A Writer's Ups and Downs and Inspiration

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Steve Parlato is my Featured Follower for September and he has a new book on the brink of publication. Here he talks about it and about some of his experiences as a writer. 
Take it away, Steve!

I’ve finished my second book. While this hardly makes me Patterson prolific, I’m sort of impressed. I mean, it took ELEVEN YEARS for my debut, The Namesake, to go from initial scribblings in a college notebook to finished hardcover. By comparison, Book Two, The Precious Dreadful, was crafted with lightning speed: roughly two years start to finish—Start being a literal whisper in my head, sharing details of story at 5:00 AM on July 8, 2013. Finish = a solid revision submitted to my agent at last August’s end.
My newfound speed mostly results from expectations. I labored over my debut in blissful anonymity. No one outside family and friends was eager for me to complete a book. Sure, they cheered me on, but there was no reading public to consider. At least, no reading public keen on a follow-up from Publishers Weekly’s “name to watch.”

Steve and other authors. Networking, appearing, signing books. All part of the author's life.

C. Lee Review 
I won’t pretend obscurity was idyllic. There were major disappointments en route to The Namesake’s release: false starts, agent misfires, rejections. And The Precious Dreadful has yet to hit bookshelves—plus I’m suddenly agentless—but with this novel, I’m a known quantity. While that caused sophomore trepidation, it also inspires me. 

If The Namesake was a thrilling leap into the unknown, with The Precious Dreadful, I have a better sense of where I’ll land. Writing TPD has been more purposeful, and I feel uncharacteristically confident. But I promise you, no less thrilled.
Getting to know my new protagonist, a young woman named Teddi Alder, has been a joy. The teen daughter of a trainwreck single mom, Teddi struggles to define herself one hot summer. Her decision to join SUMMERTEENS, a library writing group, leads to unexpected consequences— romantic and dramatic—as she works to solve two mysteries: the whereabouts of a long-lost childhood friend, and the appearance of a ghost-girl who emerges from the park pool late one night. As Teddi juggles mysterious events, and two guys with potential, The Precious Dreadful balances romance and humor with elements of horror and deeply felt emotion. 
Though the book isn’t technically a follow-up to The Namesake, Teddi’s story takes place in the same town as Evan’s, and there are sly references fans of my first novel will recognize. I’m excited to get The Precious Dreadful out there; thanks for the chance to share my news!

Be among the first to read an excerpt from Steve's new book. Click HERE!



Quote of the Week: "Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it." Muhammad AliBeware the White Rabbit (Anthology: They Call Me Alice), Leap Books, Summer '15
Sliding on the Edge, C. Lee McKenzie, WestSide Books, Spring '09
The Princess of Las Pulgas, WestSide Books, Fall '10
The First Time, Fall '11 (Anthology story: Premeditated Cat)
Alligators Overhead, Outskirts Press, Fall '12
Two and Twenty Dark Tales (Anthology story: Into the Sea of Dew