The title says it all—I’m excited to announce that pre-orders for my new chapbook, The Blacksmith and the Porcupines, are now open!
If you’re new to this blog or just haven’t heard, The Blacksmith and the Porcupines is a fairy tale political satire inspired by both recent events in my home state of New Hampshire and George Orwell’s Animal Farm. It’s also a standalone companion story to my second novel, Carcrash Parker and the Haven of Larpers, and takes place in the fantasy world of Granitaria (though you can definitely enjoy The Blacksmith and the Porcupines if you haven’t read Carcrash!).
Pre-orders for signed copies are available through my webstore and will ship on or before the release date of September 12th. It’s not available through Amazon or other online shops, just through my webstore or local bookshops. The book is fairly small and easy to mail, which means I’m able to offer international shipping at a more reasonable price if you’re outside in the US. As always, I can also write a personalized message to anyone who wants one!
Also, in the spirit of using satire and storytelling to make a difference in the world, I’m donating half of all net proceeds from the pre-order and launch events to support local Democratic candidates in my part of New Hampshire: incumbent NH State Representatives Tony Caplan, Eileen Kelly, and Stephanie Payeur, and NH State Senate candidate Rebecca Harned, who has an excellent shot at winning my district and can really make a difference in the NH State Senate!
All four candidates will also be appearing at The Blacksmith and the Porcupines Launch event on Saturday, September 12th at 2:00pm at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, NH! This is going to be a fun afternoon of fairy tales and politics where I’ll give a reading and talk about how the chapbook came to be in the first half, then the political candidates will talk about recent goings-on in NH state politics in the second half.
Since the real cover is coming soon, for now I’m using a temporary cover featuring this public domain blacksmith image from the fairy tale collection Fairy Tales from Baltic Shores—I’ll replace it with the real cover when it’s ready!
Storytelling as a Conversation-Starter
Part of what inspired The Blacksmith and the Porcupines was my search for a way to help people understand some pretty crazy stuff that’s been going on at the New Hampshire state level.
Most people, I think, are relatively familiar with national politics in terms of who their US senators and representatives are and what random chaos is emanating from the White House on a given afternoon. Fewer people, though, are clued into what’s going on in their home states, and New Hampshire is no exception—especially when recent revenue cuts and massive amounts of outside influence are having a BIG effect on our state’s leadership, our schools, and our local property taxes. I wanted The Blacksmith and the Porcupines to ring bells for people in New Hampshire but also be approachable and fun for everyone else, who could learn about or imagine what’s going on in another state (albeit an exaggerated fantasy one!).
Storytelling can give people real insight into what’s going on around them—the problems they and their neighbors are facing, along with the cause and effect that real policies have. In many ways, hearing a story is more powerful than reading a news article or listening to a political speech because the story gives real form and experience to a complex issue, even if that story just happens to be about wizards and elves and maybe even a dragon.
In putting together The Blacksmith and the Porcupines, I wanted to lend humor, fantasy, and character to state and local stories that don’t get nearly enough attention and haven’t really been told in this way before (that I’m aware of). The result can not only help people better understand the world around them, but can be fun for its own sake while also being truly unique.
So if you want to be one of the first to check out The Blacksmith and the Porcupines, pre-order a copy from my webstore or come by the September 12th launch event at BookEnds in Warner. The fifty-fifty donation split for local NH Democratic candidates only applies to orders on or before September 12th, so it’s your chance to send more of your money to a good cause!
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