Shades of Luz is a Hybrid

I've got say that there isn't a single category I'd put Shades of Luz. To call it a fast-past coming-of-age-story, urban adventure would be to miss the point. It's about finding love and meaning. It's about aimless dreams and letting them go. Sometimes our lives feel as is they are without any direction and sometimes it feels like we cannot find the right path.

I wrote Shades of Luz so that the protagonist Benny Fluke could find his way. With that in mind I really had no idea where he would end up and after a few aborted attempts found where he needed to go. There were a few characters too who once were foils, but were removed in order to keep the focus of the story.

Killing your darlings, as many writers already know, is a bit like killing off a part of you. But, often it is necessary for the betterment of the work.

When I was sending out my manuscript, I sent a number out to different presses. Some strictly literary, others mainstream, slipstream, hard-boiled, sci-fi, fantasy, multi-genre, and a number of them said Shades of Luz defied all categories. In other words, there was no neatly-packed genre it would fit into.

What do you do if you get good feedback, but nobody wants to publish your book? Well, I wasn't going to hide under a rock or cut my throat, but it did annoy me that nobody seemed to want to take the chance with it. Self-publishing did cross my mind, but as I got closer to finishing up my MFA program I thought of the things my professors would say or what would universities say when I applied to teach at them and I only had one novel, self-published to my credit.

There seems to be a double standard when it comes to non-fiction. Fiction writers go through a lot more scrutiny. I'm not exactly sure why that is the case, but it is a reality nevertheless. X-libris used to hound me. Somehow I'd gotten on their marketing list and believe me I thought long and hard about it.

When I got word from All Things That Matter Press that they wanted to publish Shades of Luz I was ecstatic, but also petrified. The whole world was going to see my words and would be able to judge them. Because I'd been nursing my novel for so many years this naturally scared me. It took me a about a month to settle down and then with all the edits we needed to do before the book went live I was on the verge of hyperventilation. I stress the hyperbole because it is true that bringing a book into the world is a lot like giving birth. A bit cliche perhaps, but nevertheless true.

Now that the book is out there whenever I am asked by critics what it's about I have to be a quick thinker because it's still an undefinable hybrid.

A Little Honey for Shades of Luz

Beez and Honey got on board and has spread about Shades of Luz on their blog
http://beezandhoney.blogspot.com/

I've also been asked to visit a local senior center which is totally cool. I think they will relate to Luz. There's also my unsung Heroine Rose who I'm thinking about reading from.

Somebody said Brig reminded them a bit of Rza's The Tao of Wu.

I'm down with a comparison to the Wu-Tang Clan.

Shades of Luz Listed on NY Writer's Workshop

Thanks Dan for the plug. That's big. Well, after NY Writer's Workshop listed me on their board I logged a few more attendees for my upcoming Telephone Bar Reading/Book Signing.

Yesterday, Bonnie Jo Campbell rocked the house at Center for the Book Arts in Chelsea. She read from her winning chapbook Love Letters from Sons of Bitches.

Today I will be at Behind the Book reading at KGB Bar.

Tomorrow at Opium Live!

John's at Center for Book Arts

Today we're on the go go go. Lot's of exciting news and not enough time to report it all in. Two of my aunts picked up copies which, frankly I'm surprised about. Wait until they get to the racy part- A Spoonful of Indiscretion. Also, one of my writer buddies Douglas Light, author of "East Street Bliss" is going to do a Q and A. Actually, I'm going to Q and A him, but he will be visiting my site. Details to follow shortly. His book is soon to become a feature film.

Gearing up for the Telephone Bar reading. That should be off-the-hook. I have quite a few pre-vites already RSVPed. Hope there's enough seats.

Tomorrow will be stopping by KGB Bar.

Finding the Right Target

Somebody asked me this weekend if my book was available at Target. It had never occurred to me that Target was a viable book chain. It's easy to lose track with B & N, Borders, Amazon, and Powells. There are so many classy indie bookstores. I'm smitten with the idea of a new reader pulling a copy of my book from a quaint, local shop that maybe I have neglected the Bulls' eye logo Department store where I happen to pick up many containers and other household odds and ends.

The long of short of it is this, I'm willing to test my luck wherever it fits. A few years back, I found a writer friend's book in a dollar bin at the Strand on Fulton. I called her up to let her know she'd made it into the afterlife of the book chain. Used books is that last channel, a testament to the book's will to live or the erstwhile owner's willingness to let the book live on.

I haven't seen any Shades of Luz in half-priced bins yet, but I won't frown if I do. To me, it will a sign that my book has a survival gene built in its DNA, much like its author.

Next stop on this Book Tour-- Target!

Red Room

I read an unsettling post about an author who had the day from hell when her book launched. Her Facebook froze, her laptop battery died, and she couldn’t find her Blackberry. Yikes. Oh, the trials and tribulations of these Twitter Times.

My qualm of the day is on a much smaller scale, but goes to show the metamorphosis that has taken place in me since I’ve minted a book. Recently, I’ve joined a slew of networks to get better connected with literary circles. Some I’ve been active in some I haven’t been. One in particular called the Red Room I have tried to make the effort, but my bio page and book influences have a bunch of HTML gobbledygook spitting out in my profile. Today I made my first blog post on their site. When I’d submitted it I went back to see what it looked like, but of course I couldn’t find it. It appeared to have been lost in a cyber black hole. I was uber-frustrated as I tried posting it 4 more times. Nothing. I later realized there was a pending category that stored a queue of posts requiring approval. All four of my posts waited patiently while I mourned the loss of my sensibility. It then struck me I have become more of an instant gratification whore than I’d like to admit.

Is there a moral to this story? Probably not. But, I find I am more antsy now that I've published my novel than before I had. When I couldn't get Shades of Luz published I skulk in a corner for a while and lament the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune. I napped more. Now, I juked with energy. Nervous energy. Francine Prose says that to be a great writer is to put each word on the trial of it's life. I'm putting each move I make on the trial of its life. I'm looking for skapegoats in case my paper moon gets lost in the shuffle.