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This Writer’s Best Compliment
The most welcome surprise
My latest book was talked about for years before it was published. It’s a lengthy process, the creating a completed body of writing, so there was a plethora of opportunities for talk about how it was going. Of course, the usual answers of saying it was going well, or it was fine, or it was tricky were on repeat because that’s how it is when you’re in it.
A handful of people persisted with their encouragement and questions of how I was handling the endurance event of book writing. One person in particular kept saying, “I’ll have to start reading!” While being astounded at the thought of someone not reading, I know there are plenty of people out there who don’t read on the regular or at all. It pains me, but I know it’s true.
The author’s copies arrived and I was overjoyed at my second work of fiction being held in my hands. It’s a collection of stories ranging from horror to science fiction, one end of the genre spectrum an old favorite and the other end being a tale I was surprised to tell. The feeling of accomplishment is delicious — and then the real task of marketing kicked in.
A few copies I kept to sign for people, some more for book events and consignments, and I ended up with a couple extra. There they were, staring back at me, brown covers waiting to be opened and…
