HOMECOMING Book Launch Event Tomorrow!

On October 23, 2020October 27, 2020 By angeliquejamailIn Animal Affinities, Blue Willow Bookshop, book signing, books, fiction, HOMECOMING, literature, livestream, magic realism, urban fantasy, YA fiction1 Comment

EDIT: For those of you who missed the live event, click here to watch it in full. It was fun!

Hello from Authorland! I’m so excited because tomorrow is the official launch party through Blue Willow Bookshop for my newest book, Homecoming! Due to in-person events being generally unwise right now, there being a pandemic and all, this event will be held live online. I will miss seeing a bookstore full of people to help me celebrate. However, the very good news is that since the event will be livestreamed online, my friends and family who live in all kinds of other places that aren’t Houston can join us! Yay! (And I hope you all will!)

This afternoon I’ve been signing books: pre-ordered copies of Homecoming as well as some back-catalogue goodies. You can still get yours! Go to Blue Willow’s site by clicking here to order copies of my books and to find the link for their Facebook Live page where the event will be broadcast. (I don’t believe you need a Facebook account to tune in, either, since I was able to access the live feed from a computer where I wasn’t logged in at all.)

The event will be tomorrow afternoon, Saturday, October 24th, at 4:00 central time. (So that’s 5:00 eastern, 3:00 mountain, and 2:00 pacific.) After my interview, you will be able to ask questions. I hope to “see” you there! (It would be such a treat to interact with some of my blog readers in this different way as well!)

Thank you, as always, for your kind support of me and of my work.

Two Upcoming Readings and a Sneak Preview of My Next Book — For You!

On August 1, 2019 By angeliquejamailIn Amazon, author signing, Blue Willow Bookshop, book giveaway, book reviews, book signing, books, Finis., literature, poetry, River Oaks Bookstore, THE SHARP EDGES OF WATER, writingLeave a comment

Today I have a few announcements: some upcoming readings and a sneak preview opportunity for you.

This gorgeous mug will be part of the Writer’s Gift Box, one of the door prizes being given away at the BWB event.

The most exciting news here is my upcoming event at one of Houston’s most beloved independent bookstores, Blue Willow Bookshop! If you’re going to be in town, definitely mark your calendars now for Saturday, August 17^th, at 3:00, when I’ll be reading from and discussing The Sharp Edges of Water. This promises to be a fun event with an author Q&A––that’s right, bring your questions for me!––and door prizes and books galore! Even if you already have a copy of my book, come and pick one up as a gift for a friend or family member who likes to read or write. You can check out Blue Willow’s site here for more details. Their address is 14532 Memorial at Dairy Ashford 77079. I don’t mind telling you that the Blue Willow event is a Very Big Deal, and it would be really helpful to make a strong showing there, so please come out for it and pick up one (or more) of my books there!

I’ll also be reading with a few other Mutabilis Press poets at River Oaks Bookstore in Houston on Saturday, August 10^th, at 4:00. We’ll celebrating the new anthology, The Enchantment of the Ordinary, and while I’ll be reading my poem from that book, I’ll also be sharing a more recent poem or two, including from the Moss Wood Writing Retreat I attended back in June. The bookstore address is 3270 Westheimer Rd. 77098.

beautiful cover art and design by Lucianna Chixaro Ramos

Finally, would you like a sneak preview of my next book? I’m offering my readers the chance to get a free advance reading copy of either of my next two books––one fiction and one poetry, depending on your preference––before they’re published. You’ll even have the opportunity to give me beta-reader feedback on it if you’d like to! In order to take advantage of this offer, just post a review of The Sharp Edges of Water on Amazon. Now, if you follow the writing/publishing industry, you might have heard that Amazon has been taking down people’s reviews in an effort to remove illegitimate ones, though some genuine ones have been removed inadvertently in this process. I have not experienced this (knock on wood!) and also know that all my reviews are genuine and not planted (except for one baffling troll who posted a weird review of Finis. back in the day). Anyway, Amazon has changed the rules for how reviews get accepted. Fortunately, we know how to navigate their guidelines. You can watch a full explanation here, but I’ve summarized the basics for you:

To contribute a review on Amazon, you have to have spent at least $50 there in the last year, not including promotional discounts.
Amazon doesn’t allow reviews to be posted from people in the author’s household, or from more than one person connected to any same household or bank account or credit card.
Amazon doesn’t allow paid reviews, so your review shouldn’t indicate that you’ve received compensation for it.
Amazon deletes reviews that come in under two days after you’ve purchased a book from them because they assume you can’t possibly have read the book so quickly.
Avoid sounding too chummy with the author in your review: in other words, please don’t ever refer to the author by their first name only, but by either both first and last name or just their last name or “the author”; also avoid sounding “unbiased” by not indicating in your review that you regularly see the author in person or are friends with them in real life.

Watch the video for a full explanation of how all these things––and others specific to authors and not readers––work, but these simple guidelines I’ve distilled for you will get you most of the way there. To find my book on Amazon, be sure to type in the title and my last name into the search bar. (And once I get 50 reviews, my book will actually get into their searches! So yes, reviews do matter, even if they aren’t 5-star reviews.)

Thank you again for all your love and support, and I hope to see you on August 17^th at Blue Willow! Bring your friends. And if you take me up on the review/ARC opportunity, send me a screenshot of your review on Amazon, then tell me which book (fiction or poetry) you’d like to get a sneak preview of. Until then~

All the best.

Reviews for THE MILK OF FEMALE KINDNESS and Links to Buy FINIS.

On August 7, 2014August 7, 2014 By angeliquejamailIn Amazon, anthology, blogs, book review, book signing, books, fiction, Finis., Kasia James, magic realism, Milk of Female Kindness, motherhood6 Comments

By now you now that this week, my newest publication, Finis., launched. I’ve tried not to overwhelm the Interwebz with announcements of it, but I admit that Tuesday, Launch Day, I was online most of the day just trying to keep up with the traffic and buzz about it and reactions to it. It was a great day, and I’m so grateful to those of you who’ve already bought the book, read it, and given me reviews. I’m glad you’re enjoying it so far! (Links to places where Finis. is currently on sale appear at the end of this post.)

This Sunday is our official launch party, and if you’re in Houston that day, please feel free to drop by! It will be at The Black Labrador from 4:00-6:00 p.m. in their Churchill Room.

Finis. is an ebook only at this time, due to its length, but there will be copies of an anthology I was recently published in, The Milk of Female Kindness — An Anthology of Honest Motherhood, for sale at the launch party. This wonderful international project brought together authors from all over the world; the book contains poetry, fiction, essays, interviews, and artwork around the theme of motherhood and offers a wide variety of perspectives. (It also contains two of my essays and three of my poems.)

Here is a list of some of the reviews that have come in so far for The Milk of Female Kindness. (I wrote “some” because I know there are other reviews out there that I don’t have listed here.)

* from blog The Reluctant Retiree

* from blogger Carol Cameleon

* from blogger Madhusmita Phukon

* from Michelle Clements James at Book Chat

* from Sharon Bonin-Pratt at Ink Flare

* from Dale Newton at EllaDee Words

* from blog My Train of Thoughts On…

* several on Goodreads

I was so grateful to be included in this anthology; it really is an excellent publication. Kudos to Kasia James, the contributing editor whose brainchild it was, and to all the other authors and artists in it!

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As promised, here are links to buy Finis. More retailers will be coming available soon, and when they are, I’ll be sure to let you know!

Smashwords

Amazon (This link is for the US store, but it is also available through Amazon in India, the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and Australia.)

Finis. is also available through Apple’s iBooks store, but be sure you get the title that has my name attached to it, or you might end up with some very different literature you weren’t necessarily looking for!

Embracing My Inner Goth (part 6)

On December 27, 2012December 27, 2012 By angeliquejamailIn acceptance, Anne Rice, art, blood, book signing, children, decrepitude, fangs, goth, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Welcome to the conclusion of my six-part series, “Embracing My Inner Goth.” You can find the first five installments via the links below. Remember, it’s better to read them all in order, so you’ll understand the references to the earlier posts in subsequent sections. And for those of you who’ve been so patient on this journey with me, my deepest thanks.

Embracing My Inner Goth (part 1)

Embracing My Inner Goth (part 2)

Embracing My Inner Goth (part 3)

Embracing My Inner Goth (part 4)

Embracing My Inner Goth (part 5)

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Part VI: The New Black

Apparently decrepitude is the new black.

What happened to Ken Dracula can happen to anyone or anything, I suppose. He lost his partner and never recovered himself. Just like his Annie.

I remember going to a local large bookstore in Houston back when we still had more than the smattering of Barnes & Nobles and a few delightful but clinging independent stores left. It was the Alabama Bookstop, an iconic place before B&N had bought it: a bookstore carved from an old movie theater that had one screen, a balcony, and art deco murals on the walls. It was a fabulous bookstore in its day, and I performed many poetry readings and at least Continue reading “Embracing My Inner Goth (part 6)” →