David Lee Holcomb

I survived another public appearance! On this occasion, I wasn't expected to do any public speaking, but I did let someone take my picture. THAT doesn't happen every day. Many thanks to the folks at Pearl's Books for letting me be a part of their event.

Come on out and say hello!

Don't miss out! Open house tomorrow (Sunday) from noon to three! I'll be there! Will you?

I'm putting together an email list for my writing stuff. People on the list get exclusive access to previews, pre-releases, discounts, and audiobook projects. (I won't be sharing the list or using it for anything else.)

If you're someone who is interested in my writing and would like to be included on the list, just send me your email address in a private message here, or email me at davidleeholcomb at Gmail and put "mailing list" in the subject line.

In case you think this is just a bot talking, trying to steal your life, let me tell you that Pope Alexander VI came to power by the simple expedient of having all the other candidates for Pope assassinated, and he had eleven children, including the lovely Lucrezia Borgia and her unlovely and -- mildly psychopathic -- brother Cesare. If you've ever spent more than ten minutes in my company, you KNOW this is me talking.

Tomorrow! Be there, or be square!

I spent a pleasant afternoon at Khana Grill yesterday and even had a visit from the nicest Classics professor I know!

Join us Saturday afternoon as we welcome and to the shop for our local author showcase. ❤️📚

Another event this evening, at Pearl's Books, just off the square in Fayetteville! Come on out and join us!

In the unlikely event that anybody his missed this link previously, this will take you to a page that accesses all the places you can buy my book.

Available now at your favorite digital store! Lake Road, Last House by David Lee Holcomb

Two readings this week! Be there or be square! (Books will be available for purchase at both events.)

West Fork Public Library

They're here! My copies of the paperback for distribution to the bookstores have arrived! And they're PERFECT!

I'll be signing books, and I'll have some for sale!

"After you've passed several miles of rocky green pastures dotted with sturdy and respectable cattle, you’ll come to the equally sturdy and respectable Lake Road Methodist Church, sitting vigil over a graveyard older than the church itself; the dead outnumber the living in this congregation by three to one. Surrounded by its silent flock, the church stares across the road at the lake in prim defiance, secure from storm and flood on the highest point of land in the district. The dead, clustered at the skirts of the modest elevation, are more exposed, but they have less to lose should the lake become obstreperous..." -- from "Lake Road, Last House," available on Amazon, Apple Books, and other outlets starting September 16.

All four formats of the new novel have been uploaded. The third (and, I hope, final) set of proofs from Amazon is due by next week, and then I can sign off on the print versions of the book. I have three tentative speaking dates lined up (so far). The manuscript has been edited and proofed by three humans and an AI. September 16, here I come!

"While Grandfather was like one of the rock outcroppings that made most of the farm useless for large-scale commercial agriculture, Grandmother was fog off the lake at sunrise. She was a small woman, probably quite beautiful in her day, who had raised two children, lost one and been disappointed in the other, then spent the years of my childhood fading quietly away. She would hug me at the beginning and end of my visits, and I will always remember the papery texture of her skin, the labored hiss of her breath, and the smell of lavender and burnt paper that clung to her long gray-blond hair."

-- from "Lake Road, Last House," the upcoming novel by David Lee Holcomb, available in September.

Temporarily blocked on "Strange News," but pounding away on three other projects. It's as if a book has to ferment for a few weeks after every twenty thousand words or so.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to sort out the difference between "a gay writer" and a "writer of novels with gay people in them." It's all much of a muchness to me, since I fit either category, but I'm finding that some folks in the traditional publishing industry like to make a distinction between the two.

Woo-hoo! Query Shark has finally signed off on my agent query letter for my novel "Lake Road, Last House," and I've sent it to the first agent on my new list.

It took me longer to get the query letter right than it did to write the novel in the first place, but Query Shark was incredibly helpful. Traditional publishing is definitely not for the faint of heart.

Well slap my butt and call me pinky.

I've been struggling for some weeks now, oscillating back and forth between two writing projects, trying -- unsuccessfully -- to get either of them to jell. Yesterday it finally occurred to me that what I needed to do was COMBINE the two. All of a sudden, I'm writing up a storm. Literary constipation is a terrible thing.

I say it a lot, but I’m saying it again, WE AUTHORS NEED YOUR SUPPORT!!!
Credit: Luna Wright - Author

One of the unexpected side effects of writing novels is a really varied search history.

So far today I have had to look up:

- What is the velocity of a human body striking pavement after falling from a 10th floor window? (88.87 feet per second.)

- What is the most venomous snake? (Australia's Inland Taipan.)

- After what amount of time does an epinephrin autoinjector lose its effectiveness? (It starts to weaken after one year.)

- What are the different kinds of shaft mines used in coal mining? (Slope, drift, and drop.)

- What actor in a horror movie had a noticeable five o'clock shadow? (John Saxon, as Dr. Bassi in "The Evil Eye", 1963.)

- What are the colors of the four countries in the Land of Oz? (Purple for Gillikin Country, Blue for Munchkin Land, Red for Quadling Country, and Yellow for Winkie Country.)

- How did Hazel Court's character die at the end of "The Raven," with Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Jack Nicholson? (Doctor Scarabus' castle falls on her.)

- What was the most fashionable model of Tesla available in 2013? (The Model X.)

This gets me up through Chapter Two. I pity the fool who ever tries to figure out how to sell me something based on this information.

Come on down! Friday, March 3, Fayetteville, Pearl's Book, right off the square!

Pearl's Books - Shop — Pearl's Books Pearl's Books is an independently owned book store, meaning buying with us is shopping local. In addition to our in-store inventory, you can buy from Pearl's Books online and support us through buying audiobooks.

March 3, downtown Fayetteville!

Pearl's Books - Shop — Pearl's Books Pearl's Books is an independently owned book store, meaning buying with us is shopping local. In addition to our in-store inventory, you can buy from Pearl's Books online and support us through buying audiobooks.

I find myself in the interesting position of having no more physical copies of my book "The Bone Doll" on hand. They are still available on Amazon, and Pearl's Books in Fayetteville still has two copies for sale. I'm ordering more this week, and they should be here by the middle of February.

(The ebook is, of course, available on Amazon, Apple Books, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble.)

For anyone interested in reading the novel but don't care to buy a copy, it's available for check-out at the Fayetteville Public Library, and at the West Fork Municipal Library.

The book reading at Ozark Folkways has come and gone. I expected between five and ten people -- We got 45. I sold all the books I had (including John's copy, which I guess I'll have to replace), and I answered questions for a little over an hour without mishap. Naturally I didn't take any pictures, but other folks did, so I'll share them when they appear.

Thanks to Kylee and John and the folks at Folkways for having me there, and special thanks to all the people who came out on a bleak winter's day to hear me talk!

I'm talking to a local bookstore about having an event. There are two choices:

I can do a Sunday book signing, a couple of hours while the shop is open, me at a table, chatting with the folks and signing books OR I can do a reading, a Thursday or Friday after the shop has closed for business, where I read a bit from the book and then do a Q&A, with the audience in chairs listening to me.

Which would y'all prefer to see? I've already bought the charcoal-gray turtleneck pullover and everything.

[Note that there are no options that don't involve me talking, so just get that idea right out of your head.]

I just heard that a friend bought a copy of "The Bone Doll" at Pearl's Books! Excellent move. Support your local independent booksellers -- and your local authors!

Pearl's Books Welcome to Pearl's Books, a family-owned independent bookstore located in the Fayetteville Town Square. Pearl's Books is not only a place to buy books, but to meet with friends, enjoy food and drink, and celebrate a love of reading.

This evening I was putting together another query letter for a literary agent and I needed to cut and paste the first chapter of "Lake Road, Last House" into the letter.

An hour later I found myself just finishing up reading Chapter Eight, the letter still not sent. I had gotten sucked into my own novel! I realized that my critical reader self had just paid my insecure writer self the greatest compliment.

I just got back from my first public presentation as a book author, talking to a dozen members of a local book club. It all went quite well, I think. My only serious faux pas was running substantially over my allotted time, but -- oddly enough -- no one seemed surprised.

Actually, everybody was very nice, very welcoming and attentive, and asked all the right questions. I'm glad I went!