Thursday, April 27, 2017

What A Weekend!

As the idiom goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. If that's true, does that mean I could just slap together eighty some odd pictures in place of actually writing Volume Four? I doubt it. But I think for the purposes of this blog post, some pictures will do nicely!

Author Visit, Thursday April 20th, Mountain View High School
Launch Party #2, Saturday April 22nd, Kazoodles Toy Store
Autism Empowerment's 2nd Annual Bowl-A-Thon, Sunday April 23rd, Husted's Hazel Dell Lanes
Be sure to tune in next week, when I will go back to writing some actual words!

Thursday, April 20, 2017

All Kinds of Cool Stuff Going On

Launch Party #1 for Volume Three was epic! Big thanks to Nate Merritt and everyone at Shanahan's for hosting us, Stab in the Dark and Cellar Door for rocking the house, Jonathan Chase and Shawna Reppert for being our special guest authors, and all of you for coming out and supporting Joel and Autism Empowerment. I had a great time, and I hope you did too.
In other news, we are proud and honored to be the cover story of Spectrums Magazine's Spring 2017 issue! Thanks so much to Karen, John, and everyone at Spectrums for featuring us. Check out the article here.
Later on today, I'll be doing an author visit at my son's school, Mountain View High. Hopefully I'll have some pictures for you in next week's post!

Then this Saturday the 22nd is Launch Party #2. This one is all ages, family friendly, and will take place from 4-6pm at Kazoodles Toy Store, 13503 SE Mill Plain Blvd, Vancouver WA. Bring the kids!

Later that same evening I will be at Shanahan's once again, this time with my other band Walk On Gray to help celebrate the birthday of my friend Dug Cox from The Brinksmen. This might be Walk On Gray's final performance, so check it out!

Then the Sunday after is Autism Empowerment's 2nd Annual Bowl-A-Thon from 12-5pm at Husted's Hazel Dell Lanes, 6300 NE Hwy 99, Vancouver WA. Spots are still open, so sign up here!

Whew - that's a lot of stuff happening (and a lot of sentences that end in exclamation points)! Believe it or not, in between all of this I am also still working on Volume Four, so stay tuned for an upcoming status update...

Thursday, April 13, 2017

Volume Three Is Here!

I am happy and proud to announce that Joel Suzuki, Volume Three: Legend of the Loudstone, is now officially released!
You can get your copy here. Or, if you happen to be in the Portland/Vancouver area, come to one or both of the upcoming launch parties on April 15th at Shanahan's or April 22nd at Kazoodles, where I will personally sign your copy and, if you so desire, shake your hand with great enthusiasm.

Remember, one dollar for every Joel Suzuki book sold (including Volumes One and Two) is donated to Autism Empowerment, so not only are you getting a fun adventure story to pass some time with, you're also supporting a great cause. And if you're already a fan of the series, don't forget to sign up for the Wavemaker Order here.

Oh, and in case you missed it, Torin and I were recently featured on KGW's Portland Today show as well as in The Columbian. Big mahalos go out to everybody at both fine institutions, including Drew Carney, Shelly Swanke, Scott Hewitt, Sam Wilson, Byron, and Amanda. You guys rock. As do all of you, my loyal blog readers. Hope to see you at the parties!

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Launch Party Bands

As always, the adult version of my book launch parties ("adult" meaning it takes place in a 21 and over venue) will feature some killer bands. In case you're not already familiar with them, here's a little primer:
Stab In The Dark
An awesome old-school punk rock outfit (think Social Distortion, the Misfits), I've been watching these guys play for a long time now and they never disappoint. Catchy melodies and lots of energy. Last time they played Shanahan's, they inspired a mosh pit!
Cellar Door
This Portland-based alt-rock group is a mainstay of DJ Kyelzbub's Northwest Exposure program on Neue Regel Radio, and for good reason. They have a great straight-ahead sound that is reminiscent of Pearl Jam, The Doors, and Kings of Leon. Can't wait to see their live show.
Second Player Score
Finishing up the night will be Vancouver, WA's own Second Player Score, a band that the Shanahan's manager has described as sounding like "Bad Religion, if Bad Religion wrote songs about video games." I have it on good authority that in addition to playing fan favorites off of their first two albums, they'll also be debuting some new songs that they've written for their third album, Glorified (due out in 2018).

So what is this 21 and over venue that will feature this awesome lineup, you ask? Well, it's the aforementioned Shanahan's, located at 209 W McLoughlin Blvd, Vancouver WA 98660. These bands and everyone else there will be helping me celebrate the launch of Joel Suzuki, Volume Three: Legend of the Loudstone, while also raising funds for Autism Empowerment. The night will start at 8pm and run til the wee hours of the morning (specifically, 1am). There's no cover charge, and these special guest authors will also be in attendance. Hope to see you all there!