A Happy Book Birthday

Seven years ago (at age 27) I wrote a story based upon a thought of a boy running a race at a school event. The spectators in the bleachers watched, cheering, as the only other person in the race was falling behind, tiring, as the boy in the lead further distanced himself through great strides and impeccable control. But it wasn't the finish line ahead this boy I imagined had his eyes set on. There, beyond the end of the track, was something, perhaps even someone, that no one else could see.

At the time of the thought I didn't know who or what the boy was seeing. But I wanted to find out.

I worked backwards from that climactic race, figuring out the characters, the plot, and hand wrote much of the first draft of that story in a green notebook given to me by my girlfriend, who is now my wife. She had given me the notebook not just as a gift, but as a way to get started. Because she knew I had always wanted to be an author. And there was no other way to do it than to get writing.

There had been four previous (failed) attempts over the course of three years - four completed manuscripts that ranged from a massive 109,000 word sci-fi/horror Invasion of the Body Snatchers/Zombie Apocalypse/Stephen King mashup, to a modest, quiet novel about a girl suffering from terrible anxiety, to two young adult stories (one about a girl seeing ghosts and the other about an adopted child who begins to believe his life is tied to the story of a book). None of these manuscripts got beyond the initial query stage. I still have them though - copies of the manuscripts. They sit in boxes. I keep them for their nostalgic value, and as reminders that every writer starts somewhere. They are how I learned.

The fifth story - this story of the boy running the race - was The One. I knew it. I felt it. This book was strong enough, was funny, touching, heartbreaking, inspirational - it was everything I wanted my first published book to be. It would set the tone for everything else I would write. I promised myself I would never give up on the story, wouldn't go on to write something else, I would just keep editing it and editing it and making it perfect because I knew - just knew - this book, originally titled Run to Me when I started hand writing it in the pages of the green notebook, was going to be my first published novel.

And it was.

It took four years of writing, and editing, and editing some more, and querying both agents and publishers, and more editing, and adding and subtracting, and more querying, but eventually I got a Yes! from a publisher - you only need one Yes!

Winter Goose Publishing released my debut novel, Seeing, on June 30, 2014.

I have received many beautiful comments and reviews regarding the book, but perhaps my favorite came from Erik Weibel of thiskidreviewsbooks.com, who said, "Even though this isn’t the typical action/adventure book I usually go crazy over, the book really left an impression on me. The story kept me reading. I finished it in one day. The story, even though is one of loss, is also one of hope. It is motivating, in a way. The book is appropriate for all ages, but I think kids 12+ and adults will truly enjoy the message of the story. For anyone who says small press publishers don’t produce good books – check out Seeing. It will change your mind in many ways."

What's more, at the end of the year, Erik named Seeing one of his Top Books of 2014.

I couldn't have asked for a better start.

Seeing is available at Amazon, B&N, and anywhere else books are sold. It is available in both paperback and e-book formats. If you haven't read it yet, please consider checking it out - download the free sample for your Nooks or Kindles, then go from there. If you have read Seeing and haven't left a review on either Amazon or Goodreads, please consider dropping a few honest words. Every little bit helps.