Kyle Michel Sullivan's Blog: https://www.myirishnovel.com/, page 64

Front flap of dust jacket

I've adjusted the cover, a little, and this is what I've worked up for the synopsis on the dust jacket:

A Place of Safety is the story of Brendan Kinsella, a simple lad in Northern Ireland who just wants to live his life...but history keeps interfering.

Derry

Northern Ireland, 1966

Partitioned from the main part of Ireland since 1921 and dominated by the Protestant majority, the Catholic minority has grown weary of the discrimination against it so has begun to push for equal rights. One-man-one-vote. Decent housing. Good jobs. The most basic of requests. Yet these are still too much for those in power to accept. So there are confrontations and demonstrations that, step-by-step, grow more and more dangerous and violent.

Caught in the middle of this is a Catholic boy named Brendan Kinsella. Just days after his tenth birthday, his father is brutally murdered. But because the man was a vicious drunk who kept the family in extreme poverty, Brendan is not sorry he is dead. However, he was killed by two Protestants, which makes him into a martyr for Ireland and sets his mother, Bernadette, on a path to Irish Nationalism. She drags his older brother, Eamonn, along with her, but Brendan is resistant.

The third of her six children, Bernadette constantly belittles him as simple-minded, despite his knack for repairing things. In truth, he is quietly observant with an innate skepticism, and prefers to go his own way and form his own opinions, even though that sometimes leads him into trouble.

Through the next six years, Brendan is caught up in the growing turmoil, including several Civil Rights demonstrations in Derry; the attack on peaceful marchers at Burntollet Bridge; the Battle of Bogside, the following August, where Catholics forced the Protestant police force out of their neighborhood; the arrival of British troops to separate the two warring sides; internment without trial and...Bloody Sunday, the massacre of Catholics by British forces.

Mingled into this is Brendan's budding relationship with Joanna, a Protestant girl from a well-off family. A relationship that must be kept secret for fear of reprisals...from either side. But he doesn't care; she is pretty and fun to be around, has a life of relative ease and is certain she is bound for university. She helps him see there can be more to his world than hate and distrust, that his hopes and wishes and dreams can become reality...that they can find a place of safety, even as their world careens towards chaos.

Well, it's done...

I finished prepping APoS-Derry for ebook upload, next year...and submitted it to Publishers Weekly for a review. They say it could be months before I get one, if I do, but we'll see what happens. This is really becoming official. I even worked a little on the cover and think this will be it...except I need to do something about making Derry show up better.

I'm having to relearn Adobe Photoshop Ps because everything is more detailed, complex and hidden. And awkward to use, in some ways. I had to go online to find where the formatting guides were; I'd forgotten they were a folder in a folder in a different place on the screen.

I still need to make my mouse less sensitive. And trackpad. And figure out how to change the color of the pen tool. And I finally just looked up a worksheet for figuring out inches into pixels then used the cover template guide from Ingram to make sure everything was in the right place.

Good thing is, I've got plenty of time till actual publication to make it look good. Doing a hardback with a dust jacket is hard work, which is why I've only done it three times. Well, this will be number four.

Now comes the truly fun part of going through a printout of the book, page by page, backwards to finalize my hunt for the great mean typos. Soooooooooooooooooo looking forward to that.

Tolstoy, stand aside...

I've got 30 chapters to A Place of Safety-Derry, and I'm halfway thinking of breaking two longish sections in half to make it 32 chapters. By the time I get done with the whole book, it's gonna make War and Peace look like a novella. Just without the quality and craftsmanship of a great novelist.

Anyway, today was spent setting up bookmarks for the e-book version, verifying the chapter headings (since I changed a couple), and doing a bit more correcting. Found two more typos, of course, and did a bit of double-checking on a couple of things. Like when Brendan talks about repairing a Land Rover Defender and wants to know what model it is. He should be asking what series it is.

I also figured to add an indignant comment for Brendan to think when he learns Colm's father narc'd on him about taking Joanna home, one night. Charged both for going to her house and back to the bus depot, and still turned on him. His information verifies she's Protestant and her family is well-off, and puts both her and Brendan in danger from their respective sides in the conflict.

His buddy, Colm...his China, as they call each other...gives him a quiet warning that he's being watched and people are not happy. It's even suggested he might be passing information to her to give to the Protestant paramilitaries...which anyone who knows Brendan knows is nonsense, but still, paranoia rules.

I did a couple more bits like that through the story, and dropped some lines that weren't needed and...and...and damn, rewriting is like a sickness. Like an addiction. No matter how resolute you mean to be when going into it, the ideas come and take control and you drift into another realm of existence. And before you know it, you've done a full rewrite.

Just call me psycho, in the morning, angel.

Almost human, again...

The second job in NYC flattened me. Partly because that fucking city did all it could to fuck me over. I grew pissy and had to fight to keep on an even keel until everything was picked up, at about 1pm, then I left and went looking for a pizza joint.

I was hungry and I had a semi-cool DPZ with me, so all I wanted was a couple slices. Apparently the upper East Side is not known for pizza joints; just sit down restaurants requiring decorum. NOT up for that. I wanted a place where I could cough and snort, if need be.

I knew of a joint just like that in Penn Station, then I could catch the E train to JFK, no problem. But my feet and knees hurt from the nonstop standing and all the walking I'd done, so I got lazy and hailed a cab. Only I apparently got one where the only way the driver knew how to get there was toodling down Park Avenue.

The slowest fucking route possible. I suggested cutting over to Seventh, since that runs right up to the station's main entrance, but he ignored me. Hell, going down Lexington would have been faster.

It took 50 minutes in stop and go traffic, passing through Grand Central Station and down to 31st Street before he turned to cross. Then he was going to take me around the block of Penn Station to get to the correct side for the entrance.

I pulled some New Yorker attitude and made him stop. In traffic. At the corner of 31st and Seventh. Horns blaring like crazy, but I didn't care. I got my suitcase and backpack and paid. Cost me $45 fucking dollars because I was too self-indulgent to take the subway. Fucking stupid.

I am never taking a cab in NYC, again.

I got through the paperwork I needed to get done, today, and checked on my financials and mail and such. Didn't leave my apartment except to get milk from the RiteAid across the street. Was very self-indulgent and rested a lot. Now I feel good and, since I've got everything else done, I'm getting onto prepping the ebook copy of APoS-Derry. I need that to send off for reviews.

Brendan's been quiet, with me. Going through my worries about the story's honesty, he's said nothing in the way of encouragement or derision or anything. Almost like he's numb. It has been an arduous path, and it's my hope the Houston part will be easier since I know pretty much how that should go and he'll be the fish out of water, there, instead of me.

Maybe I shouldn't ask for reviews.  They might damage my confidence too much, if they're bad.

Driving me nuts...

Seems it's good to make certain you and the person whose books you're packing are working off the same list, when you're checking them off. And that the list you based all your projections on is accurate as to what's being packed. I thought the one I had was the right one. Nope. So instead of the projected 12 cartons I've got 17.

Of course, he's very old so one cannot be an asshole about it. No matter how much you want to be. And it doesn't help he just returned from 3 moths overseas, last week, so is still dealing with jet lag. Hell, just getting him to answer emails was a chore in and of itself. You just do what you can do. I'll still be done in time, but I am beat to hell...

So I had comfort food for dinner. There's a Whole Foods a block and a half from my hotel, and I devoured a nice serving of their broccoli cheese soup and a brick of cornbread. Very-very-vegetarian. And I sat in their dining area for nearly an hour just to let myself settle.

On a more important note, after a bit of time away from APoS-Derry I'm back to worrying about how it will be received. If I'm just fooling myself in thinking I told the story right. If the way Brendan moves through the times doesn't sound disingenuous. All the usual nonsense. And I know it's how he told me his life, but...

I had someone say that about the Bobby part of Bobby Carapisi...and it messed with me for a while. I told Bobby's story the way he wanted it, but he was a straight, married baseball player who was also a simple guy enjoying his life till he was raped. Writing his suicide was the hardest thing I'd ever written, at that point, and I thought I'd been honest about everything. Of course, reality is I only got that comment from one reader so I'm really blowing it out of proportion. But it still digs at me.

All I can say is, that will not going to stop me from moving forward.

Dead of brain...

Hard day packing oversize and odd-shaped books. Having to build some boxes to fit. Fortunately, the people doing the pickup were caught in nasty traffic so I go done just after they arrived. Then I got to travel back to JFK in NYC traffic, on the Van Wyck freeway. It's like the 405 but smaller and on steroids. Nonstop construction. Drivers who made my LA attitude on the road seem like a little old lady's.

I was in a Honda CRV and the seats are very comfortable. The SUV drove nicely. It's still a bit big for my tastes, but if I ever do have to get a new car, I'll the open to going with an HRV.

Fortunately, I was not in a rush to catch a plane or get dinner. So I did my Zen and played nice. Nearly an hour and a half to go 30 miles. Faster than walking but still ludicrous. However, NY's freeways are constrained in place, unlike LA's. CAn't build them 5 lanes in each direction.

I made one mistake. It was suggested I take the Long Island Railroad into Grand Central Station as a faster, lovelier route. It's not. At all. The train was niceer than the subway. But then I had to walk a good mile to get to the subway, all of it in a pretty but sterile corridor...till I got to a massive food court where a burger costs you $25. I wasn't that hungry. I got to my hotel in about the same amount of time it would have taken traveling the E train from Jamaica Station.

Oh, and MTA stole nearly $15 from me. I had a Metro card with that amount on it but was outdated by 6 weeks. I talked to an agent they said, Tough. Money's gone. That's outright theft and pisses me off. I'm being careful with this card and only putting as much as I need on it.

Tomorrow is job #2, which I'm hoping to get done with fairly quickly. 181 books. But we'll see how it goes. Tomorrow is supposed to be gridlock. Dunno why; just saw warning signs on the freeway. I've been through gridlock in NYC.

That's why I'm taking the subway.

What a day...

The flight to NYC was nice and on time. Got my rental car without a hitch. Set Google Maps to take me to my location, up the Hudson Valley, through the no-tolls area...and the fucking thing took me through the Mid-Town Tunnel into Manhattan. $12 toll to go through the tunnel. And by the time I realized what was happening, it was too late to get off the freeway. In NYC, you have to plan your exits five miles in advance so you can get over in time to make them.

I still arrived early, so aimed to get some lunch at a Chilis...that was in a shopping mall where 3 of the 4 main entrances were under construction. Lots of signs saying We're open during construction. Great. How the hell do I get there without having to walk a mile? Only got an hour for lunch. I wound up at a Micky D's.

So...the job itself is in a storage facility and that turned out great. Still have a lot to do before the pickup, but I think I'll get through it okay. Six hours to do 12 boxes? I think so. But it is tiring. And then will come the drive back to JFK to drop the car and go to a hotel in mid-town Manhattan to get ready for the next job.

But flying in over the Hudson Valley and then Long Island Sound and Manhattan, I started feeling the wonder and magic I used to feel when I was traveling. It's a short flight so I didn't need to worry about needing to use the bathroom, so I got a window seat. I did used to love those. Looking out at the passing country or oceans far below.

Seems I still love this view...since I used it in part of APoS-Derry.

Some progress...

I submitted APoS-Derry for copyright protection and then for an LCCN from the Library of Congress. Should hear back in about 2 weeks. In order to submit the story to Publishers Weekly and Book Life, for reviews, I have to make it an electronic copy so spent much of today prepping that.

And I still need to finish the Table of Contents links...and since I found a fucking typo in the new stuff I'd added...of course...maybe do another look over it. No. No, I'm not going to worry about it, for that. I'll go over the printed copy with my red pen, in detail...maybe even backwards...when I get home. If all I want is a review, being anal is counter-productive.

I'm off to NYC in the morning to handle two different packing jobs so won't have a chance to do much till I return on Friday. I kind of wish I'd been able to take Amtrak down and back, since it's more leisurely and I can work on the train in much better comfort. JetBlue sends dinky jets back and forth to JFK. My flight's at 8:30am so I have to get up at 6am to get ready and go. Not my favorite time to travel.

I've expanded my time in LA for next month's job, since it looks like another might tack onto it. Besides, I want to go to the new Academy of Arts and Sciences Museum, down at Fairfax and Wilshire. Have to look into it a bit more, but it would be worth it, I think.

I'm still going to check into setting up HTRASG with D2D, since it's so offensive to Ingram and Amazon. We'll see what happens once I'm done with APoS.

Learning process...

I thought I'd set up Carli's Kills with Draft2Digital to get it back out and running, and away from KDP...but when I uploaded my text it killed all the formatting I'd done. A 230 page book was suddenly 340 pages. My copyright info was on the wrong page. And it looked like they're increased the font to 12point from 11. I couldn't figure out how to get around it, so I had to dump it.

I'm checking with Ingram to see about setting it up on there, again. I simply want nothing to do with Kindle. Posting CK on there was an experiment that netted me nothing, so it's time to put the book back where it belongs.

I did some research on getting a PCN and find it's fairly straightforward. First, I'm going to copyright this draft of APoS-Derry and start that process. And I'll submit it to Publisher's Weekly to be considered for a review. If that doesn't work, then I'll hit Book Life.

I printed up a full copy of the book...which took way too long to do. Turns out my printer, for some weird reason that I cannot figure out, would not print pages in the batches I wanted...in Word. When I finally shifted to a PDF, it worked fine. Another aspect of my new laptop and programs I need to learn something about. It's probably just a switch someplace that I have to flick and can't find, on first view.

I'm so tired of not really understanding how technology works. But I'm not a quick or easy learner, with that stuff. My retentive abilities are minimal for the computer maven crap. Wish I could do better, but at least I'm not completely lost.

Yet.

Typically brilliant on my part

I'm so smart, I think. I set up APoS' cover template from Ingram based on 360 pages...but when I got done reformatting it, completely, including hearer and page numbers and all the attendant nonsense, it would up at 346 pages in a 6x9 format. BUT...also is now, officially 140,000+ words. Which includes the bio and ToC and copyright information.

Fortunately, when I sent in the new details, it didn't make a difference in the spine width since this is in hardcover. All the measurements are the same. Thank God. I did not want to have to go through all that shit, again, because I like how this cover image turned out. Might be a bit too stark, but I'm getting feedback on it.

Something else I did during the formatting was make the text simply look good. No single words in the left border or on the following page. Consistency in font. Making sure there's no page number or header on the chapter's first page. It's amazing how involving that can be.

And how I still have issues with Word fucking around with me. I set up each chapter as its own section. So when I get done with one chapter's heading, I tell the header and footer not to continue from the previous section so I can make the pages number right and the headers do what I want. But on several occasions, it changed the page numbering on the previous section and I'd have to go back in and redo it.

It was a lot of work. Just like in my earlier version of Word. I guess I should take a course in the damn program, like I should with Adobe Ps. Learn a whole new language or something. I used to be able to speak French and okay Spanish. Maybe I'll do that, too. Really fry what brain I have left.

Anyway, it's close to being exactly right, now.