One More Day…

Tomorrow I’m heading to Long Beach for the Long Beach Indie Film Festival. I get to give my presentation about Women and Slasher Films. I’m both excited and incredibly nervous about the whole experience.

One of the things I had to do to prepare for my presentation was cut it down from an hour to 15 minutes. I really had to think about what was important to talk about, and I won’t be able to show all of my film clips. It was a fun challenge to figure out if I could get my point across in such a short amount of time. I think I accomplished the task, and I’m interested in seeing how it turns out.

I can’t wait to get to the conference. I think it’s going to be so much fun! I always get so jazzed and inspired going to them. And I love talking to other people about our passions. Everyone once in a while I just need to geek out, and conferences let me do that.

In celebration of the upcoming geek fest, here’s the information about the book that my presentation comes from. Enjoy!

Horror and slasher films are often dismissed for their apparent lack of sophistication and dearth of redeemable values. However, despite criticism from film snobs who turn up their noses and moralists who look down upon the genre, slasher films are more than just movies filled with gory mayhem. Such films can actually serve a purpose and offer their audiences something more than split skulls and severed heads.

In Life Lessons from Slasher Films, Jessica Robinson looks at representative works that have been scaring audiences for decades—from Alfred Hitchcock’s seminal shocker, Psycho, to the cult classic Black Christmas and iconic thrillers like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Scream. In this book, Robinson examines common themes that have emerged in these films, their various sequels, and countless imitators—a maniacal and seemingly indestructible executioner, sexual encounters that invariably lead to death, increasingly gruesome ways to slaughter helpless victims, and a lone female survivor who finds a way to vanquish the killer—and looks beyond such tropes for what these films can teach us about life.

From practical advice (listen to your elders) to moral platitudes (teens never learn), each chapter considers a different “lesson” that these films teach. Robinson discusses how the events portrayed in slasher films can resonate with viewers and perhaps offer constructive advice on how to conduct our lives. A fun read for fans and scholars alike, Life Lessons from Slasher Films offers an entertaining and persuasive look at how life can imitate art, and what art can say about life.

The Longest 5 Minutes

On Wednesday, I participated in Ignite.  The premise is that you have 5 minutes and 20 slides that switch every 15 seconds to tell a story.  I talked about Science and Zombies, which correlates with my book Undead Obsessed.  The experience was incredibly scary and nerve wracking.

I normally don't mind talking in front of people.  I do presentations and readings at libraries, but for some reason, this experience was completely different.  First of all, there were a lot more people there than I'm used to.  Preparing for the presentation took a while.  Trying to distill information down to 5 minutes is not an easy task.  Finding the pictures was probably the easiest, but then I had to time it perfectly to make sure I didn't go too fast or too slow.  It was a challenge.

I also have social anxiety, which means that I'm always afraid I'll say something stupid or offensive when I'm in public, and this situation wasn't any different.  Part of the nervousness and scariness came from thinking something dumb would come out of my mouth.  And after it was done, I ran through the entire night in my mind just to make sure I didn't say anything that would upset others.

I went third, and when I was done, it was such a relief.  I can't tell you how incredibly happy I was to get that done.  And during the intermission, I had some people come talk to me about zombies.  It was really cool.  I really enjoy talking about zombies.

Pushing the nerves and scariness aside, it was a blast to do this presentation.  I really enjoy being able to share my work with others.  Whether or not that translates into new readers of my work, well, we'll just have to wait and see.

But I must say, during the rehearsal, I was surprised to be told by two different people that they knew who I was.  I have no idea how they knew me, I had no idea who they were, but it made me feel good.  It made me think that maybe I'm not as invisible as I think I am.

Despite my social anxiety and the fear I felt doing this presentation, I'm glad I did it.  Hopefully, people in the audience learned something new.  Hopefully, I found some new fans.  Either way, I got myself out there.  Just don't ask if I plan on doing it again any time soon.

Put Yourself Out There

After my library visit on Wednesday, I've been thinking a lot about where I've been, where I'm at, and (hopefully) where I'm going.  And I feel very encouraged about the future.

When my first book came out in 2009, I had grand illusions that I would instantly become a bestseller and be able to quit my job and become a full-time writer.  Five years and several novels and nonfiction books later, I'm still not there.  I don't know if I'll ever be there, but the only thing I can do is continue to try.

One of the important lessons I learned in this process is that there are millions of other authors out there who share my same dream.  MILLIONS.  It became readily apparent that just because I had a book, that didn't mean people were going to be able to find it.  Who is randomly going to Google "Pembroke Sinclair"?  They could possibly find my books based on genre, but they're going to find a whole lot of other books in that genre as well.

I'll admit it, I'm still trying to figure this promotion game out.  I'm on social media and do blog tours and try to get reviews, but those don't always work out like I want them to.  I've read numerous times in many different places that Facebook is not the place to sell/advertise your book.  People don't look at those posts.  Well, I'm sure a few do, but they don't always lead to sales.  In Twitter, you can attempt to sell it there, but those quickly get lost in the multitude of conversations.

The biggest part about promotion is that I'm not supposed to be selling my books, I'm supposed to be selling me.  It took me a really long time to figure this one out.  When I first started writing, I wanted to do it under a pen name--partly because my real name was rather common and would be hard to find, but also because I wanted to be a little anonymous.  I felt like I needed to protect my family.  I didn't want any weirdos coming after them.  That thought, of course, was tacked on to the dream that millions of people would be reading my book.

When that didn't happen, I realized that I was probably approaching this whole thing wrong.  Then, my local newspaper outed me, so my secret was no longer a secret.  The real person behind Pembroke Sinclair was revealed.  That was actually quite freeing.  It allowed me to go out and promote my work to people, not hide.  It gave me a chance to do readings and book signings.

My first "gig" was at a local flea market.  The owner set it up so that I could do a signing and then talk to the group while they were waiting for Hometown Hurrah numbers to be called (this is a local tradition where people get tickets after making a purchase at a participating store and they can win Jingle Bucks to spend locally for their Christmas shopping).

A friend kept commenting, "Oh, you know you've made it big when you get to do a singing at a flea market."  He was, of course, being condescending.  But I wasn't going to let him get me down.  It was my first public appearance, and I was going to make the best of it.  In the end, I sold three books.  I was happy.

My first library appearance was in my current hometown for the book Life After the Undead, and it was for the teen group.  The turnout for this one was fantastic.  Fifteen kids showed up to listen to me read the first chapter and talk about the book.  The library even purchased copies for all of them.  It was amazing.

After that, I went home to the town I grew up in to do a reading.  This turnout was a little less spectacular.  There were six people there, and half of them were my family.  I read the first chapter again and sold one book, so it wasn't a complete loss.

After that, I had another library visit in my current town that wasn't as successful as the first, and a reading at a local bookstore, which was kind of successful, but not overly.  Most of the people who showed up to that were people who had already purchased the book.  I've done one visit to a grade school library.

Now, don't get me wrong, I had an AWESOME time at each and every one of these events.  I appreciate the support from everyone that showed up.  The events may not have turned out like I envisioned they would in my mind, but they still gave me valuable experience and helped me figure out what needed to be done to make them successful.

In addition to putting myself out there, I also learned that I had to offer my audience something.  A reading is all well and good, but the audience wants more.  They don't just want my book, they want me.  They want to know what I'm like as a person and if I'm worth investing in.  They want to know that I'm passionate about my topics, and if I am, I need to get them excited too.

It took years for me to realize this.  Years and a lot of frustration.  Seriously, it wasn't until recently, when I finished Undead Obsessed and attended AWP in Seattle, that I became inspired to try something new.  That's when I developed my Surviving Zombies workshop.  But I didn't do it alone.  Thankfully (and luckily) my mom is a kick-ass teacher, so she helped me develop the idea into something valuable.

I am truly obsessed with zombies, and, luckily, so are millions of other people in the world.  The Walking Dead is popular because millions of people watch it.  There are books and movies being created.  But I couldn't simply walk into a room and say "Hey, you like zombies?  You'll LOVE my book!"  Well, I could, but more than likely, it wouldn't get the reaction I was hoping for.  So I took a different approach.  I created a workshop that allows people to think about what's needed to survive zombies and initiated a discussion about what would work and what wouldn't.  They got to be involved.  I mentioned that I wrote zombie books, but I didn't push them.

Will this help me sell books?  I don't know.  I hope so.  If nothing else, it gets my name out there.  And if people enjoyed the workshop, they'll be talking about me.  They have a person to relate to.

A funny side note on this, while in Thermopolis doing my workshop, my spouse was sitting at a table with some moms.  One of them mentioned that she knew me from my articles from Serial Killer Magazine.  I haven't written for them in years, but the connection was there. Tell you the truth, I was actually kind of shocked about that.  But it was also flattering to know I was recognized.

The point, though, is that you never know what people are going to remember you for.  I may be remembered for my books, but it's more than likely someone is going to say, "Remember that fun workshop we did with zombies that one time?  That was awesome."  That's my hope anyway.

I'm still trying to figure out how to make it in this world and how to get people to notice my books.  The first step, however, is to get them to notice me.  In addition to giving workshops, I've also been fortunate to be on the Wyoming Humanities Council as a forum presenter.  As of last week, I now have two presentations that I can be contacted to give.  I've also been chosen to present at Ignite Laramie in September.  Again, they are related to books I've written, but I'm not pushing the book.  I talk about topics from them and hope the audience finds something interesting in them. Or at the very least, finds me interesting.

One of the biggest hurdles I had to overcome was thinking that I didn't have anything interesting to say.  But I discovered that if I am passionate about something and I let that passion shine through, I can get others excited about it too.  You have nothing to lose by putting yourself out there and everything to gain.  The road is long and it takes a lot of work, but I'm sure in the end it's going to be worth it.  I'm still navigating these roads, but I have seen progress.

My point in this long blog post is that you can't be afraid to put yourself out there.  You can't be afraid to be your biggest and loudest promoter.  The world doesn't care if you succeed or fail, but I know you do.  I know you want to reach the fullest potential you can.  You have to work for that.  You have to put in the time and effort.

The road isn't easy.  It can be full of failure.  People might not show up to your events.  But you can't let that stop you.  You can't let that scare you away.  I started in a flea market, but I started.  Putting yourself out there means you are opening yourself up to criticism and trolls, and they will knock you down.  They don't want you to succeed.  But you know what?  They don't get to decide your future.  Only YOU get to make that decision.  You control your destiny and success, so go get it.

Upcoming Appearances

First thing this morning, I received a text from my mom to let me know that my article was in the Rocket Miner.

I am doing my Women and Horror presentation at the Rock Springs Library.  It is based on part of my nonfiction book, Life Lessons from Slasher Films.

I'm very excited.  I revamped the presentation of my film clips, so I'm interested to see how smoothly that part goes.  If anyone is close and wants to see me present, it's on April 10th at 7:00 at the Rock Springs Library.  I promise you'll have fun!

My First Presentation

On Thursday I had my first Wyoming Humanities Council presentation.  I was invited to talk to a high school class in Hanna, Wyoming.  This town is fairly small.  If I recall, it had just under 900 people.  I knew it existed, but I'd never been there.  My spouse has visited it often because he goes hunting in the area.

The road into town is a two-lane windy highway with lots of hills.  Sagebrush-covered landscape surrounds you on either side.  To the south is Elk Mountain. After heading away from I-80 for about 12 miles, you see the buildings glittering in the distance.  The high school is one of the first buildings in town.

As is typical of Wyoming, the wind was howling as I climbed out of the truck and made my way to the school.  I had to press a bell and wait for someone to let me in.  After checking in at the front desk and getting my visitor badge, the teacher took me to her classroom and I prepared for the presentation.

The kids entered full of energy.  And I mean full of it.  Voices were raised, excitement was in the air.  The vast majority of the kids had gotten releases to get out of other classes so they could see my presentation.  There were probably about 20 total, along with a few teachers who decided to wander in.

I was a little nervous at first.  It's always nerve wracking to have to stand in front of people and talk.  Thankfully, I'm not that shy and I really enjoy talking about my passions.  It didn't take long for me to stop shaking.

There were a few technical issues with the presentation.  One video from YouTube wouldn't play, one of my DVD clips wouldn't play, and the kids were a little boisterous, getting in trouble a couple of times for not paying attention.  But we worked it out, and I was able to talk through the videos that wouldn't play.  I need to tweak my last question at the end so it ends up being more of a discussion, but on the whole, it was a great experience.  I really had a great time being there, and I hope the kids learned something exciting.

My fingers are crossed I get the chance to do my presentation again!

Have Low Expectations

I'm spending the weekend refining and perfecting my presentation for the Wyoming Humanities Forum, which is sponsored by the Wyoming Humanities Council.  I am doing a section from my nonfiction book, Life Lessons from Slasher Films, on Women and Horror.  Basically, I am looking at how women have been portrayed in horror films and how slasher films changed their roles from victims to heroes.

When I first received acceptance of my proposal, I was told not to expect too many requests for my presentation.  It was different from what the Forum generally offers.  She was being honest, which I appreciate--no sense having false expectations--but I wasn't swayed.  Yes, different can be bad, but it can also be good.  Maybe people are looking for different.  Maybe they want something outside of what is normally offered.  There's only one way to find out.  If I don't take the chance, I'll never know.

I don't usually shy away from challenging situations, especially when it comes to my writing.  It's all about risk.  I've done readings before where no one has shown up.  It sucks, yeah, but that just means in the future when the room is packed full of readers, I can look back at those times and laugh.

I have to start somewhere.  I have to make an effort.  I'm on the Forum list for 2 years.  If I only get one presentation in that time, it'll be worth it.  If I don't get any, so be it.  My name is still on the website.  The only thing I can do is put myself out there and hope for the best.  I can keep my expectations low, but I still have expectations.