My first published novel, Castle Lake, is actually the third one that I began. Castle Lake was started on November 3rd 2006 and was completed and edited by the end of February. It consists of 208 pages, not a long read, but a good read. The story has lost of twists and cliffhangers. I am very proud of Castle Lake. It gave me a lot of confidence knowing that I could write quickly and effectively.
I have wanted to write a novel since 1980, when I put ideas together for a story I called 'The Sand Burners.' I knew I could write, I just had to sit down long enough to do it! I originally wrote The Sand Burners for my cousin Mike's 15th birthday. I developed the main character, 'Michael Manning' after my cousin. I only got 6 chapters completed over 1980, which was typical for me. I rarely started what I finished. However, at that time, I wasn't even quite 16 yet. I'm currently playing with the idea of actually finishing this book up as a 'Teen' read.
The original idea for Travelogue first came to me in a dream I had on Dec 21st 1996. The actual dream became Chapter 54 of the novel. I thought that the dream was a great starting point for Travelogue, which I saw as a movie in my mind. I just had to get it down on paper. I began to write on March 16th 1997. From the moment I began the novel, I already had the title, "Travelogue" chosen. The title was also the name of the second album by the Human League. A song from the album, "Dreams of leaving", helped inspire my writing. Travelogue was perfect as a title for the novel, because the story was a Travelogue of the Tait and Joyce family from 1956 to 1996. Every detail of thier life is documented in the novel. Sex, violence, love, betrayal, vengeance, passion, lust, greed, pain and self discovery.
Music influenced the novel greatly. I found that I enjoyed certain albums while writing, and then realized that particular songs were great backgrounds to matching chapters. The music reflected the mood of a certain chapter. Some music was dark, some music was heavy, and some was even dance! By August 2006 I had a collection of music that spanned 3 CD's. I would really like to see it released as an authorized book soundtrack. But that's another story!
I think one advantage about taking so long in writing the novel was that I was able to absorb many different influences, and I could really take my time developing the characters. Most of the characters are based on people I have known over my life. As I got ideas, I would just jot it down in my day-planner. These ideas would eventually find there way into the story.
The concept of the book was in place right from the start. The story would take place over 40 years, and would be told out of order. As well, one of the characters would narrate parts, and the rest would be told in third person. The book was full of intrigue. However, my four test readers found the book too hard to read. It had been described as too "artsy-fartsy" by one reader. In the 4th edit of the book, I tried to put some order to the story. My editor and I set up two chronological time lines, 1996 and 1956 to 1991. Both time-lines interweave amongst each other, and the story is much more readable. I didn't want to frustrate my reader.
I found that the characters of Travelogue were like a fine wine that was allowed to age for a long period of time. I think it's for this reason that the characters of the novel are so realistic. As well, I have placed a little bit of myself in each character, male and female, giving them a little more depth.
As the book progressed it became clear to me that Tasha was the main character. This has been interesting to note, because many people think that it's strange that a man would have a woman as his main character. Not me. This wasn't intended, but this was just the natural process as I wrote the story. Jorge and Dylan would be the second and third main characters. Ian, Leyna, Xavier "Birdie", Tom "Gus", Filamina and all the rest finding their places within the forty year yarn. As I mentioned elsewhere on this site, I think Judy Blume had a big influence on me as well, giving me a deeper insight into women in general. However, I haven't gotten them figured out by a long stretch!
The initial writing began in March 1997, and progressed sporadically as time would allow. I found that I would work on the project for three or four hours at a time, and then not touch it again for six months. I have explained elsewhere on this site that life sometime didn't allow me to work on the novel as much as I would have liked, but it was also a self discipline issue too.
I found myself single by the fall of 2004, but I still couldn't focus on writing. It wasn't until the middle of 2005 I knew I had to get serious. Single again in November of 2005 after a short but very intense relationship, I put my nose to the grindstone. At that time, I had 25 pages of story, and 15 pages of story notes. I decided that I would complete the novel by July. I also developed a separate book to work solely on the characters, noting every detail about each.
I realized that the ideas of the novel were actually mini stories that were tied together by a central theme. In January 2006 I jotted down each major idea/mini story onto a recipe card, until I had sixty nine cards. I mulled the story over and added three more "chapters." Another was added in June 2006 and one was deleted in January 2007. At this point, the recipe cards were in order, 1956 to 1996.
I then mixed the recipe cards up. There was no order and no plan. Now we had 73 chapters of a story told out of order.
In February 2006 I began to take each idea on the recipe cards and expand it into a three to ten page chapter. When I began in November 2005, I had eighteen chapters fleshed out. I buckled down and concentrated, finishing the 1st draft on May 7th 2006. At the same time I was writing, I was still working two jobs, providing for my family, and maintaining my home. But with a focus, I was able to stay at work on the book.
On June 5th 2006 I sent the 2nd draft out to four of my friends to be proofed and read for continuity. Two got back to me with extensive notes and I created the 3rd draft on July 26th. With some professional help, I then edited the entire book, a four month process. On January 14th 2007, I had the 4th draft finished. It was in this draft that I actually dropped one chapter from the manuscript and totally changed another. These two 'lost' chapters will be available to readers once Travelogue is published.
The 5th edit of Travelogue was the fine tuning of the ideas that I had developed back in January. I was actually still adding totally new ideas at that point and tying all the loose ends of the story together. The people who read the 2nd Draft in June 2006 wouldn't even recognize the book now. It has improved that much! There is a chance that an early edition of Travelogue could be out at the end of May. The official release date is now July 1st.
I currently have ideas for 70 different novels including a children's book I conceived when I was only 9 years old.
Please click on 'Future Books' to see the plan for the next 18 months:
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Future Books
