Today was the last day of the school year (yay!!!), and for the next 76 days (who's counting?) I'll be living the summer of Maddie & Daddy (it's my Summer of George). Just my eight-month-old daughter and I during the day. Hanging out, going to parks, playing with lightsabers and Minnie Mouse and Doc McStuffins. Unfortunately, mommy being an assistant principal doesn't nab the same amount of time off as I do. That being said, this is the first summer I've had off since...well, junior year of high school, which was fifteen years ago.
Whoa.
Anyway, I mention my long vacation because I'm hoping to be more productive here on the blog during my time off, in addition to writing the second draft of next year's project. Right now, I'm enjoying a comfortable lull. I'm awaiting the editor's word to come back on The Painted Lady, and I know work will pick up on the book once those edits comes back, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to punch out a fun post and give a quick shout-out regarding five things - fun factoids/bits of trivia - for you to know about my upcoming second novel.
If any of the following appear on a future episode of Jeopardy, you'll know they were posted here first.
1. The original title was Pictures.
The cover page of the first draft reads Pictures OR The Painted Lady but the header of each page throughout the manuscript read Pictures. At the time (this was two years ago...more on that in a bit) I was in love with both titles and couldn't make up my mind. What eventually helped me decide was that my first novel was titled Seeing and I didn't want another book with a single word title. Weird as it is, I felt I would be pigeonholing myself by having two consecutive first books with single word titles. I didn't want readers to believe I was establishing a theme that linked all of my books together.
What also helped me decide was I had heard of a novel called The Light Between Oceans (it's on my to-read list) and thought it was such a classy, beautiful, very-literary title. The Painted Lady read and sounded much classier than Pictures, so I went with it.
2. The idea of Lady stems from the first novel I ever tried to write.
Back in 2007 I gave a serious attempt to sit down and write my first novel. It was titled Pictures (hey look at that). While that initial attempt differs from what The Painted Lady has turned out to be, the central idea of the protagonist being a talented artist who is affected by strange happenings remains. What drew me to finally write this novel was the right ideas came at the right time.
3. Finishing the book took two years.
The first draft of The Painted Lady was written between July 22, 2013 and October 24, 2013. The first draft was about 63k words. My first two novels have not been overly long because they've been written from a single point of view, plus I don't like long subplots that deviate from the meat of the story.
4. A mysterious, underlying fear of never being a father inspired what happens to a character in the book.
I write about things that scare me. Not necessarily monsters under the bed or noises in the dark, but the things you can't see. Things you have no control over. Before my wife and I were blessed with Maddie, I housed this strange, unspoken fear that I couldn't have children. I don't know where this fear originated from but it felt very real when it woke me in the middle of the night. Anyone who really knows me can list the three things I've wanted my whole life - to be an author, to have a wife, and to have a baby girl. I am so thankful to have all of them, but that fear of being unable to have children gave me an idea for a pivotal character in the book.
5. This is a weird book.
I'll come right out and say it - this is one strange book, easily the oddest thing I've ever written. Obviously I can't say more, but where Seeing was a straight-up coming-of-age YA novel, The Painted Lady is such a tonal shift. And that's exactly what I wanted for my second book.
The Painted Lady lands on shelves and e-stores in about two months! More to come.
If any of the following appear on a future episode of Jeopardy, you'll know they were posted here first.
1. The original title was Pictures.
The cover page of the first draft reads Pictures OR The Painted Lady but the header of each page throughout the manuscript read Pictures. At the time (this was two years ago...more on that in a bit) I was in love with both titles and couldn't make up my mind. What eventually helped me decide was that my first novel was titled Seeing and I didn't want another book with a single word title. Weird as it is, I felt I would be pigeonholing myself by having two consecutive first books with single word titles. I didn't want readers to believe I was establishing a theme that linked all of my books together.
What also helped me decide was I had heard of a novel called The Light Between Oceans (it's on my to-read list) and thought it was such a classy, beautiful, very-literary title. The Painted Lady read and sounded much classier than Pictures, so I went with it.
2. The idea of Lady stems from the first novel I ever tried to write.
Back in 2007 I gave a serious attempt to sit down and write my first novel. It was titled Pictures (hey look at that). While that initial attempt differs from what The Painted Lady has turned out to be, the central idea of the protagonist being a talented artist who is affected by strange happenings remains. What drew me to finally write this novel was the right ideas came at the right time.
3. Finishing the book took two years.
The first draft of The Painted Lady was written between July 22, 2013 and October 24, 2013. The first draft was about 63k words. My first two novels have not been overly long because they've been written from a single point of view, plus I don't like long subplots that deviate from the meat of the story.
4. A mysterious, underlying fear of never being a father inspired what happens to a character in the book.
I write about things that scare me. Not necessarily monsters under the bed or noises in the dark, but the things you can't see. Things you have no control over. Before my wife and I were blessed with Maddie, I housed this strange, unspoken fear that I couldn't have children. I don't know where this fear originated from but it felt very real when it woke me in the middle of the night. Anyone who really knows me can list the three things I've wanted my whole life - to be an author, to have a wife, and to have a baby girl. I am so thankful to have all of them, but that fear of being unable to have children gave me an idea for a pivotal character in the book.
5. This is a weird book.
I'll come right out and say it - this is one strange book, easily the oddest thing I've ever written. Obviously I can't say more, but where Seeing was a straight-up coming-of-age YA novel, The Painted Lady is such a tonal shift. And that's exactly what I wanted for my second book.
The Painted Lady lands on shelves and e-stores in about two months! More to come.
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