Extremed

For those of you curious to see what we got up to this weekend as part of the Wis-Kino 48-Hour Kabaret, behold! Part 3 in our ongoing series about the character of Chapel, who, incidentally, is also the main character in my book, The Fix Up. Ah, sweet sweet tie-ins.

Fair warning: The movie has some strong language and a lot of fake blood. I wouldn't recommend watching it while at work (unless you're employed by Troma or something), or if that sort of thing isn't your cup of tea.



It was a lot of fun to make this, and I feel like it's the best of the series so far (the first two being "Complicated" and "Distracted"). That's definitely the result of having a really great team working on this particular installment. And bonus! No fake blood for me this time. I think I've dealt with my fair share for awhile.

Thanks to everyone who came out and made this Kabaret such a success! We showed something like 15 films, all made over the course of the weekend, and had a great crowd at the final screening on Sunday. See you for the next one in July!

The Fix Up: The Update

I have continued to be humbled and amazed by the willingness of people to buy copies of my first book, The Fix Up. Not only that, but many of them have even said they liked it! That's about as good as it gets for an author.

Nathan Comp, a fine writer himself, was kind enough to give the book a proper review, and you can read it over at dane101.com today. His criticisms are constructive, and his compliments quite flattering. Deeply appreciated.

I'd also like to mention that I only have 9 copies left that can be bought directly from me for a discounted price. If you'd like to get a book using this method, now's the time to act! Just drop me a line via email to arrange it, or send $12 (cash or personal check only) to me at the following address:

Emily Mills
P.O. BOX 3001
Madison, WI 53704

Be sure to include your preferred mailing address and I'll be sure to sign the copy for you. Otherwise, you can still purchase copies at A Room of One's Own bookstore in downtown Madison, or securely online at my e-store here.

And now? Well, I must admit that I've already written the first page of the sequel to this book, but I'm also heavily focused on working on a novel I've been mulling on and off for the past couple of years. You could say that it's a bit different than this one--it deals with a woman who poses as a man and fights in the American Civil War. Because I'm a huge history dork! And because it's based on a real person, and real events, which interests me. It's going to be quite the project, but I'm excited to really tackle this one. Heck, I may even shop it out to proper publishers once it's finished. That is, if there are any proper publishers left at that point. What a world, what a world.


(photo is of my good friend Jenny, who was so enthusiastic that she had to eat my book)

A public reading

Well, tonight's the night. I'll be reading a selection from my first book, The Fix Up, in front of a live studio audience at A Room of One's Own bookstore, starting at about 6:30p.m.

If you've always wanted a chance to either a) meet me in person, ask questions, and maybe even buy a copy of said book, or b) heckle me mercilessly in public - this is your chance! I may be a little nervous, though, so please keep all taunts NC-17 (it's those PG-rated names that throw me off the most).

I hope to see you there! The low-down:

WHAT: Yours truly reading from her book, The Fix Up (plus shilling, signing, and talking)
WHERE: A Room of One's Own (307 W. Johnson, Madison, WI)
WHEN: Tonight! Tuesday, February 10th at 6:30p.m.
COST: It's totally free, y'all.

Hooray for books.

P.S. If you can't make it down for the reading but are still interested in purchasing a copy of the book, please check out this post for details on all the different ways you can go about doing that.

Support local bookstore and author

Well now this is pretty awesome - Madison's finest independent bookseller, A Room of One's Own, is now carrying copies of my book, The Fix Up, for sale at their store!

If you find yourself in town, be sure to stop in and 1) pick up a copy for yourself, and 2) support a great local business. Those crazy big box retailers have been pushing these wonderful, valuable small bookstores out of business lately, and so we're lucky to still have one like Room in Madison. You should also check out their website, where it's possible to order just about any book you want and have them ship it to you or do an in-store pick-up. Good deal!

Check out all of the ways you can get a copy of my book here.

The Fix Up

It's official! You can now get my new novel via two, very fine and equally handsome methods!

You remember my novel, that thing I was giddily telling you about just the other week? Just in case, though, I'll refresh your memory:

Chapel's not having a good decade. Released from prison for a crime she doesn't particularly want to talk about, she's looking to lead a more normal, legal life - but life, that bastard, has a few curve balls aimed at her head.

Befriended by a couple of well-connected street punks, Chapel finds herself navigating a treacherous underworld filled with drugs, betrayal, sexual ambiguity, crime, crooked cops, and death. All she really wanted to do, though, was make rent.

Inspired by the short film series and character created by Rob Matsushita, The Fix Up is equal parts suspense thriller and introspective, darkly humorous personal journey.

"Tough and tragic, The Fix-Up is hard-boiled noir with a heart. Emily Mills has given the character of Chapel a past and a soul. It's stuff like this that makes me feel damn lazy." - Rob Matsushita, playwright & filmmaker

Those short films I reference are "Complicated" and "Distracted," (and the newest installment, "Extremed") in case you're curious. And now, Chapel's twisty-turny backstory is available in good ol' fashioned print, and I would be delighted if you bought a copy.

1. BUY MY BOOK :: METHOD ONE :: SOLD OUT!!
I'm making copies of the book available either from me in person, or from me via mail-order, for a limited time only (ONLY 9 COPIES LEFT FOR THIS METHOD - 3/17/09). And I'm offering it at a discounted price from what's up in the e-store, so that's pretty sweet. So take your pick - drop me an email at lostalbatross (at) gmail (dot) com and we can set up an in-person exchange for just $12, or send $12 (cash only, please) and your shipping address to the following address:

Emily Mills
P.O. BOX 3001
Madison, WI 53704

I then solemnly swear to send you a copy of the book, post-haste, and pad the envelope with my undying gratitude.

P.S. Be sure to hide your cash inside paper or something else inside the envelope. I can't send you anything if I never get anything in the mail in the first place.

2. BUY MY BOOK :: METHOD TWO
You can still buy the book online, from my secure e-store at CreateSpace. They take credit cards and all that fanciness, so if you didn't get the chance to get a copy directly from me, this is probably the method for you!

Click on over to my CreateSpace store to place your order now, and they'll send it your way in no time flat.

3. BUY MY BOOK: METHOD THREE
Another method, holy crap! And this one allows you to support a great, independent bookstore while you're at it. Madison's finest bookseller, A Room of One's Own, is also still carrying a few copies of The Fix Up. Stop in and pick up a copy and enjoy everything else the store has to offer, too.

FURTHER SHAMELESS PROMO:

• Nathan Comp reviews The Fix Up for Dane101.com
• The Badger Herald profiles yours truly
• Dusty Weiss says some nice things about the book at his blog
  

I hope you'll give my crazy piece of fiction a chance! And in any case, thanks for reading the blog.

I wrote a book!

It's true! Last year, I actually buckled down and completed a novel as part of National Novel Writing Month (wherein you must hit the 50k word mark in 1 month). Since then, I've been hacking away at it, drafting a few writer friends to help provide edits and suggestions, and generally whipping it into shape.

Now, I am giddily excited to say that said novel, The Fix Up, is available in honest-to-goodness book form. I went through a company called CreateSpace (which is an Amazon affiliate), which provides really high-quality print-on-demand services for books, CDs, and DVDs. Turned out to be a pretty good deal, really.

I realize that this is just self-publishing, and not as fancy pancy as getting a novel published by some big publishing house (that'll come, just you wait!), but I still happen to think it's pretty cool. Honestly, this whole print-on-demand thing may well be the future of publishing for everyone.

In the meantime, it's my present. And I would love it if I even sold, like, 10 copies. So hey! If you're in the mood for some entertaining fiction, head on over to my store and check it out.

I will also be making copies available through me, myself, and I, for just $10 (I should mention that this will happen in about a week, at which time I will post about it again). Heck, I'd even sign 'em if for some crazy reason you were into that sort of thing. So if you're interested in that method, drop me a line at lostalbatross at gmail.com and we can arrange to either make the trade in person or by mail (U.S. only, and no extra cash for shipping).

Here's the somewhat generic teaser I whipped up for the book, to wet your whistle:

Chapel's not having a good decade. Released from prison for a crime she doesn't particularly want to talk about, she's looking to lead a more normal, legal life - but life, that bastard, has a few curve balls aimed at her head.

Befriended by a couple of well-connected street punks, Chapel finds herself navigating a treacherous underworld filled with drugs, betrayal, sexual ambiguity, crime, crooked cops, and death. All she really wanted to do, though, was make rent.

Inspired by the short film series and character created by Rob Matsushita, The Fix Up is equal parts suspense thriller and introspective, darkly humorous personal journey.

Those short films I reference are "Complicated" and "Distracted," in case you're curious.

So yeah, it's not the Great American Novel, but I'm happy with it. Nice to actually finish a novel for once in quite a long while, too. I may post a small excerpt from it in the near future, so you can get a better idea of what you'd be in for. That seems fair, anyway. Regardless, please check it out! And have a great weekend.