ed_rex

The Old Man's Last Sauna, delivered at last!

It came down to the fucking wire. Through first-timer's errors, customer rep change-overs and any number of instances of Murphy's Law, nevertheless the buzzer rang around 0930 hours, rousing me from a troubled sleep.

And lo! There was a delivery.

And Young Geoffrey Saw that it was Good.

Probably not quite so exciting for you guys, but pretty exciting for yours truly. (And if you're wondering, possibly even more exciting for dear old Dad; the similarity in last names in no coincidence.) It seems I have joined the illustrious ranks of the small press publishers.

The Old Man's Last Sauna is a collection — a truly eclectic collection! — of short fiction that runs the gamut from a half-dirty shaggy dog story, to a loving look at the relationship between a father and his very imaginative child, to a powerful story about the psychological torture of good man by our own country's secret service. And much more besides ...

Anyway, the book is in print and available in most e-formats (DRM-free, 'natch!) via Smashwords (and soon, if not already, through the usual suspects as well). Within a week or two (keep watching this space!) it will be available as a print-on-demand edition throughout over 50 countries around the world.

Yes, I'm risking what is, for me, a fair chuck of change, but it's a far cry from what would have been necessary even a decade ago to accomplish the same ends. My dad has been saying "thanks a lot" to me quite a few times recently, which makes me uncomfortable, because I actually think it's a pretty damned good book and I hope to make money with it over the longer term (him too, of course).

But time will tell. I know that more than one of you (who might be) reading this has ventured into the self-publishing/small press world, and that it's no easy row to hoe. I'm not quitting my day job just yet.

Meanwhile, if you're local, you should come out to the Ottawa Independent Writers Author's Fair near Billings Bridge tomorrow or Sunday. I'll be there, the author of The Old Man's Last Sauna will be there and so will a bunch of other folks. Buy a book, stay to meet Young Geoffrey in the flesh! How better to spend (a part of) one's Saturday or Sunday as October draws to a conclusion?