From the Parisian Phoenix Birdhouse (we even have a mascot)
The Phulasso Devotional launches, collaborations blossom, more new books, free events and all the babble that's fit to print
Hello my ever-changing and ever-growing fellow birds! March certainly came in like a lion, and in my opinion went out like a lion, but I might have a biased view. The weather has been warm then cold then warm then wet, every day completely different. Isn’t life like that sometimes?
It certainly has been here. March brought much excitement for the publishing company with Thurston’s release of The Phulasso Devotional, the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group Write Stuff Conference, collaboration with Echo City Capers, production of Larry Sceurman’s short story collection, Coffee in the Morning, and planning for a cornucopia of events for National Bookstore Day April 29.
So, friends, please read on to hear more about all of these events, upcoming releases and the silliness I hope you enjoy reading from us. And know that in the midst of all this, a certain author (me, Angel Ackerman) has stalled on writing the fourth installment of The Fashion and Fiends series, Road Trip. For our paid subscribers, there will be an excerpt from that novel. (If only to prove to fans that I am still writing it. Blame the delay on Parisian Phoenix’s success. It’s a problem I am happy to have.)
THE WRITE STUFF
At the end of March, Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group hosted their first in-person Write Stuff Conference since “the covid.” I did not plan to attend the event, because I was scheduled to volunteer at The Lehigh Valley Book Festival happening the same weekend. Life took a turn— similar to how March did this year— with my health being rather good then poor in inexplicable patterns. In mid-March I ended up admitted to the hospital when all I thought I needed was some stitches from the ER.
That is a rather indirect way to tell you how I became Joan Zachary’s photo assistant at the conference on Saturday, and I found myself surrounded by acquaintances I hadn’t seen in a decade who now had the good fortune of indirectly serving as my babysitter.
I purchased keynote speaker Maria V. Snyder’s first book, Poison Study, at the conference. I’ve been meaning to read it for a decade. Maria gave a very eye-opening keynote address at the conference about her career, and how much of it she owes to the Australian market, and her current strategic move into hybrid publishing.
Maria’s books “earned out” her advances, as they say in publishing, but she still got dropped with recent consolidations and staffing changes.
And if memory serves, I believe she attributed this turn of phrase to the Australians: pioneer versus homesteader. Now, in my twenty-somethings, I made an effort to hone my craft and traditionally publish my novels and that’s when I started hearing conversations about planning your stories.
“Do you plot?” people would ask, “or do you write and see what happens?”
Somewhere in my child-rearing years, this became “plotter” and “pantser,” as in fly-by-the-seat-of-yours. And I have heard European authors refer to it as “plotter” or “discover writer.”
But I like this concept Maria mentioned in her keynote. Are you a pioneer— seeking to explore and see what you find and build something from it or are you a homesteader— carefully building your own ecosystem one careful decision and effort at a time?
While at the conference, I also purchased Suzanne Mattaboni’s “eighties novel” Once in a Lifetime. I haven’t started Poison Study, because I’m too far behind on my TBR pile. But I had thrown Once in a Lifetime in my purse to keep me company in all the medical waiting rooms.
As in my habit, I reviewed the book on Goodreads and tagged the author however I could on social media— and she quoted me to others saying, “I love this person on Goodreads!” I really do mean it when I say Parisian Phoenix works to unite artists and writers and that we promote not only our books, but an environment of inclusion whether or not you are officially under our roof.
APRIL SHOWERS BRING… NEW BOOKS?
We told you to Save the Date for April 29.
We have now launched the schedule for National Independent Bookstore Day at downtown Easton’s Book and Puppet Company. And we warned you that the 29th and 30th were also The Arts Community of Easton Open Studio Tour.
And technically it’s the end of National Poetry Month.
So we are celebrating everything! Free events at Book & Puppet start at 2 p.m. and end with an open mic that starts at 5 p.m.
We will also be selling books from Parisian Phoenix and Echo City Capers, and special postcards featuring art by Maryann Riker, an ACE member who painted the covers of Twists and The Phulasso Devotional, AND special “guest books,” the Kink Noir series by William Prystauk, who contributed an essay to our Not an Able-Bodied White Man with Money anthology.
And we may… but no promises… have actual copies of Coffee in the Morning, which isn’t scheduled for release until May, but there’s a chance we might finish it early. Don’t tell Larry. If we manage to pull it off it would be a great surprise.
The special collaboration with Echo City Capers is also the soft kick-off of Parisian Phoenix Kittens, our children’s book imprint. And coming soon, probably summer, we will launch Parisian Phoenix Kink, our erotic line, with a nonfiction title by Ralph Greco about writing erotic fiction and his career in the industry.
As research, I recently read Susie Bright’s How to Read/Write an Erotic Story, which, despite its age and its subject matter, holds up as a basic how-to-write for any genre. I know that sounds ridiculous, but her exercises, writing prompts and information would benefit anyone transitioning from hobby to professional writing. Trust me.
Our photographer, Joan Zachary, had given me the book and even once attended an in-person workshop with Ms. Bright. Speaking of photography and our illustrious, talented Joan— she has a photograph in the Lehigh Valley Photography Club’s juried exhibit opening tomorrow at the Allentown Art Museum.
And now onto the
RANDOM BOOK NEWS
Ingram Content Group, which operates IngramSpark/Lightning Source print-on-demand book publishing services, announced layoffs here in Pennsylvania that will culminate in the closure of the Lehigh Valley facility, relocating it toward the south-central of the state in Chambersburg.
It makes me wonder if the move is because of rising labor costs increasing land values here in the Lehigh Valley, as more and more warehousing operations replace the traditional farmland to take advantage of the areas criss-crossing highways and proximity to not only Philadelphia and New York, but also several airports and the New Jersey/New York ports. Moving to Chambersburg retains those same advantages with minimal changes in an area that remains more rural.
And Book Depository— the online bookseller in the United Kingdom purchased by Amazon about a decade ago, will close at the end of April.
RANDOM FUN STUFF
What we are reading:
Author Jess Rinker’s substack: Disclosure— I went to high school with Jessica, and we have connected in the past decades a few times as Jess moved away from her role as a mother and into her life as… well… herself. Other moms will understand. Parents who fall into or decide to raise children early in life don’t often have a chance to fully explore their own interests until later. Jess decided to earn her MFA in children’s and YA lit and embarked on a career that spanned a children’s books about the first female firefighter in New York City (Send a Girl) and YA books about a duo known as The Dare Sisters. But writing in the traditional publishing world is exhausting and Jess, like most, supplements her income by teacher other writers (who will then perpetuate the whole circle). Her husband is also a writer. The couple has had some brutally real real-life experiences, worthy of their own movie, and Jess reflects and writes with such poignancy even her pain has a surreal, hopeful beauty.
Diary of a Man called Jesus by Robin Reichert: This one comes from a GLVWG member and tackles the “lost years” of Jesus’ life through her fictionalized account of what happened. The concept is the ultimate use of historical fiction to not only entertain, but also to explore what might have happened to inspire an entire religion. The book design is tight, and there are some factual errors about the actual religious history. But I wonder what the author will do with her set-up as the story progresses.
What we want to read:
A Game of Hearts and Heists by Ruby Roe: Sacha Black is a very savvy self-published author who recently decided to not pursue her typical commercial writing and write the book she wanted to write. She did it with a secret pseudonym and would not reveal the book or her new identity until the book launch. And now she’s sharing with podcast listeners and Patreon supporters the lessons she learned starting from scratch with the knowledge of an established author. To hear more about Sacha, check out The Rebel Author podcast.
Stolen Things by R(achael) H. Herron: Rachael Herron wrote the page-turning thriller Hush Little Baby that impressed me in every way possible. This is her earlier thriller and she uses some of her own experience as a police dispatcher.
What we are watching:
Special Forces: The World’s Toughest Test, on Hulu. Sixteen celebrities participate in a selection training modeled after the United States Special Forces. From Jamie Spears to professional athletes, this reality program really makes you consider what you’d be capable of and the “winners” might surprise you.
Alaska Daily, recently finished on ABC: Hillary Swank as a canceled New York City journalist lands as a reporter in Anchorage, Alaska. Two stellar things about the series: the questions it asks about the role of journalism AND the attention it brings to issues faced by indigenous populations.
Shrinking and Schmigadoon, on Apple TV: Shrinking offers just the right mix of fun characters who screw up, quirkiness, and intelligence. Harrison Ford plays the boss therapist trying to stay relevant and battle Parkinson’s. I’d say it’s worth it just for him but the show has a lot more to offer. Schmigadoon, on the other hand, I gave it a try because the commercials for the upcoming season sucked me in. I’m not sure if the show is mindlessly entertaining or too corny to bear. But season two promises to be as dark as season one was cheerful… so I’m not sure where I’ll land. But if you want to see what life might be like if we lived in a musical, this show is for you.
Meanwhile if anyone has watched the reboot of Night Court, please let me know your thoughts. Night Court was my first favorite TV show ever, so as much as I love Melissa Rauch, I’m not sure I can do it.
OPINIONS NEEDED:
How important are public libraries?
What do you expect from a public library in today’s world?
In my area, small public libraries are struggling. My family has had someone serving on my local library board of trustees for about 15 years. Small libraries have always struggled with proper funding, but since the pandemic, another shift in usage has happened.
Some communities are no longer supporting their libraries. That means residents of towns that pull out of library cooperations no longer can visit the library. Many libraries have imposed “non-resident fees” ranging from $25 to $50 per year. Our library had a one-time charge for non-residents of $5 basically to cover the costs of issuing a physical library card.
But in the age of digital downloads, ebooks and library services like Hoopla, will an ultra-small library with modest fees attract users who can no longer use their home library? Will these users create a drain on services?
What is the role of the 21st Century Library? Who do they serve and what do they need to do?
EXCERPT FROM ROAD TRIP
Volume Four of the Fashion and Fiends series
By Angel Ackerman
CHAPTER ONE, MARCH 2003
Water dripped from the air conditioner onto the carpet. The ceiling fan rattled as it spun. The room hadn’t cooled, but the moisture in the air felt more tolerable. Jules peeled off the army-issue sandy-colored t-shirt, kicked off the unfamiliar ranger boots, discarded the socks and shimmied out of the leopard print fatigue pants—not even sure what had happened to the boxers. He headed straight for the bathroom, only a step away from the hotel room door. He met his reflection in the mirror— sunburned, exhausted, black hair tinted “blond” from the dust of his travels. He pulled his hair free of its ratty ponytail and ran his hand across his stubbled jaw line.
How the Hell did all of this happen? Merely days ago, he was helping his wealthy employer Basilie Saint-Ebène d’Amille and her family settle into their Parisian apartment. One month ago, they had been in the United States, with hopes of cocktail parties and a newborn child to puncture the depression of Basilie’s husband, flighty fashion magnate Étienne d’Amille. Two months ago, he was wearing chef whites in the kitchen of an up-and-coming Parisian restaurant, where Étienne loved the langoustines.
He started the shower. He dreamed of hot water, but in downtown Djibouti there were no hot water heaters. With sun always shining, 90 percent humidity, and an average temperature about 32 degrees Celsius, heating water for a shower meant wasting energy in this developing nation. The shampoo on the edge of the sink featured black tint, which he might be able to use with his natural hair color, and the soap… well, one didn’t get luxuries in this hotel despite its status as one of the nicer places in the neighborhood.
He stepped into the shower, water pelting him, sprinkling beyond the flimsy shower curtain and headed toward the floor drain in the middle of the bathroom floor. Before this, he had traveled a few places in France, Germany and the United States, primarily places where his extended family lived or where his culinary school internships and later career had sent him. This was Africa. Hard core Africa.
He arrived here via a hole in the sky. He chuckled. Not exactly. In addition to his plebeian life as an executive chef, he had what one might consider an unpaid side gig. As if being a 26-year-old chef working eighty hours a week didn’t offer enough challenges, he had inherited a supernatural calling—he served as “protector” for the “guardian” of “water power.” He received this unique position six years ago this coming August when apparently his predecessor had died. He still didn’t understand it all. He approached it as the metaphysical equivalent of punching a time clock and going home. And now, it had provided him with a free bonus vacation to Djibouti. But he didn’t have a passport to get home.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Parisian Phoenix Bookish Babble to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.