Truitt’s Fix
This book is written by Rex Evans Wood, an area writer from Moorhead, MN. It is a different genre than what has been read and I am really excited to begin the book.
I was lucky enough to get some insider information as to the background of the book. Read below:
Where did the idea for this story come from?
It came from a college course on the history of the English language. I found it interesting how language can change over time and wanted to explore that theme. While that concept sparked the story, it ended up playing a minor role, affecting the plot here and there, and providing authenticating detail.
Did it take long to write?
Eleven years! But that’s largely because I was studying the craft of long fiction as I went … devouring books and magazines on the topic. It was two steps forward, one step back, rewriting every time I learned something new. It was the most educational experience of my life.
What about the publishing experience?
That’s an interesting story. I cared more about writing the book than doing the work of getting it published, but I still sent out several letters to
agents when it was first completed. I received some very nice comments, but no offers of representation. As commercial fiction, the book had two strikes against it. First, it was a genre “tweener,” not sci-fi enough for that genre, yet too sci-fi for others. Second, it was longer than publishers care to see from a first-timer. Top that off with a struggling publishing industry, and the prospects didn’t look good. Since I had no interest in “vanity” publishing, it ended up on the shelf for ten years!
So what happened?
Free online publishing. It’s rather fascinating how the Internet has revolutionized book publishing. It’s quite a change – a good one. I stumbled upon Smashwords, a place authors can publish an e-book for free. Very cool business model. I dusted off Truitt’s Fix, posted it, and got a huge surprise when a blogger in Texas – out of all the books in cyberspace – picked Truitt’s Fix to blog about over seven days of reading. She loved it! That was a real stroke of luck. Then the reviews at Smashwords started coming in – all 5 stars.
Buoyed by the feedback on the e-book, I kept my eye out for on-line opportunities to do hard copies. That led to CreateSpace, a free print-on-demand publisher. Formatting the book and creating the cover was quite straightforward.
The author does all that?
They’re happy to help for a fee, but it really wasn’t hard. The cover photo is from the front yard of relatives – after one of those huge snowstorms in 2009. It looks like the side of a mountain, but it’s actually just a couple square feet of snow. The whole process of publishing took very little time. One week and I had a book in hand.
So, I am optimistic this will be a really good read. Get your copy and read along with me.
Tags: areavoices, books, entertainment, reading, Rex Evans Wood, Sci-Fi
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