Category: Books

UPDATED: Everything you ever wanted to know about the audio version of The Happiest Days of Our Lives but were afraid to ask can be found right here.

The audio version of The Happiest Days of Our Lives will go on sale at noon Pacific tomorrow! I will post all the exciting details, as well as a picture of me dressed up as Darth Vader, at that time. Oh, I will also have a link that you can use to buy it, which I guess is kind of important.

David Lawrence and I worked really hard to make something awesome, and David worked long, long hours (when he’s not creeping up on Heroes as Eric Doyle) to get it out in time for a certain gift-giving holiday that’s just six days away.

Like the audio version of Just A Geek, this is a super-annotated version, filled with tons of what I call “audio footnotes” for lack of a less stupid-sounding term. I hope we’ve created something that’s more like sitting down in a room with me while I tell you stories, than it is a typical audio book. I don’t think a traditional publisher would let me get away with doing it this way, which is a big reason I do these things on my own. If you’ve ever heard me perform my work at a show, or listened to any of my podcasts, you should have some idea of what you’re getting into.

Unlike the audio version of Just A Geek, the audio performance of The Happiest Days of Our Lives will only be available as a download. We found that the costs associated with creating and shipping physical media for JAG:tA vastly outweighed the benefits, and most people just rip the CDs to their favorite digital format, anyway.

I don’t make enough to have a marketing budget, and I don’t have a big publishing company behind me get the word out in the traditional media, so I’m counting on those of you who read my blog to help (there’s at least 100K of you, if I can read stats correctly, and boy am I going to be embarrassed and sad if I can’t). I made a media kit for Happiest Days that you can download at Monolith Press and use however you see fit, so if you think my work is worthy, I’d be super grateful for your help.

The audio version of The Happiest Days of Our Lives is about three and-a-half hours long, and will cost just $19.72. “Why $19.72?” you ask? Because that’s the year I was born, and because nobody else is the boss of me, I can do that sort of thing.

. . . a chance to win an autographed Happiest Days of Our Lives at Geekdad:

This 4th Day of Geekmas is extra special, as it boasts a prize from a member of the GeekDad extended family. Oh yes, kids, it’s a present from your Uncle Willie!

Actor, writer, father, uber-nerd, and GeekDad reader Wil Wheaton is, for lack of a better term, our Champion. From Gordie LaChance to Wesley Crusher to his keynote at PAX 2007 to his epic appearance on MC Frontalot’s new album Final Boss, Wil has become a veritable cultural touchstone for nerds of all stripes. Wil is one of us, and he was kind enough to toss a signed copy of his latest book The Happiest Days of Our Lives into the pot for 12DOG.

Should you wish to procure this literary jewel, simply leave a response to this post by midnight tonight, and a lucky winner will be chosen at random. (Don’t forget to include your email address in the relevant field!)

It’s a geekmas miracle, kids.

Note: You have to go to Geekdad and leave a comment there to be entered. You’re welcome to comment here, but it won’t be a contest entry unless it’s at Geekdad.

We’ve just taken down the ordering page for the Happiest Days of Our Lives at Monolith Press, because the entire second printing is now sold out. It’s unlikely that I’ll do another Monolith Press printing in the near future, because Subterranean Press will have the special edition in just a few months.

Before I get back to work, I want to thank all of you who have made this moment – the end of one journey and the beginning of another – possible. I’ve been able to sell through two printings of my book entirely via word of mouth, and that’s just un-fucking-believable to me. From the people who told me way back in 2001 to hurry up and write a book, to the people who bought that book, to everyone who bought Happiest Days, to the 300 (holla!) and especially to everyone who told friends and family and helped get my work in front of new readers . . . none of this would be possible without you, and you all have my gratitude.

Once these final orders are processed and shipped, the serious work will begin on the next big Monolith Press project, something super awesome that I’m not quite ready to announce, but I hope will be worth the wait. Feel free to speculate in comments, because that’s always fun.

Holy shit, it’s already December 2nd! How did that happen?

(I know, Earth rotates, time marches on, etc. It was a rhetorical question. Jeeze.)

Why do you care? Well, most of you reading this probably don’t, but if you want to get a copy of The Happiest Days of Our Lives from Monolith Press, and have it arrive in time for the holidays, you have until this Friday to place your order.

I’m not sure how many copies are left, but I think it’s less than 100. I’m not sure if there are even that many potential sales in the universe at this very moment, but if I run out of books before Friday, I’ll update this post. Either way, after Friday, it’s probably gone forever because I’ll be working on something new.

The special expanded edition from Subterranean Press is still available for order, and will ship sometime early next year.

Edited to add: This afterthought is for people who are interested in the audio version. It is damn close to being done, and will probably be out VERY soon. Like, very, very soon, if you get my drift. I mention this today so you don’t think I’m pulling one of those “buy this now but guess what here’s something else hahaha I got your money like a Whammy on Press Your Luck” moves that are so popular with jerkfaces who have the face of a jerk these days.

For those of you who are wondering about the audio version of Happiest Days of Our Lives : it’s currently in post-production. My producer/partner/engineer/friend David, who should be working on it 24/7 and only stopping to occasionally eat and pee, had the nerve to go get cast as Eric Doyle on Heroes, and I guess the producers “like him” and “want to keep working with him” all the time, so he’s “kind of busy” with “that” and he’s working on the audiobook in his diminishing free time. GOSH! Uh, I hope it will be finished and available in the very near future. Like, maybe next week, but you didn’t hear that from me.

I mention this because I’ve come up with something cool and special that involves the audiobook and the special expanded edition of the book that I’m doing with Subterranean Press.

Months ago, I talked with Bill at Subterranean about taking something from the audiobook and putting it at Subterranean Online to help promote the special edition, and hopefully sell audiobooks. Everyone wins!

The thing is, David and I are already very busy, and it’s unlikely that we will be able to coordinate and record the extra material and get it edited together in time for a holiday release. I don’t want to do two versions of the audiobook, so I’ve decided to kill several birds at once, make a necklace from their skulls, and attach their feathers to football shoulder pads, just like that guy in Mad Max: using my rig at home (which isn’t nearly as nice as David’s, but is good enough) I will record audio versions of the stories we added to the expanded edition, and give those to Bill to put on Subterranean Online.

For free.

Yes, you read that correctly: it’s for free, as in, “Hey, look what Wil gave me for free! He sure is a neat guy!”

I hope that this will help sell the expanded edition by letting people who aren’t familiar with my work hear me perform it, and I hope that it will create interest in the audio version I did with David. It may even generate sales of Just A Geek: teh Audiobook, but I don’t want to get too close to crazy talk, so I won’t count on that. Additionally – and this is really important to me – the people who don’t want or can’t afford the expanded edition, but already have the MP edition will have a chance to hear the stories that they’re missing. This special edition wouldn’t even be possible without those people, and this is my way of saying thank you. It’s really important to me to take care of my customers, and I hope that this effort will convert unhappy people into happy people.

This plan was formulated in the middle of the night, when my brain wouldn’t let me sleep and not even the pouring rain could drown out its incessant babbling, so I haven’t worked out a release schedule yet. When it happens, I’ll be sure to post about it.

Hooray for awesome news that is awesome!