From Then to Now

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It's astounding how much can change over the course of 15 months.
I have another blog that's going to be a huge hit-- MURDERATI.
I have an agent. The first book, originally titled The Spirits Within, got the attention of a fantastic New York agent a few months after that first post. He changed the name to CROSSED and took it to market. It didn't sell. What a blow.

In his inestimable wisdom, he suggested I write a new book. I did. I took four months and wrote an entirely new book, a continuation of the characters from CROSSED that could function as a stand-alone. ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS is out to market now, and I just know it's going to sell.

I've also branched out with my writing. I've done some short stories now, with moderate success. PRODIGAL ME won Honorable Mention in the Writer's Digest Popular Fiction contest. X is forthcoming from Demolition Magazine. I'm contributing as often as I can to Flashing in the Gutters.

So things change as time passes. Being a writer isn't a static thing. If it is, you're doing it wrong.

The first day...

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Anytime I've had a major setback in my life, I've been told to think of it as the first day of the rest of my life. Barf. Why can't I just mope and then be done with it? Why do I have to be cheery and happy, keep a brave face on and pretend that nothing has happened?

I received word of my first major rejection on The Spirits Within yesterday. There have been others, and there will be more, but this was a major publisher. And they really liked the book. Loved the characters, thought they were finely drawn. Liked the plot. Liked the voice. Thought the writing was solid. And yet it was missing that certain je ne sais quoi that the NY publishers want to make them a million bucks.

So how do you rewrite a novel that one of the best editors in New York really liked?