Since signing the publishing contract for Going to Beautiful, there have been a lot of things going on, even though the book’s release date is over a year away.
One of the first things I did…and among the most enjoyable…was initiating The Beautiful Bunch. The whole idea behind The Beautiful Bunch is to bring together an ‘army’ of readers who are interested in hearing about Going to Beautiful from its infancy to the day we release it into the world next May.
Twenty years ago when I first put pen to paper (fingertip to keypad just doesn’t have the same ring to it) I had no idea of all the things that go into publishing a book, from both the creative and business side of things. Apparently writing the book is only the beginning. Everything from editing, marketing, communicating with booksellers, cover design and making sure the author head shot photographer has killer PhotoShop abilities.
I’m thinking this one might work. It looks just like me…right?
I began by contacting all the wonderful readers who’ve been with me on the journey from Russell Quant through Adam Saint and my first stand alone book, Set Free. The result was several uplifting days communicating with people, some of whom I hadn’t chatted with in years. The most surprising thing was how good some people’s memories are, recollecting with great detail book launches, reading events or email exchanges we shared. A few memories I could have done without. Like the Chicago library event attended by one person (and he was the librarian), or when my driver got stuck in traffic heading to a suburban bookstore outside of Detroit making me an hour late (I HATE being late). On two occasions, my email bounced back with a message telling me the recipient had passed away. Broke my heart. But most interactions were heartwarming or good for a laugh. In the end, The Beautiful Bunch began to take shape.
Beautiful Bunch members come from as far away as Australia (Hi Red and Aubrey and Dale) and pretty much every demographic you can name. Just the way I like it.
If you know someone who might get a kick out of joining us in The Beautiful Bunch, please copy and paste the web address below into an email, text, tweet, Facebook post (or fax if you’re a 90’s kinda person) to connect with me and be put on the list:
anthonybidulka.com/contact
I promise not write too often, or make the messages too long. And, hey, if I do, there’s a little thing called a DELETE button that I hear works pretty well. Should you ever decide you don’t want to be part of The Beautiful Bunch anymore, just use the same method to say STOP IT. I will cry. And tell my mother. But hey, that’s not your problem.
Right about now, you may be muttering to yourself two things. #1: I thought he said he wasn’t going to make these messages too long. #2: All this blabbering and all I know about the book is the title!
Okay, okay. At this stage not much information is being released, but, for The Beautiful Bunch an early teaser..as long as you don’t say where you heard it…the following quote is being considered as part of the book’s promo material:
In Bidulka’s “love letter to life on the prairies” he delivers a story of grief and loss that manages to burst with joy, tenderness and hope. Redolent of his earlier works, Going to Beautiful brings us unexpected, under-represented characters and settings that immediately feel familiar and beloved.
If this is your first time to this blog and you would like to become a member of The Beautiful Bunch – I’d really like that! – just click the link below to send me a message: