Prophecy's Drum, my first novel& Tad Williams

Chapters 7 & 8 were quietly posted on Prophecy's Drum a week or so ago. Chapter 9 is in progress.

Meanwhile...thought I'd share some photos:

First, my "book in a drawer,"  the first novel I ever wrote...on a typewriter, no less! I know, shocking, isn't it! But that was way back in olden-times, and I didn't have a PC. Heck, I was thrilled to finally have an electronic typewriter with one line memory! Yep. As long as I discovered the error before hitting "enter" I could correct it without liquid paper or using erasable typewriter paper! Awesome technology that was, back in the day. But frustrating, too. No matter how fast I typed, I had to stop myself at the end of each line. I still remember an error that made it to "print".... Instead of "her patience," I created a new word: herptene. We decided it was a disease in the herpes family. And maybe that's why the novel never made it to publication...hmm....

No. Honestly, the novel never made it to publication because IT WAS MY FIRST NOVEL. It wasn't ready, and neither was I. Yes, I went through the whole process of submission. After 12 months in the slush pile at Del Rey, Terry Brooks was even kind enough to ask someone to dig it up and give me an answer once and for all. Frankly, the folks at Del Rey were very kind, even with their rejection.

That first novel was the original story of Alan and Megan. The characters have changed and the story itself has changed quite a bit with the version I'm currently writing, i.e. "Prophecy's Drum." And the world of Anvaar has grown quite a bit. But it all sprouted from a seed planted back in the early 80s, with an in-class creative writing assignment at Wayne State University that earned me my worst creative writing or English grade ever: a B-. Bad grade or not, the scene stayed with me and kept me asking questions about how it came to be and where it was going. The rest, as they say, is history....

Next, in an interesting irony, I found Tad Williams on Twitter yesterday, after @MrsTad "found" me. And then, today, while packaging up some old photos to send to my sister, I came across a photo of me, curled up on dad's boat way back, ca. 1988, reading a hardcover, first edition of Tad Williams' "Dragonbone Chair." Yes, the glasses are way too big, and dark, and overpowering. And the jeans...well, not exactly high fashion. But the book was excellent--as I knew it would be, which was why I couldn't wait for the paperback.;)