Hey everyone. Hope things are going well for you.
April had a lot of stuff going on between events and finishing up Wraith and The Hammer of Fate: Alone Among Stars. Let’s hop into it:
April Event Review:
This April was a lot of fun on the event front. Between the three I attended, I had a lot of great interactions.
The author fair at the Silverton 50+ Center was on the smaller side, but I got to catch up with several of the other authors and had a college friend stop in. Enjoyed seeing her again. I think the fair has potential much like Oregon Author Fair in Lebanon. Speaking of, I heard they’ll have it the same weekend as OAF next year, just on Sunday instead of Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Salem Paper Arts Fair went differently than I expected. The first two hours were very busy, then the rest of the day was eaten up by the various events going on in Salem that day (sounds like Mid-Valley Comic Art Expo went very well from the vendors I saw on Sunday). Was also surprised by the number of authors who were in attendance, especially the NIWA authors. There’s a photo of all of us floating around that I have yet to see.
After a few of the NIWA authors grabbed dinner together, we returned for the Booklovers’ Ball. The ball was a entertaining time (very much enjoyed the string quartet who provided a couple hours of dancing music) and I had some interesting talks along the way. Overall, it was a fun time. Also had to dress up:
Lastly, I had my second rerun from last year with the Browsers’ Anniversary Sale weekend. This year was very different from last year in one major respect: there were a lot more than just three vendors out front. Saturday alone had over a dozen of us parked in the shade.
Even so, I had a solid weekend (Abe was glad that he’s now my 2nd & 3rd best weekends on record), and a few others had stellar weekends. Best hand probably goes to a fellow author who sold out of her entire stock of books! I helped by snagging the last of her paperbacks.
Overall, this was a great month to be running around the valley. For May, though, the running around will mostly be of the Central Oregon variety.
Upcoming Events in May:
I have another trio of events planned for this month. Pulling my first 2-in-1 weekend as well.
On Saturday, May 16th, I will have my first official book launch with The Bookery in Lebanon. I am excited to have you all read this first entry into Ward Martel’s story (more on that below). The Bookery will be playing host from 11am-1pm, and refreshments will be provided.
The very next day, I’ll once again be in Madras for Mayfaire. Very much looking forward to this event. Last year set the single-day record and has yet to relinquish that title; maybe this year will take the throne from itself. Mayfaire will take place at Sahalee Park from 11am-4pm on Sunday the 17th.
After a week off for Memorial Day weekend, I will be at Beaver State Comic-Con in Redmond to close out the month. I’ve wandered around the con for a couple years and helped at the NIWA table last year, so I’m curious to see how running my own table will go. Beaver State is May 30th through 31st, running from 10am-5pm each day.
There’s also another event right after Beaver State, meaning it’s commanding the June docket; keep watch on social media for it (or look at the spoiler on the website; your choice).
Writing Life:
Two books are added to the roster!
Wraith came out on April 17th and has the dubious problem of me forgetting that I have four books now instead of three. Going to take some practice getting the new books into the pitch rotation… I’m glad to have Wraith alongside the others as a more classic fantasy tale to provide some more variety for everyone stopping by.
The Hammer of Fate: Alone Among Stars also went up for pre-order on April 30th. Fought me a bit with the file uploads, but everything done now. This is the first part of Ward Martel’s story, where he is doggedly trying to evade an invading army and rescue his lady fair from the castle she’s held in. A more traditional set-up for a fantasy, but there were a number of fun twists I got to play with. My favorite to continue exploring are the beastkin tribes who live outside the control of the human kingdoms.
The book will publish on May 12th; if you want to pre-order the e-book beforehand, it’s up on Amazon. You can also go to your local bookstore and support them by buying the book as well (actually, all except Forest Flight can be ordered by the bookstores if you want to help them out).
With those two finished, my time has opened up again. Given that I had three people say they wanted to read another fairy tale during my April endeavors, I’m driving headlong into redrafting East of the Sun, West of the Moon again. The opening continues to be a minor annoyance, but I think I can negate that by just focusing on Ingrid’s part and leaning heavily into the mystery of the Great White Bear, his master, and her unseen roommate instead of toying with suspense like I’ve been failing to achieve.
Once that is done, I will get the second part of The Hammer of Fate rolling. There’s a part of me that wants to do that now, but I think it will be best to wrap up books 2-4 at the same time. Then I can get them all out to you in a reasonable interval instead of piecemeal over a few years.
Also, I hit a milestone a couple days ago (yes, it was May 2nd, but I’ll add it here). I had my 100th consignment sale! This came courtesy of Hodgepodge Books and Taps down in Eugene. Crazy to think that I’ve hit that mark in less than a year. Oh, and 99 of those are The Tale of Snow White and Rose Reds; I’ve sold a single In The Reeds on strictly consignment arrangements.
That’ll be it for this month. It has been a great start to the year, and the next five weeks are shaping up to be a blast.
Until next time. Take care, and may God bless you in the days ahead.
Tim Maddox Books 
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