Category: Mutants

100, Getting Published, Interview, Medium, Mental Health, Mutants, Playlists, Poetry, support your locals, Work In Progress

What’s new?

fivesixer

Hey all! It’s been too long, hasn’t it? I’d love to say I have a good excuse, but of course I do not. A certain pandemic made me lazy. Let me catch you up to speed on what’s been going on (believe it or not, things have happened).

  • I did an interview with Fevers Of The Mind, an incredible supporter of the #WritingCommunity. Quick-9 Interview with Norb Aikin
  • My Twitter account was hacked in February, and I lost the entire thing. Over 5k followers, which is a magic number in the Twitterverse. And switching the link on WordPress from the old account to my new one was absolute hell, because a couple plugins here were not complying in any way. But it’s finally changed and functional now…I shaved my head to avoid tearing my hair out.
  • I’m sure I’ve done some other stuff, but my mind is still trying to un-jello itstelf at times.
  • I did submit a new manuscript, World By Design, to a few small presses. Fingers crossed it gets picked up.
  • And most recently, I joined Medium and published a poem on Put It To Rest, which I’m really proud of. It contains a few tiny Easter Eggs into my life and how anxiety has affected me during the pandemic. Stagefright

Of course, Mutants is still available in my shop and on Amazon, but you’d rather have a signed copy, right? So glad I got the PayPal option in my shop fixed. I’ve got a couple copies left before I have to replenish, and there’s also one copy of 100 remaining before it’s gone for a long, long time (make of that what you will).

So what’s new with y’all? Tell me something good. Hit me on Twitter at @aikinnorb and hashtag it with #somethinggood. I don’t know why I’m doing this, but my community engagement sensibilities are suggesting maybe I should.

Ok, since I’ve already wasted enough of your time today, let’s get to the good stuff…my favorite part of these things, the playlist. And how about a stage fright/medium themed one, just cuz that’s kinda how I roll, right?

  • The Band, “Stagefright”
  • Jimmy Eat World, “The Middle”
  • Radiohead, “Exit Music (For A Film)”
  • Modest Mouse, “Dark Center Of The Universe”
  • Bee Gees, “Man In The Middle”
  • Flickerstick, “You’re So Hollywood”
  • Arrested Development, “Mama’s Always On Stage”
  • Stealer’s Wheel, “Stuck In The Middle With You”
  • Atmosphere, “Between The Lines”
  • Steely Dan, “Parker’s Band”

Hey, thanks for your time! I know I say it every time, but I promise to not be a stranger so much anymore. Of course, that depends on whether or not I have things to talk about, and I kinda sorta did before, but I’mma try to be better and keep y’all in the loop when new stuff happens, ok? Love you guys! Peace!!

Getting Published, Holidays, Mental Health, Mutants, Playlists, Poetry

Your Mutants Pre-Orders Are Here!

fivesixer

Yo yo!! I’ve been waiting for this day for like, forever, because what else is there to do when pretty much everything’s shut down and you’re sittin’ on promises of books to people? I’m happy to announce that the pre-orders for Mutants are finally here!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAqYbwkB4Qa/

I would’ve had them a bit sooner, but they were delivered on Saturday; when packages that are too big to fit in my mailbox, they sit in the mail room and our building’s office staff (bless them…they’re wonderful ladies) puts a little note in your mailbox. But the office is closed on weekends, and with Monday being a holiday, I had to wait til today. But whatevs y’all…they’re here! A big lotta new book smell in the apartment right now!

I know I know…”So when am I getting my book?” That’s what I’m here to tell you. I know I said mid-May, but I didn’t anticipate shipping to take as long as it did (self-pubbed books aren’t eligible for Amazon Prime shipping if they’re sold to the author). Give me a few days to annotate them all; unfortunately I’m a kinda busy guy right now with physical therapy for my shoulder 2x a week, and tomorrow is another follow-up with my doc (things are going kickass, if you’re wondering…glad I had the work done and there’s no pain; now I’m in the stretch run, which is the strengthening part…grueling at times, but the results are there and it’s worth it). I’m hoping to mail them out by June 3rd or 4th, but please don’t be pissed at me if it takes me a few more days to get them out…believe me, I wanna be done with this and get this book in your hot little hands ASAP!!

Since these are quarantine/lockdown times, I don’t have much else to say. Let’s drop a shipping playlist and get on with our day. Sound good? I can almost hear y’all nodding your heads from here.

  • La Dispute, “A Letter”
  • Blink-182, “Here’s Your Letter”
  • The Tea Party, “The Messenger”
  • Atmosphere, “Postal Lady”
  • Joe Cocker, “The Letter”
  • American Football, “Letters And Packages”
  • Macy Gray, “The Letter”
  • Modest Mouse, “From Point A To Point B (∞)”
  • Cake, “Open Book”
  • Radiohead, “The Daily Mail”
  • Hail Mary Mallon, “Mailbox Baseball”
  • The Get Up Kids, “Red Letter Day”
  • The Postal Service, “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight”

Alright friends, enemies, lovers, and haters…that’s all I got for y’all today. Two weeks ago it was snowing with zero visibility; today it’s 88° and my 12″ oscillating fan has decided to die on me, so please have mercy on my soul if I sweat to death after making dinner and attempting a nap in this swamp-ass-inducing change in the world’s atmosphere. Stay strong friends; we’ll be able to get together soon, I hope. Peace, wear a mask and wash your hands, and know that I love you.

Getting Published, Mental Health, Mutants, Playlists, Poetry, support your locals

It’s ALIVE!! (And so am I.)

fivesixer

Hey friends!! I know I know, it’s been too long, but listen: I have good reasons and good news. Hear me out.

When we last left off way way too many months ago, Mutants had been pulled from Amazon because there were a lot of layout issues and one big copyright (or lack thereof) concern. It was being worked on and then I had to add content to make it big enough to be printable I guess; I don’t know how that works even though I’ve learned a lot in the last few months. I sent in what I thought was my final draft…and waited.

At the end of 2019, my publisher went ass-up and closed shop, leaving me and other authors in limbo. Not really a cool time to do it, but then again there’s never a good time for something like that I guess. I’ll forever be grateful to Sarah Fader and Eliezer Tristan Publishing for taking a chance on my poetry and other associated writings for sites like Stigma Fighters and The Good Man Project, but honestly I didn’t take the news very well and kinda hoped there’d be another solution to saving everything and helping out everyone who was in the middle of the publication process, like me. And there was not, unfortunately.

So I was on my own as far as what to do with not only Mutants, but 100, because they were eventually gonna get taken off Amazon and IngramSpark. I wasn’t ready for this at all, and it seemed very daunting to do it all myself…it took me baby steps to piece together what I was doing.

What complicated matters even more was having shoulder surgery in February…a torn rotator cuff. I’m still recovering and rehabbing it (and will be for a few more months), but I’m out of my sling for good. Needless to say, for a few weeks I didn’t wanna do a damn thing. I didn’t even wanna think about books or writing or blogs or what have you. Throw in this COVID-19 stuff, and holy hell it’s amazing how depressing everything’s become…you can’t even turn on the TV with every company under the sun blasting you with commercials about how it’s affecting them, and not you. Just one little slice of the bizarre times we’re living in these days.

But the good news is I finally started chipping away at Mutants, editing the bejeezus outta it, and figuring out self-publishing. My man Aaron J. Smith put up with me way too much trying to get the cover wrap dimensions right after the page count kept fluctuating with each little tweak and turn and I had to do to get the copy down to the right size (and throw in a font change as well; my bad!), but we got it fixed up proper and I’m hella grateful for that.

So, the best news is this: Mutants is now back up and ready for you!! In both Kindle (updated, with the new material) and in paperback!! I know…it’s about damn time!!

Here’s the deal: Everyone who pre-ordered it back in September or October or whatever, your annotated copies will be going out in the first week or two of May, depending on how long it takes me to get them and scrawl on the first bunch of pages. I haven’t forgotten about you and I’m mad sorry I haven’t kept you all up in the loop as much as I should’ve. Please forgive me; I promise, this book is worth the wait.

I’ll also be opening a new round of pre-orders very soon in my Shop here associated with this very blog. I’m gonna hafta fix a few things, and the price is gonna be a little higher because there’s more content and it’s a bigger book than originally planned, unfortunately. I don’t make the rules, y’all. KDP wants a certain amount of pages, so I try to do what works.

Sooooo….YAY!!! I’m officially a second-time author again!! Next on the docket is getting 100 back in circulation, but that’s gonna take some time I think; the manuscript has been fixed to take care of a couple layout issues I missed in editing, and I’ll need another cover for it (still mulling my options). Then getting set up on IngramSpark so I can reach libraries and the big (or pretty much only) bookstore again. From there on, who knows? This whole COVID-19 lockdown has everything in flux. My first wish is that you’re all safe and healthy. My second wish is that a tiny portion of your stimulus money goes toward purchasing my book!

Speaking of the Coronavirus, how about we end this celebration with a little quarantined playlist? Hold it now…hit it!

  • REM, “You’re In The Air”
  • Mudhoney, “Touch Me I’m Sick”
  • Deftones, “Dai The Flu”
  • Pearl Jam, “Wash”
  • Anti-Pop Consortium, “Dystopian Disco Force”
  • The Verve, “Drugs Don’t Work”
  • Pink Floyd, “Breathe”
  • Mudhoney, “Here Comes Sickness”
  • Anti-Pop Consortium, “We Kill Soap Scum”
  • Atmosphere, “Breathing”
  • Modest Mouse, “Bury Me With It”
  • Soul Coughing, “So Far I Have Not Found The Science”

Alright friends, ex-lovers, best friends with lovers, and so on and so forth…I have other things to do now while the nation figures out this whole pandemic situation. Time to get on with my bad self and start spreading the word about this new book thing I just birthed out into the universe. Peace y’all…stay well and stay safe!

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_EZ3aIj168/

Homies, Mutants, Playlists, Poetry, support your locals, Work In Progress

So what’s up with Mutants?

fivesixer

Hey friends! So here I am, again, begging forgiveness for not updating this fancy blog slice of internet cheesecake in a long time. I have good reason though, even if I’m the only one who understands it and isn’t critical of it. I’d planned on doing it once I got my author copies of Mutants, but that hasn’t happened yet. Instead, I’m left to tell you all the hows and whys. Put your shoes on and pay attention.

The e-book came out in September and you can get it here for your Kindle or other associated apps. I’m mad proud of it because it’s a short little mishmash of poems from the true 100 follow-up, Also Mutants, along with some newer items from my work in progress as well as an older poem or two. As a whole, this little book in my opinion is way better than 100, but who am I to judge?

Being the impatient bastard that I am, I bought a copy of the paperback once it hit Amazon because I couldn’t wait for author copies, and I wanted to see the finished product. I was antsy because unlike the first time I went through the publication process, there was no rush and no “You need to do this and this and this NOW!” atmosphere around it. I approved the cover wrap, but never got a chance to see the insides to make sure everything was ok. And therein lies the problems.

There are a couple pages where the title is there, but the poem is on the next page. And there are a couple poems that aren’t spaced the way I’d prefer, because of the size of the font or the book itself. I wish I’d known this before I started pimpin’ it.

So, my publisher pulled it from Amazon, obvs, since it’s not up to my specs (oh, and there’s also no Copyright disclaimer © in there!). I know Eliezer Tristan Publishing is going through some restructuring and change right now, so I’m still waiting on having the layout fixed and approved by me. Hopefully by this coming Friday I’ll have more answers.

To the people who have already ordered and paid for annotated copies, I’m really sorry for the holdup. I can assure you it’s not me, and I truly can’t wait to get this into your hands…but I also want it to be the flawless little chapbook I imagined when I was like “Hey, time for another book!”. So there’s that y’all.

In other news, I’m really excited for a couple other projects I’ve either taken part in or will be as soon as I can get my head put on in the right direction! I have a piece in the Leonard Cohen-inspired Avalanches in Poetry collection, and my name sits beside so many of my favorite indie poets who work a lot harder than I do. I’m honored to be in there along with them.

I’ve also been submitting to my friend Kristin Garth’s online collaboration, Pink Plastic House. I’m not ready to tell you what’s in there or why; all I can say is because.

So, I’m still working and still trying to be amazing, but now you know why I’m falling a little short. I’m confident things’ll turn around soon, because I can’t fathom going into Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday) having not satisfied the people who matter most (those who care enough to get the limited annotated copy of Mutants, along with family and close friends).

https://www.instagram.com/p/B4VyFd4B7Qq/

Whether I am or I am not a “big deal” (and believe me, I don’t think I am, or at least not so much as I think some of the others in the #WritingCommunity are), the work doesn’t end. With the Notre Dame game on in the background, let’s jam to a proper Mutants on-its-way playlist!

  • Our Lady Peace, “Waiting”
  • Deftones, “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want”
  • Coldplay, “The Hardest Part”
  • Spoon, “WhisperI’lllistentohearit”
  • INXS, “The One Thing”
  • Pearl Jam, “Don’t Gimme No Lip”
  • Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, “Far From Me”
  • Jay-Z feat. Mary J. Blige, “Can’t Knock The Hustle”
  • Blur, “Trouble In The Message Centre”
  • Green Day, “Nice Guys Finish Last”
  • Money Mark, “Information Contraband”
  • My Bloody Valentine, “I Can See It (But I Can’t Feel It)”

Alright y’all…time to leave you alone so I can do my thing. Thanks for listening. I’ve got leftover pizza in the fridge and my appetite is getting strong. Peace, I appreciate the slack given, and don’t forget to support your locals and indies! Mad love my friends…I’ll catch you back up again soon.

100, Eliezer Tristan Publishing, Getting Published, Mutants, Playlists, Poetry

The year of 100…and more!

fivesixer

Yes yes y’all! I can’t believe I haven’t written a post here since May, and I’m ashamed, but I wanted to enjoy the summer and still keep busy some, so a few things got left behind, and that’s ok. Why? You’ll find out in a few seconds or so, depending on how fast you read.

When I left off in May, I’d just come home from an amazing trip to Hartford (and surrounding areas), CT. I’ve made friends that we barely go a day without talking to each other, and helping each other out when one of us needs it. Again, I’m very grateful for them. And I know I left off “Part 1” with the intention of following it up, but really all that would’ve entailed would be me bitching about traveling and NYC, and I’m kinda glad I didn’t because it would’ve been an angry rant and a slur on an otherwise awesome experience.

So, where are we now? Back in June, I celebrated the one-year anniversary of 100 coming out, and since then it’s been a journey of reminiscing many different experiences I otherwise may not have been able to share with so many excellent people along the way. I’m a published author! I still can’t believe it. And I can’t thank everyone who has supported me in this whole thing enough.

Also, if you haven’t heard, I recently had two poems published in an anthology: Fevers of the Mind, Issue 2: In Memoriam , which was a treat. “No And No” and “Everything Is Terrible And I Think You Know Why” are from the early stages of my current work-in-progress and might be some of the more accessible items from it. And intertwined with that, is this:

Yep…on September 1st I became a 2-time published author. You can’t become a doctor twice; just more of one. You can’t become a professional athlete twice (unless you play two sports). The point is, getting published once is hard enough; doing it twice means you’ve climbed that mountain again and stuck a brand new flag in it. And here’s the kicker: it’s already available for your Kindle, and when the paperbacks are ready I’ll be selling Limited Edition annotated copies for $15. Don’t worry…I’ll let you know when the sale goes live!

Mutants is only meant to be a teaser. The actual follow-up to 100 is titled Also Mutants, and it’s a direct continuation of where I was once 100 was finished. This time around, it was actually completed within a hundred days and also won Best Poetry Collection again at Writing.com’s Quill Awards. I imagine it’ll come out some time next spring, whenever I finish off my WIP. Even though there are a couple items from it in Mutants (and some older pre-100 ones as well), I like having a solid stash just so I can feel like I’m always working.

So, as maybe you can tell, although I’m occasionally bad at showing emotions, I’m stoked about this and what’s coming up. For now, besides the Kindle, you can get a dope bookmark in my shop (and props to my man Aaron J. Smith for rockin’ the cover images right)…

 

Ok, well, I think I explained most of everything I wanted to. Go out and buy some of the new stuff and some of the old stuff too at the shop button above this entry. It’s better than getting my book from Target or Walmart (which you actually can if you’re shopping online). If you buy my stuffs from me, your money goes right to me instead of a shitty corporation. Remember that!

Let’s end this joyride in a little celebratory Anniversary playlist, aight? Aight.

  • Boxstep, “Second Wedding Anniversary”
  • Deftones, “Anniversary Of An Uninteresting Event”
  • deM atlaS, “Bad Days Are Over (feat. Atmosphere)”
  • Pearl Jam, “Hail, Hail”
  • Oasis, “The Importance Of Being Idle”
  • The Get Up Kids, “Red Letter Day”
  • DMX, “Party Up”
  • The Roots, “The Next Movement”
  • My Bloody Valentine, “I Can See It (But I Can’t Feel It)”
  • Taking Back Sunday, “New American Classic”
  • Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, “Do You Love Me?”
  • Braid, “Always Something There To Remind Me”

That’s all I got for you cats today. Stay tuned for more details as soon as I get them, and if you don’t hear from me for a bit just nudge me and I’ll have a sweet excuse lined up, I’m sure. Til then, stay safe and remember I love all y’all. Peace!