Blog a Debut Author

I’ve blogged before about first time novelists, and to add another page to my album of obsession may be boring to some but here is my question anyway:  How does an obscure, non-A-list published author slice through the thorns of who-are-yous and climb to public attention?

 

Luck.  I was recently told this by one such individual whose friendship I’ve made through cyberspace.  One can not disagree, however it would also appear to be their publisher’s influence and long arm as well.

 

Anyone currently on the threshold of a new release, a first timer, be assured of the thrill, the rush, the smell of just printed text, because it is intoxicating – so delicious; easily the best feeling ever.

 

The New York Times Book Review ran a piece on Larry McMurtry who was a new author in 1961.  Everyone starts at the beginning.  His first book, “Horseman, Pass By”, went to Hollywood under the title, “Hud”; remember Paul Newman?  His next two books ended up in Hollywood too, but he did not make the coveted New York Times Bestseller list until 1985, twenty-four years after his debut.  At that time he was twenty-four weeks running for “Lonesome Dove” and also garnered a Pulitzer Prize.

 

Mr. McMurtry was obviously not discouraged through a quarter of a century by the lack of recognition as a bestselling author.  New novelists take a note, which means me too.

 

If writing is your passion, then keep writing.  Lady Luck is floating around and she may sit next to you.  Hollywood beckons like a beacon on a foggy night and the New York Times is just a newspaper.

 

Blog what you read, see, think and feel.

 

Linda Merlino, author, Belly of the Whale

Blog Hope Lodge

The siren of summer lured me off my writer’s path and I went willingly to sit on the ocean’s edge and contemplate.  Stretched before me was the Atlantic, so far into the horizon that even squinting did not allow me to see its end.  When these moments came there was no choice but to stop and raise a hand to shield the sun from my eyes, to pause for the solar rising or setting.  All thoughts passed away and my mind was relieved of burdens and bundles of musts and must-nots.

 

As I shake the sand from my suitcase and out of my shoes I am reluctant to return to the pace and routine I set aside.  Vacation is a place where time stops, there is no calendar and no alarm clock.  The beach beckons and you go, nothing else is required of your time.  Nothing.

 

Days before I journeyed to the shore I was given a tour of a facility in New York City: Hope Lodge.  There I met a team of persons dedicated to serving the needs of people undergoing therapy for cancer.  Reminiscent of a five star hotel, Hope Lodge provides patients and their caregivers accommodations during the long treatments related to their disease.  Individuals who live at a distance and require a commute over an hour are eligible to be one of the over sixty guests at the Lodge.

 

Walking along the shore with sea water lapping my ankles I thought long and hard about Hope Lodge.  I prayed that I might never have to use the facility for the purpose it was intended and despite the beauty of its interior and the warmth of the staff, I mumbled to myself an entreaty to God that He might spare me that fate.

 

The people I met on my tour were extremely enthusiastic and excited about the subject of my book and how we could (I could) become a part of the fight against breast cancer.  Without knowing a reason to write about a character with breast cancer other than the old stand-by, I had to; I discovered on that tour and during my subsequent meditations by the ocean, a more valid reason.

 

Perhaps another entity was at work, guiding my hand and my imagination, and perhaps that entity had a knowing that I would be introduced to Hope Lodge and when that day came, which it did, I would recognize the reason.

 

There is a place where we all must travel, a place along our path that is not illuminated, where darkness rules.  The descent into darkness is not unlike being swallowed by the biblical whale.  Hope and survival is the message of my story and hope and survival are the premise on which Hope Lodge was built.

 

Blog what you see, hear, feel and pray.

Linda Merlino, author, Belly of the Whale