Saturday, July 23, 2011

The Author as Proud Papa-To-Be


I have just finished reading an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) of my next book, Behind the Redwood Door, forthcoming from Oak Tree Press on November 22, 2011.
I am pleased.
I’m pleased with what a good-looking novel this book is. I haven’t seen the cover design yet, but the design of the text pages is elegant. Somebody named Linda Rigsbee designed the text with care and talent.
I am pleased.
I’m pleased with the story. This is a novel full of big issues—sibling rivalry, a multi-generational family feud, a newspaper war, small-town politics and corruption, and ethnic conflict. But it’s also a novel of love and humor, populated by fleshed-out people who are lovable, detestable, wise, dumb, annoying, and amusing.
Who just said all that? The author, of course. This novel’s biggest fan.
Why do I like this book so much, aside from being its parent? Well, for one reason, Behind the Redwood Door takes place on the North Coast of California, up in Redwood Country, not far from Oregon. This is where Susan and I have lived for the past eight years. The town and the county of the novel are fictitious, but the scenery and the weather are real. The interludes of historical background are fictitious, too, with such fictitious themes as mistreatment of the Native population and exploitation of the land’s natural riches.
This book is the third, and final, Guy Mallon mystery. I think it’s the best of the three. The first Guy Mallon book, The Poet’s Funeral, was a frothy send-up of the publishing industry in general, set at the 1990 ABA convention in Las Vegas. The second, Vanity Fire, was a darker, Faustian tale of how even a small-press publisher in beautiful Santa Barbara can risk his soul.
This new one, Behind the Redwood Door, set in 1999, is about the same man—feisty, pint-sized Guy Mallon—who has given up publishing, has moved to the quaint and quiet, lovely and rugged North Coast, but still hasn’t learned not to step into steaming piles of trouble. Since this book doesn’t involve the book publishing business, it can and will be read as a standalone novel.
The Redwood Door won’t be coming out for another four months. Don’t worry, if you’re reading this there’s a good chance you’ll be hearing from me again when the book is published.
This is just my chance to share a bit of my pride and pleasure during the publication process. Oak Tree Press has been a pleasure to work with, I’m learning how to be less shy when it comes to promoting my writing, and I want to share with you my pride and my pleasure.

john@johnmdaniel.com
www.johnmdaniel.com

16 comments:

  1. And Oak Tree is pleased to have you on board. For those of you who don't know, John D. and Fithian Press gave me my first publishing break when he agreed to publish Valley Fever, a mystery anthology set in the San Joaquin Valley. Two girlfriends and myself hounded him in Santa Barbara until he agreed to publish us. It's now a collectors item in these parts and contains my prize-winning short stories.

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  2. Best wishes for many sales and good reviews from another Oak Tree author.

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  3. From a hopeful waiting Oak Tree author, best wishes on the success of your novel. Sounds like a good one, as do the two previous. Gotta go get me a copy or two.

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  4. Thanks, Sunny, John, and Velda. It's good to be in the company of such fine colleagues. Success to us all, and to OTP.

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  5. Good luck to you John. I know that your work will sell well.

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  6. Good luck on the new novel, I'm looking forward to reading it. I hope to join the group soon as a published writer

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  7. Thanks, gang. The publication process is quite the adventure, isn't it?

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  8. Hi, John, good luck with your book. The series sounds like it would interest any author. I'll have to give it a read. Oak Tree Press is releasing my very first book next month and I'm glad to be in the company of so many fine writers.
    Sally Carpenter
    "The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper"

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  10. Thanks, Sally, and I hope your book is a great success!

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  11. We are happy to have you aboard John! It has been a pleasure to work with you thus far. I am sure your book will do well !

    Jeana Thompson
    Public Relations
    Oak Tree Press

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  12. Thanks, Jeana. You're a pleasure to work with.

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  14. Good Luck John! Wishing you many sales and lots of promotion opportunties between now and then.
    Wendy
    www.wsgager.com

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  15. Thanks a lot, Wendy. And same to you!

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  16. Better late than never, I hope. This is VERY exciting. Can't wait to see it in print.

    Marta Chausée, author
    Resort to Murder mystery series

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