I’m a late bloomer. Have been my entire life. I’m not complaining, just stating a fact.
Festival of Death was my first novel. I wrote the manuscript over the course of a year. 1989, to be precise. When finished, I sent off a couple query letters and got my obligatory rejection letters.
Taking a second look at the manuscript, I realized it needed revision. I was working full time and raising a family. I put the manuscript in the drawer and turned to poetry. Less concentrated time investment and more immediate results.
In February of this year I finished a 2200+ page manuscript which is being serialized as The Rocheport Saga. Book 1, The Morning Star is out and Book 2 will be released shortly. While researching indie publishing, I cast about for what to write next and decided to pull Festival of Death out of the drawer.
A lot of time had passed between 1989 and 2014. The story was woefully dated. Cell phones turned to smart phones were now on the scene. The Kindle and iPad and iPod were no longer dreams, but ubiquitous realities. WYSIWYG blogs and websites and indie authors making big bucks were also a reality. A lot can happen in 25 years — and did!
Most importantly, I’d changed. I’d matured. As a person and a writer. I was an apple ready to pick.
To get back into my PI’s and her assistant’s heads, I wrote 3 novellas. They’ll be released soon as Trio in Death-Sharp Minor. Then I went back and completely re-wrote Festival of Death. The storyline remained the same. Pretty much everything else changed.
Good things come to those who wait. A combination of persistence and perseverance is needed to achieve dreams.
Have you dusted off an old manuscript, re-worked it, and sent it forth? If so, tell us your story.
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