Publishing My New Novella!
MY 13-YEAR-OLD SON, Max, is quite the horror fan. In an era of over-the-top special effects, superhero movies, and gore flicks trying to pass themselves off as horror, I set out to write a book that young readers would enjoy, made up of more traditional horror and suspense tales. My new novella is about a teenager (Max) who embarks on a white-water rafting trip to Oregon with his family. While on the river, Max and his family barely survive a plunge down the deadly “Hysteria Falls.” Later that evening, when lightning strikes down upon the drought-stricken Oregon countryside, Max and his ill-equipped family find themselves running for their lives from a deadly wildfire that threatens them all.
Max and the Great Oregon Fire is my third book for young readers, consisting of a novella plus a handful of short stories. This is my second time publishing a novella, and I have become very fond of writing stories of this length. The addition of a few short stories following the novella is not accidental. I have attempted to create some shorter tales that mesh well with the novella; a connecting of multiple unique yet similar adventures, perhaps.
With each new book comes a new learning process. With Max and the Great Oregon Fire, I added some new steps into my editing process. Specifically, I learned the importance of including two additional read-throughs for the purpose of making final edits after receiving the first draft of the manuscript back from my editor. This lengthy editing process, although exhausting, resulted in a book with which I am incredibly pleased.
I began writing fiction in 2018, with the goal of completing and publishing two or three short stories online. After five years of writing, and after publishing about 100 short stories and two novellas, I still feel like a transient wandering through Literature Land. To put it more succinctly, I feel like a mere conduit for the stories that I write: these particular stories in my books have always been floating all around us, but for some reason I have been the one to pluck them out of thin air and commit them to paper. Despite the challenges that accompany all fiction writers during various twists and turns along the road to creativity, I just keep on writing. Max and the Great Oregon Fire is my fifth book, and there will hopefully be many more.
I suppose that life is a journey, and so is the process of writing fiction. My nine-year-old daughter (also my #1 fan who reads my books cover-to-cover) asked me this week whether I make a lot of money publishing my books. I told her no, I do not. She then asked why I continue to write. I told her I don’t really know why, it’s just what I do. It was the most straight and true answer I could give her.
So, until next time fellow fiction writers, keep those fingers tapping and keep those pages turning. Best of luck out there!
J.S. Lender’s new novella + short story collection for young readers, Max and the Great Oregon Fire, is on sale now!
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