It’s been a whirlwind of activity here at Brooklyn Wars Central, as in just the last couple of weeks we’ve:

• Finalized the copyedited manuscript (big thanks to Lori Azim for running the text through her fine-toothed editing comb!), and sent it out to readers for cover blurbs.
• Come up with a preliminary cover design that you’ll get to see as soon as it’s no longer preliminary (which mostly consists of me deciding I’ve twiddled with the fonts for long enough).
• Created a publishing imprint: Welcome to the world, Second System Press!
• Started a Createspace account so I can turn these components into real live books (IMPORTANT NOTE: not actually alive) that will show up in your mailboxes, whether physical, electronic, or both.

Next up on the to-do list is sending out review copies, which you can get in on if you like: If you’re interested in reviewing The Brooklyn Wars, or know anyone else who would be, please send me your name and publication, and I’ll have a pre-release copy of the e-book whisked your way. (If you’re a Kickstarter funder, you’ll still get your regular finished copy and any other rewards in September.)

I’m also going to be working on setting up some readings across Brooklyn in the fall, and potentially in a wider geographic area if there’s interest. (I hear Brooklyn is huge in Sweden. I’m probably not going to do a reading in Sweden.) As soon as I have finalized dates, you’ll be the first to know.

Okay, that’s all for now. Time to take one more look at the cover, and then learn how to silkscreen t-shirts. Summer fun!

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P.S. While I was typing this up, news came in that the coming shutdown of the L train to northern Brooklyn in 2019 for post-Hurricane Sandy repairs will last a full year and a half. This will undoubtedly be a nightmare for folks who live in the area, including many of my friends, yet still my first thought was: I wonder if this will do anything to slow down the gentrification of Bushwick? Such is the world we live in…