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Sunday, April 29th, 2012
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10:42 am - burned out?
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Hello there to everyone occupying that increasingly small middle space in the two-circle Venn diagram of "people who still remember me" and "people who still read/use Livejournal."
So I'd come back from the con all charged up to restart my work again and . . . . I don't know. Everything just seemed to fizzle. After working like a coked-out beaver to get my second book ready in time for the Con, I just sort of fell flat. Was kind of depressed for a while - wasn't really even thinking about art, was pretty much just happy if I could get out of bed and put my pants on.
I'm doing a little better now. I still need to get my second book up for sale over at IndyPlanet, and I'm also working on redoing the first book in better dimensions. I actually managed to get a distribution agreement - not quite as cool as getting published, but it's a step in the right direction. They understand that it takes time to put a book together / secure an ISBN and barcode / get the fuck OVER yourself, but it's still probably better if I don't make them wait too long. Mike said he'd go down there with me, which I'm glad about. Even if they don't remember me, they'll remember him. Christ, the head of the publishing department remembered him immediately, even after Mike dropped off the radar without a word for FIVE YEARS. I think it'll be good to have him along.
Still planning to start a new online comic, hoping for a end of May or June launch, but I keep getting sidetracked by little stuff or negative thinking. Some of what I'm thinking about is a little ambitious. Still, I'll do my best.
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(11 comments | comment on this)
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| Saturday, March 31st, 2012
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10:41 am - As if I didn't have enough pressure to get back into production
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| Sunday, March 25th, 2012
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12:07 pm
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| Tuesday, March 20th, 2012
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7:30 pm - The Wondercon Breakdown
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On the one hand, I knew there might be difficulties from holding a con in a new place for the first time, and never did I expect to make back enough money to compensate for taking the trip to Anaheim. That being said, the Anaheim Wondercon was something of a . . . . well, I'd say "challenge" if in a good mood, and "shitfest" if not.
The new building was much larger than Moscone, and I don't think the Wondercon folks used the layout to their best advantage. Also, in a monumentally surreal decision on the part of the convention-hall owners, they held a high-school combination girl's volleyball and cheerleading meet in the same building at the same time, drawing away our most valued demographic of comic-purchasing pedophiles.
Due to a very weird layout situation, the Artist Alley was blocked off in one six-aisle section by a "pillar-wall", with no other draws for traffic, creating a kind of "blind spot" or "dead zone." Guess where they put me. And yes, this affected sales.
However, this is one of those situations where it is important to see the forest for the trees. Even while situated in Hell's Frozen Asshole, I still managed to make back my table. I had some fantastic and very helpful neighbors - a great big thank-you to Jay and Donny from Time of the Fairies and Alejandro from Xmas On TV.
I got to witness people enjoy reading my books. I met some fans. I got to answer questions and sign some books. One very nice fellow even wanted a picture with me. That was an ego-booster!
I also got to meet a great many artists I admire very much! I was super excited to meet Evan Dahm of Rice Boy and Vattu fame. I think he thought I was a little nuts. At the time, I likely was. I found Phil Foglio and thought he was super nice. He was even nice enough to stop by my table! Unfortunately, the first thing he picked up was Sauce! Two pages in, he made a disgusted grimace and left. Sorry, Phil, I did not mean to gross you out, and I shall win your respect back somehow at the next Wondercon!
Near the end of the con, I found Kris Straub's table. He's also quite nice, and we actually talked craft for several minutes. I don't think I'd ever felt so legitimate before! Finally, I ran into Randy Millholland. For all the caustic characters he writes, he really is a sweetheart. Also, his beard is consuming him as it shall someday consume all things. I bought two Super Stupors, which he signed, and he made me a free sketch. I gave him one of my postcards and mentioned that half the drive for Bunnies came from meeting him at an NYU event eight years ago where I received webcomic advice along the lines of "just freaking do it." He said he looked forward to seeing my work, so . . . . Cloud Nine!
Basically, even though the con cost me money, it had its compensations and was overall very purpose-affirming. And the best part of all? Scuttlebutt has it that the con people were overall very underwhelmed by the Anaheim crowd, and they're moving back to San Francisco next year! YAY!!!!
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, March 14th, 2012
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1:39 am - Jesus, woman! You've been gone for nearly two months! What'cha been doin', twiddlin' yer taco?!
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Not as such.
What HAVE I been doing for the past few months? On the one hand, the creative block has been heavy and unrelenting. On the other hand, apparently my reaction to it this time has been to shift my physically-capable production side into high gear. As of this writing, I have put together not just a brand new Bunnies second-year book, but TWO little companion volumes of SAUCE! Just my comics, of course, none of Mike's. I don't have online listings for them yet, but I will soon. Right now I'm just glad I have some copies to sell at Wondercon.
Oh, yeah. I'm also going to Wondercon. Probably should have mentioned that earlier, but it was really teetering there for a while. Getting my travel plans and merch together was a swirling series of ups and downs and ups and downs like a merry-go-round. Roller coaster. Some kind of carnival ride that makes you barf, anyway.
I've got an eight-hour drive tomorrow, I should probably be asleep now. I won't be disappointed if I don't find anyone who knows me at the Con, but if any wayward fan does pop up, I know I'll be happily surprised!
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, January 18th, 2012
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1:29 pm - Just in case you wanted to get outraged about something that wasn't SOPA for a change:
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1:21 am - Since LJ isn't part of the blackout . . .
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FUCK SOPA. AND PIPA.
Okay, so I'm a joiner, but it's a very good cause. Even if you don't feel like signing a petition (Google's got a big one up) or protesting in public, it'd be nice if you could keep the message moving.
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(6 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, January 11th, 2012
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6:09 pm - The Great Mental Kidney Stone
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Having some interesting creativity problems lately. All existing created ideas that have been written down or otherwise recorded in some form are still okay, but half-finished ideas are taking forever to complete, and I haven't generated any real usable new ideas in almost three weeks. That may not seem like a long time to some folks, but since previous productivity was something like a new usable idea every three minutes, this bothers me.
Rebuffs from the comics club are along the lines of "But, Audrey, you come up with new ideas all the time! You were working on something new last week!" Best kept secret in Hollywood - these are NOT new ideas. These are ideas that have been kept in reserve for a long time, and are only now making their way to the front of the line. However, at the END of that line, there's nothing new generating. I suppose it's a strange comfort that even if I never get another new idea, I've got so much of a backlog that anyone who isn't me might never notice!
Suffice to say that Chat, as a half-finished idea, has temporarily taken a backseat.
The one upside to all this is that while creativity has gone down, executive ability has gone up. So, I'm using this time to try to get all the books (1 Bunnies, 2 Sauce) done in time for the upcoming con. In the interim, it's kind of a blessing, I just hope it doesn't stay like this!
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Friday, December 30th, 2011
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1:22 pm - Sooo . . . . new cycle of 365 coming around again
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Actually, it'll be 366 this year. Leap year, you know.
I'm not really a big New Year's Eve person anymore. My liver isn't what it used to be in college, and I get a teense uncomfortable in crowds of over one thousand. Been developing a strange fondness for New Year's Day, though. I try to either get up early enough or stay up late enough to see the sunrise, and I like making resolutions. Writing up my resolution list ends up a lot like writing up my "to do" lists; nothing ever is actually accomplished but the making of the list, yet that alone gives me such a feeling of accomplishment that it ultimately doesn't matter.
So, here are my resolutions for 2012:
( Cut for those driven to rage by lists )
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(4 comments | comment on this)
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| Sunday, December 11th, 2011
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5:22 pm - A subject near and dear to my heart
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| Monday, November 28th, 2011
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7:15 pm
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| Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011
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8:36 pm
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The local sewage pipe backed up, wrecking my toilet and flooding my shower with watered-down human excrement. The plumber can't be here until Wednesday morning, so I have to spend the night at my parents' house.
Happy Birthday To Me!
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, November 21st, 2011
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12:21 am - ?
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So, my birthday is this Tuesday. Suitable enough time for reflection as any, I suppose.
Some people hate birthdays, or even fear them. I'm not afraid of birthdays, but birthdays do tend to prompt introspection, and that can be scary. Something about a birthday makes a person want to take stock of his life, examine where he is at the end of his year compared to the start of it, and everything that's happened in the interim.
So, how's my year been?
I still have my job, in any case, which is good. I'm even trying to drum up more work for myself. There are some positive signs in the offing, but again, getting one's hopes up too high in advance leads to disappointment. So, I'm going to resume silence on the subject, but continue to hold up a pair of crossed fingers.
I brought an end to one of the things that has defined my life for a very long time last May, and still haven't settled into a new project. Are You My Mommy? should be ending in just a few short weeks, and I promised I'd mention where I was with the followup project when it was time to start again. Well, here's where I am - nowhere. Chat has NOT gone into production in the interim. I have no one to blame but myself for that. It's still something I'd like to make, but I'm starting to question if I have the discipline to make it.
Okay, so if I'm not working on the next big thing, what AM I doing? Well, the second Bunnies book, of course, although even THAT is going much slower than it should. Everything was stuck for months behind the one big rock in the road. Remember Sauce? I made a book. Just my stuff, not Mike Hales'. Then I made an additional 30 comics and am making a second book. Going to try to get both print-ready through Ka-Blam. Fortunately, all Sauce comics have been finished. Now all I have to do is try to get three books made. Weehee.
I haven't been on the Internet for networking purposes nearly as much lately. Most of my internet friends can attest to that. At the same time, my life outside the internet has been expanding. I suppose that's a good thing. On the one hand, I worry that I'm losing focus on my personal motivation and creative goals. On the other hand, it is nice to have places to visit that aren't just my own house and the grocery store. I've been involved with Mission Mini Comix more often these days, but I'm contemplating a hiatus. They're good folks, and I like helping with the minis, but if energy I put there is much needed energy I can't put into personal projects, well, that's a problem for me.
I guess I'm back to considering what I considered a while ago: paring my net presence down to nearly zero. Just because I'm not updating doesn't mean I'm not drawing or writing, and many other presences have slowly wandered from the internet leaving nearly no footprint. Dan Kim, Aeire and the author of Hanna Is Not A Boy's Name come to mind. See? It's like nearly a tradition or something!
No promises, no guarantees. In any case, I at least feel the need to justify to whatever eyes are watching that I HAVE been working these last several months, so I'm going to post a handful of Sauce! comics on the blog this week. You want the rest, you're going to have to buy the book. That isn't ready yet, God dammit. Ah, well. One foot in front of the other.
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, October 31st, 2011
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5:07 pm - Almost too late, sorry, but here . . . .
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| Saturday, October 22nd, 2011
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11:42 am - Okay, this story is just too good not to share.
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I've been attending Yaoi-Con as a kind of "final hurrah" to my fangirl days. I even sold nearly all of my carefully-gathered "reading materials" from my younger fan days at the swap meet, for money that can now be put into printing my own work. Out with the old, in with the new, you know? Time to move on, nearly thirty and should start acting like it, etc.
However, if yesterday was any indicator, I think God / the Tao / The Infinity of Space wants me to stay a yaoi fan.
( What brought THIS on??? )
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, October 17th, 2011
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12:02 am
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| Thursday, October 13th, 2011
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1:50 pm - #OccupyWallStreet
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| Tuesday, October 11th, 2011
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11:58 pm
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New AYMM.
Currently debating whether or not to attend Wondercon this year.
PRO:
- I made quite a bit of money last year!
- I met so many wonderful people and actually had quite a good time
- I should have two new books ready (Bunnies Year Two and another Sauce book to go with Volume 1) and possibly some other new merch as well.
CON:
- It's moved from San Francisco to Anaheim. Even if I drive and stay at the cheapest hotel, it's still going to run me a couple hundred. I'll be lucky to break even and possibly lose money.
- Since Bunnies ended in May, I think I've lost some net presence and it's possible fewer people will notice or recognize me.
- ARGGH SIX HOUR DRIVE TO LOS ANGELES ARGGGGH
Still undecided. Thoughts, anybody?
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, October 10th, 2011
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10:26 pm - Sauce Has Competition!
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12:23 am
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