B L O G
June 28,2016
Deserter is now on its way to being formatted for Kindle readers, iPads, iPhones, Android tablets and phones. More to come.
Deserter is now on its way to being formatted for Kindle readers, iPads, iPhones, Android tablets and phones. More to come.
June 27, 2016
Coming soon! Watch for an important announcement regarding
Deserter.
June 22, 2016
Patience is not a virtue that comes naturally to me, but it is something I've been practicing with the publication of my debut novel, Deserter. For some reason, every time I think I am a "proof" away from publication there is a glaring error I must correct or there is a glitch beyond my control. Today, I finally received an "interior proof' that contained the author biography that was omitted from the first hard copy proof. It should be another 4-5 days to receive the corrected hard copy and approve.
My hope is that the delays and glitches will be worth it. I hope if you've been waiting to read Deserter that the experience will be worth it.
MAY 03, 2016
I am currently working on the final edits to the manuscript. Once it's finished and returned, I'll receive the author's copy within seven days. Then the novel will be available to everyone.
My editor suggests that I keep the point of view more with Preston to create an intimacy with him. Anything we learn about supporting characters should come to him through direct interaction or hearsay. Right now the narrator is third person, all-knowing. The narrator reveals what other characters are doing and what they think about Preston's actions...to a point to keep it interesting. Let me explain, not justify, why I didn't have any choice but be a third person omniscient narrator.
What I discovered about my great grandfather angered me. What I read about him also removed the scales from my eyes, and I finally understood why my paternal grandmother (his daughter) was unaffectionate and cold. I had to treat the characters who made my grandmother's life miserable objectively. I couldn't allow my prejudices to infiltrate the story. Like Atticus advises Scout in To Kill A Mockingbird, I had to walk around in Preston's shoes in an attempt to understand the decisions he made for himself and others he was responsible for. There are times in Deserter that his mother, Freelove, asks him things I would have asked him if I could have met him. There are times in the novel that I give his victims a voice. [My editor says I have strong female characters and excellent dialogue].
I knew how the story would end. I had the facts from a newspaper article. However, how Preston got to that point in the story was up to me. I was wringing my hands with glee over how the plot would turn. I shared the idea with author Tess Collins at her summer workshop here in Middlesboro. She suggested that I not treat Preston so harshly. After I walked in his shoes for almost a year, I believe the way I present him at the end is the result of a natural progression of events. There's nothing contrived. There's nothing vindictive. (Thank you, Tess ).
After the last word was typed and the final punctuation was placed, I realized how cathartic writing Deserter was for me. There were so many unresolved issues in my life that created a jumble of emotions. The disgust and anger-I don't think I ever experienced hatred-that I felt toward Preston dissolved into forgiveness. The hurt I've harbored all of these years over the way Granny treated me, her only grandchild, transformed into forgiveness.
So, you understand now, that I had to write Deserter in the third person omniscient in order to keep my emotions out of it. When you read Deserter, I sincerely hope you see I wrote to give all of these characters a chance to be heard and understood. I hope these characters are believable. My goal is for you to judge them for yourselves without the narrator telling you how to feel.
____________________________________
BACK COVER COPY
Preston Martin lost his father to war, his first love to an opportunistic schemer, and his morality to circumstances and personal choice. He’d dreamed of becoming a preacher. Now he’s an army deserter making his way through post–Civil War America. Married to a woman he believes will bring him back to God, Preston keeps more than his desertion hidden from his new wife. Another woman lies in his past. She is going to reenter his life with the children from their marriage.
All of Preston’s secrets are about to come to light. Revealing them could destroy his hopes of a future. Denying them won’t help. It’s time for Preston Martin to face a lifetime of poor decisions—and to hope something is left in the aftermath.
A genealogical novel, Deserter is a gritty, realistic portrayal of life during a divisive time in a nation’s history.
TAG LINE
Preston Martin’s mother thought he would be a preacher. His father thought his son’s slanted mouth indicated a liar’s mouth. The truth lay somewhere in between.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How cool is it that Deserter is deemed "gritty," "realistic," "evocative," and "grim" ?
I am currently working on the final edits to the manuscript. Once it's finished and returned, I'll receive the author's copy within seven days. Then the novel will be available to everyone.
My editor suggests that I keep the point of view more with Preston to create an intimacy with him. Anything we learn about supporting characters should come to him through direct interaction or hearsay. Right now the narrator is third person, all-knowing. The narrator reveals what other characters are doing and what they think about Preston's actions...to a point to keep it interesting. Let me explain, not justify, why I didn't have any choice but be a third person omniscient narrator.
What I discovered about my great grandfather angered me. What I read about him also removed the scales from my eyes, and I finally understood why my paternal grandmother (his daughter) was unaffectionate and cold. I had to treat the characters who made my grandmother's life miserable objectively. I couldn't allow my prejudices to infiltrate the story. Like Atticus advises Scout in To Kill A Mockingbird, I had to walk around in Preston's shoes in an attempt to understand the decisions he made for himself and others he was responsible for. There are times in Deserter that his mother, Freelove, asks him things I would have asked him if I could have met him. There are times in the novel that I give his victims a voice. [My editor says I have strong female characters and excellent dialogue].
I knew how the story would end. I had the facts from a newspaper article. However, how Preston got to that point in the story was up to me. I was wringing my hands with glee over how the plot would turn. I shared the idea with author Tess Collins at her summer workshop here in Middlesboro. She suggested that I not treat Preston so harshly. After I walked in his shoes for almost a year, I believe the way I present him at the end is the result of a natural progression of events. There's nothing contrived. There's nothing vindictive. (Thank you, Tess ).
After the last word was typed and the final punctuation was placed, I realized how cathartic writing Deserter was for me. There were so many unresolved issues in my life that created a jumble of emotions. The disgust and anger-I don't think I ever experienced hatred-that I felt toward Preston dissolved into forgiveness. The hurt I've harbored all of these years over the way Granny treated me, her only grandchild, transformed into forgiveness.
So, you understand now, that I had to write Deserter in the third person omniscient in order to keep my emotions out of it. When you read Deserter, I sincerely hope you see I wrote to give all of these characters a chance to be heard and understood. I hope these characters are believable. My goal is for you to judge them for yourselves without the narrator telling you how to feel.
____________________________________
BACK COVER COPY
Preston Martin lost his father to war, his first love to an opportunistic schemer, and his morality to circumstances and personal choice. He’d dreamed of becoming a preacher. Now he’s an army deserter making his way through post–Civil War America. Married to a woman he believes will bring him back to God, Preston keeps more than his desertion hidden from his new wife. Another woman lies in his past. She is going to reenter his life with the children from their marriage.
All of Preston’s secrets are about to come to light. Revealing them could destroy his hopes of a future. Denying them won’t help. It’s time for Preston Martin to face a lifetime of poor decisions—and to hope something is left in the aftermath.
A genealogical novel, Deserter is a gritty, realistic portrayal of life during a divisive time in a nation’s history.
TAG LINE
Preston Martin’s mother thought he would be a preacher. His father thought his son’s slanted mouth indicated a liar’s mouth. The truth lay somewhere in between.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How cool is it that Deserter is deemed "gritty," "realistic," "evocative," and "grim" ?
This is the section of the newspaper article from the New York World (July 1891), page 1 that inspired the excerpt from the novel Deserter.
