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The Writerly Life

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Episode 5

Summer’s here, and there’s nothing to do.

Oh, there’s vacations to plan, books to read, my sailboat, etc. But as far as the publication of Broken Jewel, this is either The Promised Land or The Desert, depending on your proclivities.

The status is this: Broken Jewel has won over a lot of hearts and minds at Simon & Schuster. I’m told that, in addition to my editor Colin, the sales people all like it, the admin staff like it, even my Hollywood agent Anna likes it and can’t wait to brute it around Beverly Hills for a movie deal. The advanced reader copies (arc’s) – the inexpensive paperback versions of the printed novel used to stir up attention before publication – will be available in July.

That’s when the action starts to build. Anna out in California will use a stack of arc’s to try and whip up a movie deal. S&S will mail them out to book sellers to stir advance demand, and design a book tour for me commensurate with the interest that arises. We’ll send copies to well known authors for jacket blurbs (there’s a few guys who owe me favors). I’ll have one last chance to check for typos and make small edits.

The release date for Broken Jewel is November 10th. The book is already available at Amazon.com (I won’t argue if you want to order a copy in advance, by the way…). In the meantime, it’s my job to get started on research for the next novel.

I’ll give you a thumbnail: I’m going to write an epic detailing the rise and fall of Japan's power in the Pacific during WWII, beginning at Pearl Harbor and concluding with the death of Yamamoto. ‘Nuff said, but it’s going to be big, detailed, and a helluva lot of fun. Great characters (geishas, admirals, pilots) superb action (air raids, escape from a POW camps) crashes, murders, cryptography. Stay tuned. I’m ramping up slowly, but surely.

Still, at the moment, I’m in the doldrums, warm and pleasant, and drifting a little. I admit it. Not for long; I’m not much for laziness. I just got back from a sailing trip that began in Miami Beach and ended in Maine. It featured a nor’easter 200 miles off New Jersey and a trip to the LL Bean central outlet upon arrival. We averted disaster at least once, saw many dolphins, caught one big fish. Oh, and I shaved my head before we left. Not doing that again, for the record.

On the non-profit front, our first literary journal for the public high school kids of Richmond, Podium, has been released to great fanfare. The kids and the Podium Foundation board all did yeoman work. For more information on this, please write me and I’ll fill you in. And send you a journal, if we have any left.

I’ll wait for the next update until we get some news on Broken Jewel. Some deal or movement. When my tour gets arranged, I’ll post it here, and hope many of you can come out and say hello in person.

Until next time, stay well, stay cool. Remember your neighbors in these tough economic times.

All best, with appreciation,

David

—Posted 6.25.09