The Lovely Glow of Too Many Irons in the Fire

I’ve got too many irons in the fire.

I’d like to say that this is a rare event. But juggling multiple projects can be fun, which must be why I tend to overbook my creative energies.

Here’s what is going on:

Bookstore of the Future project

Yesterday I reached out to 55 book bloggers for the second Bookstore of the Future project, asking them the key questions: What will the bookstore of the future look like? How can bookstores innovate in order to stay relevant and solvent in the era of ebooks and ecommerce?

I had an immediate response from author and blogger extraordinaire C. M. Mayo who posted a link to my blog on her Madam Mayo blog. See it here.

Author responses keep trickling in but the crown goes to thriller author Dale Brown (Whaaaat? You haven’t read FLIGHT OF THE OLD DOG? Read it. Immediately.) who was the first to respond, in part, with this comment: “Carmen: Interesting project! I haven’t been in a bookstore to buy a book since I discovered Amazon Books in 1996.” Look for his full response when “What is the Future of the Bookstore? 25 Influential Authors Weigh In” is published in early January.

Finally, I had an interesting exchange with author Jeff Faria who is teaming with Symposia Bookstore in Hoboken, New Jersey on a “bookstore/playspace.” Look for more on this in the third article featuring bookstore owner views.

NaNoWriMo and DIABLO NIGHTS

I didn’t complete a 50k word manuscript in November, thanks to the flu. What I did end up with, however, is the guts of the next Emilia Cruz mystery novel. Familiar elements are there: dirty cops, drug cartels, Emilia’s uncertainty about her relationship with a gringo and grudging partnership with Silvio. But DIABLO NIGHTS also digs into Mexico’s religious history as well as Acapulco’s tourism industry. There’s also the anything-for-a-peso mindset I encountered from time to time in Mexico. This could be the most provocative Emilia Cruz novel yet.

I exchanged ideas for the book’s religious research with author and university professor Andrew Chesnut, whose articles on The Huffington Post are always absorbing. I recommend subscribing to his Huffpost feed.

“The Angler”

This Emilia Cruz short story will draw elements from the real events surrounding the murder of Fr. Richard Junius, who was my pastor at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Mexico City, which I wrote about last year.

To my knowledge, Fr. Richard’s  murderer has never been found. Expect a different ending in “The Prayer;” justice via fiction.

Water.org

In 2014 I plan to partner with water.org to raise funds for basic sanitation. I will donate a dollar for every Kindle book I sell on Amazon in 2014. To maximize the effort, I’m considering asking fellow authors to donate a portion of their earnings for a selected month. For their month, I’ll promote them on my blog and on the fundraiser page. They’d get added exposure as well as make a meaningful contribution for a great cause. What do you think?