Category: gifts

Authors Are Small Businesses, Too

On By angeliquejamailIn books, Christmas, fiction, Finis., gifts, holidays, HOMECOMING, literature, poetry, THE MILK OF FEMALE KINDNESS, THE SHARP EDGES OF WATER, writingLeave a comment

Hello! Here in the U.S. (and perhaps other places too?) today is Small Business Saturday, one of a series of themed commerce days that launch us from Thanksgiving into the full brunt of the Christmas Shopping Season. It is what it is.

That said, did you know that authors are, in and of themselves, small businesses? Small business owners, I suppose would be more grammatically accurate (if not practically so), but the point is that we are entrepreneurs as well as artists. That is a big part of the job of being an author. Not everyone likes it. It’s not the art form we signed up for. But again, it is what it is.

If you are looking for a delightful stocking stuffer (“Take two, they’re small!”) or gift for someone who enjoys reading, you might consider one of my books. As of now, we have no supply chain problems. (Yay!) You can order directly from me (send an email to forest.of.diamonds@gmail.com) and I can ship it to you usually within 1-2 days, or you can order from any bookseller (online or brick-and-mortar).

At the moment, I have four titles available:

Finis. (fiction, Book 1 of the Animal Affinities Series) — Click here to read the first two chapters.

Homecoming (fiction, Book 2 of the Animal Affinities Series) — Click here to read the first two chapters.

The Sharp Edges of Water (poetry) — Click here to read a poem from the collection.

The Milk of Female Kindness: An Anthology of Honest Motherhood (international anthology of writing and artwork for which I am one of the lead contributors)

I’m happy to sign books and get them to you ASAP. (You will pay shipping.) If you order them before December 15th, there’s a much better chance you’ll have them in time for Christmas, if that’s your thing.

Leave a comment here on this blog post or email me at forest.of.diamonds@gmail.com to order them from me directly, but again, you can get all three of my own titles just about anywhere. (If a bookstore is out of stock, have them order it from Ingram.) The Milk of Female Kindness is available through me directly or through Amazon.

Thank you for supporting your local indies!

12 Days of Christmas Music That Isn’t Awful (Day 2)

On By angeliquejamailIn Atari, Christmas, gifts, holidays, John Roderick, Jonathan Coulton, live music, music7 Comments

Did you enjoy The Waitresses yesterday?  A few of my friends told me, after I posted it, that they’d had that song in their head this week, too.  Good, good stuff.

Today I present a song by Jonathan Coulton and John Roderick, whom you might know for their quirky senses of humor.  (Jonathan Coulton’s “Code Monkey” comes to mind.)  They put out a Christmas album not too long ago that’s especially dear because it’s some of the only Christmas music my husband can stand to listen to on our commute after the radio onslaught has been going for a few weeks already.

And this song is on my mind today because I’m headed out this afternoon to try and finish up my Christmas shopping and cannot get some of the members of my extended family to tell me what they want.  I’ve told my dad — who has pretty much everything already — on several occasions that if he doesn’t give me some ideas, I’ll be buying him a goat through Heifer Project.  Here’s how that conversation usually goes:

“Give me some ideas, or I’m buying you a goat.”

“I don’t want a goat for Christmas!”

“The goat isn’t for you.  It’s for an impoverished family in a third-world country.  They’ll use it to make a sustainable livelihood and improve their circumstances in life.”

“Oh, what a nice program.  But how are you buying it for me?”

“I’m donating it in your name.”

“That’s sweet.  But I still want a gift.”

“Then give me some ideas, or it’s going to be a goat.”

“I don’t want a goat.”

“DAD!”

“Okay, I’ll reflect on this when I have some time and get back to you later.”

“Grrr.”

Now, my dad is a kind and generous and warm-hearted man who willingly and frequently gives to the less fortunate in many ways.  In fact, I learned many of my philanthropic proclivities from the shining beacon of his example.  But, just like anyone else, at Christmastime, he wants a little something under the tree to open that’s just for him.  And don’t we all???

I’m probably just going to get him a bottle of nice Scotch.  Don’t tell him.

In the spirit of wanting something specific for Christmas, please enjoy “2600.”  The music starts around 3:20 and goes until about 5:25; this video is from the live premiere of the song.  (Another entertaining video of a live performance of it is here, although the sound quality might not be quite as good.  The banter beforehand may contain a four-letter word, just so you know.)