One big update about Mark Reads! Tour, cons, events, more books, party!

Hello, Readers! I wanted to share a few things with y’all as an update on the world of Mark Does Stuff, so you should read this because of reasons and also because I have some surprises for you!

First things first:

Tour is Done!

Many thanks to the 1,000+ people I met over the course of the longest tour I’ve ever done in my life. It was more than just a success. IT WAS RIDICULOUS AND SUPER FUN. Boo to the people in Minneapolis and St. Louis who confessed to me after the event that they were sick and came to the event anyway WHILE BREATHING THEIR GERMS ALL OVER ME. Sorry to the folks in the cities where I was sick, did not hang out after the event, and lost my voice. You can be mad passive-aggressively with me! Otherwise, I did not have a single bad event. I had a blast, my events were absurdly fun, and I am very grateful for the support and love that y’all gave me. I definitely did not make back the money I spent on flights, train tickets, hotels, and venues, but I kind of don’t care? IT WAS THE BEST, and I will do it again. Soon.

More on that in a bit. I just want to thank the many people who helped me along the way, either providing a ride, a place to crash, a few dollars in the Pigfarts Jar, or who helped set up a venue. Y’all are amazing. Thank you to each and every one of you, and I’m thankful to have had the time with you!

More Events! San Francisco, Portland, LONDON/EUROPE!!!, Texas

Touring is not done for 2013. I will be going to MANY, MANY, MANY places in 2013. First of all, if you live in the Bay Area, I will be hosting a live reading/event at Borderlands Books on Valenica on Sunday, April 21 at 5:00pm. Please come hang out, meet your fellow community members, bring terrible fanfic for me to read, and buy a signed copy of Mark Reads Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! YES, I WILL HAVE COPIES FOR Y’ALL!

I can also announce that I will be at both the Portland and London LeakyCon conventions. BOTH CITIES WILL ALSO GET MARK DOES STUFF EVENTS OUTSIDE OF LEAKYCON. This is for folks who might not be able to afford registration! I’ll make Facebook events for both dates once I have my schedule solidified!

OH MY GOD, I AM GOING TO LONDON! My boyfriend is currently working out whether or not he can take one week or two weeks off, and this will dictate whether I do a UK or a Europe tour. Either way, there will be multiple events once I cross the Atlantic because WHY NOT! So, I am curious where y’all would like me to come in Europe! Please suggest cities and upvote threads if you’re interested in attending a Mark Does Stuff event somewhere. Venue suggestions would be nice, but I’m more interested in:

1) Demand

2) Suggestions on traveling. What’s the cheapest way to get around? What are good hostels that my boyfriend and I could stay at? Any help would be appreciated, as I’ve never gone to any country aside from Canada.

I will also be at WorldCon 2013 for BOTH the convention and the Hugo ceremonies! I will have multiple panels at WorldCon, and will be a puddle of tears and feelings all night while I wait to find out if I won the Hugo Award for Fan Writer. There will ALSO be a non-convention event in San Antonio, too! I AM SO EXCITED.

Finally, I want folks to know that I am the special guest at the first ever Camp 9 and 3/4! If you want to go camping with a bunch of Harry Potter nerds and listen to me read terrible HP fanfiction around a campfire, you should come out!

This is not the last announcement concerning Mark Does Stuff events. I will be doing brief tours on the west coast, in western Canada, and elsewhere throughout the year. I don’t know that I could afford another month-long tour in 2013 because it was super expensive and, as you can see, I have a lot going on. That being said, I want to pull off quite a few 4-5 date tours to get to some lovely cities I need to return to, and to visit places I’ve not been. You are free to suggest away if you’d like me to come to your city for an event, to speak for your club or group, or to give a lecture at your school! You can also contact via email if you’re interested: markreadsandwatches [at] gmail [dot] com.

What’s Next on Mark Reads

As a gift and a gesture of gratitude to everyone who took the time and money to come out to a tour date on the Mark Does Stuff Tour 2013, I told people what I’m reading (and watching) next on my sites! There’s a similar post on Mark Watches right now with that information, but now it’s time to finally reveal what I have planned in the future.

I have the supreme luxury and privilege of reading Tamora Pierce’s everything, which is going to take me a HOT MINUTE. Which I am fine with because I love it so much. When that finishes in the next decade or so, I think I’d like to try to tackle Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books. I have no date for this because I have no idea how long it will take me to get through all the Tortall books and all the Circle of Magic books. Plus, my mods have the unique difficultly of sifting through a billion possible recommendations for what order to read the Discworld books, and I’d like to give them even more time than they have had. I know that whatever order I choose will piss off some part of the fandom, but there’s no ideal way to do it. That’s why I’ve been putting it off for so long.

Anyway, because there are a billion Tamora Pierce fans (and y’all are the loveliest fandom to ever grace this site), that means I get to choose whatever the fuck I want for the second book/series to accompany it. It’s been so brilliant reading Newsflesh because it’s a newer series that is just getting popular. Most people haven’t read it. I’d like to keep this trend and read some newer books! Once I finish the Newsflesh trilogy in June, I will be reading a book called John Dies At The End. Because he does? omg SPOILERS. (And yes, I am now aware it has a sequel. We’ll get to it someday.) If you want to read along with me, the Kindle version is only $4.99 right now! I have no idea when the sale ends, but PARTY!

Once I’m finished with that, I will be reading N.K. Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy, which includes The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, The Broken Kingdoms, and The Kingdom of Gods. I read her lovely short story “Valedictorian” for a commission, and I adored it so much that I need to read more of her stuff. I NEED TO.

You are welcome to claim chapters for a Mark Reads video here!

The Future of Mark

So, as you can see, I’ve got a lot going on in my life. A LOT. Thank y’all so much for the support you’ve given me because I know for certain that Mark Reads and Mark Watches would not have been sustainable without the commissions and purchases y’all have made. The same goes for tour. I admit that it probably looks like I’m rolling in dough, since I have so many video commissions these days, but I assure you that the Mark Does Stuff Tour I just went on wiped out about $4,000. I am doing well, though, so this is not me complaining or freaking out. I am just so flattered by the constant love, affection, and generosity y’all have shown me. I never once thought my life would end up like this, and I have you to thank. Thanks for reading. Commenting. Supporting. Being a WONDERFUL PERSON. So, I’d like to share with you one last thing. This has all been some chaotic, fabulous dream, and it’s honestly what it feels like half the time! It’s such a surreal experience for me, and it’s about to become even better. As of the end of my tour, I am now one-third of the way through my first fiction novel, and I plan on taking time this month and the next (before traveling starts in June) to ideally finish it. It’s a YA thriller, set in a high school, and it’s the first of a trilogy. BECAUSE WHY NOT WRITE YOUR FIRST NOVEL AS PART OF A TRILOGY. I WILL BE RIDICULOUS UNTIL THE END OF TIME. Without what y’all have done to me, I wouldn’t have found the self-esteem, the motivation, or the money to sit down and do this.

It’s happening. And I owe it all to you.

Love,

Mark (Who Does Stuff)