CFTAR trifecta

 I was recently invited, in connection with a recent novel's publication, to the author-friendly website Campaign for the American Reader. In fact, host Marshal Zeringue asked if I might contribute to several departments of the CFTAR program. It was my pleasure to oblige.

And so, in the past couple weeks, I've had the following CFTAR appearances:

• My ideas about casting, should Hollywood lightning ever strike, in My Book, The Movie  
• the quirky but entertaining Page 69 Test, and most recently
• an authorial interview, in Q&A with Edward M. Lerner

(Quirky, how? you might ask. The question to be answered is, "If a reader opens a book to the [randomly chosen] page 69, would they get a good sense of it? Why or why not?)

As you might suspect, two of those appearances focused on May's new novel,  Déjà Doomed. The Q&A is more about writing in general.

All, IMO, in good fun.

How could I have missed this!?!

On  July 1, 1991, Warner Book published Probe -- my first novel. 

Original/1991 edition

The 30th anniversary of this career milestone came and went six weeks ago, and I just -- this morning -- realized it. That's madness. Or a senior moment. Maybe both. Regardless, having finally remembered the occasion, I'm going to reminisce a bit. 

(What's the book about? I'll get to that. But nostalgia first -- unless you choose to jump ahead. Which is fine.)

Seeing the novel out the door became quite the adventure. This was in an era before doorstop books, and the acquiring editor wanted my manuscript reduced from 90K words to 75K. Ouch, but ... done. Then he decided my title (Calculating Minds) was too cryptic and pushed for the yet more cryptic Chimera. Then the art department complained -- fairly enough -- they didn't know what cover art went with Chimera, and we wound up with the apt but generic title of Probe. Not that final art for the Warner edition even showed a space probe ...

Second/2000 edition

Beyond being the pre-doorstop-book era, the early Nineties was an epoch of turmoil in publishing. My acquiring editor, champion of the book, left Warner. And his replacement. And his. All before the book was through the editorial process and release to booksellers. Exciting? You bet! Helpful? Not!

Then, to the utter confusion of booksellers and readers alike, the same day my novel came out, a Star Trek-franchise novel of the same name was also released. 

But for all the pain along the way (and, to be fair, education about how the publication world works)? Much good came of it.