Last Saturday Fed Ex Ground dropped off 8 boxes of books (which was a surprise, considering it wasn’t a weekday). It was the visual culmination of 7 years of work. I started writing my first novel in 2004. It took me five years to finish (mostly because magazine deadlines kept getting in the way) and I spent the last two years off and on trying to get a publishing deal and/or a book agent to find one for me. This story is one that had to get out. I stayed true to the story and it’s amazing (at least to me) how well it came out. When I finished I actually did not go back and read it until this summer. After five years I didn’t feel like jumping into it again. I was pleased that not many corrections needed to be made. I cleaned up some details in the front (it felt like there were too many unnecessary details at the very front), which hopefully pull the reader into the story quicker. I also forgot to change the names of some of my old classmates. I tweaked their names just enough to be different, but most anyone who knows the people could guess who I might be talking about.
It’s all coincidental, of course.
It’s interesting, but I’ve been asked if it’s a “Christian novel.” The answer depends upon your definition of the word or label. I’m a believer. The book (like most all authors’ first novel) is about me, so my faith comes out incidentally. A lot of my friends think “Christian fiction” is a bunch of hack-kneed garbage. I don’t quite go that far in my assessment, but I felt it was best as a person, as a writer, as a Christian, to remain “true” to the story, as opposed to trying to make it fit into a pre-approved “Christian novel” format. A cliche definition of this format would be “a story that ends in an altar-call type conclusion, so that the reader is comforted and/or encouraged in their faith.” The story inside me did not involve those details, so it would have been “forcing” it to make this a “Christian novel.” That’s one reason I haven’t pursued Christian book publishers for this book.
The plot involves the United States Air Force developing a time machine (the YF-2000) and they need a “guinea pig” to fly the machine back in time to change a seemingly insignificant event in history and then see how it plays out. The “seemingly insignificant” event in history in this story is a high school football game that I was a part of when I was a senior at Desert High School back in 1980. It was November 21, 1980. The team we were playing in this first round of the C.I.F. playoffs was the Mammoth Huskies. They cheated on the last play and “won” the game. The officials from the game actually met in Lancaster, CA the following Tuesday and admitted their wrong. They apologized to our coach. For me and my classmates, however, this thing has not set well with us over the years. In the book I go back in time to see if I can reverse that nefarious outcome. Imagine The Right Stuff meets Friday Night Lights (or Varsity Blues) and Back to the Future.
Speaking of movies, it is my goal that Desert High be made into one. That’s my dream. But first things first. First the book has to get out there. That is starting to happen. After a successful Kickstarter campaign we got several hundred copies printed. Then I spent that night signing 56 copies of the book and visiting the post office Tuesday morning (weren’t the people at the Cedar Park post office glad to be behind me that morning? good thing there was two workers there to handle the customers) and I got those copies mailed out.
Yesterday I went around the Austin area to get Desert High sold in some retail stores. The local grocery store here in Lago Vista is selling it. Waterloo Records in Austin has a few copies. I dropped off a copy at the mega indie book store across the street – Book People. Hopefully, they’ll agree to carrying it. The local newspaper here did a story on the book. And boy, they were generous with the coverage. The story spanned three pages. Very nice.
At the end of my errands I had a dentist appointment and, while I was checking out and scheduling a follow-up, I made some small talk. “Well, I just finished my novel and got it published.” One of the workers there jumped on it and wanted information. “I love to read,” she said. I told her the url (deserthighbook.com) to check it out and then I said, “I’ve got copies in my car if you want one.” She bought it on the spot. Later that night my daughter and I went to a local convenience store in Lago Vista, which is attached to a local restaurant called Tug’s BBQ. I asked the convenience store clerk if they’d be willing to carry it. He told me that the decision “would have to go through corporate” and I briefly explained to him what the plot was. In a few minutes he was at my table, telling me he wanted to buy a copy. He pulled out some cash and bought one. I take that as a good sign (explaining the plot and getting someone to buy it on the spot). I think I might be on to something. I hope so.
I started a little facebook page for HM Press, which is the imprint for the books I’m publishing. Desert High is one. My dad’s book, Flying Tales, is another; and I’m planning on publishing Rock Stars on God, Volume 2 in November. Please like the page (and check out the wall for info and various fun items.
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