Ten Days Out for Flowers of Dionysus.
Ten days from today, on the 21st, I will launch my first novel, the community theater based story called Flowers of Dionysus.
Writing and editing are of course done, and for all intents and purposes the technical stuff is completed as well. If I pushed a bit, I could probably launch it any day now. But I am sticking with the 21st, because that’s what I’ve been saying all year. Sometimes it’s good to keep with your plan, if there is no pressing need to change it.
What else can be said at this point? I suppose I could share the all important “one sentence” summary of the novel. Experts insist an author must have one, after all:
Before giving up the stage for good, a disillusioned actor joins a friend’s troubled summer production, during which he and some of his cast mates experience odd encounters and supernatural phenomenon that will challenge their views of theatre and of themselves.
I’m still not convinced that if you fail to come up with a single sentence summary, you have failed to write a good novel. I’m not in love with some of the conventional promotion wisdom out there. Nonetheless, I accepted this challenge, and I feel I’ve succeeded in capturing the spirit and purpose of my novel.
Yet what else can I say, ten days out?
I’ve given a more detailed overview of the novel’s purpose here before. I’ve talked about the novel’s setting and explained why I chose such a location for this story. Last year I wrote and published a collection of short stories that took place in the exact same setting, as sort of a build-up. (That collection, Thank You For Ten is still available. On Apple too.)
Plus, I’ve introduced you to each of the five point-of-view characters already: Matt, Marcus, Tanya, Centauri, and LeMay.
You’ve even seen the cover.
I’ve tweeted links to each of those posts, and will to this one. I’ve tweeted thoughts about writing and publishing this novel that weren’t connected to a blog post.
This novel has been a major part of my creative life for more than six years. And now, I’m only ten days out from making it available to all of you. To the world.
You’d think I’d have something poetic to say about all of this, ten days out, but I don’t. I will of course mention it again right before launch, and try to tasteful promote the book on that day and into the future. I’ll do my best to interest new people into buying the book and telling their friends about same. I may or may not succeed to my expectations and aspirations with that. But ten days out, if you follow me on Twitter and your read this blog, and if you are a personal friend of mine, there is not much else to be said. I have either intrigued you by now or I have not.
And of course I hope I have. If so, you’ll be able to find out what all the fuss has been about. You’ll find out about price and links and a few other things regarding my first novel…exactly ten days from now.
Ty Unglebower 