Odds ‘n’ Ends

Bernie and I attended a showing of a very funny, very intelligent, very sensitive new film playing at the theaters titled AMERICAN FICTION, starring Jeffrey Wright as a writer who wants to be recognized for his work without labels, as he doesn’t feel his work should be classified solely for the African-American section of the bookshelves. Sterling K Brown portrays Wright’s brother in the story. Needless to say, events force his hand to rethink his position out of necessity while fighting to retain his integrity. We enjoyed it a lot and encourage everyone to check it out.

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I want to express my appreciation for everyone who has pre-ordered a copy of THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS. At this time, I’m still working on finishing up the last few pages, while my production artist Tom is prepping the completed pages into a format for submission to the printer.

Currently, we’re approaching 120 pre-orders, so there’s still opportunity to acquire a copy with a limited edition LARA-SU print, and I’m still adding names to the SPECIAL THANKS page right up to the point when I finish the art for the last page. Once we get into proofreading and pagination, that’s it. No more names added to the book. (I will, however, continue to add names to the SPECIAL THANKS page that can be accessed in the Lara-Su app.)

I had a chance to show my neighbor – who ordered 3 copies, one for him and one for each of his sons – the prototype I received from the printer, and his reaction was a revelation to me. I wasn’t surprised that he placed an order for my book, as he has a track record of supporting artists of all stripes, but what did surprise me was his expectation of the book being a smaller size and printed with a softcover. Upon seeing the book was both larger in size – slightly bigger than your average comic book – and sporting a 4-color hardcover format, he couldn’t contain his very positive reaction, expressing how beautiful he thought the presentation was. I fully believe everyone who has ordered a copy will have the same reaction.

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I still haven’t decided how distribution of THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS will occur beyond direct ordering thru my website and convention appearances. What I do know is should I sell out the number of copies I’m having printed initially, the second printing will not be exactly the same as I’m already planning what editorial changes I would make for a second printing. And that’s if I do a second printing. I’m still trying to decide if I will have more LARA-SU SURVIVE! T-shirts printed as I sell out of certain sizes.

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Of course I’m bummed out my beloved Buffalo Bills didn’t make the Super Bowl this time around, but it was another entertaining season leaving me looking forward to a better outcome next season. Sometimes it’s not about the end result but the journey taken that matters more.

Likewise, I’m looking forward to seeing Trump wiped out financially once the results of the NY civil trail are in. For my money, Trump should already be in jail and totally disqualified from seeing his name listed for any office on any ballot. Anyone arguing they would be deprived of the ability to vote for their preferred candidate – in this case, Trump – should realize what a weak argument this is. Millions of Americans since the founding of this country have been deprived of being able to vote for a specific candidate over the years for a variety or reasons. Trump is not entitled to special treatment that no one else ever received. If anything, he pissed away any rights he had when he encouraged the insurrection of January 6, 2021.

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A final note for now: If you plan on attending this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, I slated to be found at Table II-24 in Artists Alley this July. I’ll have more details as we get closer to the convention. And now it’s time I get back to my drawing board. Thanks for your time and take care.