May 2023 News
Hi. May we begin?
I broke my toe April 1st. Ask me if it still hurts.
Does it still hurt?
Yes.
Are you supposed to italicize the question mark?
For f's sake I have no idea, despite Lee Burton's efforts to educate me. Probably not.
Writing
Last month I was wrapping up copy edits and I mentioned getting the book out to ARC readers. That's all done and as of now there are about 30 ARCs being read. I might boost that number with a service like BookFunnel or BookSprout. Because why not? The more reviews drop when the book launches the better.
Haven't finished the Amazon preorder page because there are questions needing answering. Part of the book's mandatory details include Publisher, which will be Sky Island Publishing. They launched my first book and is who I'd like to rely on for all book endeavors. This means I need to establish that LLC again. I just don't remember how.
How bout this: I'll aim to have the preorder page up by June. That gives me one month to sort out the LLC.
Kayaks
Would you believe we had a record April? I feel like "we had a record..." is how I start a lot of these posts. I suppose I'll keep doing it as long as we keep breaking personal records. In April 2023 we did approximately 400% of the business we did in April 2022.
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| noe canew |
We also bought a new canoe, and are in the process of buying about 5 more kayaks. We'll need some at our new location, on our new (to us) lake: Lake Russell. By this time next month we will be the kayak renters and concession sellers for Richard B Russell State Park. We start there Memorial Day.
Slight frustration: LHKRAD has things to sell. Hats and stickers so far, but more on the horizon, and I don't have a reliable way to sell them. I suppose the problem is information overload. There are a hundred services that will host the store front. There are a hundred other services that will do shipping for me, and even store products in a warehouse. I have not devoted enough time to research and pull the trigger on anything. I hope that improves by this time next month.
How bout this: I'll plan to have an online store by next month. However, last year we did $2,924 in the month of May. If trends continue as they have so far this year and we do 400% of that number, I won't have time to do a damn thing but pull kayaks, wash kayaks, and put gas in the truck. We'll see.
Paludarium
She's rocking, baby. Just still adjusting to her new inhabitants, including "Bug", the goldfish, who has sucked down every bit of algae, the freaking hog.
I don't necessarily regret bringing a goldfish home... but, much like pugs and hairless cats, goldfish are decorative aberrations that cannot self-regulate and would benefit from total annihilation.
While watching our goldfish gorge itself I'm reminded of what Ber, the uergata chieftain, says to Irdessa the Undying about the orcanes of Fohrvylda:
“Mankind, for all its misguided efforts, regressed them into a fate worse than death. Cancer. Vostuar rejects what they have become.”
In the case of Bug the goldfish, I suppose it's Voa'ur, the goddess of water, who rejects what they've become.
Next Month
Ok, to review goals:
- Store is online with LHKRAD merch (and LRK merch? And Silexare merch??)
- LRK logo is live, as are social media sites and the website.
- Preorder is live for Violence & Vigilance, book one of Turesia Untamed.
- V&V cover is COMPLETE including typography, which is where we're hung up at the moment. Ball's not in my court. If it hasn't moved by this time next month I will change typographers.
See you then
dtl