Hello once again...life has been keeping me on a fast track for the past several weeks, so I have not had time to completely process what has been going on. For all we say about slowing down and stuff, we really don't.
I will say this: my full-time work at GeoTraffic has kept me before numerous computer screens or behind the wheel of my long-suffering Honda for longer than I want, but I cannot complain. I'm full-time, I will have proper insurance, and I'm finally getting paid.
...did I mention I also have a book deal?
Yes...it finally happened.
It's sunk in, and this is quite an event in my career. Yes, a dream to some extent come true.
Here's the deal: about a month ago, I received a contract offer from Sunbury Press, which is located near here. They have a pretty fair-sized company with quite a roster of folks. I'd seen their books about, but didn't know much about the company.
Last summer, when I promoted "Parasite Girls" at the Midtown Scholar in Harrisburg (yes, I'm really name dropping, aren't I?), I shared the space with Robert Walton, who is on their label, as it were. He's author of "Fatal Snow," an interested adventure type story. Nice guy, and he put me in touch with the publisher.
I'd gotten some good feedback from the fellow, and so I went on about my business of getting what I THOUGHT would be my next book, "Drifters..." ready to go.
For some reason, I decided to again try and pursue an agent or a publishing deal with another book, "A Moment in the Sun." This one got some really unusual feedback from people. My friend Alice heard my shabby synopsis, and said, that one's interesting...
Another friend, Kat took the time to read the draft for me. Her response was very good. She liked the main character, Rei; she understood what Rei went through, and what some of the others were doing. She got an awful lot of it.
She predicted a winner.
Meanwhile, another friend Shelby agreed to read "Drifters..." This was right up her alley, she's just above the age group, and was avidly reading works of that sort. She was quite taken and thrilled with the adventure, and positive.
But is it ready, I wonder?
Doing too much, and too fast, and with too many plates being balanced doesn't work anymore. Multi-tasking is something I no longer do well. It gets tougher as you get older, and yet other things aren't so bad.
I'd decided to go through the channels with Sunbury, and "A Moment..." I didn't expect much. One agency in New York did ask for a two-week read-through period...they eventually said no, like the others.
All the others. Rejection is stock in trade in life, folks. You deal with it.
So...all of a sudden, here's an offer. My attorney friend Marakay looked it over...standard industry contract, but no screwjob. No murky fine print, no, "NOW WE HAVE YOUR SOUL" type of stuff.
They also don't mind Mitch Bentley doing the cover, but that's my cost to bear. No worries; why do you think I have a job?
So I signed. I have about 60 days to get it in, and hopefully they'll grant me a little more so Mitch can do his magic.
For those who ask: "Drifters..." is on hold, but not permanently. I think it needs a little more time, and I need to see if the sequel holds up in my head. I think it does, but that's for another year.
"A Moment in the Sun" is a more logical step forward, and Mitch I think is right in his analysis. Flipping the titles is not a bad thing.
Here's the intro:
https://www.behance.net/gallery/13569033/A-Moment-in-the-Sun-Chapter-1the-Beginning
Got some good feeling from people. They like the start of this one. Like "Parasite Girls," "Moment..." deals with a peculiar aspect of Japanese society, but this is a problem that can be anywhere, and is.
I won't tell you what it is. Sorry, heehee.
I think there's more to do, and I know this will not be out till next year, but things take time, and I need to be patient with this one.
As it stands, I have this, I have work, I have my health (precarious at times, it feels), but I must carry on.
Having "Parasite Girls" in hand was quite a good feeling...the one that I get from a true publisher, and when I see this in shops...yes, then I will have done it.
Dreams are not unattainable. You have to go for them. You have to make them happen, and you cannot let anything stop you.
I admit, this has come at the expense of other things. Mundane things, stuff others take for granted, or find so necessary in their own lives that they can't let go.
I've let an awful lot go, and I cannot regret what I have done or not done. In the end, I know what I'm doing is right.
My hope is to live long enough to see the reactions, and see the real feedback from people who "got it."
That's better than money, believe me.
So, if I don't speak to you before then, have a Joyous Yule, or however you enjoy your holiday. I don't mind how you do it, but the people who think Christ is in Christmas...well, that was a Pagan holiday you know. Christ didn't have a thing to do with it, until that story was written by a Roman aristocrat.
Heh.
So now I must be off to shamelessly plug my upcoming book, and get my car fixed. Fun, fun...see you when I do.
