Miscellanea

Right now I am trying to put a lot of things into context.  This past week there has been a lot of death, dying, debate, heated arguments, and the like.  I am not entirely certain how I am supposed to be reacting to all of it.  I have stated some of my thoughts and opinions on Facebook, but that isn't the end of it---I really think tragedy lingers longer than all of that, and so I am left with not quite knowing who to talk to, or even what to say. 

I am sad.  I am angry.  I want a lot of thongs to simply go away or pretend they don't know me any more, because I am tired of them coming around again and again.  I want to play the "I don't know you" song to so many friends it frightens me, all their belly puffing and posturing, their lack of humanity.

Here is this.  It's a meme passed on to me by Collin Kelley.  I am not good about picking on other bloggers and asking them to post on this stuff, so I send it out to all of you---any of you who thinks these questions are thought provoking.  I think I was supposed to wait a week before posting my answers, but to tell the truth, I wanted  distraction for a few brief moments, so I went ahead and answered the questions now.  Here you go:

What is the title of your book? 

The book I just finished writing is going to be called, Hobble Creek Almanac.

 

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? 

Hobble Creek Almanac is the close examination of how a small Utah town evolves and progresses through its 150+ year history.

What genre does your book fall under? 

Poetry.  However, I am trying to blur the lines between factual events and reporting of those events.

Where did the idea come from for the book? 

I got my idea from writing my first two chapbooks, which became the nucleus of my first full length poetry collection.  I had written about the landscape and maintained an elegiac stance in those poems.  I became aware I wanted to write about other people and their reaction to the land, and the best way to do that was to approach first from a historical perspective before moving again into personal narrative.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript? 

I would say about 18 months in real time, though the idea has been fumbling around my head since 2008, when I finished my first book’s final edit.

Who or what inspired you to write this book? 

William Kloefkorn, David Lee, Gary Short.

 

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? 

I really have no idea.  19^th Century Mormon-themed Landscape Meditation/Narrative hybrid isn’t an easy sell.  I have about four places I know I am submitting to.  If none of those places take it, I will have to re-group, which may take a year or so.  I will not enter in any contests, as my money would be wasted and I much prefer to support presses by buying books, so it may end up self-published.  I know the poems are solid, so I will worry less about the dying stigma of a self-published book.  I worry more about my lack of good editing skills than anything.

What other works would you compare this book to within your genre? 

I go for the biggies.  I think (or I would hope) my work resembles David Lee, William Kloefkorn, and the like.  I read a lot of Wendell Berry while structuring the manuscript, and one can only hope some of that rubs off.

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie

rendition? 

I wouldn’t.  I would trust the director to cast the movie with the right people.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Footnotes.  Awesome, right?