Lotsa fun with CafePress...

New Tory Bauer goodies are available from CafePress, using the wonderful covers designed for the eBooks by Curtis Taylor (yeah, the name is not a coindicence).

I love CafePress's rectangle fridge magnets. I've had sets made of each of the new covers. Mourning Shift and Cold Front look right at home with the rest. The 6th (and final, for now) cover is being designed even as I type. Soon, I'll have a full set.

I'm wearing the Mourning Shift tee right now, and as soon as it cools off enough (not any time soon, I fear), I'll be wearing the black Cold Front hoodie.

Two more beer glasses to add to my collection.

They'll fit in nicely with the rest. I do have to add a caveat about the beer glasses- the transfers are exact replicas of the covers, but they're also translucent, and therefore not easy to see. Also, if you leave the glasses soaking overnight (not that I'd ever do that), the glass turns a slightly opaque, which actually makes the images easier to see. It's not a problem for me, but it could bother others who order the glasses.

Amazingly enough, beer glasses don't just have to hold beer. I like the Seagram's Dark Honey, though maybe not quite as much as the Wild Turkey American Honey. I can sip the Wild Turkey neat, but not the Seagram's. On the other hand, the Seagram's makes a nice mixer.

It's been my week for CafePress orders- Curt designed a new logo for his HopHeadSaid beer blog. I loved it, and immediately needed a beer glass (natch), a golf shirt, and a new coaster for my desk (serving its purpose right now).

You can see all of the Tory Bauer merchandise by clicking here, or on the link to the upper right. The HopHeadSaid things are available here, and while you're at it, check Curt's blog. It's great.

Blatant shilling for a very talented son

My son Curtis The Artist (creator of the wonderful new eBook covers for the Tory Bauer series) is also the head honcho at HopHeadSaid. Curt is a a beer expert (he's now a certified Cicerone, one of only 400 in the country) and home brewer. He's also a writer, with a regular beer column in VC Buzz, a Ventura county magazine, and his series of beer videos is great. Oh, and he taped the pilot for an internet talk show on beer.

He's started a Kickstarter project in order to fund more and better videos- this time, a series on the proper glassware for individual beer styles. Go and see what he's up to, and if the notion intrigues you, you can pledge, as little as $1 up to... well whatever. The way Kickstarter works is that projects have a set amount of time (in this case 30 days) to achieve the desired amount of pledges. If the amount is met, the pledges (this time through Amazon, but any credit or debit card will work) are processed. If the amount is not met, the project is disbanded and no cards are charged.

I think this is a marvelous project, and I hope you will too.

Here's the Kickstarter page for Curt's project: beer pour'n  (pronounced Beer Porn... heh).

And here's his video intro:



P.S. Every pledge over $5 gets a cool gift

Proud Mama

My son Curtis, of HopHeadSaid (and also of the new covers for my eBooks, and other wonderful graphic art) has started recording videos for his blog. This first one is a Style Profile of a Pilsner beer. If I say so myself, it's pretty darn good.

I can't imbed the video here, but this link will take you there.

And if you're in SoCal, check out his Beer Trail Map for lots of wonderful breweries and pubs along the 101.

HopHeadSaid New Year's Giveaway

Curtis Taylor, intrepid artist and author, blogger, radio personality, beer expert, and not incidentally, my oldest son, is hosting a giveaway contest on his HopHeadSaid blog for this wonderful apron:

 It's a heavy-duty canvas apron with the HopHeadSaid logo on it, from CafePress. I have another CafePress apron (with the Sex and Salmonella eBook cover on it) and can attest to its durability and functionality (in other words- it's a really good apron). And I love the way the ties are attached through casings, so it really does fit all sizes. The giveaway apron is like the one above: navy with the white logo.

Here's the logo, a little more visible. I'm wearing my HopHeadSaid sweatshirt right now (gray fabric, black image).

In order to enter, head on over to HopHeadSaid and follow the instructions (it's easy- post the contest on Facebook or some other place, and leave a comment). Easy peasy! And when you get done, head over to the CafePress shop from HopHead Said for other cool beer related items.

Good Luck!

Swag

I may have single-handedly kept CafePress in business over the last month.

I did a test order of the hoodie from Curt's HopHeadSaid store, and I am delighted with the quality. I like my hoodies and tees to be loose and long, so I always order a couple sizes over what I would take in a woven shirt. This hoodie was huge, but after machine washing and drying, it shrunk a couple of inches in width and 3" in length. It's still more than plenty big enough, but you might want to take that into consideration if you order sweatshirts from CafePress (or air dry them, which would probably eliminate the shrinkage). Curt wasn't sure about keeping the hoodie in the inventory, but I think he should.

And of course, I had to order some Sex and Salmonella things. The tee shirt is the economy model from CafePress- it's lighter than their higher priced tees, but it looks fine (and I suspect it'll shrink a little). I love love love the apron- and the ingenious construction (the neck loop and ties thread through casings so the loop can be shortened without D-rings). It's made of a nice canvas twill, and I expect the apron to do its duty for a very long time. I also ordered a packet of note cards, and some fridge magnets, both of which look absolutely great.

The S&S magnet now has a place of honor.

Let's hope I don't have to choose between the two...

I have an order of Funeral Food themed items that could arrive today. I am getting FF magnets too. Once the cover for The Hotel South Dakota is finished, I'll have a drawing for a couple of sets of the three magnets.

And as soon as CafePress gets the pint beer glasses back in stock, I'll order some of them as well. If you're of a mind to decorate your house and body with my new eBook covers, the link to the CafePress store is on the upper right of the main blog page (I just get bragging rights from orders, I don't make a profit, and Curt only gets a small royalty). If you do order anything, send me a pic- I'd love to post it!

YIKES!, and other things that are much more pleasant

I finished proofing the Sex and Salmonella Kindle files on Monday evening. Tuesday, I worked all day, getting a lot of things crossed off my To-Do list. After I swam laps yesterday afternoon, I sat on the back deck swing and opened up the Kindle case (I have a snazzy little leather folding cover for it), to read (for fun, not for work), and this is what greeted me:

And no amount of plugging and unplugging, or turning on/off changed the screen. In fact it looks like that this morning still. After feeling sick for a moment or two, I followed Amazon's process for calling Kindle tech support (which involves putting your phone number into their system and they call you), and within 2 minutes I was talking with a first level tech person, and within another 3 minutes, I was talking with the next level tech person, and less than 3 minutes after that, my replacement Kindle was on the way. It should arrive tomorrow. That was the fastest and smoothest customer support resolution I've ever experienced. I was surprised how bereft I felt, even though I could still read the current Kindle book (Connie Willis's All Clear) on my phone, or on the computer (and, you know, there are a few thousand paper books still in the house...).

In better news, however, Curt (my son, who designed the eBook covers for Funeral Food and Sex and Salmonella, and will also do the other four) sent me 12" x 18" poster printouts of the covers. They look fantastic! I do believe that I will have them framed.

Curt also has a CafePress shop for merchandise from his HopHeadSaid beer blog. I ordered a tee shirt and a mug (and a hoodie, which should arrive in a day or so). They're great items, high quality. And of course, I like the artwork just fine.

Speaking of which, I think Curt is also going to add the new book covers to his other CafePress shop. I feel the need for a Sex and Salmonella beer glass...