The Man Who Crossed Whimsy Avenue is off to the print-on-demand distributor. Subtitled and 95 other bits of flash fiction, the next entry in the Bluhm lexicon should be available for pre-order within a week or so, and I’ve set a publishing date of March 22.
Here’s the official blurb:
• A collision at a store entrance reverberates for 70 romantic years.
• Fleeing from danger, a man meets an old friend with a secret.
• A dragon settles in the backyard, vigilant and watching for — what?
• A cow, a moose and a gnome meet on a shelf and become fast friends.
• A man absent-mindedly crosses into a colorful, whimsical world.
The author of Ebenezer, Myke Phoenix, Dejah & Summer in the Time of Magic and The Imaginary Bomb presents this collection of short-short stories full of intrigue, love, action and, well, whimsy.
Warren Bluhm offers up 96 fragments of thought and bursts of creativity in this expanded edition of his collection 24 flashes — four times as many tales, four times as much fun.
The print edition comes out to 212 pages, including 12 pages for the title page, table of contents, introduction and “About the Author” content, so average of slightly more than two pages per tale, and many are less than a page. There ought to be a little something for everyone in there.
I finished formatting the book and uploading to IngramSpark on Wednesday morning. The next step is for them to send me an e-proof for my approval, and then the information heads off to the stores for them to use as they wish. You are certainly welcome to nag your local bookstore for your copy (or copies; Bluhm books make lovely gifts).
For the first time, I took one extra step, taking my cue from Steven Pressfield’s famous anecdote. When Pressfield finished his first novel at long last, he went running to his mentor for a pat on the back. His mentor didn’t look up; he just said, “Good for you. Start the next one today.”
And so, after I logged off from IngramSpark, I called up my word processing app and started preparing See the World, the working title of my next collection of blog posts. If you’d like a taste, here’s the title post.
I’m toying with the idea of also releasing See the World on March 22, and perhaps even a third book. I did, after all, pledge to publish 12 books during 2025, and here it is late February.
