For this week’s blog, I’d like to depart from my usual meanderings, recap the event for the launch of my debut novel, Dunnigan, and share some related thoughts.
To say that the response on publication day was overwhelming would be quite an understatement! People from many different stations took time out of their lives last Tuesday evening to join me for the “book birthday”, and I cannot thank them enough! I felt an electricity, an indescribable sensation really, as I talked with Holly on the stage and took questions from the audience. Though the stage lights limited my visibility, I could see enough to know there were many special people out there. It was especially humbling to me that some of my past teachers chose to attend because they are some of the very people who enabled me to even write in the first place. I didn’t get to speak to everyone individually, but I sure would like to have.
The people who attended the release event got to experience the culmination of a big project with me, one I oft doubted I could complete. Seeing this book through to publication and having it released in that very public way was good, but it also carried a fear factor! I want to encourage those who are writing or thinking of writing, to stick with it. You will definitely write some garbage, you will definitely throw some pages away, you will definitely have moments when you cry at your desk because you feel you’re in the middle of something HUGE that you don’t know how to finish, but there is a satisfaction in finishing what you start that will outweigh the disappointments you have along the way- trust me!
I came across an article from January 2021 titled “No One Will Read Your Book”, and in it, there are multiple quotes from Rachel Deahl, the news director at Publishers Weekly. One is about the disparity between the number of writers and readers. There were many facts and figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics about how few people read books anymore and how books have to compete for our attention alongside newspapers, social media, and television. The article also pointed out how great the supply of books is compared to the number of book readers. When I think about people choosing to read Dunnigan with so many other books to pick from, it makes me extremely grateful to the readers. The tone of the above-mentioned article was a bit pessimistic, and though I consider myself a pessimist-leaning realist, I still choose to believe that someone (maybe many someones) will read my book. For now, I can only report that Dunnigan has officially been born and is floating around out there in the world. It is with people who know me best, people who know me a little, and people who don’t even know me at all! The rest of the story for me and this novel will be a surprise for you and me both . . .
I can’t wait to see where this road takes me!
THANK YOU, READERS!!