Almost ten years to the day that I finished the all-important first draft of my first novel, I’ve completed what I anticipate as the last major rewrite of MoHG. In the wake of its close call with a publishing contract, this was an intense project I forced myself to undertake (and had scheduled anyway for […]
In which we fully introduce Chelsea Colette ‘Creedence’ Rucker, one of my favorite characters in all of my fiction, and a major player in DIXIANA as well. One of the Story River peer reviewers couldn’t understand why she takes up so much of MoHG’s narrative. Mercy. To quote an old Grateful Dead shirt I used […]
Continuing this peek at the opening 50 pages of MoHG, here we bring Devin’s sister Creedence, the third major character, into the picture.
For those catching up with MoHG here’s Chapter 1, as well as the impressive peer review on the full manuscript from a submission that went pretty far with a publisher, but not quite far enough. Here we meet Devin Rucker‘s co-protagonist Billy Steeple, another damaged character, but with his own peculiar set of difficulties. Like Devin, Billy seems buried […]
Here’s the first chapter of the increasingly fabled MoHG. I dunno, this seems like good stuff. Eventually, inevitably, this book will find its way to publication. MANSION OF HIGH GHOSTS Part One: A MAN IN THE GRIP OF A THEORY “It’s easy to get buried in the past.” —Neil Young
Two years ago I began a journey with Pat Conroy’s fiction imprint at the University of South Carolina, Story River Books, that led to both wonder and disappointment. In receiving peer review that’s on the whole positive, the manuscript still did not manage to fully connect. Publishing is a tough business, a heartbreaking one. During the […]
As promised at the end of the ‘Notes On DIXIANA‘ posts, here’s the guide to the eight major POV characters who drive the intertwining narratives in my recently-completed Southern literary novel series DIXIANA, DOWN IN DIXIANA, and DIXIANA DARLING.
Two years ago, DIXIANA, you were but a gleam in my eye. Out of reach for so long, yet here now I find that you exist. You are one of the great loves of my life. In the room with me. Corporeal. I can touch you. How we began seems like only yesterday. Now, my […]
The last couple of years here in Edgewater County have made for quite the novelistic ride. From seeing the publication of Fellow Traveler to getting an agent for DOGS OF PARSONS HOLLOW (no sale) and then losing said agent over trying to cut a deal with Story River Books on MANSION OF HIGH GHOSTS (no sale, […]
This year, my family and I are thrilled that my dad’s retiring from his long career in the heating and air business. Later today we’ll be celebrating his long and productive work life with a special luncheon in his honor. Here are a few thoughts I plan to make.
