Shea Shea Maguire, Bobby Whelan, Cody Murray, the Saunders twins and Marky, Shizz/JJ/Harry, my new friend Jenna, Sammy H, Tara, and so many others.
Oh, and the real superhero yesterday, that was Matt Kinsella. What a great job, hat's off, dude.