Meeting the public at a Mysterious Galaxy book launch.
I’ve been through starts and stops with my writing career. At present I’m in a “hold” pattern, for unavoidable reasons. I addressed one of the “stops” at a long-ago book launch for my novel, The Burning Ground, one that I repeated shortly afterward as keynote speaker at the Southern California Writers’ Conference. In explaining why I stopped writing at that time, I included a variation on a song that you likely know well: Don McLean’s American Pie. I thought you might like to “hear” it. (I recited it for my audiences; my singing voice would make you lose your lunch.)
A long, long time ago,
I can still remember when
the book signings used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had the chance,
that I could make the readers (fire) dance,
and maybe they’d be happy for a while.
But the publishing business made me shiver,
with every rejection they’d deliver.
Bad news on the doorstep,
I couldn’t take one more step.
I can’t remember if I cried,
but I really took a hit to my pride,
and something hurt me deep inside,
the day my writing died.