300 PAGES PLUS

Okay, here we go. Another landmark. 300 plus pages of Raised by Savages done. Probably 200 decent pages. The rest need going over. Had an inspiring email from Guy Vanderhaeghe, author of The Englishman's Boy and The Last Crossing (excellent reads, btw). He said that most writers don's spend enough time with their stories. I've taken heed and am patiently (sometimes impatiently) going over the content again and again. I'm hoping the time and diligence will make it appealing and not appalling.

Almost 200 Pages of "Raised by Savages" Done

Well, I've almost 200 pages of the new book done. 60,000 words. A short novel by modern comparisons. Two "test readers" have "suggested" that the narrative is too long. They kindly eschewed the word boring. So I've started cutting scenes out of the narrative like cutting calves from the herd. I've got 14 stories that seem to be acceptable prose.

I'm toying with the idea of sending one or two of the most polished stories to my agent in NYC to garner initial praise. But, of course, it might not be praise, so I've decided to keep on writing until it's done.

The photo above is a postcard of St. Joseph's Hospital in Ashland, Wisconsin, the setting for "The Ninety Dollar Baby," the book's anchor piece about me being held for ransom by nuns.

THE MIGHTY SPARTAN COMES TO KINDLE

The Last Spartan by John F. Saunders is now available as an e-book from Amazon! They take a horendous chunk of money out of the pockets of the author and publisher just for the honor of participating in their e-venture. Sixty-five percent of the price goes to Amazon. Seems like a lot to me. But, as John said, when discussing the option of going"E," "I kind of look at it as any sale is good." We shall see if there are any sales, now that it is out there and available electronically.


PS: Since Frank McCort's death last week, I've been working extra hard on Raised by Savages: Growing up Wild in Wisconsin. Have fourteen chapters done. I felt quite sad when I heard Frank died. His story and his way of telling it was very meaningful to me. I hope he was working on something that can be published posthumously.