Link added for purchase

I've added the link directly to Amazon to purchase the book at the pre-distribution pricing. They'll ship in late March maybe, but most likely on April 1, 2008 or so. Be sure to leave me a message on the blog if you want me to send a signed book plate for free. I'll be happy to inscribe books to anyone you like, if you want to make a book gift. Thanks. Philip

Amazon listing for book

The book has been listed in amazon.com. Just go there, type in Philip Shirley and scroll down. You can get the regular Amazon discount plus an additional 5% if you purchase now. And if you buy two you can get free shipping. If you buy, email me and let me know and I will send you a signed bookplate to make it a signed first edition. If you want it warmly inscribed to you or others as gifts just let me know what names to use when you email me. Be sure to include your mailing address.

I also noticed that two people had listed my 1981 book, Endings, for sale at a good price if you like poetry. There are only a few of these first editions left in print.

An interesting thing: Amazon turns in their sales, so they are "counted" by the industry. But they only count up to five books per sale, so if you order six it would only count as five. And, the sales that are pre-sold all count on the first week of books shipping, so anything that is sold now will help the book get off to a great start because all sales are reported that first week. Good stuff to know if you have a book upcoming.

Don't forget...they don't charge your card until the book is available, which will be after they ship to the sellers on March 1, 2008.

I have lots more to report on my meeting with the publisher this week in Chattanooga, but for now I have a big deadline. Final edits by Monday!.....Thanks, Philip

The Final Lap

On Friday I began a last read of the ms. My editor Henry O has left Jefferson Press to work for an ecumenical press, where I'm certain he'll be successful. (Good luck Henry, and thanks for your caring edits.) I have his final red lines and comments, and will review them one last time before a final run-through of edits and then calling the ms complete. I finished rewriting the last story and will review it tomorrow before sending to a friend for one last outside opinion.

I had to laugh when Henry called to let me know he'd left the press. Three years ago a regional press agreed to publish a novel ms of mine, which they contacted me to ask to see. After the owner of the press called me at home one Sunday night at 9:30 to say he loved it and would start a contract the next day, I assumed everything was rosy. I worked with the editor they assigned for a year, during which time the acquisitions editor left and the publisher had a major illness. When all was said and done the book was not released. For a fleeting moment I have to admit my heart rose into my throat last week during my conversation with Henry. Not again, I thought. Don't worry he said, this is a done deal and everyone who has seen the book is excited about it.

This time things will work out, and the catalog copy and cover are out the door. I'm meeting with the publisher the day before Thanksgiving to discuss final plans and marketing ideas....will keep you posted on that.

Clearing my head

After the fifth re-reading of the next-to-last round of major edits of Oh Don't You Cry for Me, I thought a head-clearing change of pace would do my writing some good. On a whim I started another blog, with the idea that I needed something broad enough to allow me to write on any number of topics, yet focused enough to provide the glue to make the blog hold together. The result: www.500greatthings.blogspot.com

I'm writing about 500 things I love about life, in no particular order. Come visit and let me know what you love about life.

Finishing first round of edits

It's dark outside. 6:30 or so in the morning. I just finished the first round of line edits on CRY. Have to work on a few rewrites of the final story, then back to the beginning one more time with Henry. I was hoping this would feel like a milestone, but it's rather anticlimactic. Oh well. Have been reading the Fall 2007 Kenyon Review this week. Steven Schwartz has a really nice short story worth reading, titled "Absolute Zero." What are you reading?

sundays..and curious about your book buying habits

The lake and the sky have chosen to be the exact same shade of blue today. The sun is straight up, casting shadows only in circles at the base of the trees between me and the lake. I'm finishing the last line edits today on "The Consequence of Desire," if possible. I hope to also make it to the bait shop and spend an hour fishing with live shiners right at sundown this evening. Right now, I thought I'd spend five minutes on the blog for something on my mind, and then tackle the edits.

I'm curious. How do you make most of you book buying decisions? PLEASE COMMENT AND LET ME HEAR FROM YOU. I'm meeting with my publisher by phone around November 1 to put together the final marketing plans for the April launch, and I'm interested in hearing from you on how you make buying decisions.

For myself, it works this way usually. First, I get a great book each month from the Lemuria First Editions club (http://www.lemuriabooks.com/). They select and mail me a signed first edition, and ding my credit card. A wonderful program you should join if you are not in something similar. When a really good book is coming out, you can call and tell them to send extra copies and make your Christmas or graduation or birthday shopping easier. Those books I keep together in the library and when I am headed to the airport, spending a weekend on the island or simply have an hour to read I can grab any book and know it has a good chance of being something I will enjoy.

Second, I listen to other writers and try to read at least one book by the folks they seem to be talking about. There's nothing worse than making it to a writers conference or a reading or someone's book signing and hear a discussion about someone you never heard of or read...and of course feel like everyone else there has read the person extensively. Does that happen to you?

Third, I browse the book stores at airports, where I know I will find only the absolutely most popular fiction. I try to pick up a paperback while traveling at least four hours in a plane and finish it on the trip. That helps me stay in touch with what the masses like. I trust the masses. They may not often know the fabulous writers publishing literary fiction at smaller presses without the same kind of national distribution, but they will weed out the frauds (usually) and indicate at least what work is fun to read from the popular fiction shelf.

So how does a book make it to your bedside?

Thanks,
Philip

PS Please forward this blog link to your friends.

work, work, work

Since last entry I've viewed quite a number of sunrises over the Ross Barnett Reservoir outside Jackson, Miss. Finished odds and ends for moving into the new house in Madison, travelled to West Virginia once and Alabama three times, and spent many hours unpacking boxes. My weight machine remains in pieces and I've found myself getting out of shape by avoiding exercise--with the weight machine as the excuse, of course. Made it to a couple of Alabama football games too, including the exhilarating, last-minute Arkansas win and the disappointing, last-play Georgia loss.

The garage remains cluttered, but at least my library is in shape. What a treat to rediscover so many prized books as I unpacked and looked for the right shelf for each book. In the middle of one box, I had to stop and reread Richard Hugo's What Thou Lovest Well, Remains American. Wow, such as perfect book. His voice has always echoed in my ear, since I first read his work in 1973 or 74, I think. If America has ever had a finer poet, I can't imagine who it might be.

My second-floor desk faces southeast and the sun rises to my left over an expanse of water. The golden or orange light, depending on the clouds that morning, burns across five miles of open water as I finish my first cup of coffee most mornings. It's rained only once since I moved. I'm getting spoiled by this view.

On Friday last, I began the rewrites of story nine in the collection, the final story. The working title is "The Consequence of Summer Heat", though the story stretches over a year and the heat is not really oppressive in the story, nor does it the "heat" of the one female character add much meaning to the title. So I'm working on a better title, but without a good alternative at this point. I'm considering "The Consequence of Desire".

Henry suggested that the voice was a bit uncertain in parts, as I was a bit sloppy and moved from third person limited to third person omniscient in one section. This story is both my longest and most recent. It was finished specifically to bring up the word count of this ms. I'd been working on the story off and on for a couple of years, but had nothing more than an opening scene that I kept once I started on the story in earnest. Because it ran long, it gave us the ability to treat two stories more harshly than others--they were cut. I was never comfortable that these two stories, both from a 12-year-old boy, had the same tone and tenor as the remainder of the ms, so this made the book much tighter I believe. One of the stories we cut had won an award at a literary festival at the University of Montevallo, though it's never gotten anywhere with lit magazine editors and will likely remain unpublished in a drawer somewhere.

We finished the cover and it's been approved by the publisher. Jefferson Press was kind enough to let me work with graphic designer Bill Porch, whose work includes assignments for such names as Jaguar and Louisville Slugger. AS I mentioned, Bill worked on more than a dozen concepts, finally settling on three we sent to the publisher for review and for them to run the top designs past the gurus at IPG. They all picked the cover I was favoring, which was nice.

I see I've used my time up and it's past 10, so I'll sign off now.....thanks for letting me run on.....let me hear from you. --Philip