Johnny Gunn Writes: June 2015

Monday, June 29, 2015

A busy summer so far

What an interesting few weeks this old boy has been through, promoting the heck out of my novel, Jacob Chance, U.S. Marshal while doing the edits on my next novel, The Quest. My editor at Solstice Publishing says The Quest is as edited as he can make it, which means it will be a dom goot read, and I’m waiting now on the final cover selection, something that is very important.

The cover for Jacob Chance, U.S. Marshal is visually stunning and I’m hoping that what we come up with for The Quest is equal to it. As I’ve mentioned before, The Quest is basically a crime mystery story, but it deals with time and space travel, with inter-galactic criminals, a deep look into why the human animal is basically not nice. Think about slavery, murder, hate, racism, oh, my, we could go on and on, and the hero of the book discovers many in the universe seem the same.

We do a little probing into the human psyche in The Quest. My next western novel is finished and will be sent to a publisher soon, and I’m putting the final touches on my next crime/mystery piece. I laid out a basic outline for a follow-up to Jacob Chance and will begin the long process of filling it out into about 90,000 words or so.

All of that said, how’s your summer going? We have not done as much in the garden as the garden wishes, meaning we have weeds, weeds, and more weeds. Bugs have been ferocious this year, but we have been beating them back some. Corn is slow, tomatoes are slow, but the beets, carrots, and onions are doing well.

Did manage to get the horses' feet trimmed. Both Patty and I agree that we need to ride a lot more than we do. Horses are just like us, and most others in the animal kingdom; they get bored.

Until next time, read good books and stay regular.

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Monday, June 1, 2015

2015, One hell of a year!

This has been the most exciting year imaginable so far. We’ve more than half to go, and I’m on a ride that two years ago I would have thought impossible. We started the year, first week of January, being offered a contract by Solstice Publishing for my novel Jacob Chance, U.S. Marshal, and here it is, June 1, and the book is available in e-book and print.

http://bookgoodies.com/a/B00XWBQ0OO

https://www.createspace.com/5509244

During these past five months I have also had several short stories published in magazines and literary journals.

On May 29, I was offered a contract on my fantasy/mystery novel The Quest, again by Solstice Publishing. It is possible that book could be on the market in time for Christmas giving. Amazing.

Maybe fifty years or more ago, I might have been enthralled to see my name in print, but having been a reporter and editor at several newspapers, magazines, and journals, that thrill doesn’t exist today. But since changing from a newsy to a writer of fiction, which is nothing more than being able to lie well, the thrill is the acceptance letter. Everything else follows along, but receiving that validation is a heart stopper.

Whether the letter comes by way of e-mail or snail mail, you know it can only be one of two things as you creep up on opening the missive. Will it be yet another rejection form letter, or, praise be to all the gods of ancient Greece and Rome, a contract offer? I’ve been known to let it sit, unopened for more than a day. I’ve tucked it away, fearful of running the knife along the envelope’s edge.

What sits in that unopened packet is a yay or nay on a product that that I have sweat over, cussed out, loved on, and feared. For how long? Jacob Chance took almost three years to write. The Quest did take a full three years to write. So, now, I open the e-mail from Solstice and very slowly read the words, “We would like to offer you a contract …” Yes! Bless thee, O mighty editor, it’s a contract.

If it’s heart-rending writing the book, now the hard work begins. Pick a cover. You laugh, but how many times have you picked up a book because of the cover? Or a magazine, or bar of soap, or cut of meat? Yes, Virginia, that cover is important. And the editing process is a killer, because those are your words that are being discussed in less than positive voice.

Ah, then you get the word. Your book will be released on such and such a date. In the meantime, you’ve already got 50,000 words into your next offering, and the process starts all over again. It’s a wonderful life. Or, did someone already say that?