A Letter from Chris - 09/29/2023

Hello dear reader!

Welcome both new and old subscribers! This has been a wild month for me, so let’s dive straight into it.

A look back

On September 17th I got to meet the one and only Vallis Alps, the band behind the song that inspired me to write my novel, having been invited to their show by them. It was a surreal and particularly emotional moment for me, as though I had just reached the poetic end of a long, unpredictable journey. What made it even more astounding was that Vallis Alps hadn’t toured the US in about six years and had only returned to show off their debut album… which they released within weeks of me releasing my debut novel inspired by their song. We had each been working in parallel all this time with neither party the wiser.

Yeah. Let that sink in a bit.

They didn’t have to respond to the tweet I sent about my book. They could have ignored it and nothing about their lives could have changed. But they didn’t, and I’ll always admire them for it.

It was an amazing thing being able to talk to Parissa, David, and their manager Melody about the creative process and what inspires us. There was this one moment where Parissa and I were so happy to meet that we kind of just silently grinned at each other like idiots because we were too excited to speak.

I also took the opportunity to deliver copies of my book. My sister caught it all on camera.

So yeah, that was a wild time for me. Now go check out their debut album!

Additionally, I had my first ever book signing at a Barnes & Noble. I sold about 11 copies over the course of the day, then the store manager came by and bought all I had left to display on their shelves!

September was a very, very good month for me 😊

A look forward

I have two more book signings on the horizon! One will be in Ashburn, Virginia at a book fair (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lit-book-fair-at-blend-coffee-bar-tickets-722185746007) on Saturday, September 30th, and the second will be in Fair Lakes, Virginia at Barnes & Noble (date TBA!)

Progress on my sequel novella has stalled significantly with how busy I’ve been, but I’m always thinking about it. Progress on the audiobook version of The Dance Between, however, is nearing completion! We just need to edit some chapters, send it off to be remastered, and then it’ll be done!

Thank you everyone for your support! I never thought I’d even make it this far, but I did, and its all because of people like you!

With my best wishes,

Christopher

The Dance Between is out now! Buy your copy here! You may also find me on Twitter at @ChrisWritesNow

A new word that found me: Absquatulate: to depart in a hurry; abscond.