Book signing in Tulsa! You want in on this hypercritical action.

New book signing poster is done and delivered. For, you know, book signings. Yes, everyone has something that excites them. Mine is seeing compliments on foam board. Don't judge me. 

I'll be proudly displaying this braggadocious foam board during the book signing tomorrow night, from 6:30 until I leave, at Bound for Glory Books, 4624 E. 11th Street, on Nerd Row in Tulsa. 

How long has it been since you've been to Tulsa's Nerd Row? Well, partner, that's too long. 

Come by. Say hello. Buy a book. Buy nine more. I'll be there and you can tell me all about what and who else you've been judging all day. And I will, patiently, listen to it all and judge you, too. It'll be a critical good time! Who could possibly want to miss this? 

Seriously. Who. Because I have a few opinions about said person. 

No, life isn't always great. But my book is.

Live today! Order your autographed copy at TaraLynnThompson.com. It's the sensible thing to do.

This picture is coming at you live from the hospital. I'm here today with a family member who is undergoing a procedure for skin cancer. And, yes, while they're under the knife, I'm here in the lobby launching my book, Just Another Sidekick.

Appropriate? Inappropriate? They're often so similar.

I didn't reschedule this announcement for two reasons 1) because life is always a mixture of joy and sadness happening simultaneously and 2) this date signifies that perfectly. On August 1, 2012, around the 10 am hour (if you want specifics) I injured my spine and a whole new journey, one I never saw coming, swept me out to sea.

Life altered drastically in nearly every way - how I physically moved, where I lived, who was in my life, what I did for a living. Within 45 days, the only thing that didn't change was my eye color, but that shifts depending on my clothes anyway.

Five years ago, I was living through an evolution in my life I considered bad. Everything seemed wrong. Ill-fitted. Uncomfortable. Or just so incredibly hard. This was not the life I had envisioned for myself and I struggled to see a hopeful future. But, I'm not always right about such things.

What I found was that, yes, there was a lot of harsh reality happening. Even in the midst of it, however, there were also moments of honest laughter, healthy challenges, perfect breezes, delightful surprises, and priceless friendships being built.

All the bad also brought with it good.

So, on that note, I'm launching Just Another Sidekick, the sequel to Not Another Superhero, on this difficult anniversary to show that a day previously representative of pain can also represent joy. And that a day of joy also comes with the seriousness of reality.

When life is served, my friends, it doesn't come in separate dishes but in one ginormous bowl. Never hesitate to grab a spoon and dig in.

Let the good times roll.

How much sharing is too much sharing? Anyone got an answer? A formula? A theory? I haven't got a clue.

As an author, from what I've been told or witnessed, I'm supposed to be sharing every opinion, past time, thought, and meal I have. That's me marketing myself. That's me creating a brand.

That's me getting on my nerves. That's why me doesn't do it.

Personally, I'm not big on knowing everything about anyone. Even the writers I adore reading, I don't necessarily adore their coffee mug collection or gardening hobby.

Not that they aren't lovely people with lovely lives, but I'm cool just reading their books when they come out.

Personally, I'm not great with sharing details about myself because 1) I'm a private person and 2) my life is about as fascinating as a coffee mug collection. And I'm good with that.

"It's no bad thing celebrating a simple life."
J.R.R. Tolkien

Post WWI, Tolkien lived a normal, ordinary life off paper and an unimaginable one on it. We could have been mates.

I'm saying all this as a heads-up. I'm gearing up to launch my second book, Just Another Sidekick (available August 2017), which is the next installment to Not Another Superhero. This means I'll be pressured - and will succumb to that pressure - to post aspects of my simple life you are not obligated to find interesting.

But doing it is a necessary evil.

However, I do have some boundaries. I won't take selfies with my meal. I won't take a picture of my feet on the beach. And I won't live tweet any sporting events. Everything else in the pursuit of marketing my book is fair game. That includes pictures of my coffee mug collection, which I don't have, and information about gardening, which I don't do.

You've been forwarned.

3 Lessons in Library Selfies

What do you do the first time you see your first novel at your local library? You stand in the "T" fiction aisle snapping creepy selfies with it, that's what you do.

Doesn't everyone?

Of course they do.

When that moment arrives, you'll be shocked, elated, freaked out, and a dork for taking selfies in the library. But that won't be your biggest problem. Here are the three things I learned from my library selfie photo shoot:

1. Books on the top shelf are hard to see and hard to shoot. If your last name lands you in the clouds or the dungeon, consider changing your name. Something with a "K" might work.

The straight on shock face. 

2. You dreamed of your book going public. And it has. Now your name is out there riding free, living willy-nilly, and at risk of being a dog's chew toy, dropped in the tub, and left on the back of the commode.
The trick to not thinking about it? Not thinking about it.

The side eyeball vein look. 

3. Conquering the world one shelf at a time takes patience and ridiculous, illogical hope. So, shrug. Be ridiculous. It's not like your hope has anything better to do.

The creepy coming-at-you-from-the-side angle.

Good luck out there! If you send me a copy of your book, I promise not to let my dog eat it because I don't have a dog.

Dear criminal class of miscreants...

... who broke into my Jeep and stole my purse this morning,

You targeted me for victimization, but, alas, you have failed. I’m just not in the mood. I’m feeling waspy today. Never target me when I’m feeling waspy.

Taking my purse is inconvenient. But now you’ve given me a reason to buy a new one. Without guilt.

Amateur.

You didn’t think this through. You took my favorite Burt’s Bees lip gloss, but the joke is on you. I was ready to switch to a new shade.

You just can’t win for losing.

As for breaking my window, you chose the wrong curly-headed chick. My hair always looks windblown anyway. Another epic fail!

You broke into my vehicle while I was at the gym. While you were being recorded on security tapes racking up charges at Lowes, Walmart, Target, and Walgreens, I was building muscle. Now you’re a wanted criminal and I have the core strength to kick your arse.

Who made the better decision today, hmm?

And then, the worst mistake of all, you took my purse but left behind a signed copy of my first book, Not Another Superhero. Have you any idea how valuable that will eventually be? You’re only playing the short game here.

Plus, I’ve been praying for you since the moment I saw your handy work. Do you know what that means? Coals. Heaps of them on your pitiful head. If you get singed by falling brimstone, you only have yourself to blame.

Lastly, I’d like to leave you with a bit of advice.

First, your smash and grab technique needs work. Eventually, you’re going to develop tennis elbow.

Second, never mess with a writer. We’ll spend years hunting you down simply for the fodder.

Sincerely,
Your Coming Tribulation

The must-have piece for this summer's wardrobe.

‪

Books compliment every outfit. You can't even say that about scarves. Get a copy of Not Another Superhero, your universal accessory, today at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Succinctness at its best

The Afterlife: mystery solved.

How to Win Friends and Influence People.

Dale Carnegie. Still making an impact in the world.

Disaster Preparedness. It deserves our vote.

Critical thinking. It takes skills, yo.

Why Superheroes Hate Social Media

This happens to Black Hood Guy in ‪#‎NotAnotherSuperhero‬ ALL the time.

A stirring moment of inspiration. And a whiter smile.

Thanks Samantha. That gives us a lot to think about.

Being a Superhero is for the Birds

Today, you bought a chicken. A live one. Actually, it was more than one. Congratulations! A chicken!

Did you know that a chicken farm for families in poverty can provide a substantial supplemental income? As well as a food source? They sell the eggs, as well as eat them. They breed and sell the chickens, as well as eat them.

You changed the financial future for a family today. Because you bought a chicken. A live one. Actually, it was more than one.

Phase Two

My first check has arrived!

Thanks to those who have purchased Not Another Superhero, the second phase of this publishing journey has started! What is Phase Two? Hey, thanks for asking.

Phase One was actually writing and publishing the thing. Phase Two is the donation of a percentage of the proceeds from all book sales to charity.

"What a revelation TL! A donation? Who would have ever come up with such an ingenious plan?!"

I know. It's not like I created the idea.

"Such inventiveness. However did you think of it?"

I get the point. It's been done before.

"Generations will stand in awe of this moment in time."

Okay. You're done.

Why Phase Two

Not Another Superhero is a story I wrote while having way too much fun. It's also possible I wrote entire sections while seriously sleep deprived. Explains a lot, doesn't it.

Hopefully, readers are entertained. Maybe even laugh. Or chuckle. Okay, a slight grin. You're free to choose your own display of amusement, is the point. There are times you'll gasp. And be confused. Times you'll hate me, I get it. There are moments you'll be intrigued, others you'll roll your eyes.

I know because I did all of that while writing it.

If you experience any or all of those emotions, I've succeeded. There is, however, more to discover. If you wish.

Not Another Superhero is an adventure, but it's also a journey through struggles of self-worth and identity, through trauma and recovery, through fears and flimsy reality.

It's deep, yo.

Mostly, it's a journey of hope. If I've written it right, you'll even find a glimpse of yourself somewhere in there. The you not yet realized. The you not yet discovered. The you that you didn't know existed.

The way I see it, we're all Samantha in some respects. All seeking the truth of who we really are or who we could fully become. All trying to solve the mystery of the chaos in our lives. All seeing a version of ourselves that is incomplete or even inaccurate.

I think this because I am this, too.

What I hope you find on this journey is not another superhero, but you're kind of superhero. The one you'd be if you could.

And who says you can't?

Beyond Phase Two

Here's where I'm starting and where my readers are starting with me. So thank you. For joining me on this journey. For making the journey possible. For starting, ever so humbly. But starting.

Superheroes don't exist, right? I'm challenging that notion.

Maybe they do if you ask the right people. For example, families like the one in the video below might say they do.

Maybe the family whose life you changed today would, too.



Compassion’s Gift Catalog: Chickens from Compassion International on Vimeo.

Nothing gets by Gabby.

You can't plan for swollen tonsils. You just can't.

Or sick kids. Or car trouble. Or traffic jams. Or economic slumps. Or life turning out not as we envisioned.

You can't. You just can't.

Swallowing past a baseball isn't the worst detour I've ever encountered. Far from it. It only made me laugh. Sort of laugh. Sardonically snort, really. Nothing like living life with a goiter on the week you've planned your book launch party.

I call her Gabby.

Gabby enjoys hot liquids, warm apple sauce, and giving me dreams about being throat punched. She also likes ruining my entire book launch schedule, which I had planned for today.

I took off work to make it happen. I worked late hours to take off work. I cooked a huge pot of chicken soup to eat on all week so I could work late hours.

Gabby was not moved.

When I realized this wasn't a short-lived sore throat kind of thing, I knew I had two choices to make:

1. Obsess about how to salvage my plans.
2. Learn to be more flexible, reschedule my book launch party, and watch the next season of Downton Abby.

Guess which one I chose.

What kind of a writer doesn't blog?

This girl.

Right here.

Actually, that's not true. I blog. Of course I do! I just haven't been blogging. Present perfect active tense. And, no. I didn't know that. I looked it up. It may still be wrong.

To focus on my book, as well as a new job, I took a minor blogging hiatus and crawled back into my shell. Also, the seating is really comfortable in here and there's always fresh guacamole to snack on. The shell is a happening, happening place.

Nevertheless, I will be posting more in the future, especially now that the book is published and READY FOR SALE.

English is such a tricky language. I want to make sure I explain that last statement fully.

READY FOR SALE means that my book, Not Another Superhero, is now ready for purchase on Amazon. And purchasing anything on Amazon is an incredibly sweet experience of our capitalistic system. You should give it a try. Here's where you could start your joy journey.

Anyway, all this to say if you've visited me before, or this is your first time here, I really will be around more AND I'll have a new look soon, too. Website reconstruction underway.

So come by again. But feel free to visit Amazon first. Amazon gets so lonely.