Chris Delyani's Blog, page 8

Out of the Shadows #amwriting #MondayBlogs

One of my notebooks for the new novel.

I’d previously posted that I intended to publish my third book by 2015. Well, here it is, November 2015, and no book is in sight. I regret to report that I won’t be publishing this year. But I promise, the new work is on the way.

A lot of this tardiness has to do with the story editor I’d hired to review my manuscript—or should I say, the editor who was gracious enough to take me on as her client. I had handed her what I’d thought was a decent manuscript in September 2014 after two and a half years of almost daily writing. I’d expected her comments on the characters, the plot, and the pacing would probably lead to three, maybe four months of revisions.That had been my experience with “You Are Here.”

Instead she had me pulling out and rewriting nearly everything I’d written, leaving little more than the characters and a bare-bones structure, and start from the ground up again. I’d learned that much of the inner life of my characters existed in my head, not on the page. Her comments had me working mornings, nights, and weekends, and even then it took me a whole year. Okay, so maybe my working relationship with the editor was considerably more cordial than the one from Billy Elliott, but still, the experience was much tougher than I’d bargained for.

 

The extra year was worth it. I’m much happier with the new version than the one I’d finished last year. I’ve skimmed through the manuscript I’d given the editor last September and am horrified that I’d ever thought it was near publication. My readers would likely have been horrified too.

But even now, I still can’t make any promises about when the new book will be out. For one thing, the manuscript still isn’t finished. It’s still being vetted for story and characters, and then it’ll go to a copy editor for grammar and fact-checking. That will take the project to the end of December. In January I’m going to take a stab at landing an agent and maybe having the manuscript published by an actual publisher. If that happens, I might not have a book out in 2016 as well. But sooner or later, one way or another, that book is going to see the light of day.

In the meantime I’m filling my hours writing blog posts—namely this one, and maybe a few more blog posts over the next few months. Then I need to catch up on my reading (right now it’s Nelson Algren’s “The Man With the Golden Arm” and William Godwin’s “Caleb Williams”), a daily diary, maybe a writing exercise or two. With my mind now (mostly free) of the characters I’ve been working on for the past four years, I’m now looking for a new hero, the man or woman I’ll fall in love with enough to inspire my fourth book. I know he—or she—is out there.

The post Out of the Shadows #amwriting #MondayBlogs first appeared on Chris Delyani.

Writer's Digest Self Published Book Awards -- The Deets

The judge in the 21st Annual Writer's Digest Self Published Book Awards compared You Are Here to the early work of David Leavitt; you can read the judge's entire review on the front page of my website, www.chrisdelyani.com.

As part of winning first place in the contest's mainstream fiction category, I earned a notice in the Midwest Book Review, in which the reviewer described "memorable characters adroitly woven into a complex story." The full review is here: http://www.midwestbookreview.com/mbw/...

Finally, the official citation on the Writer's Digest website is here: http://www.writersdigest.com/online-e...

For what it's worth, I wouldn't work so hard if I didn't know there were people out there -- even people I've never met before -- who want me to keep on writing. Without your support, I doubt if I would have the pleasure of writing this post. And for that I'm truly grateful.

Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards Winner!

I’m happy to announce that You Are Here won first place (mainstream fiction category) in the 21st Annual Writer’s Digest Book Awards. When they contacted me last Friday to tell me I’d won, I waited all weekend for them to write me to say they’d made a mistake. Instead, they gave me this nifty little badge.

And when I submitted the book to the contest earlier this year, I’d thought that maybe, if I was lucky, I’d get an honorable mention.  I never imagined they’d pick a “gay romance” for a “mainstream fiction” prize. Well, I stand corrected. I am very grateful to the magazine for choosing my book out of many worthy candidates. And I am very grateful to my readers — and to anyone, really, who has ever said a kind word to me — for giving me the courage to put my work out there.

Writer's Digest Award Winner!

Howdy all,

Writer's Digest magazine e-mailed me today to let me know that You Are Here won first place in the mainstream category for the magazine's Self-Published Book Awards. I'll be posting all the details as soon as I get them.

But in the meantime, for all of you who have ever said a kind word about my work, please accept my heartfelt gratitude. I don't know how else to put it.

I'll keep you posted!

Chris

Elin Gregory's Comfy Chair

Howdy all,

My fellow Goodreads author Elin Gregory has featured me today on her blog.

My favorite question: "Put together your ideal team of men – drawing from all and any walks of life, fictional or non-fictional – who you would want to come to your rescue if menaced by muggers/alligators/fundamentalists?" I gave her an army of women, not men.

After I submitted my answers to her, I realized I missed a few women I'd want in my security detail. I can't believe I'd forgotten Jane Eyre, Lady Gaga, and Queen Elizabeth I. Let me know if you think I've forgotten anyone else.

Enjoy!

http://elingregory.wordpress.com/2013...

“You Are Here” Radio Interview

I’ve always hated hearing my recorded voice talk back to me.  So I haven’t listened to my latest radio interview, in which I talk about myself, my life as a writer, and some of the ideas that went into “You Are Here.”  Click the link below to download the interview; it’s about 15 minutes long.  Feel free to share!

iUniverse258.1-ChrisDelyani

Radio Interview, Before And After

Last year, shortly after You Are Here's publication, I did an interview with Toginet Radio, in which I talked about the effect Prop 8 had on my novel. Well, I've done another interview with Toginet, this time talking about how Prop 8's reversal has turned You Are Here into something of a historical novel (because the predicament of one of the characters could only be possible with the 2008 marriage ban).

I've forgotten most of what I said and I can't bear to hear my own recorded voice, so I hope it came out all right. If it did, then please feel free to share!

http://toginet.com/shows/iuniverse

Huffington Post Blogs

I haven’t been blogging much on the website lately because I’ve been working hard on my latest novel as well as contributing blogs on gay issues at the Huffington Post.  But if you happen to stumble on this page and wish to check out my contributions to HuffPo, the links are below.

For my first blog, from February 2013, I wrote about how my life in San Francisco tracked Dorothy’s journey in The Wizard of Oz.  When I moved to the Bay Area in 1993, I’d bought the myth that San Francisco was like a gay Oz.  The reality turned out to be something different.

Where Will Your Yellow Brick Road Take You?

For my second blog, I commemorated the 25th anniversary of my coming out, which began when a slip of paper fell out of a library book at the Boston Public Library.  I wish I’d kept that slip of paper.

A Silver Coming-Out Story

For my third blog, I interviewed my 83-year-old neighbor Robert Akeley, who over the course of his long and colorful life has “come out” no fewer than three times.  He told me his third time coming out — just shy of his 83rd birthday — was the scariest for him.

A Portrait of the Artist at 83

Finally, for my fourth and latest blog, I had a chat with the amazing Grace Sterling Stowell, a transgender woman who’s thrown her life and soul into one of the oldest gay-run youth groups in the country.

Amazing Grace

Enjoy!

Amazing Grace

For my latest Huffington Post blog, I talked with the amazing Grace Sterling Stowell, who for over three decades has thrown her life and soul into the Boston Alliance of Gay and Lesbian Youth.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-d...

A Portrait of the Artist at 83

For my latest HuffPo blog post, I talk to my friend and neighbor Robert Akeley, a practicing psychiatrist, painter, and gay man who's come out no fewer than three times in his life. He told me that his third coming out, happening just shy of his 83rd birthday, was his hardest. Find out why:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-d...