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Last year, for our anniversary, Crysta and I went down to the Big Sky Drive In in the Wisconsin Dells for our anniversary, and then got Paul Bunyan’s with my brother David and his partner Mary the day after. Because it looked like Stardust was still going to be closed for 2026, we actually did that again at the beginning of June this year as well… even if I accidentally booked a worse hotel this time around.
And while I like the Big Sky Drive In, it’s not as nice as Stardust and (more importantly) too far to just do on a casual weekend.
But the universe decided to finally be kind to us, because for the first time I can remember a closed drive in movie theater reopened. This weekend, under new ownership, the Stardust Drive In in Chetek had its soft opening. They’re running a bit barebones on concessions and just did one movie per screen instead of double features, but the place is genuinely, fully back.
They’re still ironing out all the kinks (as I said, it’s a soft open), but oh my god it was so nice to go back there again.
We’ll probably still do a Big Sky Drive In weekend next year in the Dells, but mostly because it’s nice to have some variety (and hang out with David and Mary). It takes a lot of pressure off of that trip too knowing that we’ll have other drive in experiences throughout the summer. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: if you live near a drive in movie theater, please patronize it. These are all independent operations, and seeing movies out under the stars is the best way to experience them.
Or at least I think it is.
One of the hardest parts of being an independent creator is getting anyone to actually look at the stuff you’ve made. Like, writing a comic? Writing a novel? These are things I know how to do. But making things is not the same as promoting things.
And I never quite know how to go about doing it.
Like in less than two months, I have a new book coming out. Like the previous one, I’ve been trying to arrange ARCs for readers (though last time I used a service and this time I’m doing it myself). I’ve run some Facebook and Tumblr ads, and I have no idea if book trailers work. But, like, I made a book trailer anyways:
And besides just spamming my own social media accounts, I don’t really know what else to do. Like I’ve got in-person events scheduled, but beyond that I’m out of ideas.
We run into this same problem with comics. Like we came out with a print collection for the current comic I’m working on with Ethan Flanagan called Peregrine Lake. While I would love to sell more print copies, mostly i just want people to read it. Promoting a webcomic in 2026 is a lot harder than promoting a webcomic was in 2009. A lot of the infrastructure for that kind of promo evaporated a while ago.
So we’re trying shit, and hoping something works.
I don’t really know if there really is a solution beyond “keep plugging away and maybe it will work,” but it just kind of sucks. There are ad systems that just a few years ago worked pretty well, but now barely produce any returns. With people moving to closed platforms, it’s hard to tell when something is catching on or not.
So I keep trying.
Who the hell knows if any of it is working.
So one of the biggest challenges for a lot of indie authors who self publish like me is getting our books in front of other people’s eyeballs to begin with. One of the easiest solutions is getting real, honest reviews onto platforms like Goodreads, Storygraph, social media platforms, and online stores like Amazon. These only really work if they’re honest, real reviews too — most readers can spot a fake review from a mile away.
So how does a writer get these needed eyeballs on their work? With ARCs (Advance Reader Copies).
An author like me will give out copies of their books ahead of release with the hopes that the readers will post (ideally positive) reviews of their work upon release date. And doI say “hopes” because I cannot require reviews to be posted per the rules of the various platforms. The issue is figuring out who to give those ARCs to. You don’t want to send them to people who will never read the book, and you definitely don’t want to send them to folks who might leak the book to people before release date.
So, as I’ve posted before, I have a new book coming out on August 10th. I want to start sending out ARCs soon so people have a chance to read the book ahead of time to post reviews around the release date. So, uh, this is where I’m out here, on my various platforms, asking… do you want an ARC of my new book?
If the answer is yes, fill out this really simple application!
I won’t accept everyone to the ARC list, but it can’t hurt to toss your name in. All ARCs supplied will be in ePub format. Those should be compatible with almost any eReader, and should be readable on most smartphones and tablets. I can’t really send out paperbacks, sadly. Also, I know this is book five in the series, but it’s okay if you haven’t read my earlier work. The ARC version of the book will include a brief synopsis of every earlier book in the series necessary for a new reader. Is reading the earlier books better? Yeah. But you should still enjoy this one too.
Again, let me know if you’re interested.
So I’ve said this before, but my intention has always been to take a break from the Mia Graves books once I finished book five. And, well, with the fifth book, The Perfect Host coming out in August (pre-order it!) that means I need to figure out what the heck I actually want to work on.
See, the problem is I always have more ideas than time to work on them.
I’ve talked about ideas that I want to write once I have the time more than once in this blog. Sometimes these ideas get turned into other thing — like “Intersections with the Corridor” turned into the basis for Campaign 2 of Stormwood & Associates. But every time I turn one of these ideas into something, at least five or six more pop into my head. So the issue isn’t coming up with something to write, it’s deciding which ones I won’t write.
A thing that happens a lot when I table at conventions is that people tell me they have an idea for a book or a comic. And don’t get me wrong, I love hearing about people’s ideas. I always encourage people to tell their stories, and do their best to make them real. But here’s the thing, the idea is never the hard part. It’s easy to have an idea for something.
It’s the making that’s hard.
So yeah, I need to figure out what the heck I’m going to focus down on. Do I write a traditional, high fantasy novel? Do I write the cyberpunk idea I’ve been kicking around? Maybe the science fiction story? Or the comedic spy-thriller. Or maybe I stick with urban fantasy and do the novel version of “Tomah by Night” finally.
That’s what I’ve got to figure out.
“The Perfect Host,” Book 5 in the Mia Graves Saga is now available for pre-order on Kindle, Kobo, and Paperback!
While it’s far from the last Mia Graves novel I plan on writing, it marks the closure of a couple of major plot threads. Think of it like a “season finale.” Here’s the summary from the back of the book:
Sometimes the demons in your past are literal.
When Th’xi’niran tried to claim Mia Graves as his vessel, Sarah Masters lost half of her soul saving the young witch. Now it’s three years later, and Mia and Sarah have gone their separate ways, each doing their best to heal. Mia has taken a job managing a local witchy bookstore in the quaint college town of Parrish Mills, and has built a new life for herself. She has friends, stability, and almost everything she was missing back in Boston.
But no one can truly escape their past, especially not Mia Graves.
When Sarah arrives in town to tell Mia that a cult of Th’xi’niran worshipers has found her, Mia’s world falls into chaos. The demon’s followers intend to complete the act that failed in that dark warehouse. They plan on making Mia the demon’s permanent host in our world, and they’re going to do it soon. With the emotional and spiritual scars still fresh, Mia must gather what allies she can to stop the oncoming darkness before it’s too late.
Besides Kindle (and soon Kobo), the eBook will be available through my Patreon store come August. I’m so excited to get this one out to you guys. I’ve been planning this one since I started writing the series, and I think you’re going to love it.
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