Pimping my friends in an attempt to feel better

It's late, and I'm tired and grumpy, so just a little something to make this actually count as a blog entry.

Actually, I think something that will make me feel better is to tell you about something one of my friends has done. Jenn Brissett has written a novel that is getting all kinds of amazing notice. Elysium is a new and notable book at Locus Magazine, it's been well reviewed at places like Publishers Weekly, The Washington Post and i09. And. AND it's nominated for a Philip K Dick award. I haven't yet had the chance to read it, but it's on my short-list, and I've heard from a few people I truly respect that it's nothing shot of amazing. Jenn and I went to Stonecoast together and she was one of those folks who were ahead of me that I wanted to keep an eye on. And with good reason. On top of having written a great book, she's also super nice.

You should all check out her book, and tell her that I told you to do it, okay?

There. I do feel better.

Here are tonight's numbers:

Daily word count: 1,466

Novel word count: 53,143

Old music and writing, plus numbers

I've been having good writing days lately. I contribute a good bit of this to my strict lack of writing rituals. I've written briefly about this before. I used to ritualize the act of writing, and I've cut out all of that nonsense. Well, almost. If I have anything like a ritual anymore, it centers around the music I listen to while I'm writing. I can waste a good few hours coming up with the perfect playlist to listen to. Spotify has made this task both easier and more difficult. Easier in that I can find some many great songs so easily. Difficult in the I have so many more songs at my fingertips -- it makes choosing difficult sometimes.

Lately I've been listening to older stuff, stuff that I remember listening to 20 or 30 years ago. You know, when I was a baby. Not sure why this is. I usually crave new music. Maybe it's a phase >shrugs shoulders<. For now I'm just rolling with it.

Here's one song that's been in heavy rotation on my current writing playlist (entitled, imaginatively, Writing II) on Spotify. Supergrass were a British alternative band in the early '90s. This song, "Alright," is the only one I remember from them. I think it's in a commercial for something right now. That may be where I heard it and decided I needed it in a playlist. Or maybe it's in a movie the boys have watched lately. Kids' movies seem full of oddly inappropriate music cues nowadays, thought that probably hasn't changed much since I was a kid. Anyway, here's the video for the song, which seems like a classic of the let's-grab-a-camera-and-shoot-a-video-to-promote-our-hit-single variety. This sort of thing would never fly today...



That video really makes me want a plain white tee with "ADAM" printed across the front in Futura black.

Here are today's numbers:
Daily word count: 1,641
Novel word count: 51,677

50,000 and a late announcement

My latest work-in-progress is a fantasy novel titled Sowing Serpent's Teeth. I just hit 50,000 words, so I'd guess I'm about 50% through this beast. This seems like a good time to start recording my progress on the book.

This is something I did with Zomburbia when I was writing it, though I started tracking that book much later in the process. I'm doing this for a couple of reason. 1) I want to hold myself accountable in a public way. I had a hard time with the beginning of this novel and I want to give myself as few reasons as possible to miss a day of writing. If I think someone somewhere might notice me letting a day slide, then I'm all the less likely to do it. 2) Tracking the numbers forces me to write other things in this space as well since I don't want to write about just the numbers. I've long been neglecting this blog and that needs to change. So, numbers it is if that'll help.

Here's something I should have written about last week and didn't, because I've been slacking off, you see. 

In case you didn't catch it, my novel, Zombified, the sequel to Zomburbia, was released last week. It's available from a number of online retailers, of course (and this link will take you to my publisher's page where you can find links to the book on many of those sites), but it would be great if you decided to buy it from an independent bookseller in your area. One indie book store you may want to consider buying it from is The Book Bin in my hometown of Salem, Oregon. If you get it through them, you can ask to have me sign or personalize your copy; something I'm more than happy to do. 

There have been a few other things going on with me and my writing, but I'll save those for upcoming numbers round-ups. 

That's all there is to say for now, I suppose, except I want to thank you for checking out my blog. Thanks for sticking around during the fallow period if you've been reading for a while, and hello if you're new to the place.

And now, here are the numbers:

Daily word count: 1,386

Novel word count: 50,036

Publishers Weekly shows Zomburbia some love

Publishers Weekly have posted a capsule review of Zomburbia to their site. I imagine it'll show up in the magazine, but who knows. Anyway, they seemed to like. Here's the sentence that made me wet in my pants in a little bit:

"With its complicated and believable heroine, exploration of moral dilemmas, and disturbingly mundane vision of life among the undead, this action-and-gore-soaked adventure entertains on numerous levels."

So, for those keeping score at home, Zomburbia has now been reviewed favorably by both Publishers Weekly and Kirkus. And I know that Booklist are going to review it, but who knows if they'll like it. Either way, I'm pretty stoked about the critical response the book has received so far.

One hopes that unmitigated commercial success will follow. That's how this usually works, right?

Musical crush #4 in a series (plus a tangent and lots of parentheses)

I'm doing a lot of writing at the moment, which is great for a lot of reasons, chief among them is that I listen to a lot of music when I write. Lately I've had the self-titled album from Elastica on repeat as I work (despite the fact that it is in no way appropriate for what I'm writing). 

I know a lot of writer types, and I would say that the majority of them have said that they need to listen to music that is somehow related to what they're writing. If it's a horror story, they throw on the soundtrack to The Shining. If it's a period piece, they listen to music from that period. Et cetera. I have never been like that. All I require of the music I listen to is that it be music I have some familiarity with. If it's brand new to me, I have to listen intently. Too intently for me to be able to write down the thoughts in my noggin.

Elastica hit it big back in 1995. The album spawned five singles here in the US. And the band never recorded another. According to Wikipedia, they got in some trouble with other bands for "borrowing" riffs and melodies too heavily (they settled everything out of court). It's a shame. I really thought they were going to go places. They had a great look and sound (though maybe the sound wasn't entirely their own...). Regardless, thanks to Spotify, I am now able to listen to this band again and dream that someday there'll be a follow-up album and a reunion tour.

Aspirations of a ten-year-old

My book for reals.

I think I was nine or ten when I decided I wanted to be a writer. It was around this time anyway that I started looking for ways to write stories as a means of fulfilling homework assignments, and that I began to fudge the answers on aptitude tests so the results would show I ought to be a writer. Since then I've done some of the things that most writers do – I've sporadically kept journals, I've written and submitted in a variety of genres and styles, I've bought and read entire libraries-full of writing how-to books. And I've done some things most writers probably don't, such as just plain trying to give up writing because it's so fucking hard and heart-breaking.

But I've always come back to it. And I always feel a huge sense of relief when I do.

And now, finally, after a lot of years, I have a novel coming out that has my name on the cover and everything. And I know that I already have several books with my name on them out there. But they've been collections of comics and that's just not what I envisioned back when I was nine or ten. And this is not meant as a slight against comics at all. Comics buoyed me at a time when I was very low, and they helped me pay some bills. The work I did in comics kept me believing that I was able to write at all. Hell, it's because I was able to sell comics scripts that I even decided to give writing prose again a chance. So, yeah, I owe a lot to comics.

Still, I always wanted to write a prose novel and to have it be published and loose in the world, and it looks like that's about to happen. Last week I received a small package from my publisher (Kensington, which is an independent publisher and which has been just freaking wonderful to work with). The package contained a small number of comp copies of my book, Zomburbia – just a taste, the rest of my comps will come later. I opened that package and held in my hands a real book with my name on the cover.

And the nine-or ten-year-old in me knew that I hadn't messed things up too badly if I'd accomplished this.

Listen, I know what the book market is like. Zomburbia may come and go without making a single ripple in the publishing industry, but it's here now. And that's enough. Also, the sequel is already written and in the hands of the publisher and now I'm writing something new and I have a reasonable expectation that someone will buy it. So there's that.

By the way, my second choice of career when I was ten was to become a politician. I think we can all be happy I chose to become a writer.

Kirkus reviews Zomburbia

As stated in the headline, Kirkus have reviewed, mostly favorably, Zomburbia. Pasted below is the full text of that review.

KIRKUS REVIEWS

ZOMBURBIA
Author: Adam Gallardo

PULL QUOTE

“Comics author Gallardo nails her voice—likable yet self-absorbed… the interpersonal drama strikes a comfortable balance with undead action. More brains than your average zombie novel…and more entrails as well!” – Kirkus Reviews

FULL REVIEW:
Unlike the classic zombie-apocalypse scenario, humanity here hasn't been completely devastated—in suburbia, life has adapted. Post-zombie outbreak, people live behind gates or fences, students take a yearly health and hygiene class on the zombie virus, and firearms are commonplace in backpacks and cars. Courtney's determined to escape the suburbs and attend college in New York—the government hopes the city will be habitable again—but her father will only pay for her college if she goes in-state. To fund her dream, she works at a local burger joint—and sells Vitamin Z (an illegal drug made from zombie brains). Then jock Brandon falls for her, crossing clique lines. Courtney vacillates between her old friends and Brandon's popular world while hiding her drug dealing. Courtney's smart and ambitious, and she makes terrible decisions.Comics author Gallardo nails her voice—likable yet self-absorbed. This rough world lends itself to drug dealing, partying, guns-blazing action sequences and unvarnished language, but it occasionally enables the characters' emotional detachment, resulting in weak motivations for their actions. There's an additional mystery about some smarter, faster zombies—seemingly left for the sequel despite heavy hints that make the answer seem obvious. Aside from that, the interpersonal drama strikes a comfortable balance with undead action. More brains than your average zombie novel…and more entrails as well! (Horror. 14 & up)

What's been happening?

Since last we spoke, some stuff has happened. Some of that stuff took up so much of my time that I failed to update this blog. For instance, I finished up the draft of Zombified, which is the sequel to Zomburbia. I finished it, I got it to my agent, my agent gave me notes, I made changes based on those notes and sent it off to my editor. Just yesterday, I heard from my editor. She accepted the manuscript with no major revisions. All the notes she had will be incorporated along with the copy editor's notes on the production draft. The process I just described took up a good chunk of May and all of June.

I may go into more detail about this process at some point, but maybe not. I'm not being coy, I'm genuinely trying to suss out how I feel about what I just went through and how much I want to share. So, you'll have to wait and see, I guess.

What else? Well, despite the fact that the manuscript was just accepted yesterday, there's now a cover for Zombified. It was photographed by Blake Morrow, the same guy who shot the cover for Zomburbia, and I think it's just as great. Ready to see it?

Terrific, right?

Zombified is already in Kensington's catalog and it has a pub date in January. Believe me when I tell you that I'll keep you informed as that date gets closer.

And I'll also be doing some promotion-type stuff for Zomburbia as well. Watch this space later in the week for more on that.

That's all for now, I suppose.

Man, my blogging skills are rusty...

What's that? I have a blog, you say...?

Did you know that even when I don't write posts here about what I'm doing, things still continue to happen in my life? I know, it's as flabbergasting to me as it is to you... So I thought I'd write a bit of a catch-up post to, you know... catch you up...

The biggest news is that I sent the final edits of Zomburbia off to the printer. Preparing the manuscript for printing basically meant I had to read the novel again and mark any typos or errors I found. Despite having been read many times by many people, I still found a number of both. Typos and errors, I mean. I apparently have a habit of switching from the past to the present tense every so often, and I found errors of continuity that I can't believe were still present this late in the game. Now that those are off, I can devote myself to writing the draft of the sequel, right? Right?

My oldest, Oscar, turned six a few days ago. Do you realize what this means? It means I am the father of a human being who is six years old! I used to write about him (and the rest of my family) more often than I have recently. I might get back to that. For now, here's a photo of one of the cutest creatures on Earth.

Do you think he gave me a bite? No, he did not.

I joined the SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America) recently. If you aren't a part of the SF community, you may still be aware of the organization because it's going through some growing pains and a lot of its dirty laundry is being exposed. I thought this was a perfect time to join, actually, because I want to be a part of the rising tide which sweeps a lot of bigoted old men out to sea. There, I said it. It felt good.

I am also a member of the HWA (Horror Writers Association. This years's World Horror Con is this coming weekend in Portland, Oregon. I'll be attending, and I'll be taking part in a panel on using Social Media Marketing. The panel will be Friday from 2-3. If you're around, you should come by and watch me struggle to understand what Twitter and Facebook mean...

Finally, a couple of buddies and I are making a short film in a couple of weeks. It's set in the same world as Zomburbia and it should be a blast. I'll write more in a bit about how it all came together and what we've done on it so far. Let me just say here, in case you are my editor or my agent and you're reading this, it's stolen very little time from my writing the next book. I promise.

Zomburbia chapter one

I've written often enough that I have a novel coming out later this year. Perhaps you'd like to read a sample of it? If so, then you are in the right place!

My publisher, Kensington, have given me permission to post the first chapter of Zomburbia here. I'll post link to various online retailers at the end of the excerpt in case you like the sample and want to read more.

ZOMBURBIA
A Zombie Apocalypse Novel
By Adam Gallardo

Chapter One
Good Times at Bully Burger

The night shifts at Bully Burger are the absolute worst. It’s like sitting through a five-hour History lecture from Mr. Chanders, only you have to wear a festively colored polyester uniform while you do it. Maybe a car an hour comes through the drive-thru, and you really get tired of that fearful look people get in their eyes after dark.

The Bully Burger—whose mascot, I swear to God, is a cartoon of Teddy Roosevelt holding a hamburger—is a minor big deal in these parts. Six stores that sprouted up back at the dawn of time. People around here are crazy proud of this homegrown franchise. This particular store, the last one to be built, is at the far end of a developed strip out on Commercial Street. That nicely named strip is where the town started to shove all the franchises and big-box stores in the late ’70s and, as you can imagine, it looks like one long stretch of hell. It’s all Walmarts and Mickey D’s as far as the eye can see. Depressing.

Zomburbia cover image and some quotes

This seems as good a reason to start writing on my blog as any, I guess.

Last week, my editor at Kensington sent me the design for Zomburbia and said I could share it. So that's what I'm gonna do. This is the art that will go on the printed ARCs (advanced reader copies) and so it may be tweaked a bit on the final product, but this should give you a good idea of what it's all about.

I think the designer(s) did a great job. I love the design elements and I think the photo is evocative without being over the top gory. I'm just over the goddammed moon about this and can't wait to hold the final product in my hand.

If you feel a similar desire, perhaps you'd consider pre-ordering the book. Something that's very helpful, I understand. I'll post links to different web sites below, but first, this:

And here are those links:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Powell's
Indie Bound

You'll notice that the pages for the book on those sites currently lack any cover art or description. Well, as an enticement, let me hit you with a couple of quotes from folks who've already read the book:

"What if the zombie apocalypse didn't get all that apocalyptic? What if life
went on pretty much as normal for most kids, except it was incredibly
dangerous just getting to and from high school? What would it be like togrow up in a weird but eerily familiar Zomburbia? Meet Courtney, a flawedbut spunky teen, and her misfit pals who are trying to find their places ina world where death lurks around every corner. Readers are guaranteedplenty of mayhem and romance, laughter and heartbreak in Adam Gallardo'saccomplished debut novel."-- James Patrick Kelly, winner of the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards

"If you haven't read Zomburbia, you haven't read about zombies. This is a new take and it is scary, freaky, and original. Gallardo resets the zombie bar and it's sky-high. Get this book!"-- Nancy Holder, NYT Bestelling Author, The Wicked Saga

Man, if those don't make you want to read the book, I don't know what will. (I really, really hope those make you want to read the book...)

Next time I'll write a bit about what's going on with Zomburbia schedule-wise, and what's going on with the sequel.

Yours in self-promotion...

The Blow

This was a long time ago. It was the first year of Portland's Time Based Arts Festival, I think, so call it maybe twelve or thirteen years ago. A friend invited me to one of the festival's after-parties. I went despite not knowing what time based art was. It seemed (and seems) that all art is time based. Anyway. The party took place in a warehouse space. It was jammed with people, a bar, free food and, at one end, a stage. I knew that there's be a show of some sort by a band called The Blow.

After a while, I girl came out. Blonde and tiny. She carried a boom box. She approached the mic and did her best to get the attention of the crowd. It took a while. Finally, when the majority of people had quieted down, she told us all that the band was running late and that they'd sent her out to entertain us until they were ready. She started to tell a rambling story about (I think) going on a drive with a boy and the conversation they'd had. After a while, she said that it might be better if she sang the next part. She bent over and pressed play on the boom box and began to sing.

It was at that moment that I figured out this girl was The Blow and that everything she had said and done from the very first moment had been part of her act. And I was smitten. I've been a fan of hers ever since through a number of incarnations. All because she played so expertly with my sense of expectation

I called her tiny earlier. Well, as the performance went on, she seemed to grow bigger and bigger with each new song. Honestly, I think I've only had one other musical experience that was like it. I felt like it reshaped me.

Right. What's this got to do with anything? I've been thinking about what I want to do with Zomburbia. You know, my debut YA novel which will be out from Kensington Books next year... I've had a couple of conversations lately about including a message in a story. Does Zomburbia have a message? Yep, and I hope I've sneaked it in in such a way that almost invisible. No matter how important your message, no one's going to get it if it isn't wrapped up in a good story. I hope that's what I've done. I hope I've crafted a novel that walks out on stage, presents itself as one thing – a good horror story – and is in truth something else as well.

Have I succeeded? How the hell should I know? I just wrote the thing. I'll have to wait until the book is out and see what people think of it to know how well I did.

By the way, as I write this, I'm listening to the new self-titled album by The Blow. It came out earlier this month, and it's excellent. I can't recommend it enough.

That's all for now.

People I know write things: Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam

I know a lot of very nice, very talented people. Enough that I'm going to start highlighting when one of them goes and gets something published.

First up is Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam, whom I know from Stonecoast, and who may have the best name of any genre writer ever. A new story of hers, The Siren, has just been posted over at Strange Horizons. You should follow this link now and read it.

It occurs to me as I write this that I should go back in time a bit and write about some other folks I know who've published books, actual, real books, in the recent past. Soon, my pet, soon...

Man, Myth and Magic

I originally wrote this post for Triptych, the web comic I created with Devon Devereaux. I liked it a lot and wanted to share it here just in case there are folks who aren't reading the comic. Though, I can't understand why you wouldn't be. Anyway, here's the post:

My first exposure to the occult came in the form of Richard Cavendish’s 24-volume Man, Myth and Magic. I still remember the shock I felt looking through those books for the first time. It was similar to the feeling I had the first time I looked at porn – though I knew it wasn’t technically illicit since my parents had it on a shelf I could easily access. It’s hard for me to imagine why those volumes were in the house. It must have been because of my mother. She had a passing interest in all things spiritual.Tarot decks were common in our house, and we had a Ouija board. So, I suppose that answers that.

I first discovered these books, collections of articles which appeared in Cavendish’s magazine of the same name, when I was six. I can still feel the cold concrete floor beneath me as I looked through the volumes. Every page seemed to bring an electric thrill as image after image flooded into my wee brain. At that age, of course, all I did was look at the pictures. Later I read the damned thing from beginning to end and would regularly re-read articles as I grew older. There were articles on demons, ritual scarification, witchcraft, cannibalism, and so much more. I encountered some 1,000 articles as I looked through those books. And I would only ever look at it in that room, I’d certainly never have taken it into the room where I slept. In those days, I was a true believer. Of everything. I’ve changed since then – nowadays I feel like I don’t believe in anything. I don’t know that I recommend either state.

There’s a feeling I’ve had a few times in my life as I experience a piece of art. I’ve tried to explain it at different times with varying degrees of success. Sometimes as I look at or read a piece of art, I feel something happening in my brain – I feel something inside me reconfiguring itself. Later in life, I began to feel that this was my body preparing itself to download new software. It was a physical manifestation of how art can change one’s perceptions. I’ve felt it looking at the art of Basil Wolverton, reading the Revelation of St. John, watching films like Altered States and Videodrome. And the first time I ever felt it was looking through those strange volumes of Man, Myth and Magic.

I think my parents sold those volumes when they moved from that house where I’d grown up. Even if they didn’t, that’s when I lost track of the books. In the years since then I’ve searched half-heartedly for them. I remember finding a complete set at least a decade ago. The bookstore was asking the ungodly sum of $200 and there was no Triptych.
way I could have afforded that at the time. I don’t even know if I’d want them again at this point. I’m sure that everything I found scary and thrilling and new about them would seem now, nearly 40 years on, creaky and silly. I think I’d rather keep my memories intact. Especially because those books have informed so much of what I have written and what I plan to write. They certainly inform everything I’m doing with

What's next?

I want to be as transparent as possible about the publishing process, but I have been asked not to reveal the name of the publisher who acquired my book until all the contracts have been signed, so I'll talk around some things for the time being.

So, what am I doing now that I've learned my book will be published?

I've already spoken with my editor and they have let me know that there will be some edits to the Zomburbia manuscript, though, thankfully, nothing structural. I won't receive those until after the contracts are signed, either. In the meantime, I'm thinking about the general shape of book two. Later in the year, I'll need to deliver the first three chapters and a detailed outline. That part scares me a bit because I haven't worked from an outline before – not a detailed one, at any rate. Zomburbia had a four-page plot and I diverged from it somewhere around the middle of the book. Regardless, that needs to be done.

I was also asked to start looking at YA book covers. While I will not have anything like final say, I was told I'd be consulted on the cover design. I sense a field trip coming on, maybe to Powell's, though our local indy bookstore has a great YA selection.

And as to what I'll actually be writing as I wait for notes from my editor, I am 91,000 words into a steampunk novel that I started writing because I had no idea whether or not Zomburbia would ever sell. I wasn't being pessimistic, just honest about how the world of publishing works. I plan to barrel along on that manuscript for as long as I can before I have to back-burner it. No matter what else happens, I will finish it, it just might take me longer than I planned.

Finally, I plan to wrap my head around the fact that someone wants to publish a book I've written. And its sequel. It's still a bit unreal to me. Part of that may be that I haven't had a chance to really celebrate it. A friend asked me today what happened when I found out about the deal. I told her the truth: I showed my wife the phone with the email from Ann, my agent, and we both cheered and jumped around for a bit. Then we regained our composure and my wife reminded me that the garbage needed to be taken out to the curb. I'm sure that we'll time to celebrate, but we have to get on with life at the moment, since life just keeps happening.

I should also take a few days and update the links and other stuff on this blog. It's all painfully out of date...

If folks have any questions about this process as we go, please feel free to leave a comment, or send me anemail.

An early announcement

More details to come after all the paperwork is signed, but I wanted to let people know that a publisher has offered me a two-book deal (for Zomburbia and its as-yet unwritten sequel) and, through my agent, Ann Collette of the Rees Agency, I've accepted. Like I said, as soon as the paperwork is finalized, I'll be on  here with all the news. I've been sitting on this news for more than a week and finally got the go-ahead to say this much, so there you go.

And here's a funny story about Ann. Her first words to me, after she learned my name, were, "Come to Momma!"

More later.

Zack Jernigan and The Next Big Thing

Apparently there's a meme among writers called The Next Big Thing. I was unaware of this until this morning. My buddy, Zachary Jernigan, who's debut novel, No Return, is out next March, has included me in his whack at it. Go here and read what he's written about me and some other writers I know who actually have a shot at being the next big thing.

By the way, that's the photo of Zack from his Amazon author's page. I just had to include it because he's freaking adorable. Zack's the baby, right? Good, that's what I thought...

And look for my attempt at this meme in the nearish future.

A Zomburbia update

C. S. Lewis. Mr. Lewis received some 800
rejections before any of his stories saw print.

The last time we spoke, or, perhaps more accurately, the last time I talked at you, I'd just acquired an agent and she was preparing to send out my novel, Zomburbia, to a number of publishers and editors. I just wanted to bop over here and give an update on that situation. Just like the title of this post says. Truth in advertising, kids.

True to her word, Ann prepared a submission packet and sent it off to eighteen publishers. That may seem like a lot, and it is -- it's more than she would normally query, but she's not known in the YA field and she wanted to cast a wide net. Of those eighteen, six have gotten back to us with some version of no thanks. Most of these have said something along the lines of, "It doesn't sound right for us" or "It sounds like something we already have in our pipeline." Two have mentioned that they think there's zombie fatigue in the market. That's a bit worrying, but I'll address it in a moment.

But it's not all bad news: So far, five publishers have asked to see the full manuscript. Those aren't bad numbers, right? Six said no thanks, five want to read it, and seven still need to respond. Ann and I feel confident that if folks read the book, the voice of the main character will win them over. For "confident," you may want to insert "hopeful." Whatever, we think we have a good shot at attracting at least one publisher. We may need to wait a while to find that out, however. The reading/approval process is a long one and there's the Christmas/New Year's holiday at this end of this month, so it will probably be drawn out even longer. I'm doing my best to be patient.

Here's where I want to talk about zombie fatigue. A couple of years ago, when I had first started writing what would become Zomburbia, I had a chance to talk to an agent about my writing and she asked to see the opening chapters of the book. She was mostly negative about it, mainly citing that there were too many zombie books on the market. This was two years ago, mind, and the field hasn't become any less crowded. She then suggested I write something else, something very specific. For a time, I abandoned the manuscript and tried to write what she'd asked for, but my heart was never in it. I later came to realize that she was probably only ever interested in this one thing she wanted written and was looking for someone to write it for her. Even after that realization, I didn't pick up Zomburbia again. Her comment about the saturation of the field gnawed at me.

But...

But I couldn't get the book out of my head. Courtney, the main character spoke to me, delivered long speeches in that voice of hers, speeches that made their way into the book once I got back to writing the stupid thing. Because I realized that no matter how saturated the market was, this was a book I had to write. It was a book I wanted to read and it was about characters and situations that I wanted to know about. I wanted to see how it all worked out in the end. And isn't that what you're supposed to do? Aren't you supposed to write books and stories that you want to read, market forces be damned? Well, I sure as shit hope that's what you're supposed to do. And I hope that those five editors who now have my manuscript can sense the urgency I had when I wrote it.

I think that might be the book's only hope, and I think it's a good one.

Trouble, and a moment of self-discovery

It was a rough week over at Casa Kreutz Gallardo. My youngest developed a high fever that lasted a week and culminated in two-night hospital stay. On top of that, there was worry that the fever might have affected his heart. Thankfully, two cardiographs show everything is normal in that department -- we all hope that future follow-ups will continue to be positive. He's all better, too, thanks for asking. Just as frisky and ornery as ever. The sense of relief of everyone in our circle is palpable.

And while that was happening, my agent was asking me to get material to her so that she can start shopping my novel to publishers. Nothing like rewrites, which are all done, thank God. She needed a synopsis, a bio, and a few other things. I know I could have told her about my circumstances and begged a few more days from her, but I decided not to do that. I wanted to do my best to give her what she needed in a timely manner.

And it occurred to me that after I'd got everything to her that will probably be what life as a freelance writer. Not the hospital visits, but trying to fit work in among the life moments that tear at me constantly. And it made me realize that I am probably up to the task. Which is reassuring to me. I know that if the situation is ever very dire, I'll bow out, but for now, I was happy to get that shit done. Off the plate and to my agent. In the past, I've looked for excuses to not work. That's done with. Now it's time to be serious about this writing thing.

Achievement unlocked: agent acquired

Scott Pilgrim art by Bryan Lee O'Malley.

It feels strange sharing good news when half the country is being knocked around by a hurricane, but I guess that if I waited for a period of calm and peace then I'd probably never get to share this.

Just so I don't bury the lede: I now have an agent who will represent me and my novel, Zomburbia. Ann Collette of the Rees Literary Agency has decided to add me to her roster, for which I am very grateful. I wrote previously about how I met Ann.

Even before signing with her, Ann helped me a ton by giving me notes on my novel. Is this something agents do? Help authors with their manuscripts even if they don't have a formal relationship? I have to admit that handling the rewrite felt a bit like an audition. I guess I got the part...

For now, I have a few more rewrites -- minor stuff -- and I need to write a bio. Ann is beginning to put together a list of publishers/editors to whom she'll submit the manuscript. She thinks she should be submitting it around the middle of November. I hope I'll have good news soon after that. Either way, I plan to use this space as a means of recording the book's progress through the hurdles of publishing. Wish me luck.

You know, I really should write that post about query letters...