Redirect yourself to publishinggenius.com, thanks.
Also, today was a good one. Stephanie and I got started around 9am, headed off to the BookThing (this place in Baltimore where you can get free books -- I got about 20, all bestsellers like Zadie Smith, Richard Ford, Cormac McCarthy, John Grisham, John Hodgman, John Stewart -- plus Mary Daly, Martin Buber and an outdated book on Wesleyan evangelism). Then we went to the farmer's market where we got some apples and some cheese biscuits. After that we went to some yard sales, including the Station North Flea Market, where we talked to Melissa Moore for a while about her lighting company and I found a pair of amazing blue baseball pants for $3 but didn't have the cash to buy. Stephanie bought us some ice coffee because it was hot out.
We went back to Stephanie's to read a manuscript she's been working on, but when she went to set us up in the backyard, she found a stray cat who had just birthed a litter of four kittens. Like -- just birthed, as in a few hours earlier. We scooted them into a kennel and let them nurse for a while, then took them to the Animal Rescue, where they were happily received. We are all amazing creatures.
The Animal Rescue is near Federal Hill, a popular neighborhood with lots of restaurants and bars, so we decided to read her manuscript there. First I watched the seventh inning of the baseball game. Jason Hammel pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings then gave up two runs while I watched, but O'Day got out of a jam and the O's won the game with their 8-2 lead.
We read the thing together, which was great and profound and personal and meaningful. I probably oughtn't say anything about it here, because it's still in the works. But we talked about it together as we walked around the narrow streets of Federal Hill. There was so much that is right in the manuscript; I can't wait until the project is finished. It is sure to be a beautiful thing. I felt inspired by the way Stephanie works, such diligent brilliance, and it was motivating to walk around and talk to her about it.
Unfortunately, however, by then it was 5:30pm and I was sapped of energy. Two late nights had taken their toll. I went home then and read the John Grisham novel I'd picked up at the BookThing. It was called Bleachers and it was 163 pages long. It was about a man named Neely Crenshaw who returns to his hometown of Messina, TX, where he had been a football star. Now his coach, Eddie Rake, was about to die. Rake was a man that Neely hated, a profound force in his life, but not necessarily a pleasant one. Over the four days that Neely is back in Messina, he comes to terms with his past -- with his former coach and his own behavior -- and in the end acknowledges his deep love for the man.
Then I tried to do some editing but was still too tired, so I wrote this.
Release Week Final Day
There are more interviews and reviews yet to come, that's for sure, but I'm happy to end release week with this illustration, by Edward Mullany himself, that goes behind the scenes of the making of If I Falter at the Gallows.
