Like Glass No Longer a VHP Title

The title pretty much says it all; officially, as of today, Like Glass will not be published by Vanilla Heart Publishing. I will continue to distribute it via the current channels (i.e. Amazon and CreateSpace) at least until the first of the year, though I’m unsure whether I will continue to pursue it after that.

I’m at work right now, so I can’t really discuss the subject too much; suffice to say that it’s better for all parties involved that the novel finds a different home.

I would like to sincerely offer my thanks and gratitude to Kimberlee Williams, the editor at VHP, for the time and effort she and her staff put into what work had already been done on the novel, and for putting up with a rather tedious client. I’d also like to once again thank Mary Quast, the author who introduced me to VHP in the first place; even though it didn’t work out, it was still a wonderful experience that I wouldn’t have had without your assistance.

Okay, back to the rat race.

–Matt

Day Job and A Little About Shattered

In the past few weeks, I was lucky enough to spend some time pretending to be a “full-time” writer: get up, write for a while, try to take a nap, try to arrange marketing, try to take a nap, write for a while, so on and so forth. It was pretty damned nice, but, as with everything that’s enjoyable, it had to end, and I’m back to the day job now.

Well, temporarily, at least I’m still hoping that the re-release of Like Glass and the release of Shattered will change that (hoping, not expecting). So, I’m considering it “long-term temporary” for now.

Speaking of Shattered, I’m still waiting to hear back from my early reviewers on that one. Trust me, as soon as I have something to post about what they say, you’ll hear it (well, read it). I guess that it’s about the right time to tell you more about it, since the story line itself probably isn’t going to change much in whatever drafts are left to work on.

If you don’t already know, Shattered is the sequel to Like Glass, and it picks up the story of our “hero”, Rob, a few months after Like Glass ends. Without going into too many details (because they’d not only spoil Shattered, but possibly Like Glass as well), Rob takes back to music with much more passion this time around. Things don’t go that great though, as he’s forced to deal with fun stuff like depression, suicide, and the death of a close friend.

Remember, if I’ve said nothing else about the book, I’ve said it’s supposed to be darker than Like Glass…

Anyways, I need to start getting ready for the grind again. Make sure to pick up your copy of Like Glass, now with a 20% discount throughout the end of the year, when the first edition will not be available anymore. Catch you on the flip side.

–Matt

Like Glass Logo Wear Up

Quick post here — you can get official Like Glass merchandise now! Go to http://www.cafepress.com/LikeGlass and check it out — t-shirts, mugs, all sorts of cool stuff.

Here’s some of what you’ll find:

(I’m going to get the coffee mug, myself — Cafe Press’s image generator doesn’t seem to do it justice though, or else I’d post it here…)

Like Glass Video Trailer

Thought I’d share the official video trailer for Like Glass with you. You can also check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ5Cwmk8htA. Thanks to VHP for producing it!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ5Cwmk8htA[/youtube]

Big News for Shattered and Like Glass

Alright, it’s been some time since I’ve posted anything here, but trust me: the wait was worth it. I’ve got some big news for you today, a couple of items, and they’re mainly what I’ve been waiting for before posting again.

Before I start though, a quick FYI: the matthewcory.com domain is down for the moment. I’m working on getting it back up as soon as possible, but until then you’re stuck with this

Okay, first bit of real news: Shattered is done. Well, the rough draft is, at least. It’s printing as I write this — hard copy is so much easier to edit. It’s a little shorter at the moment than I’d hoped for, but it ended where it was supposed to end. I’m sure it’ll shrink and grow during the editing process, so I’m not worried about it. Nevertheless, no more updates on Shattered saying “It’s coming along.” It’s a total of 38 chapters (or 37 and an epilogue; I haven’t quite decided yet), and I’ll be editing them chapter-by-chapter, so any updates should really have some kind of progress marker in them.

Anyways, that ain’t nothing. Here’s the real big news. Are you ready?

Like Glass has been picked up by Vanilla Heart Publishing and is tentatively scheduled for a Spring 2009 release date! You can check out my own page at their site by going to http://www.vanillaheartbooksandauthors.com/Writings.html (it’s at the bottom of the page). There you can find info on the book, links to a video trailer, and links to a Cafe Press store where you can get shirts and coffee mugs and all sorts of cool Like Glass gear. (I’ll soon have the links here as well; my brain’s still a little fried from my writing marathon today to finish Shattered.)

I’d like to give a big thanks to Mary Quast, a fellow VHP author who introduced me to them. I was actually giving up on trying to push the book when she contacted me, and I sent my query on a whim. Thanks Mary!

Trust me, there’ll be further news as events warrant, but for now I’m going to take a bit of a break.

Special FaceBook Offer!!!

Alright everyone, next week, Nov. 23rd through Nov. 29th, I’ll be running a special offer for FaceBook users on Like Glass. Here’s the deal:

I have two areas on FaceBook, a fan page and a group, Chocolate For Dogs and Other Bad Ideas.  I’m going to be offering a 20% discount off the “retail” price for people who are either a fan, or a member of the group.  If you don’t have a FaceBook account, get one today — it’s a pretty cool site, and I pretty much live there (well, I spend most of my online time there at least).

So make sure you join either of those today, and make sure all your friends join as well!

Thank You!

First off, I’d like to thank everyone who showed up last night for helping to make the party a smashing success — couldn’t have done it without you guys!

And, for those of you who weren’t able to make it, it was a success.  We sold a lot more copies of Like Glass than I honestly expected to, and I can’t thank everyone enough.  Besides, even if we hadn’t sold a single copy, it was still a great time, and that’s the most important thing.  And I only misspelled one customer’s name, so that’s not too bad for my first signing   (Sorry again about that, Lacy!)

Now, though, it’s time to start focusing on the next one!

I’m having a book signing at The Book Rack, at Pebble Hills and Lee Trevino, (in El Paso) on December 6th.  Make sure you get a copy today — follow the links on the sidebar or at http://chocolatefordogs.com/like-glass — so  you’ll have one then!

Thanks again to everyone who stopped by!

Having a Party

Well, tonights the big night, and I’ll be honest, I’m nervous.  I know I shouldn’t be, I’m sure everything’s going to go fine.  One of my worst fears about the party has already been quelled — don’t try to get me to explain; I won’t — so everything ought to be perfectly fine.

Still though, I kinda hate being in the spotlight.  I know, I’m wanting to be a big-shot author, so that’s not a good combination; I’m (hopefully) going to have to be in the spotlight more often than I’d probably like, if I want to sell any books.  But for tonight, at least, I need to go out there and shake hands and sign copies and do the whole PR thing.  It’ll probably be fun, once the ball gets rolling; just like everything else in life: the anticipation is worse than the event.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m also damned excited about it too.  I’m anxious to see just how many people show up, how many copies I sell, everything like that.  And, above all else, it’s a party.  That’s the important thing I’m trying to keep in mind — we’re gonna have a blast.  I love the bar, my wife’ll be there for (im)moral support, and there’ll be lots of drinks and friends around.  Probably get a couple of games of pool in.

Unfortunately — or fortunately, depending on your perspective — the karaoke got cancelled.  So, if you were afraid of hearing me warble out “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn” rest assured that I most likely will not be butchering any songs tonight.

I need to make some phone calls, so I’m cutting this short; but if you’re in the area, make sure you stop by: 3905 Broaddus, El Paso, TX.  Maybe I’ll buy you a beer.

State of the Arts Interview Up!

If you weren’t able to catch it live on Saturday, the folks at KTEP were nice enough to give me an mp3 of my interview with Monica Gomez.  Thanks again, Monica!

State of the Arts Interview ~6:00

Make sure you check out the rest of the interviews from the program as well, at http://www.ktep.org/program_detail.sstg?id=31.

Quickie Update: In the Paper

Just wanted to drop a quick line to let everyone know that I was featured in today’s El Paso Times’ Entertainment section — you can check it out at http://www.elpasotimes.com/entertainment/ci_10936567.

And remember: time is running out to get your copy of Like Glass in time for the party on Friday — I’ll have some copies available there, but they’ll go early.  Some people already have some copies reserved, so get yours at Amazon today!

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