And I'm Spent!

To paraphrase Canadian great Mike Myers’ Austin Powers, I’m done! I finished up the final pass through the book on Saturday and yesterday was the first day in a LONG time I didn’t have to open my laptop to work on anything. It was…refreshing. And weird.

The files have been accepted by Barnes & Noble Press and all systems are go for the on-sale date in less than a month! As a reminder, you can preorder the book over here. From what I can glean, Barnes & Noble will start production on pre-ordered copies mid-month so they ship out on or about Canada Day.

The final file would have been uploaded a couple days ago, but I reached out to Simon Furman with one more question- in Issue 118, editorial teased a second Alpha Flight Special, entitled “The Blooding” (which is SUCH a 90s comic title). Long story short- Mr. Furman, whose memory of Alpha Flight is excellent, has no recollection about that never-published project. At the very least, now we know he wasn’t involved in it at any stage.

I haven’t mentioned it yet, but I worked with Heritage Auctions for a lot of images in the book. They graciously gave permission for me to go in and use any of their images. Folks…I retrieved an awful lot, but couldn’t use everything. They didn’t have images for each issue, and sometimes they had multiple pages for one issue- and I tried to limit myself to only one image per issue (I broke this rule twice). Anyway, here’s an image that didn’t make the cut in the book.

I ordered a preview copy of the book and it will get to me in a couple weeks- which is longer than any of you will have to wait once it’s published! I can’t wait to hold a copy and feel 512 pages of my own writing in my hands. According to the Barnes & Noble site, it’s going to be over an inch high! I’m glad I’m still sticking to the scheme of marketing this book as not only a guide to Alpha Flight, but also a self-defense weapon.

So what’s next for me? Great question! I’m recording several podcast appearances for episodes that will air late this month and through the summer. I’m chatting with my good friends John and Jason over at The Avenging Hour about the Alpha Flight issues leading up to, and coming after, Avengers 272. If you’re a Marrina fan, you’ll want to tune in once that episode drops! I’m also working with a great columnist to chat about the book- I’ll make sure to share that article when it comes out.

If you want to keep up with my podcast appearances as they are posted, your best bet is to follow me on Instagram and Bluesky- I’m @maconfleetwood, in case you didn’t follow me yet! (I promise the name makes some sort of sense- it’s about Fleetwood Mac. My next book is all about Stevie Nicks, so it’s actually very on brand).

And the book launch is right around the corner! If you are able, I’d love to see you at The Uncanny Experience this July. All you have to purchase is have general admission to enjoy all the fantastic programming- including my book launch. And the guys from Why Not?! will present a program on Department H right after my book launch- where else can you can two solid hours of Alpha Flight content at any con? Well, the only place is The Uncanny Experience!

As always, hit me up at [email protected] if you have questions, comments, etc.!