Another Good Review!

Check out my review from the Library Journal:

"Lewis, J.F. Staked. Pocket Bks: S. & S. Mar. 2008. c.352p. ISBN 978-1-4165-4780-8. pap. $14. FANTASY

The hero of Lewis's humorous debut is Eric, a vampire having a bad week, with a poor memory and raging blackouts. In the midst of a rough tantrum, he realizes he has torn off the head of a fellow undead, but he can't remember who the victim is or why he killed him. As the story continues, however, Eric proves to be a much nicer guy than the opening would suggest. With a host of interesting characters—the elderly human Marilyn, the greatest love of Eric's life; Tabitha, the stripper-turned-vampire who loves Eric; evangelical werewolf William, who erroneously believes Eric killed his son; and Roger, co-owner with Eric of the Demon Heart Strip Club—this is a fast-paced story with a heady mixture of humor, violence, and sex. Recommended for large fantasy collections."

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6529602.html

That seems like a pretty good review.

J

IT'S A BOOK!!!

In a very Pavlovian type reaction, I am now conditioned to get very excited when I see tan/orange DHL envelopes sitting on my porch. So far, they have brought me: copyedited manuscipts for my perusal, ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies), cover flats, and on February 12th, 2008, they brought me my novel. Four copies of the final product.

If you're not a writer, I'm not sure that I can fully explain what it feels like to hold your novel for the first time. I'm embarassed to say that it was only a half step removed from the way it felt to hold my boys when they were born. The experience was just that visceral, that primal. All along the way, I plagued myself with little doubts and fears: Sure, Jeremy, you have an agent, but she'll come to her senses and get rid of you anytime now... Okay, so an editor wants to buy the novel, but she'll never get the purchase approved... Alright, it's was approved but they'll never accept the final version...

Perhaps every writer does not feel those same inner doubts, but I did and I do, and I lack the words to explain what it feels like each and every time those doubts get smashed aside and proven wrong. Holding the finished version made me want to unleash a very Dead Poet Society-esque "Viking Yawp." I didn't, because my flu-stricken wife and youngest son were both napping, but it echoed on the inside for a few days, even though it never came out.

You want to know something though... when I sent out the proposed sequel to my agent, the same doubts I had on the first one reappeared. Here's hoping that they, too, are banished with decisiveness.

Best,

J

STAKED Sequels

So… Let’s recap. My book comes out soon (March 11th). I’ve got an author debut party coming up on the release date, OmegaCon the weekend after the release, and then the beginning of book signings. I even have cool new business cards.

I’ve been going through the "final" draft of the proposed sequel one last time before sending it to my agent. I’m also prewriting on a third Eric book a bit while mostly concentrating on two other urban fantasy novels that are also set in Void City, but with different characters. One of them involves a member of the Mage Guild and the other… well, let’s just say that it involves Lucifer, Satan, and Beelzebub. Boy is that misleading. ;)

The Epic Fantasy Project is on hold for the time being. I’m still working on it, but I want to finish all three books of the trilogy before I lock myself in on a final version of the map. I’m also thinking that it needs a stronger opening and less exposition. At least a few of the “holy crap” moments that make it really different need to come out earlier in the first book. Also, I understand that the epic fantasy market is on the decline.

Still… onward!

STAKED will be here soon and before the release date… AUTHOR COPIES!!!

J

My Publishing Journey: The Possibly Helpful Tale of How I Got I Published – Part One

Hi, All!

My name is Jeremy F. Lewis and my first novel, a vampire book currently entitled BITE ME, is scheduled for a March 2008 release from Simon & Schuster's Pocket Books. During my writing and editing process, I found tons of authors' blogs; some were extremely useful, some terminally funny, and others utterly terrifying. I want to make mine a healthy mix of all three.

I plan to start out the first few blogs by running through how I got published in the hopes that it might be of some use to you. I’m sure I’ll scatter some unrelated blog in here and there.... my friends say if I had a superhero name it would be Nonsequitur Lad. It's just the way I am. I'm also a very organic writer. As an example, only four or five of the chapters in my most recent draft were written in sequential order. When I write best it is kind of like the non-linear editing that gets done with many modern movies. I write a scene without knowing exactly where it goes- with only a vague idea that it goes somewhere in the middle, beginning, or end. Once I have written ten or eleven chapters, I can often begin to see the shape of the thing coming together. This makes it very hard to complete a preliminary outline.

But that’s not how it all started.

Let’s just say that I spent ten years writing two novels and countless false starts. Roughly six hundred thousand words of practice. For several years, I gave up trying to actually publish anything. Then, Wizards of the Coast announced several open calls and I started writing drafts specifically intended for publication. You may have noticed that WotC is not publishing BITE ME. Which is just fine. If I’d done my market research correctly, I’d have known that and would not have wasted their time with an urban fantasy submission.

In 2003, my wife bought me several writing books for Christmas. Among them was WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL by Donald Maas. I found it very eye-opening. I'd suggest the book to anyone who is serious about a writing career. Six months later, I completed my first draft of BITE ME (then called WELCOME TO THE VOID) and we began the long and tedious editing process. Another four months later, it was ready to send out (or so I thought). I sent it in to the Wizards of the Coast open call and several months later, it was rejected. My loyal friends insisted that it was good stuff... really good stuff... and that I shouldn't give up on having it published. I decided it was time to find an agent…

Next time: Agent Search