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Hello to all of my reading friends and colleagues. I know I have been M.I.A. on here for a good while now, but trust me, I have good reason. But before I get into all of that I would like to share with you this quote I found a link to early this week.
“Becoming a writer is not a ‘career decision’ like becoming a doctor or a policeman. You don’t choose it so much as get chosen, and once you accept the fact that you’re not fit for anything else, you have to be prepared to walk a long, hard road for the rest of your days.” ~ Paul Auster
Thank you, Mr. Auster, I couldn’t have said it better. The only thing I would add to it is that if you are a reader/book reviewer, and guest judge for novel award events, that hard road is gonna have some lovely bumps in it along the way as well. With those words in mind I have to share with you a long list of projects that I somehow managed to juggle over this past year.
For starters, this year has been crazy busy with me reading novels and stories for at least three Novel Award events.
1. Reading for the RONE’ (Romance Novel Awards – event held in Vegas but I missed it because I went to the coast – Biloxi, Miss. – with my family). Check out my cool badge in the sidebar. I love it! http://www.indtale.com/2014-rone-awards
2. The Rainbow Novel Awards (LGBT Event). One last book to read for this one and am I done! http://www.elisarolle.com/index.html
3. And I’m still not sure how I got the job, since December 2013, I’ve read over 80 submissions for the AARP/Huff-Post 50 memoir contest. One of my favorites actually ended up as a top 10 finalist. (Yay!) The winner gets a big cash prize and will be published by Simon & Shuster. How cool is that? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/25/memoir-contest_n_4323330.html
By that, you should know I have not had time for much of anything else. I won’t have the heart to read anything else for a good while. Mental overload is the best way to describe what is going on in my crazy head. I’m suffering from too much information as it is, but I have loved every minute of it! (Smile)
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Upcoming Event(s):
It has been a while, but I am very happy to report that I am about to take part in a fantastic blog/radio interview. This one is hosted by J`son M. Lee, a man who wears many hats in the entertainment business, including owner of Sweet Georgia Press, a media, news, and publishing company based in Baltimore, Maryland. http://www.sweetgeorgiapress.com/ I am beyond words in thanks for the opportunity to be interviewed by J`son for his live broadcast on September 24th. Please check out the post and if you would like, please tune in to the show. I am beside myself with excitement over this event and hope I don’t embarrass myself from being so thrilled!
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For those who are not familiar, I was one of the indie authors featured in last year’s IndieVengeance Mass Book Signing Event in Dallas. That was an extremely wonderful opportunity for me and getting the chance to hang out with so many authors that I had only met online was beyond amazing. We had authors from coast to coast USA, plus 1 from Canada, and 3 all the way from Australia! If you missed it, you can read all about it here: https://tracyjamesjones.wordpress.com/2013/10/11/indie-vengeance-day-weekend-begins/ or search my blog for ‘Indie-Vengeance’ and all the pages will come up.
So now, again in October 2014, the IndieVegeance Day Event is on again. Though we may not have all of the authors in appearance from last year’s event, we do have a big mixture of returning authors and one young lady, who came out to see us and is now a published author herself, will be included in the mix. A few new authors will be joining us as well, including a children’s author from Spain! How about that? Check out the promotional photo below. If possible, we would love to see you there!
October 25th, 2014, I will have a solo book signing in Denton. I am also working on at least three other events in the Dallas area, so please stay tuned for more details. Should I have one close to home, I will certainly be sure to pass that information here, twitter, and my Facebook author page.
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My final news has nothing to do with writing or reading at all, but it is a feature event that will showcase me and my book “Secrets & Lies.” The occasion is a gallery photo exhibit this November in Syracuse, New York. Before I jump all out of my skin over it again, let me share the story of how this came about…
It was sometime this summer that I met an up-and-coming New York Photographer online. At the time, he had a fundraiser going for him to be able to travel across the United States taking photos of transgender and gender non-confirming individuals for a gallery event and possible table book. The point of the project was to showcase these types of people and what they have to offer the world outside of their sexualities. On his website he had a form for people who would be interested in being in his project to fill out with their personal stories. Well, being that I was on break from reading at the moment, I filled out the form. Next thing I knew I was on his list because he said he loved my story. (Wow!) So, he left New York – Syracuse – August 18th and traveled the northern states all the way across to L.A. On his way back, he traveled the southern states, but when he found he could not make it through Texas because he wanted to spent time with his family in Oklahoma before heading on to Little Rock, Arkansas, he asked me to meet him in Oklahoma City to take my picture. How cool was that? (It was a great weekend for pictures and I had a blast). Now that his travels are finally over, he has posted that he will be showcasing those he had photographed in a gallery event in November, and I will be featured in this event!
The event is called The Transcending Gender Project and if you would like to know more about it or would even like to be a part of it, please following this link: http://www.transcendinggender.org/ Sorry to say that I will not be able to attend the event in person, at least not this one, but I will share one of the photos and the information about the gallery event.
505 Hawley Ave.
Syracuse, New York 13201
When: November 8th & 9th, 2014
P.S. – If you are in the Syracuse area, please stop by the event and be sure to tell the Photographer, Rhys Harper, that you got the information from me. He will love that!
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Whew! That was a lot of information, huh? Yeah, I know. And the year isn’t even over yet. I have no idea about any other events, but I promise you all that I will keep you informed as best as I can. Thank you so much for staying with me throughout this post. You guys are the best. Big hugs & much love ~ Tracy J.