Appearances

Join me for the Hayward Lit Hop!

Hi Friends! Tomorrow is Hayward Lit Hop 2023! https://haywardlithop.com/

I’ll be hosting two groups of readers for this event:

Women Who Submit: Bay Area Chapter at The Dirty Bird Lounge at 5:00pm with readers Dera R Jones Williams, Karma Bennett, and Joyce E. Young

– East Bay Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers at The Bistro at 6:00pm with readers Vanessa MacLaren-Wray, Author, Sibyl Saint, Caitlin Dwyer, and Sophie Green


Hayward Lit Hop occurs Saturday, April 22nd from 2-8pm on Earth Day and National Poetry Month. Conceived and organized by volunteer community members, Hayward Lit Hop is free for all ages. The Hayward Lit Hop celebrates our active and dedicated literary scene.

The event begins at 2 pm at Heritage Plaza Park, across the street from the Downtown Hayward Public Library, with a welcome from Hayward local civic and literary leaders and a musical performance from the East Bay Symphonic Band. At 3pm, Hayward-area Poet Laureates’ read with East Bay teens. As it’s Earth Day, the reading will have a nature and ecology theme. Local environmental organizations will set up tables in the Plaza to promote their work, as well.

From 4-7 pm, we’ll hop to different venues up and down and near B Street to with spoken word performances including the AfroSurreal Writers Association, students from Chabot College, a bilingual Spanish/English reading, the Queer Writers, local Horror Writers’ and Mystery Writers’ Association chapters, the Peer Writers’ Group, Women Who Submit Lit, the East Bay Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers, the California Writers’ Club, and students from CSUEB and Hayward Unified School District K-12 students.

Readings will occur at local venues including Aranea’s Craft Studio, the Sun Gallery, the Odd Fellows Lodge, The Bistro, Dirty Bird Lounge, the Pizza House, The World Famous Turf Club, Yoga Sociale. Hayward Lit Hop concludes with an afterparty at the Sun Gallery where there will be music, food and drinks. The gallery features a climate art exhibit.

This event showcases local businesses, celebrates Hayward’s diverse cultural scene, and allows people to meet their neighbors and hear and see each other’s talents. We’re here to help people with an interest in writing or art find local groups to support and foster their talents.

A detailed schedule will be posted at https://haywardlithop.com/.
Hope to see you there! I’m looking forward to hanging out in our fun downtown all day long.

Join me in Brooklyn for the Rooftop Reading Series on April 18!

I am super excited to be reading at Barrow’s Intense Tasting Room in Brooklyn on April 18 at 7pm! The Rooftop Readings series — currently indoors and not on a rooftop due to, you know, THE COLD — is organized by the super awesome debut novelist and super-talented entertainment journalist Randee Dawn. This reading will also feature Nadia Uddin, Richie Narvaez, and Katharine Duckett!
Barrow’s is at 86th 34th Street, Brooklyn, NY (D train to 36th Avenue, then about a 5 minute walk). You DO NOT NEED TO PURCHASE A TICKET to attend, but if you’d like a drink while you’re listening, please make sure to snap one up for $10 at Eventbrite. Which honestly? A cocktail in Brooklyn for $10? What a deal! Nevermind the entertainment! Purchase a ticket here: https://buff.ly/3G9ZVEZ and learn more about the Rooftop Reading Series here: https://buff.ly/3Mq63wT

Yes, this is basically my springtime promo blog tour for Wings Unfurled, and I cannot wait to share this sequel with East Coast epic fantasy fans! SF in SF went great, and now NYC will get its own taste of this book. And I’ll get to taste Barrow’s Intense Ginger Liquor, and honestly, I’m probably just as excited for that.

I’m looking forward to raising a glass with you, Brooklynites!

Pondering the Orb features Wings Unseen!

I am delighted that the Wings Rising series appears on the current episode of Pondering the Orb, a vidcast from fantasy author Jay Requard. In the episode, Jay reads the first chapter of Wings Unseen, Book 1 in the duology. This is where we first meet Vesperi Sellywn and the story gets going with a bang–or more fittingly, a poof.

Watch it here:

The episode also features a conversation between Jay and Sam Montgomery-Blinn, who’s actually the reason that Jay and I met in the first place! Sam invited us both to read for an NC Speculative Fiction Night in 2013, which was also celebrating the launch of Bull Spec #5, which Sam edited and in which my “Bother,” my first SFF pro sale, appeared. I actually still have video of my reading that night!

Unfortunately, I think Jay stays just out of the frame, but Sam introduces me at the pedestal. That one night was the first time I met so many great authors local to the RTP area, some who’d become critique partners, some Game of Thrones TV night buddies, and others support in all the ways that we authors need each other to continue in this career.

Thanks, Jay, for sharing Wings Unseen on Pondering the Orb and for reminding me of those wonderful memories. Sure, some writers are known for their drama, but in my experience? Writers are just plain awesome and supportive people. You should get to know a few. 😉

SF in SF with Mia Tsai and Me! Sunday, March 26

Don’t forgot! Tomorrow, I appear at SF in SF for the second time, to celebrate Wings Unfurled! This reading series takes place on Sunday, March 26, at 6:30pm at the American Bookbinders Museum in San Francisco. There’s a $10 entry fee, but no one is turned away for lack of funds.

After our readings, Cliff Winning will interview me and fellow guest, Mia Tsai, who’s promoting her paranormal debut Bitter Medicine. We’ll be taking questions from the audience as well, and Soma FM will be recording the event for their station. Come grab a seat and ask me whatever you’d like. Even what my characters would pick as their favorite cocktails. 🍹 All proceeds from the $10 entry fee and the cash bar are donated to the American Bookbinders Museum.

See you there!

March Events! Readings & A Book Fair in the Bay Area

I’ll be appearing at a few events in the Bay Area, coming up this week and next. Here’s the deets:

The Wizard’s Homecoming Book Launch

I am thrilled to celebrate my friend, the talented Elwin Cotman, and his new speculative poetry collection, The Wizard’s Homecoming, this coming Friday, March 17, at 7:00pm Pacific Time! I’m also thrilled that he asked me to read as part of the celebration.

elwin cotman wizards homecoming speculative poetry

The book launch takes place at Hasta Muerte Coffee in Oakland, and Elwin will also be hosting comic artist Dan McCloskey for the evening. Come on out! More Info.

Strong Women • Strange Worlds Birthday Book Fair

I’ll be taking part on Facebook in Strong Women • Strange Worlds’ Birthday Celebration Book Fair on Saturday, March 18, from 12pm to 1pm PT!

This event intimidates me, to be honest. Why? Because it’s not a reading but twenty minutes of time for me to just talk about my books, my writing process, the publishing industry, and maybe even how my foodie ways influence my fiction. I’m afraid of being a rambling mess….but if you’d be entertained by a rambling Rebecca Gomez Farrell, check it out! SWSW’s birthday festivities will be going on all day, but you should be able to tune in here on Facebook at 12:00pm to find me. Sumiko Saulson and KC Grifant will also be authors on display during that Book Fair hour.

SF in SF

I am delighted to return to SF in SF for my second reading with that great celebration of speculative fiction writers! It takes place on Sunday, March 25, at 6:30pm at the American Bookbinders Museum in San Francisco.

After our readings, Cliff Winning will interview me and fellow guest, Mia Tsai. We’ll be taking questions from the audience as well, and Soma FM will be recording the event for their station. Come grab a seat and ask me whatever you’d like. Even what my characters would pick as their favorite cocktails. 🍹 All proceeds from the $10 entry fee and the cash bar are donated to the American Bookbinders Museum.

Will I see you in March? I hope so! But if not….more April events will be announced soon!

 

 

Questions to Consider When Writing A Series at WritingForums.com!

Today at WritingForums.com, I shared questions that writers should consider when writing a series.

These are questions I had to wrestle with while writing Wings Unfurled, and they may be slightly different questions than writers who intend from the get-go to write a series might consider. That’s because Wings Unseen was writtten as a standalone novel, so the writing process for a second book in the same world was a different one. But many of the questions are likely useful either way.

WritingForums.Com is quite a useful forum, too, and I was excited when they joined the Wings Unfurled blog tour. They often come up when I’m searching for information on the industry or craft advice. I’m looking forward to finally starting an account with them and poking around. They do also organize manuscript critiques, which I point out because folks are ALWAYS asking for where to find critique.

I hope you pick up some tips from the post! Don’t forget to also visit the Meerkat Press Wings Unfurled Blog Tour masterpost to enter our $50 giftcard prize drawing! And now for today’s contextless quote from Wings Unfurled.

And now, for today’s context-free quote from the book:

“Listen to your father,” the specter said, billowing like a sheet of pressed metal in decay.

Hosting the SFWA Weekly Writing Date!

In slightly under an hour, I’ll be hosting SFWA’s Weekly Writing Date!

These writing dates are one of the primary ways that a core group of SFWA members and Nebula Conference attendees have kept in touch over the past pandemic years, providing community while taking part in writing sprints together. I’ve only been able to join a few times, and I’m delighted to host the week of Wings Unfurled‘s release!

I’m also excited to dive into some freewriting – my skills are rusty these days, and writing dates are a wonderful way to exercise them. For me, freewrites really loosen my imagination, so I can better grasp the stories my psyche wants to tell.

If you’re a SFWA member or Nebula Conference participant, come join me from 2pm to 4pm! Details here.

And here’s a contextless quote from Wings Unfurled for release week!

Vesperi rarely spoke of her brother, and when she did, it came coupled with a curse.

Wings Unfurled Release Week – New Readings to Watch!

Week 1 of the Wings Unfurled Blog Tour is almost over!

Promo graphic featuring the book covers of Wings Unseen and Wings Unfurled

There are no new stops on the tour scheduled over the weekend, but I still have new content for you! But first, don’t forget to swing by the Meerkat Press masterpost to enter our $50 giftcard prize drawing! Not quite 100 folks have signed up yet, so you have a nearly 1/100 chance at the moment—that’s actually really great for an online prize drawing.

New content? Yes! You can now watch video of me reading the prologue to Wings Unfurled! This was recorded as part of the Strong Women, Strange Worlds reading series, which I appeared in this past November. Head here to YouTube to watch!

On the same YouTube page, you can watch the full video of that First Friday Quick Reads session with Strong Women, Strange Worlds. Six authors in total read, each of us for just 8 minutes, to give you a quick sip of our work. Featured authors beside myself: Sandra Barrett, Ellen Booraem, Jennie Goloboy, Angela Yuriko, and Sylvia Woodham.

I also appeared on Story Hour this past Wednesday, which is a lovely readings series that began with the pandemic and has been running strong weekly ever since. Story Hour focuses on short stories, so I did not read from Wings Unfurled. Instead, I shared “Garbage,” a humorous, but as host Laura Blackwell described it, “funny and disturbing,” science fiction story. I read with Barbara A. Barnett, who graces the first half hour with a short, sad read and then a longer, funny tale that’ll make you think twice before your next bite of salad.

My half starts about 25:00 minutes into the Story Hour. I hope you enjoy the listen!

And let me leave you with another contextless sentence from Wings Unfurled. Place your order by clicking on the vendor of your choice in that right sidebar over there ↗↗↗

“What does the mama snake say to the baby snake?” “Ssssnuggles, ssssnakelet!”

Psychoanalyze This! Please? is our next Wings Unfurled Blog Tour Stop!

Today’s Wings Unfurled Book Tour Blog Stop is at TKentWrites.com! I’d like to think them for hosting my short post on “Psychoanalyze This! Please?” in which I talk about my dislike of the idea that all authors’ work are autobiographical in some form . . . while also wondering if maybe some of the symbols and images that fascinate me do have deeper meaning for my life and I just don’t know it! Read it here:

http://www.tkentwrites.com/psychoanalyze-this-please-by-rebecca-gomez-farrell/

Also be sure to swing by Meerkat Press’s Wings Unfurled Blog Tour masterpost to enter their $50 giftcard prize drawing! There are not quite 100 entries yet, so now’s a great time to get your name in there. Good luck!

Cover art for Wings Unfurled, featuring a silver stag with blue tones and two moons in the background.

As promised, here is a line from Wings Unfurled, with no context. I’m sharing one each day we have a new blog tour post to feature.

“I wasn’t sure I wanted to come help you folks, but that was a jolly good time.”

See you for tomorrow’s blog post feature!

Wings Unseen Release Day & Launch Party Invite!

Release Day is here! Or rather, release day has already come and is almost gone and I’m just now getting to a post on my own blog to mark it—it’s been busy, y’all! Busy in a good way.

I am thrilled to report that whatever snafu Amazon had going on is now resolved, and you can order both paperback and ebook copies of Wings Unfurled through them again. But of course, they are also availabile at all the usual suspects of online vendors! Here are your options:

Bookshop.org
Barnes & Noble
Meerkat Press
Amazon
Apple Books
Kobo

And I believe it may be on Google Books now as well. As the author, it does not make a difference to me which one you order from, but ordering straight from my publisher, Meerkat Press, is best for supporting this awardwinning, quality small press!

I would also love to invite you all to my Wings Unfurled Book Launch Party on Sunday, December 18, at 4:30pm Pacific Time! This will be a Zoom-based event, and my husband will present me with AI “art” he has generated from passages in the book, which will be a fun show-and-tell. I’ll also be giving away two sets of the Wings Rising duology, so if you do not have Wings Unseen already, this is a great chance to get signed copies of both books for free! After the prize drawing, it’ll be a casual hangout time for friends and friendly readers. Register here to join.

Of course, there is also a new port of call on the Wings Unfurled Book Blog Tour today! Head by the Speculative Fiction Showcase to read Chapter 3, the first one from a brand-new character’s perspective: Esye, the silver moon. Don’t forget to enter the $50 giftcard prize drawing at the end of the piece!

As promised, I’ll leave you with a line from the book:

“I’ll be right back, or someone else will, okay, Izzy? Don’t go far.” “Okay,” she said. How far could she go during a right back, she wondered.

And here’s how I celebrated Wings Unfurled‘s publication, with one of my favorite things…a crab roll!

May your successes be as tasty! I look forward to sharing more exciting Wings Unfurled news with you tomorrow.