Bad News Doesn’t Stop For Good Days

So, I was all gung-ho about my online release party tonight, but had to postpone it, because about 10 mins before I was about to go on, as I was applying some make-up and changing my shirt, I got some bad news and I suddenly didn’t feel like throwing a party.

Bad news doesn’t stop just because you’re having a good day.

So, my father’s health has rapidly declined.  Long story short, his heart is now only working at 15-20% strength, and he’s going to begin hospice care at the home tomorrow.  Code for “keeping him comfortable until his heart stops.”  What’s frustrating is that this is apparently “indefinite.”  He could go any day, OR he could go in several months.  It’s the not knowing that’s the worst bit.  Actually, there are a couple of things competing for the Worst Bit:

* I was just thinking “I haven’t seen my dad in a while!  I think I’ll visit this weekend!”  Now, I have to.  And I’m going with my brother tomorrow.

* From what I’ve been told, my dad is barely responsive right now.  I was told “He responds to his name, but that’s about it.”  So, I’ve waited to see him, and now he might not even know that I’m there.

* I feel bad about being disappointed that I couldn’t do my book party tonight.  As if that’s in any way important by comparison.  But it was to me, and I was really looking forward to it.  The thing is, my dad is a writer, and if anyone would understand the importance of that event, it’s him.

Well, there’s nothing I can do until tomorrow.  Needless to say, Teatime With Teresa has also been canceled tomorrow, as I’ll be going to see my dad then.  I was debating whether I wanted to blog about this…but I’m a writer, and this is how I deal with things.  So, there.

You should know, however, that copies of On The Ground Floor ARE available for purchase if you want one.  I would’ve liked to announce it with more fanfare, but there you are.  Check out the details at the link in my sidebar.

Also, I have a new Facebook fan page.  If you’re already my friend on Facebook, do me a solid and “Like” my fan page, as I’m hoping to eventually have THAT be the place where I post my writing links and stuff, so I can keep my personal FB page separate (though they’ll probably never be completely separate…). And, as I only friend people on Facebook that I’ve met IRL, for the rest of you, this is my only Facebook presence, so head on over there.

Tonight, I’m doing laundry, drinking Mike’s Hard Lemonade, and eating ice cream.  That’s about the extent of what I feel like doing right now.  My phone won’t be back up and running until tomorrow, but if you know me, I certainly wouldn’t mind Gchatting tonight. 

Oh, and after Jerry’s done watching Supernatural, we’re going to play some Rock Band.  Which is good, as I usually play the drums, and I could really stand to hit something repeatedly right now.

If anyone has an in with Tony Stark and can get my dad an arc reactor, that would be awesome.

“On the Ground Floor” Online Release Parties!

Who knew that my favorite picture of myself EVER would come about using the camera on my phone in the barthroom at a party?

You read that right, kids.  Parties.  As in plural.  As in MORE THAN ONE.

Because I have fans.  As Felicia Day so eloquently put it in Commentary: The Musical, I have fans in the “baker’s dozens!”    So, clearly, I have to have two parties to accommodate them all.  Here’s how it’s going to go down:

TOMORROW – September 24th at 8:00PM ET/7PM CT/5PM PT

THE FIRST ON THE GROUND FLOOR RELEASE PARTY! Tune in with a glass of wine for an hour-long celebration of my very first printed thing EVER.  I’ll tell you all about the stories contained therein, tell you how you can snag a copy, do personalized signings online, chat with you all and answer any random questions you might have (they don’t even have to be about me, I’m great at Google searching), and then do a reading of a story NOT in the book!  So, if you watch and buy the chapbook, you’ll be getting THREE short stories for the price of two.  That’s a fucking BARGAIN.

SATURDAY, September 25th at 11:00AM ET/4:00PM GMT

Join me for TEA TIME WITH TERESA! (Didn’t I tell you I was a fan of alliteration?) 4PM is traditionally “tea time” in England, right?  Well, if not, IT IS NOW!  I’m doing this American-style, bitches!  Kinda like how we took all the useless “u’s” out of words like color and favorite.  But this release party for On the Ground Floor is for all the folks who follow me on Twitter, or who are my Facebook friends and live in Europe (and won’t be staying up until 1AM to watch my first party), as well as the early risers in the States.  For some reason, I have a lot of followers in the UK.  I guess it’s because I write about Doctor Who a lot, or something.  Same deal as above, except I’ll be drinking tea instead of wine.  Also, I’ll be reading a DIFFERENT SHORT STORY.  So, it’s not just going to be the same party twice.

This should be fun!  I hope you’ll spread the word and tune in tomorrow and/or Saturday.  Tune in to THE TERESA JUSINO EXPERIENCE’S USTREAM CHANNEL and join in the celebration!

Out Into the World! (or, Support Your Local Writers!)

There are now six copies of my chapbook, On the Ground Floor, out in the world! One I gave to a friend, two I sent to artists I admire, and three were purchased today!

By people I didn’t know!

I know, right?!

In a spur-of-the-moment decision last night, I decided to join in on Robyn and Jerry’s stoop sale in BK today by putting some chapbooks out for sale.  I Facebooked and Tweeted it this morning.  It was all very impromptu, and honestly, I wasn’t expecting to sell one.  I sold three, and none of them were purchased by people who were alerted to my being there.  They were just random people who wanted to Support Local Writers.

I have to give it to Brooklyn.  Their inhabitants are really proud of the borough’s literary history, and they love to support up-and-comers.

I can’t even begin to describe how good I feel.  This isn’t the first time my writing has made me money, but it is the first time my FICTION has.  The fact that people I don’t know will now be reading short stories of mine (and hopefully enjoying them) blows my mind.  It’s very different than posting stories online.  There, people may read it or not.  You just don’t know.  When someone purchases your printed words, they’ve made the decision to, at some point, read them.  There’s a certain level of commitment involved when someone purchases print.  Today, three people made that commitment to me.

I just hope I don’t disappoint!

I sold the chapbooks for less than I plan on selling them in the future, and I made $9.  That might not sound like a lot, but considering that the money came from three people who have no idea who I am, and considering I’ve never published before and have no reputation to speak of, those nine dollars seem like a FUCKTON of money.    Once the stoop sale was over, I used 6 of those dollars to buy a really tasty dinner.

Just so there’s no doubt as to how it works: you buy my writing, I eat. It’s really that simple.  There’s a direct correllation between your purchase and my wellbeing.  I’ve made the leap into freelancehood in order to throw myself completely in your hands.  Here’s hoping you catch me!

So, today was a good day, and I was happy that I had good friends with me to watch my first sales happen!  On the Ground Floor will be “officially” launched on FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH with an online release party, the launch of a new Facebook page, and all the details about how you can order your copy of On the Ground Floor online!

See you there!

TeresaCon 2010 Live Online Auction FRIDAY!

OK, folks…you might have heard me talk about this on Twitter or Facebook, but now it’s ten different kinds of official.  I’ve found somewhere to live.  As it turns out, I’m moving to my landlord’s house next door after all, which means that all my apartment-hunting was a waste of time.

But we’re not going to dwell on that now.

What it means, however, is that I have a lot of stuff that I need to get rid of, and some of it is very fun stuff indeed!  Collectibles  like:

- a “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” audience member t-shirt

- Broadway Playbills autographed by the likes of Liev Schreiber, Alan Cumming, Kathleen Turner, Jason Biggs, Liam Neeson, Kevin Spacey, and more!

- an original “Little Mermaid” VHS tape in good condition…this is the one with the penis drawn into the castle on the cover, you guys!

- a prop from the remake of “The Manchurian Candidate”, starring Denzel Washington, Liev Schreiber, and Meryl Streep

- a Rocky Horror Picture Show Broadway program autographed by Luke Perry (he played Brad!) and a 90210 Dylan McKay doll still in the original box and with original accouterments like his surfing trunks and a display stand.

And then there’s the Teresa Jusino-related stuff.  You know, the stuff you’ll want to buy because you know that I’ll be famous and you’ll want to get in On the Ground Floor (there’s a reason why that’s capitalized)!  Stuff like:

- one of my first headshots (complete w/an early acting resume on the back) – autographed!

- my failing and passing driving test slips along with my first learner’s permit (an example of perseverance paying off!)

- a story I wrote in 3rd grade!  One of the earliest examples of my writing IN EXISTENCE!

- props from my former life as an actress.

The list goes on and on…

If you’d like to try to buy one of the above items, are curious about what else I have up for grabs, or if you’d just like to watch me get drunk and make a fool out of myself on the internet, CHECK ME OUT ON USTREAM this FRIDAY, AUGUST 20TH AT 6PM ET (3PM PT/11PM in the UK!).  Not only will I be auctioning off stuff, but I will be drinking lots of wine (might as well Amanda Palmer it up as long as I’m doing this!) and reading random selections from my teenage and college journals!  YOU WON’T WANT TO MISS THAT!

This auction will be the beginning of the fund in support of Fake Book Tour 2010/11 in support of my upcoming chapbook, On the Ground Floor. Step One: earn enough for a flight to LA the weekend of September 17th.

I’m planning a trip to LA for what I hope will be TeresaCon 2010 which, among other things, I hope will include a reading in support of OTGF.  And, um, flights is expensive.  Also, there’s been a request for me to go to LONDON in support of the slim volume – from a contributing writer to The Guardian no less! (follow her on Twitter: @pennyred) – with an offer of a floor to sleep on if I can get my carcass and my chapbooks there.

To promote the auction, please link to this post wherever you can, and if it’s on Twitter, use the hashtag #fakebooktour2010.

Details about how bids will be placed and all of that will be specified at the start of the auction broadcast, but having a Twitter account will be helpful!  If you don’t want to deal with Twitter, I’ll also be taking bids via a special email account, as well as on the chat feature onscreen at UStream.  I’ll also be taking donations via PayPal, too, if you’d like to help out, but aren’t interested in my stuff. 

So, the bottom line is this: if you’d like to help a young author get her work out there while buying some cool/interesting stuff in the process, tune in HERE this FRIDAY the 20th at 6PM ET (3PM PT/11PM in the UK!). At most, you’ll end up with something awesome and help an artist in the process.  At the very least, you’ll experience schadenfreude as you watch said young artist get progressively drunker as she reads old journal entries and causes general internet mayhem.

You only get ONE Friday night a week, people.  Use it wisely. 

“On the Ground Floor” Coming Next Month!

The title page of my chapbook! Isn't it purdy?

I am extremely proud to announce that my very first chapbook of short stories, titled On the Ground Floor will be available for your purchase and pleasure in September!  The exact release date is still TBD, but I will announce it as soon as I know it!  As I type, it’s being hand-bound by the lovely people at Paper Airplane Press in East Lansing, MI.  They do great work!

The slim volume will contain two early short stories of mine.  Stories of which, even years later, I am still proud.  And I chose the title On the Ground Floor, because if you have one of these chapbooks, you’re getting in on the ground floor of what I hope will be a successful writing career.   One of the stories, Talking About William, some of you might have already read via this very blog.  I’m removing the link, however, for obvious reasons.  The other story, The Sandbox, only a select few of you have read.  Its first incarnation has been rejected by some of the finest publications in the country!  But this is a heavily revised version that will be exclusive to this volume.

There will be an online release party for On the Ground Floor, which I will announce as we get closer to it.  There will also be readings!  That’s right.  I just might schlep these things to a city near you!  (Especially if you’re willing to let me crash on your couch!)  Keep your eyes on this blog and spread the word!  On the Ground Floor is coming!  And you and your friends will want to get in on it!

My chapbook! Copies printed and waiting to be lovingly bound by hand!