Author News

Welcome back! I want to take a moment to explain some interesting things that are happening in the month of June. Today was very cool for me because it was my first chance to serve on a self-publishing panel. Christopher J. Lynch is a mystery writer and my mentor who frequently hosts self-publishing seminars at various libraries. This time, he attached a panel to the event with me and another one of his students. It was an opportunity for the attendees to ask us questions about our work and the overall self-publishing experience. The crowd was actually very proactive. They asked a wide variety of questions ranging from editing, the amount of time we spend writing, purchasing ISBN numbers, handling mishaps along the way, and more. I was definitely grateful for the opportunity. It was also the first time I met A.R. Fagundes. She recently self-published a fantasy driven post-apocalyptic novel and I thought it was fun that we share similar interests in genres. Funny how it goes. Lynch is an author of hard boiled crime fiction, but Fagundes and I seem to prefer the sci-fi and fantasy subgenres.

I attended a number of self-publishing workshops during the past few years and it seems like many people want to be writers. However, very few of them have the ambition and dedication to follow through the process. I don't want people to feel discouraged if they want to write a book. It might feel like a daunting task, but writing is a very fun and educational hobby. For those of you who are budding writers, attending Lynch's seminars would be a terrific idea. He has a lot of great advice, resources, and explains the situation very clearly. Bonus points because his seminars are usually free. You can find a full list of his author events at www.christopherjlynch.com. I think you guys should also take a look at A.R. Fagundes. Her concept of post-apocalyptic fiction is really cool because it's quite creative and expansive. She will probably have more author events in the future too. You can view information about her work at http://arfagundes.com/.

​I have a big author event coming up! You guys can catch my steampunk workshop at the Vacaville Town Square Library on June 15th from 6:00p.m-7:30 p.m. I'm going to explain the history of steampunk, stylistic elements, how it changed over time, how it connects to 19th century history, and how we see it in modern entertainment. Let's have some fun! Show up in a steampunk costume. I'm definitely going to wear steampunk attire during my presentation. You can als0 read my most recent interview from the Vallejo Times-Herald. Richard Freeman and I had a really good discussion about my process as a steampunk author. Click on the link to read the full article. Stephanie Kato Interview: Vallejo Times-Herald.

​Thanks for supporting my work. I'll be out of town next week for my author event. But I'll still find a little time to post something on my blog. I hope this information was useful and interesting for you guys. Take care and watch for my next post.