Friday was my last day at Microsoft. Unshelved is now my day job.

For those of you keeping track, this is my second attempt to make a living from Unshelved. But three years ago our readership was a fraction of what it is now. So I got a job and put Unshelved on the back burner. I drew first thing in the morning, wrote with Gene on weekends, and we both burned up our vacation time doing talks at library conferences. Occasionally I squeezed in time with my family. It was quite painful.

So I've jumped off the proverbial cliff, and now I'm frantically trying to build a parachute. I'll be doing programming jobs here and there to make ends meet, but obviously my goal is to spend more time cartooning. To this end I'd be grateful for your support. If you've been meaning to buy our books, please take the plunge. If you've been eyeing our merchandise as a holiday gift then you've got until December 9th to do something about it. And, of course, tell your friends/family/coworkers/customers/readers about our little comic strip. Because starting today, the closer I come to making a living from Unshelved, the more time I can spend on it.

P.S. I totally stole the subject line of this posting from Jon Rosenberg, who jumped off his cliff a few years ago. More recently my friend Dave Kellett went full-throttle and has been encouraging and/or heckling me to do the same.

P.P.S. Special thanks to my wonderful wife Sara, who has been amazingly supportive of my slashing our family's income. Again.

Update: Thanks to Gary "'Stash" Tyrrell of Fleen, who named today Bill Barnes Day in honor of my unemployment.

A teeny tiny book recommendation every day Subscribe to @bookblrb via Twitter | Facebook

May 29-Jun 1 New York, NY
BookExpo America
May 31 1pm 1E02 Surviving the Public (Gene & Bill)

Jun 28- Jul 1 Chicago, IL
ALA Annual
Booth 2548 (Bill & Jana)

July 17-21 San Diego, CA
Comic Con International
Booth 2300 (Bill)

Check out our Full Schedule