I
started writing it shortly after graduating from University of Oregon in 1996. It was about a
girl who returns to U of O after her mission, and she falls in love with
someone who is not a member of the church.
It
is obviously not based on my life, because I fell in love before my mission,
not after, and we didn't end up together, but it was still close to my heart. I
may have been doing customer service in the tech sector for income, but the
plan had always been to write, and now I was really getting started.
Because
it was LDS-themed that limited the market. I knew of three publishing houses to
try, so I sent it to all of them, and they all said no.
That
was disappointing, especially because I had started imagining all of these
other love stories happening in between Portland and Eugene, and I thought I would
write all of them, and then it was like, okay, that's not happening.
A
few years later I was cleaning some files, and I found my rejection letters and
re-read them. They had been better than I remembered. I guess what I had
learned by then was that no matter how much publishers might think readers
would enjoy reading your novel, they have to give even more weight to
considering whether they can get anyone to buy your novel. I may think I write
better love scenes than Jack Weyland, but I do not have his name recognition.
I
felt better about my writing. These letters were complimentary, and the people
whom I had let read it, which included at least one person who wasn't a member,
had liked the book. At the same time, it seemed too late. For one thing, the
book was now essentially recent historical fiction. There is one chapter that
hinges on not getting a letter. People had cell phones when I was writing it,
but they weren't very common. Now not only are they more frequently used than
land lines, they have pretty much abolished long distance charges.
Also,
I would think about all of these parts that were maybe too preachy, or trying
too hard to tie it to Eugene, which would only be
interesting for people who went there, and it felt like any attempt to go back
to it wouldn't be worth it.
Fast
forward to 2014, and I am trying once more, very hard, to break into writing,
and I started remembering Cara. Something else I am going to work on
soon will be set in 1994 and 1997, so that could be part of it, but I started
thinking maybe I could put it up, just to see. I opened the file to take a
look.
Okay,
I did see where I used too many words, and that there were parts that were kind
of clunky, but I forgot that there were things that really moved me too. There
were things that were funny and touching and it was about people that I really
liked. So I did go through and make a few improvements, but it is basically
still what it was, and it is in the process of publishing and will soon be
available to anyone who wants it for $2.99.
I'm
not pinning a lot of hopes on it. There is still a limited market, I think, but
I am giving it a chance as part of giving me a chance. And it's practice,
because in November I am going to convert the Family Blood screenplay
into a novel, and when I upload that I will have already had some experience
with the process.
(And
I have a better business plan here, because I intend to give the sequel away
for free, and I believe that will drive interest in the first and third
installments. Plus, vampires have a pretty wide audience.)
It's
really just one more thing in a week where I am doing a lot of different things,
but it feels good. It feels like things are happening. I'm ready for that.
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