Pressing Matters

Sep - 23 - 2009Filed in: Publishing

I’ve mentioned a couple of times in the past that The Fiddler’s Gun will be published by the Rabbit Room Press and I know some people are wondering what that means. Let me try to shed a little light in that direction.

The book was originally intended to be released the traditional way by selling it to an established publishing house that would fund and oversee all the editing, design, marketing, and distribution. About the same time that I was going through the long process of making that happen, my brother and I began... Read the entire post

Tags: Publishing

Cover Evolution

Sep - 22 - 2009Filed in: Artwork | Design

I had another great meeting with Evie Coates last week to talk about the cover design. She had just spent a weekend alone, in a secluded mountaintop cabin, with her mind set to the task of creating the art for The Fiddler’s Gun. I like to imagine that she was a sort of female Moses, gnarled staff in hand, solemnly ascending to the Sinai summit to contend with the Almighty and return white-haired and shiny-faced with a divinely etched book cover that would wow readers the world over. I was careful to steer clear of any golden calves while she was gone because I didn’t want her to throw the artwork at me when she came down. Also, I generally dislike being swallowed up by the earth.

This analogy is ridiculous.

So return she did, and I’ll venture to guess that...Read the entire post

Tags: artwork, design

Happy Dance

Sep - 22 - 2009Filed in: Editing

It’s been busy around here. And by “here” I mean the immediate vicinity of my personal being and not, as is evident, the website. Consider the situation remedied, though, for I’m now blessed with a complete lack of editorial obligation.

The editing is finished. I did the official happy dance this weekend (in fact, I’m doing it again right now). The story and writing are stronger than they’ve ever been and I’m deeply grateful to Kate Etue, my editor, for the fantastic job she did of pointing out things that needed fixing, passages that needed strengthening, and a thousand and one apostrophes that needed to be turned around (it’s complicated). It feels really good to be done.

The manuscript is now hurtling...Read the entire post

Tags: Editing

A New Letter

Sep - 14 - 2009Filed in: Writing | Story | Letters to Peter

While traveling the northern coast of Florida and investigating the economic tendencies of rabbits and their reading habits, I found myself on Amelia Island and took the opportunity to visit their historical museum to see what I might turn up. The curator was a crusty old salt with a jaundiced eye, a severe limp, and a shortage of fresh batteries for his hearing aid. He greeted me kindly and after a lengthy explanation that involved the appearance of an ear trumpet, I finally managed to communicate to him that my interest lay chiefly in the study of 18th century letters, logbooks, and other maritime documents.

I suspect he didn’t think much of my particular interests. He repeatedly steered me toward his vast collection of fish hooks and lighthouse replicas. I would not be dissuaded, however, and at last he showed me to a tiny closet at the rear of the museum inside which were stacked a treasure of...Read the entire post

Tags: Writing, Story, Letters to Peter

Developing the Cover

Sep - 10 - 2009Filed in: Artwork | Design

Yesterday I sat down in Hillsboro Village with a couple of Fat Tires and the highly sought-after visual artist Evie Coates to discuss cover design. I commissioned the art from Evie a few months ago but since then both she and I have been so busy with other things that we’ve scarcely been able to talk, much less sit down and hash out the design in proper fashion. So one of the first things on my to-do list once I got home to Nashville was to find time to get together with her and to make sure we were on the same page artistically.

Our meeting went swimmingly (no, I’d never use that word in conversation but it’s too much fun to say no to right now). We discussed colors and composition and ...Read the entire post

Tags: artwork, design

Back to Work

Sep - 10 - 2009Filed in: Writing | Editing

Zounds! It’s been a long time since we had an update around here. At last, I’m back home in Nashville and I’m ready to dive in and get back to work. The old day job has been so busy for the last month and a half that I had to put a hold on just about everything else. Thankfully, that project is over and I’m back on track. Time to write. Time to edit. Time to publish a novel. I’m excited.

The editing is roughly 3/4 done, I have a meeting this afternoon with Evie Coates, my cover artist, and I’ll be on the phone this week with the printer to hammer out those details. I hope to be deep into type setting before the month is out.

Stay tuned, I think I spotted a musty old letter tucked away in the corner that needs transcribing, and I’m fairly certain there are a couple of short stories lurking around the hard drive waiting to be dusted off.

Tags: Writing, Editing

Links

Twitter Updates