Tag Archives: publishing

What were you doing at 2:43am??

September 9, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

I’ll tell you what I was doing —

I was lying in bed, in the dark, thinking about the new novel coming out in 3 days.

And I was thinking that this will be my 8th published novel.

And I was thinking that it would be my 21st book, until I really started adding everything up. And it was a LOT of math to do in the dark at 2:43AM!!

Not just the novels, but all the many short story collections of mine that have come out, the books I edited of other writers’ and photographers’ works, and then I also added in the various different editions of my books that came out, too.

And I was astounded to discover that The Curse of Our Profound Disorder will my 32nd book.

How did that happen??

Gang, I do not know where the time went. But I do remember every single book I worked on, wrote, or edited, as well as every different edition that came out — in the US, UK, France, Mexico.

And every single one of those events made me so happy. There were just so many publishers back then.

And this doesn’t count the short stories and essays that I’ve had published in other people’s books. I can’t even begin to remember all of those.

There were just so many books over the course of 28 years. And almost all of them are out of print now. So I’d kind of lost track of how many there actually were. (And before the books, my short stories were published in underground zines for 8 years! That whole zine culture was so cool, gang.)

And then next year, The Muse Revisited Volume 4 will come out, along with the M. Christian tribute anthology I’m editing.

I couldn’t wrap my mind around where the time went to, though, you know?

And this doesn’t count the 24 years of songwriting that I did, or the plays, screenplays, TV pilots I wrote or co-wrote. Or the diaries & journals I kept in NYC for 16 years — until I began working online for a film production company in 1997 and then started building publishing-related websites. Which started me writing my journals online and brought my blog into the world!

I’ve continuously kept an online blog now for 29 years.

I don’t know, gang. I felt like I was looking at someone else’s life. Even though I remembered every minute of it.

For instance —

When I was 10 years old (1970), I wrote my first real song. I composed it on the piano. It was a song about air pollution (I was against it!). And it was used in a short film that my art teacher, Mr. Quinn, at my elementary school made. It starred my Girl Scout troop! And we all sang my song in the film. And the film was shown at an exposition in downtown Cleveland.

Wow, was I thrilled!

And then the Synagogue my family attended, printed the lyrics of my song in the members’ newsletter. And my parents and grandparents — and my piano teacher!! — were really proud of me.

It’s like everything I ever wrote came back to me last night while I was trying to go back to sleep. But it took a while.

I don’t really know why I have become so obsessed with TIME. And how fast it’s flying and how little of it I have left, compared to what’s already gone by.

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Okay.

I’m not going to go into the details because it was absolutely traumatizing — it involved a car accident that happened yesterday, right in front of me.

But I had a really bad day yesterday. And then to top it all off, THIS happened when I answered my phone at 5PM!!

Yes! I’ve been called up for fucking JURY DUTY. AGAIN!

Next Tuesday… Jesus Christ.

Here’s hoping it goes pretty much the same way it went last month and then it will just be over for a few years.

But the long and the short of it is — I got NO writing done yesterday!! (But I did get a little writing done over the last 56 years…)

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Anyway.

The Public Theater in NYC announced yesterday that the play I posted about here recently, “How Shakespeare Saved My Life,” has already been extended!

It will now run from Sept 15th through October 25th! The play looks like it will be really great. You can read about it and buy tickets HERE!

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Did you know that Elvis Costello is on a North American Tour??

Including CLEVELAND! Yay!

You can buy tickets HERE!!

And in celebration of the 49th anniversary of his fantastic first record, My Aim Is True, he has a special 5-CD box set coming October 2nd. You can read about it HERE!

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And from Lambda Literary today:

“Lambda Literary has teamed up with Fine Arts Work Center to celebrate the successes of our Retreat Alumni!

“Join us for a free, virtual event Thursday, September 17th at 6pm EST to hear more about how these storytellers found success in their journeys from emerging writer to celebrated author.“

Find out more and register here! Free!

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Oh!

Simon Parkes had a great update yesterday, about upcoming healing centers and MedBeds, and also banking system changes, worldwide. You need to be a member of Connecting Consciousness to hear Simon’s updates, but it is FREE to join. Check it out HERE.

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Okay!!

And here’s this!!

Mick — bored with golfing??? It seems to be affecting the attitudes of the other Rolling Stones…

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A great Polaroid of Keith! Mid-1960s, in front of Olympia Recording Studios in London!

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Keith and the late, great horn player, Bobby Keys! Drinking!! On a plane!!

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Joe Strummer! Leaning!!

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And last but not least, gang!

Nick Cave and some of those Birthday Party boys! Smoking, not smoking!!

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And that is it for now.

I am seriously hoping I will have a much better day than the one I had yesterday, gang.

We will soon find out.

Meanwhile, have a wonder-filled Wednesday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for vistiing.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!

Tom Petty and the Heartbreaker’s entire story in 60 seconds!!

You Won’t Believe It!

August 16, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Okay, gang.

Happy Sunday!

You’re not going to believe how yesterday went.

Since I’m in the process of getting the sample “scripts” together for the upcoming audiobooks, I was trying to get all the original manuscripts of my self-published books into one separate folder.

Just trying to get organized.

I have 7 self-published books that are being submitted to become audiobooks. Not only do I have a stack of those books perched precariously on the corner of my really tiny but beloved desk, I also have a stack of books and many papers on my desk for the M. Christian tribute anthology I’m currently editing.

And I am addicted to small notebooks for keeping notes on absolutely every project, phone call, zoom call — including a TON of notes for “The Guide to Being Fabulous”, my play with Sandra Caldwell. And my in-progress play about Caiaphas. Those notebooks are in a stack on my tiny desk, too.

And little scraps of paper are on my desk — notes to myself. And all of those notes to myself amount to my “To Do List”.

So I finally decided I needed to get better organized in order to somehow move the audiobook project forward, right?

Wow. Trying to find the original manuscripts for all 7 of these books — some of them going back to 2005 (!) — I’ve moved 4 times since then, and I’ve had no less than 6 laptops since then.

Anyway.

As I was locating the various original manuscripts and moving them into a new folder on my laptop, I discovered a completed manuscript for a book that never got published:

The Muse Revisited Volume 4: Selected Taboo Erotica of Marilyn Jaye Lewis

Whoa! WTF??

I scrolled through it and it was a completed manuscript, formatted and ready for publication. A collection of previously published short stories, from 1994 – 2021 (!!). All of them in the decidedly “taboo” erotic vein. Volume 4 in a series that had already been really popular for about 10 years.

I had totally forgotten that Black Lotus Books was supposed to publish it, in print, but then they suddenly folded.

They gave me the rights back to everything when they folded, so I immediately moved forward with self-publishing the 2 books of mine they had already published (1954 Powder Blue Pickup and a long short-story, Half-Moon Bride). This was January 2021.

And just prior to that (in 2020), I was absolutely overloaded with projects — screenplays, TV pilots, plays, short stories, novels-in-progress, and I was working nonstop with Peitor Angell on our Abstract Absurdity Production micro-minis — we were taking all kinds of meetings with producers and production companies, both in LA and in Europe.

Then absolutely everything came to a screeching halt because of all the lockdowns. And life suddenly got crazier. (My life as a digital soldier for 4 years…)

As near as I can tell, I just forgot that the other manuscript was ready to go. I definitely remember (now) that I was planning to self-publish it after Black Lotus folded.

Holy cow, I thought. I can publish this in a heartbeat. It’s all ready to go!

But then I thought: Maybe my new publisher over in Pennsylvania might be interested in seeing this…

Long story, short — she emailed me back yesterday afternoon, saying: “Um, yesssss”

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So.

That was a real thrill.

And then I realized that since I made the difficult decision to retire from professional caregiving back in July, and focus on my writing once again– well, what a great decision that was.

I have the new novel coming out in a few weeks. A book signing. The staged reading of the play coming up in NY sometime this Fall. Perhaps give a talk and be on a panel at a writers conference in the Spring.

And the M. Christian antho has helped me re-connect with so many wonderful writers from my past — and that book will come out next year. Plus this new book that materialized out of thin air yesterday! And 7 audiobooks. Plus, even though I cancelled my association with fiverr, I still have ads posted at local places as a writing coach, and school is starting up around here soon.

Wow. It’s like overnight, I finally went back to being a writer.

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Okay!

I discovered THIS amazing website last night. Wow. I am going to spend the next year just exploring it!

TomPettyTrail

Explores sites connected to Tom Petty in his childhood hometown of Gainesville and throughout Florida.

“This is the first website dedicated to documenting and pinpointing Florida sites connected to the life of, and songs written by, Tom Petty. It serves as a roadmap for Petty fans traveling there to learn about — and navigate to — these sites in his hometown, Gainesville, and elsewhere in the state. This website will help facilitate your Tom Petty tourism by giving you the information needed to create a self-guided tour that most interests you.”

And it’s totally free! A labor of love created by Shawn Murphy.

If you love Tom Petty like I do, it is amazing! It is so detailed, it is just incredible. Where he was born, where he lived. Where his family lived. Where his friends lived. All the schools he went to. The store where he bought his guitar strings — immortalized in his song, “Dreamville”…

And so here’s this, again. Tom’s tribute to his rock & roll-loving boyhood in Gainesville — “Dreamville”:

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Okay.

I think this is going to be great!

If you live in NYC, it will be at the Public Theater, September 15th thru October 18th:

“How Shakespeare Saved My Life”

“In the Red Bull Theater production of HOW SHAKESPEARE SAVED MY LIFE, Jacob Ming-Trent dares to rescue himself from the “slings and arrows” of his past. Born with a gift for poetry but rejected as unfit to play the part of the poet, Ming-Trent invites us to take a deep dive into the crevices of his youth. His search for home is relentless, and the results are by turns hilarious and tragic. Calling on the Bard and a host of genius rappers, half-crazed preachers, and soulful poets to throw him a lifeline, he takes us on a propulsive ride that reaffirms the power of language. It all adds up to one man’s attempt to reclaim his life, and through that journey we connect to the deeper parts of ourselves, and, ultimately, to each other. Directed by Tony Taccone.”

You can buy tickets HERE.

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And, well, what can I say?

There are now an absolute TON of photos and videos from the Bad Seeds show in Sweden the other night. Way too many to start posting here.

I’m not positive, but it looked like, at one point during the show, Nick Cave couldn’t find a microphone that worked. I saw that video a few times.

Anyway–

Here are a couple photos from that thing I mentioned yesterday — about Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds chilling and taking in The Cure’s show over on a different stage:

And here are a few from the actual show:

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds play Finland tonight. Followed by 5 more shows in Europe between now and the end of August. You can buy tickets here!

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Well, we were supposed to have more thunderstorms today, but for some reason, the sun is now out.

So I guess I’ll close this and head out for another splendid walk in ~~Dreamville~~ — Oops! I meant, of course, Crazeysburg! And then I’ll get down to some work.

Have a great Sunday, wherever you are in the world, gang.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!!!

One of my all-time favorite songs from my wee bonny teenaged girlhood! By one of my all-time favorite groups!!

It popped up on my playlist yesterday morning, when I ran out to the Dollar Store to run a quick errand for my beloved cats….

“Stayin’ Alive” by the immortal Bee Gees, 1977!!! Enjoy, gang.

Okay, here it is!

July 13, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Here is the official Call for Submissions, if you are interested, or if you know a writer or publisher who might be interested.

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July 13, 2026

Dear Writer or Publisher,

This is an invitation to contribute to a tribute anthology to honor, celebrate, and remember the life and works of our beloved friend and colleague, M. Christian.

Publisher: Angel Ackerman, Parisian Phoenix Publishing, Easton, PA.

Editors: Marilyn Jaye Lewis; Ralph Greco, Jr.

The Work: Your contribution can be a new work of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art – or a reprint. The primary requirement is that it be a work that connects you in some way with M. Christian – did he inspire something you wrote or created? Did you write something together? Did he publish something you wrote? Did you publish something he wrote?

This is a celebration of the world surrounding M. Christian as we knew it. Along with your short bio, you are asked to submit a statement about how your contribution is connected to Chris.

Length: A maximum word count of 5K is suggested, but we are open to considering whatever you feel moved to send in.

Compensation: As of now, this is a labor of love on the parts of the Publisher and the Editors. Discounts will be offered on contributor copies.

Deadline: October 1, 2026

Please send all submissions to:

marilynjayelewis@protonmail.com

Disclaimers:

Since much of what we will be publishing in this tribute anthology will be adult-themed, we ask that you be of legal age in your territory to contribute.