State of Euphoria

I received a book in the mail today, and it wasn’t from Amazon. It was from my client, Todd.

My hub handed me the package while I sat at my desk. I was grinning as I tore into it.

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“Ooo, I beta-read this book almost three years ago, and here it is! It’s ALIVE! And I blurbed it!” I pointed out the blurb and handed it to Hub.

He flipped through the pages, impressed. Who doesn’t love holding a freshly-published book?

Back in 2021, Todd found me through a mutual friend, and he asked me to give the draft a read through and some feedback. He’d been working on it for years.

I was so floored. It was a delightful read, and poignant, and honestly one of the best books I’ve ever read.

I asked the few questions I had, and I shared with him my emotional reaction to the book and overall thoughts.

I told him that without a doubt - this book needed to find a publishing home, and by golly, it did.

I’m so excited for Todd. He had a long, long journey birthing this book.

Dinner at God’s House, by Todd Lieman. The book drops on April 24th, in just a few days. Put it on your Goodreads list, or calendar, or preorder the eBook - and of course, please post a review if you can spare a few minutes.

You can learn more about Todd and his work here.

That I was a small part of this huge milestone for him is a special kind of satisfaction. Helping a book get born and to hold the evidence in your hands - it’s a bit euphoric.

And look, I think this book contains a special kind of soul medicine. Medicine that makes you laugh, and cry, and reflect - and maybe even make peace with yourself.

—

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve written an update or really worked on my memoir, but the time away was good and I was able to recalibrate a few things and work on a big project. More on that in a minute.

I’ve changed the name of this Substack to Life of O’Brien, mostly just to freshen things up and evolve a bit.

Originally, my plan for the memoir, Library Confidential, didn’t really include the “lost years” from 1992-2001 - that pivotal time in-between my Los Angeles residencies. I alluded to some of it in Metalhead Librarian, and a few of my readers have expressed interest - but I didn’t really think of it as important.

But then I stumbled upon an old, old diary entry a few weeks ago - and the lightbulb in my brain blinked ON. 

Yep. I need to write it. Dang it.

Since I need to kick-start things again, anyways, I’ll be sending out a rough chapter of that work in the next week or so. And then maybe a couple of more as I muddle through the process. It’s all a mess. I hate it. I love it. I’m fine. 

I’m still wrestling with a screenplay story that is vexing me (O structure, where art thou?) a family history that is still unraveling, and a fiction project so large I cannot even comprehend the amount of mental effort or the sustained longevity my tired menopausal body will have to endure in order to finish it. 

(I’m beginning to understand why writers “go away” to write. I’m looking into it. Maybe in August? The mountains? The beach? Joshua Tree? The off-season bargain resort right here in Phoenix with a pool and cheap margaritas? We shall see…)

But for now, I’m back to working on the memoir , and living the Life of O’Brien (yes - it’s a nod to Monty Python) and life is really mostly amazingly good. My kids are growing up. My parents are getting old. Another Arizona summer is on deck. Distractions are endless.

But, once school is out, I’ll be back into my morning routine, writing on the back patio until the heat chases me away.

—

By far the very best distraction these past few months has been getting Garage Sale Vinyl, by Christopher Long, ready for publication for its launch on May 23th, on Bibliozona Books. 

Ever since I worked for Brian Slagel all those years ago at Metal Blade Records, the idea of having an independent business which served artists, with residual income potential, was super appealing to me. 

Back then, I was part of the production pipeline for a few heavy metal albums.

Books aren’t really that much different. 

I had so much fun editing this book. I listened to many of the albums that Chris writes about - fifty albums! Fifty chapters! I couldn’t make it through all of them as I was editing, but I’ll keep going. If you follow me on Instagram, you’re getting sneak-peaks of those albums.

I don’t know about you, but as a child of the 70’s and 80’s, I grew up listening to and collecting vinyl albums. Every music aficionado and/or musician I know is an active and avid vinyl collector.

(However, full disclosure: Currently, my vinyl collection is meager and stale. Upon inspecting, somehow I have two copies of Love Drive by The Scorpions. Not sure why. I do have a thing for used books, though, and I actively collect those. Shocking, I know.)

I’d like to grow Bibliozona Books into releasing a few titles a year - finding projects and writers that I vibe with that need a cozy, loving home for essay collections, memoirs, and narrative nonfiction projects - with a rock n’ roll twist, of course. 

My books will be in that pipeline, too.

And with all of the turmoil in Big Publishing, agenting, and distributing, there is a movement afoot for independent, author driven, transparent, collaborative publishing. 

I see it as a natural development that fills a need in between other sometimes-less-than-ideal options for writers. 

I’ll still take on coaching and consulting clients, and I’ll still offer writers services like beta-reading and book formatting, for sure. Expanding a bit with a publishing component seems like a no-brainer.

All of it is midwifery, to some degree - helping writers deliver book babies.

Midwifing a book lets you experience the joy and euphoria of birth and delivery without the all labor pains of authorship.

I can’t wait to show you pictures.

Here is a teaser for Garage Sale Vinyl: 

One of the most exciting music trends in recent years has been the roaring resurgence of the vinyl record format. Enthusiasts worldwide now are rediscovering the magic of music — on cozy and (sometimes) crackly LPs.

Join author Christopher Long as he rummages through garage sales, thrift stores, and flea markets along Florida’s sunny Space Coast (and beyond) in his pursuit of vinyl treasure — for "a song."

Based on his popular weekly Ink19.com column, Garage Sale Vinyl offers Long's lively analysis of his favorite finds — enhanced by his personal feel-good stories and peppered with commentary from an array of famed music and entertainment industry insiders.

As a small spoiler, one of the “famed music and entertainment industry insiders” who offers commentary in Garage Sale Vinyl is Anthrax drummer, Charlie Benante. He will also appear in a scene from Library Confidential - the part that I’ll be sharing next week.

Ironic, but not surprising. The hard rock world is pretty small and he is a super nice guy.

Like I mentioned, Garage Sale Vinyl goes on sale May 23rd.

I’ll send out a reminder when we launch.

But before then, I’ll send a bit more Library Confidential, with an Anthrax twist.

See you soon.

Big love,

AMO

P.S. If you’re a writer, creator, or podcaster and would like an advance copy of Garage Sale Vinyl to include in your content or reviews, or if you’d like to interview Chris, (or both!) please let me know and I’ll hook you up. Thanks for your support!

annamarieobrien@gmail.com, or info@bibliozonabooks.com

Thanks for reading Life of O'Brien (formerly Library Confidential)! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.