A NUMBER OF REALLY NICE AUTHOR THINGS

 

Hello, Everybody!

It’s starting out to be a nice week for this author

NICE THING # 1

It’s a wonderful thing to be endorsed by a master!

Phil Proctor of The Firesign Theater has offered this blurb for the Audiobook edition of CREATURE FEATURE: A HORRID COMEDY. 

“This is the most horrible thing I’ve ever heard — and that’s a good thing! It’s screamingly funny and probably one of the best performed and produced audiobooks I’ve ever heard...and I have tinnitus." ~ Phil Proctor of the Firesign Theatre

As you may know “Entertainment Weekly” ranked The Firesign Theater among the “Thirty Greatest Comedy Acts of All Time.” And the US Library of Congress, when adding their album “Don’t Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers” to the National Recording Registry, they called the group “The Beatles of comedy.”

The Firesign Theater then

Phil Proctor today

As the author of the novel, I’m honored and delighted. But Phil Proctor’s words are truly a testament to the wonderful work Seamus Dever did as the producer, director, and editor of the audiobook. And his and Juliana Dever’s performances in bringing the book to ears all around the world! Along with the original music by Ray Zeigler, they have created something much more textured and fine than a simple reading of the work. My cheers—and love—to them.

Juliana Dever

Seamus Dever

Ray Zeigler

NICE THING # 2

I'm thrilled to get the first AMAZON 5-star review for BULLY 4 LOVE within a week from launch.

============================================

Katinka

5.0 out of 5 stars

Mom Kat Reads

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2021

Adolphus didn't know it, but his life would be forever changed when a woman named Livinia walked into his Adult Education class. The changes wouldn't come directly from or through her, though something about her presence seemed to bring about great change in those whose lives she touched.

This was an unusual story. In the beginning, I wasn't sure what to make of it. It's isn't your typical romance story. (Livinia is a very happily married woman, and there is no physical, romantic, or emotional relationship between Adolphus & Livinia.) This book more truly explores the story of Adolphus & Livinia's husband Eugene.

But again, it is not a physical or romantic love story between these two men, but more a story of how their lives intertwined throughout the years. The two had known each other as children, and while in the beginning they seemed destined to destroy one another's futures, instead it turns out that they are meant to be each other's saviors.

I really enjoyed reading this story. It brings you through the full range of human relationships. This book at times made me laugh and at other times made me cry. This is a contemporary tale that you really won't want to miss.

Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys reading deeply personal stories about how the simplest of things can be the catalyst to forever alter the course of someone's life.

==========================

NICE THING # 3

It was my distinct pleasure to be interviewed by Patricia Bates on her podcast DISTINCT AUTHORS TALK PUBLISHING.

Patricia Bates

And we did talk about publishing, but also the art of writing of prose, which I find much more interesting. You can listen to the podcast on Spotify here:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0qJCtPAAU8jb5jEgaqQxL5 

As always, all my books can be purchased on Amazon, and you can see them all on my Amazon Author's Page right HERE.

AND ON A PERSONAL NOTE

I will be ending the week celebrating at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana the birthdays of my two daughters—Miranda (April 27) and Nanette (June 5)— and their old man whose birthday comes somewhere in between. We are taking the opportunity of the Disney Archives Exhibit at the museum to gather all together for the first time since the pandemic started. We will be joined by Nanette’s husband, Rick, Miranda’s best friend, Selena, and my lovely wife, Amanda.

Don’t know what the hell I’m going to do next week! 

 

A VERY HAPPY AUTHOR, INDEED!

I know I don’t look like a particularly happy author in this photo, but believe me -- I am! For I am very happy to announce that I have just concluded a 3-book deal with Third Street Press and its publisher, Christiana Miller. In the past five years, I have written four novels and a novella. My short novel, IMP: A POLITICAL FANTASIA, and the novella, MADE ON THE MOON, were published by Crossroad Press in 2016 and 2017 respectively. And now Third Street Press will be publishing the following novels (with tiny little teases as to their content):

BULLY FOR LOVE

A rather odd love story

 

THE RELUCTANT HETEROSEXUAL

Modern sex among bipedal Pleistocene bodies

JOURNEY TO WHERE

A contemporary scientific romance

Now, by “contemporary scientific romance” I do not mean a love story among scientists. But those of you who know something of the history of science fiction certainly should know the term, “scientific romance.” In any case, that’s what I consider JOURNEY TO WHERE to be, a scientific romance. But what do I mean by “contemporary”? That’s the question.

As to the two others, let’s call them mainstream, maybe literary, fiction, although a bit of chemical sci-fi sneaks into, and is an important part of, THE RELUCTANT HETEROSEXUAL.

That’s all I going to say for now as I begin the process of working with Third Street Press to get the novels ready for publication. Publisher Christiana Miller has some very exciting ideas on presentation, distribution, and marketing, so, as I said, I’m a very happy author, indeed.

Cheers to all!

The BY THE SEA Chronicles # 1: My Ego Gets Inflated

I don’t really remember what the weather was on early Sunday morning March 10th, but whatever it was, for me it was fine. For upon opening my email after my first sip of hot Earl Grey tea, I found this from Jo Graham, my editor at Crossroad Press.

Dear Steven,
Attached is my edit of By the Sea.  I'm sorry this has taken so long, as what a pleasure it was to read!  You have written an engaging, thoughtful, and kind book that is both a crystal-clear character study and a thoughtful meditation on what art is.  Even the characters who at first appeared unlikable are drawn with sympathy and skill.  There were surprises -- I found myself changing my mind about characters over and over as I read, each new facet of them revealed skillfully and gently.  I suppose that is what strikes me the most -- in this era of unlikable characters and the idea that a "good" book is one in which horrible things happen to horrible people, you have turned that entirely on its head.  Even when people act badly, you have told their story with sympathy and grace, with a complete kindness for even the most outwardly difficult characters like Trudy, Ben, and the Major.  (It is hard to think of him as Phillip!)  By the Sea was a true privilege to edit.

If Crossroad was a traditional publisher, I would be forced to say that at better than 140,000 words it is too long.  Fortunately, Crossroad is not a traditional publisher, and I don't have to suggest that you cut a thing!  I can't imagine where you would remove 20,000 words without doing the manuscript serious harm.  So yes, it's long.  But it's not fat.  It's all muscle, and I don't think cuts are in order.

I do think, however, that structurally some things read too long.  There is, for example, one chapter that is 75 pages.  I think the reader needs a visual break, a chance to put it down, look up from the page, and reflect at suitable points.  Profitably you could cut these very long chapters into several pieces with an eye to where you'd like that impact to fall.  There are also some very long paragraphs, one that runs nearly six pages, for example.  They really needs to be broken into smaller chunks for the understanding of the reader.  Again, the visual break is important, as is the emphasis that a paragraph break makes.  Also, some of them included things like a change of location within the same paragraph, and I think that could be broken at the location change to make it clearer that a character has come indoors or gone out.  I've also flagged some typos and spelling things, but those are not major.

My main thought upon finishing is what a satisfying book it is!  You have built this small world perfectly, and each character is so complete and well thought out that what at first seem disparate pieces fit together perfectly by the end.  It's a hat trick in perfect proportions!  Half way through I was wondering -- how in the world can he make this plot work out?  And then you did.  You made it look simple, which of course is the essence of real art as you say -- the authentic voice that makes the complex seem as if it could have happened no other way.
I enjoyed By the Sea so much, and I hope it has the success it richly deserves.

Jo

It wasn’t so much that Jo liked my novel, that I already knew from previous communications, but that she took the time to tell how much she liked it, and in enough detail to demonstrate that she “Got it.”  Her praise of certain aspects of By the Sea, ones that I had endeavored with purpose to achieve, was deeply satisfying. And thrilling. What it was not, of course, was humbling. I have never trusted those people who say they have been “humbled” by praise or recognition. Praise or recognition does not humble the ego, it inflates it. Declarations of humility or of being humbled after praise or recognition -- a staple of glitzy award shows 
-- have always seemed to me to be disingenuous at best, and Uriah Heepish at worse.

Or maybe it is just my age.

Writing was my first young man’s passion. Novels and plays, that’s what I wanted to write. That passion got diverted and energies were redirected away from it, when I developed another passion for a particular art within the world of cinema. I don’t completely regret that diversion, as there were some good experiences (along with some bad, of course), some good people to collaborate with (along with some bad, of course), some international travel and living, and some fine dining. But the diversion did not allow me to be completely true to myself. Or, more importantly, to my self. Writing though, does. And I am now too old, and too cognizant of finite time, not to be true to my self.

Jo’s words doubly satisfied my self and thrilled my ego because not only has she taken on the role of Submissions Editor and Book Editor at Crossroad Press, she is an accomplished writer herself.  

Jo Graham

And one of Jo's novels

Acknowledgment from your peers, from fellow soldiers in the trenches (also talked about so much on glitzy award shows) has a precious quality beyond almost any other kind of praise. Why? Well, I recently I appeared on a panel with the great Harlan Ellison

and he put it best that day:

"Everybody in the world thinks they can do three things well. Everybody thinks they can write -- ‘Just give me the time and I’ll write’ --; everybody thinks they can drive a car, perfectly; everybody thinks they know how to fuck. When in fact all three of these arts are skills that take a great deal of practice and knowledge and expertise"

It is usually only your fellow writers who understand this, and truly appreciate the skill and knowledge and expertise you have put into your work. For the general reader, your work is just a story they either like or they don’t like -- and why should it be anything more than that? If they like your story, you are pleased, indeed. But for a fellow writer to understand and appreciate how you made that story likable, that’s where deep satisfaction can be found.

Outside of the praise, Jo said something else that I began to muse on: “If Crossroad was a traditional publisher….” That will be the subject of The BY THE SEA Chronicles # 2: To Genre or not to Genre.  

But for now, I need to get back into the manuscript and address Jo’s editorial concerns and comments, 

format a table of contents page, add a dedication page, and, in general, prepare the manuscript for final delivery to Crossroad Press. 

I don’t yet know the publication date, but I certainly won’t be shy about letting everyone know once I know.

You can read about all my books on my blog’s MY BOOKS page, where you will find handy links for ordering said books on Amazon.com.

If you would like to receive emails about my books, please email me at: authorleiva@aol.com.