The Shadow of a Story

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My Dear Reading Friend,

I began writing The Urge in March of 2017. That’s a lie. The shadow of this story fell on me twenty-six years before, where it’s been tucked away in my head-closet with the door closed.

I’ve always loved writing tales. My first recognized horror story was put to paper in junior high. Mr. Johnson, the good-looking teacher extraordinaire, thought my story was so well written he asked me to stand in front of the class and read it. What a glorious day. His encouragement skillfully fueled my passion. I am eternally grateful to Mr. Johnson.

As I grew, I found paying gigs writing articles that were published in newspapers and magazines. This spurred me on to write my first novel, which led me to an agent who back then merely required copying fees, no reading fees. Keep in mind, this was long before the internet.

Yes, there was a time before the internet, and yes, I’m old. Don’t judge.

I sent this agent money in order to make copies of my novel and in turn she sent those copies to publishing houses. It wasn’t long before she informed me my work had been sent to every publishing house in existence. I believed her. She sent me a detailed list of the publishing houses. Damn, I was gullible.

Months later after the copying fees were paid, a letter came. My agent was dropping me and my book. She explained no one would ever buy my books. It was an overwhelming defeat.

Sadly that’s all it took, one letter, one opinion from a faceless person to quash my dreams. I put away my writing and picked up mind-numbing jobs.

Rifling through my file cabinet years later, I came across that infamous letter, which led me poking around the worldwide web to discover that agent was a thief who never sent anyone’s work to any publishing house. She was a dream-stealer. A charlatan.

I have only myself to blame for those lost writing years. Thank goodness there’s no age limit for authors.

The moral to the story: Listen to your teachers, and not the back-stabbing, blood-sucking dream-stealing thieves of the world.

Thank you again for joining me on this journey to The Urge, a Devil’s Rules series novel.

Please if you could, write a book review of The Urge at Amazon.com and at Goodreads.com. I’m so grateful for your time.

Talk to you soon,

CL Gibson

PS,

I really do need your help. Please go to Amazon.com and to Goodreads.com to write a review of my book. It will only take a few moments and it will mean the world to me. Your feedback is so important to me and to future readers. I can’t say it enough, I truly value your input into my work. And now with your permission, I would like to quote Elvis Presley, “Thank You, Thank You Very Much.”

You can also let me know your thoughts on The Urge via the contact form on my website ChristiLGibson.com. I look forward to hearing from you. I do read every note personally and every note will receive a response.