September 2008 Volume 6, Issue 2
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September 2008 Volume 6, Issue 2 |
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Where the hell have I been? But, more importantly, where the hell am I? |
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Yeah... Don Ho I ain't... But what can I say? I'm no Wayne Newton or Michael Bubbly (or however you spell it) either. In reality, that is a picture of me at the 2008 Pagan Unity Festival near Nashville, TN earlier this year. I was listening to a question from a workshop attendee, hence the silly look on my face.(because I was trying to think up a silly answer...) So... To answer the question above, pretty much right here. Just like I was saying in the previous newsletter, due to the fact that I was away from my family on tour for 7 months during 2007, I decided to limit my traveling in 2008. Don't get me wrong, I love going on the road and meeting folks, but I needed a chance to catch my breath, AND I thought it might be a good idea to make sure my daughter realized that she DOES have a father, and that my wife wasn't running classified ads looking for a replacement husband. Fortunately, she does, and she wasn't, respectively, so that's all good. However, I have to be honest. I had NOT planned to stay home quite as long as I have. |
Yes... That last comment begs the question, "But, Murv... Why DID you stay home as long as you have this year." Well, as we know, the best laid plans of mice and Murv's often go astray, and that is exactly what happened this time. Let's start with February. I was scheduled to be in Michigan for ConVocation, and absolutely wonderful alternative spirituality convention that I have done twice in the past. It had been several years since I had been there, so I was looking forward to re-acquainting myself with old friends, meeting new friends, and hanging out with that Morrison woman, since we were booked into the Con together. Well, the day came for me to fly to Detroit and GCC (Global Climate Change) kicked in. Here in Saint Louis we haven't been having particularly harsh winters for several years. Momma Nature and GCC had different ideas for 07-08. My publicist, the ever fantastic and wonderous "Chunkee" of Firestorm Publicity Services came by to pick me up and whisk me off to the airport since my wife was at work. |
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Leftovers From The Ice Storm And Freezing Rain |
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However, an ice storm had begun mid morning and it wasn't showing signs of letting up. As we were about to walk out the door, I took a moment to shut down my computer and found an urgent message in my inbox - seems the alert I set up with the airline was doing its job - my flight to Detroit was cancelled. Okay... so I get another flight. Well... I won't go into ALL of the sordid details, suffice it to say, I was rescheduled to fly out the next day - Friday - but by Thursday evening that flight had been cancelled too. Then I was rescheduled for Saturday morning, but by Friday evening THAT flight was cancelled. By late Friday night the airline informed me that they *might*, as in no guarantees, be able to get me to Detroit by sometime late Saturday evening or night. Well, since the convention was set to end at noon on Sunday, the organizers and I decided it would probably be best to call it a wash and be done with it. I sent them all the paperwork the airline sent me so hopefully they were able to get a refund, or at least a low cost change on the ticket. |
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Okay... So that explains February, but this is September. |
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Right you are... And, believe it or not, I actually DID do a bit of traveling this year. March found me digging for my passport as I was booked for an international gig. The first annual Ostara Fest in the country of Texas. Okay, so I didn't REALLY need a passport, per se, but have you even been to Texas? It is definitely its own friggin' country. Just ask the folks down there. They'll tell you. Either way, I jetted off to Killeen Texas, where I hung out at Sisters of the Earth and Sea with some absolutely WONDERFUL folks. Dorothy and I were booked for the fest, along with Ellen Dugan. We were each assigned "handlers," and mine just happened to be Laurie, one of the owners of the store sponsoring the event. Well, everyone calls her Lolly... I figured out why when she forgot to feed me. (LOL)... Just kidding. Well, not entirely. Lolly DID forget to feed me one day, but believe me, the woman was up to her eyeballs running the festival, and I'm a big boy. If I had been terribly hungry I would have found some food. Truth is, I hadn't even given it much thought myself because I was so busy signing books and hanging out with all the cool folks who came to the event. |
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In any event, Lolly was a great handler, and she DID see to it that I got fed (eventually - LOL)... But seriously, great care was taken of all of us, and I can't wait to go back again - in fact, I have already officially been booked for Ostara Fest 2009! March just marched right on into April, which I spent writing. Nothing spectacular there... I mean, if you want to see a picture of me writing I can have my wife take one, but trust me, it's pretty boring. April did what April does, and that led us into May.
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Pictured left to right: M. R. Sellars, Ostara Fest Attendee Angie, and that Morrison woman |
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May was an interesting month. Besides writing, I had the Pagan Unity Festival in Burns, Tennessee. An absolutely wonderful event put on by author and shop owner, Tish Owen. I have been speaking at PUF since their third year, and I have been told that I am a permanent fixture. Guess what? I don't mind that at all. I get to attend a wonderful fest, hang out with old friends like Tish and her husband Patrick, not to mention a ton of other good friends. And, on top of that, they feed me. Food is good, and food is love in the South. Being from the South I know this... And, since they feed me, I know they love me! The feeling is mutual! However, as I said, it was an interesting month, and the following will explain why, with the exception of a local gig at the Saint Louis Pagan Picnic, I have been AWOL... You see, when my father passed away in 2003 I inherited some rental property, along with a tenant. Well, I won't go into involved details, but let's just say that starting in May things became very ugly. The property sustained a enormous amount of damage and the dust is only beginning to settle. At any rate, I have been working on that house, gutting the basement due to a flood which resulted in rampant mold. |
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Mold and Water Damage |
Partial Tearout |
| So, work is still ongoing at the rental house. It probably will be until early next year due to the amount of damage and amount of renovation that needs doing. However, that won't keep me from hitting the road. With a new book coming out, it is almost like a moral imperative that I visit some cities besides Saint Louis, and therefore the "Real Witches Don't Ride Brooms" tour will be underway at the beginning of October. See later in this newsletter for the schedule... | |
LATEST and GREATEST |
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Speaking of new books, Blood Moon is set to officially hit the streets 10/03. If you are a regular reader of my blog I am sure you saw my lament about needing an extension on my deadline and the fact the the rental property from hell had put me so far off schedule as to threaten the actual release date of this book. Well, fortunately, as you can see, I burned quite a bit of midnight oil, and it is going to be out on time. Believe me, I wasn't being Cchicken Little when I posted that blog. I really did believe the sky was falling... And, to be honest, I am amazed that it didn't. So, anyway, here is what some of the reviewers have been saying... "Sellars does it again, giving us a wild ride
on a roller coaster of grief, humor and fear!" "With a bit of humor, mostly to ease the stress levels of readers, BLOOD MOON is another superb paranormal whodunit. This great Gant novel is a must read!"
--Harriet Klausner, Nationally Syndicated Reviewer
"If you enjoy mysteries; if you enjoy books with an occult theme by people who know what they are talking about; if you enjoy well-written books, you don’t want to miss this book, or any in the series." --Mike Gleason, Nationally Syndicated Reviewer Blood Moon is already available for Pre-Order at the publisher website, www.willowtreepress.com, as well as at Amazon.com, B&N.com, etc... |
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And, as it happens, Blood Moon isn't the only project due out this year. Slated for release in December (due to a production snafu - yes, it was orignially supposed to be out on Halloween) is a wonderful horror anthology from Apex Books titled, Courting Morpheus. Your's truly has a short included in the anthology which is a one-off Rowan Gant based story, set in the world/mythos of the anthology. While it draws from and fits into the overall arch of Courting Morpheus, it also keeps itself firmly planted in the RGI world so as not to alter canon. In fact, if you read it, and Blood Moon closely, you will find an inside joke in the latest novel. Courting Morpheus is now available for pre-order from Apex - Just click on the banner below to reserve a copy. And, as with any of my novels, feel free to bring your copy of Courting Morpheus along to any of my gigs and I'll be more than happy to sign it... |
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Also, Apex is running a special promotional offer - Get Courting Morpheus, Gratia Placenti, and Aegri Somnia for $21.95. That's THREE fantastic horror anthologies from Apex, all for $21.95... Kind of hard to beat that, especially when you consider that Courting Morpheus is $15.95 by itself. To take advantage of this special promotional offer, follow the link below: |
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Okay, that is about all of the rambling I can manage for the time being. I'll sign off for now, and leave you with my tour schedule for the rest of the year. As always, for the latest and greatest updates on what kind of silliness I may be getting into, visit my website, and especially my official blog - Brainpan Leakage: From The Warped Mind of M. R. Sellars. |
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REMAINING 2008 TOUR SCHEDULE |
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| September: | |
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| 26th - 28th | Earth Warriors Festival, Newark, OH |
MORRISON-SELLARS JOINT BOOK RELEASE TOUR BEGINS
BLOOD MOON (SELLARS) - LUCINDA'S WEB (MORRISON)SOUTHERN UNITED STATES
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| October: | |
| 3rd - 4th | 13 Magickal Moons - Occoquan, VA (Release Party) |
| 5th | Mystic Moon - Norfolk, VA |
| 6th | Eclectic By Nature - Greensboro, NC |
| 7th | Belladonna's Books & Gifts - Columbia, SC |
| 8th | Southern Hemisphere Books & Gifts - Savannah, GA |
| 9th | Books, Beans, & Candles - Birmingham, AL |
| 10th - 12th | 2008 Witchcraft Conference, Metairie, LA |
| 13th | TRAVEL DAY |
| 14th | Goddess and the Moon - Nashville, TN |
| 15th - 16th | TRAVEL and LAUNDRY DAY(S) |
| 17th | Widdershins - Louisville, KY |
| 18th | A Fairies Circle - Waynesboro, VA |
| November: | |
| 7th - 9th | Florida Pagan Gathering - Ocala, FL |
| The 2009 Tour Schedule is still in the works so visit www.mrsellars.com for all of the up to date changes over the next few months. | |
