Well, DARK CITY’s release has been pushed back to November 9. There was an apparent printing delay. The publisher is planning a media blitz the first week of November, so hopefully the book will generate a bit of good press.
In the meantime, I continue banging away on my current manuscript and making good progress. I’m trying to complete a 90,000-word first draft by March. Right now, I’m closing in on the 35,000-word mark. I’d like to have 45,000 words done by Thanksgiving. My wife is pregnant with our first child (it’s a boy!) and is due in March, so I’m hoping to have a draft completed by the time the little man arrives on the scene.
I’m happy so far with the way the book is turning out. The story is strong and the characters compelling—granted, my opinion is biased. Interestingly enough, the National Geographic Channel aired a documentary the other night on the very topic I’m writing about. After five books, I’ve grown accustomed to being a non-bestselling author, but I hold out hope one of them will someday take off! Perhaps this will be the one? We’ll have to wait and see.
In the meantime, I’ve been reading a pretty good book. THE INDIFFERENT STARS ABOVE by Daniel James Brown details the tragedy of the Donner Party. The subject matter is utterly compelling—what those poor people went through is staggering. My one complaint with the book is the author’s tendency to derail stirring scenes with a load of filler. Why, in the midst of reading about emigrant travel across the Great Plains, do we suddenly need a history on 1840s birth control? Another gut-wrenching scene, in which the emigrants are forced to eat the flesh of their dead companions on Christmas, is sidetracked by a dissertation on the holidays in 1800s America. There are several other instances like this that really grate the nerves—but, overall, the book is definitely worth reading.
Other books on my bedside table waiting to be read include three biographies: one on Clint Eastwood titled AMERICAN REBEL and another on Hunter S. Thompson, OUTLAW JOURNALIST. The final one is STORYTELLER, an authorized biography of Roald Dahl, which I’m hoping to get to before the holidays begin.
I’m also hoping to become more disciplined and start updating this blog on a regular basis!
