Raising the Bar
193.2
Wow, I flubbed my diet big time, but other
than that some cool things happened this week in Red Wolf Novel Land. First of
all, my favorite Aussie, Kristy Berridge, author of The Hunted and its soon-to-be released sequel, The Damned, posted her review of The Draculata Nest. She warned me it was coming several weeks ago,
and I’d been waiting nervously to see what she said. I’m delighted to report
she gave it 4 out of 5 “fangs”. Y’all can check it out on Goodreads or scroll
down a little on her blog… to find out what she said.
Then, Ray DeLotell sent me a photo of the finished cover art for The Dragon of Doughton Park. It was worth the wait, and now I’m that much closer to getting the second Red Wolf novel published. Here it is…
It looks like things are moving ahead
inexorably to the publication of my next novel. Being a glass-half-empty kind
of guy, here’s the main theme of this week’s blog…
There’s a scene in The Dragon of Doughton Park where the reluctant private
investigator, Luke Saunders, is waiting nervously as the vampire, Roland
Trudeau, watches surveillance footage he’s taken of Clifford Crane. Luke is
sweating it out. He knows he’s done a good job, but he’s afraid he’s done too well. He’s raised the bar, and he knows Roland will expect more from him in
the future. If he doesn’t continue to perform at the new higher standard, his life
could be in danger.
Of course, like so many of the characters in
the Red Wolf novels, the thing Luke Saunders fears most is not the real danger
he ends up facing. But as I read over that scene last week while doing “one
more final edit” as I wait for the cover art and design for the new novel to be
finished, I realized I may have been subconsciously trying to work out some of
my own anxieties when I wrote it.
You see, when I finished the final scene of Dragon back in May, I realized what has
since been confirmed by the enthusiastic reactions of my editors and beta
readers: I’ve turned out a pretty good piece of work here. It’s something that
I can and should be proud of. And I am.
But I’ve raised the bar. And just like Luke
Saunders, it scares me a little.
Publishing The Draculata Nest was a leap of faith. It was a necessary coda to
dream I thought I’d lost many years ago. I’d started novels a number of times
before, and never gotten very far. The simple fact that I’d actually finished
one was an accomplishment in itself. The fact that it got some nice reviews and
enthusiastic responses from some readers was a perk.
I’d surprised myself on a number of fronts,
and I’d surprised every one of my friends and colleagues, who had no idea I
even harbored such a dream or had any talent for such a thing. Some folks were
genuinely impressed. I began to be introduced occasionally as John Hundley, author. More important,
I’d found something I truly loved to do.
Writing is fun, y’all.
I don’t necessarily mean it’s easy. I
typically sweat for hours at a time over two or three paragraphs. But it is a
labor of love, and I can now affirm what I’ve heard others say and scoffed at
in the past: if you find something you love to do, it is not work!
But now I have set myself a task that
involves the expectations of others. The second book was better than the first.
Will people expect the third book to be better than the second, and so on,
until they reach some imagined reading
nirvana? What if I I’ve already reached my peak, and it’s all downhill from
here? What if…
Okay, calm down, John. Don’t go there. Baby
steps. But, on a practical level, I do have a rather daunting task in front of me. And as some of you
finish reading The Dragon of Doughton Park,
you’ll understand. In a number of ways, I’ve written myself into a corner.
I won’t reveal too much here, but at the end
of the book I’ve left Clifford Crane, along with a few other characters, with a
major conundrum. He’s in a tough spot, and it was slightly different than I
planned when I began writing the book, and I have only a vague idea how he’s
going to handle it.
And I’ve also violated a major rule espoused
by many writers – I’ve fallen in love with some of these characters. (And so
have some of my readers if I’m to believe their comments.) In many cases, I
know they face a fate they don’t deserve. Will I have the guts to allow them to
make the mistakes that will ultimately lead to their demise? Will I try to
rescue them from their inevitable destiny?
I hope not, but only the next nine to twelve
months will tell.
One final note:
From now until the time Dragon goes on sale, the ebook price for The Draculata Nest has been reduced to only $0.99. You can purchase
it through one of the following venues…ebook for Kindle ebook for Nook Paperback Copies in Charlotte
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