Reading Good Night to the Rock 'n' Roll Era

Until the end of the year, you can buy Ghost Notes, Songs from Memory or Stuck Outside of Phoenix at my website for only $5!

A few of you have caught on that, because of the free shipping kicking in at $20, buying the three-pack and adding one more item gets that extra item for free. In other words, if you order a three-pack, choose one more item and give it away for Xmas!

So, I'm reading the manuscript of my novel-in-progress, which is called Good Night to the Rock 'n' Roll Era. At this stage, it's hard for me to see what's good about it--only what's missing--but after three years and maybe four drafts, I can safely say I'll have something that one day will trump Ghost Notes and Stuck Outside of Phoenix both.

It's the sequel to Ghost Notes, but it deviates greatly from my previous two books. There's really only one character who makes the jump from Ghost Notes to the new novel, Betty, and the new novel takes on a great deal of new terrain, from a band's inception to the making of a record to a country-spanning three-month tour.

One of the things I really want to do in the next revision is expand on some of the locales of the tour, making each city rich and authentic and itself. If you have a novel that takes place in a dozen or two...or three...cities, you'd better make sure each place is distinct. One little thing wrong in any one of them and don't worry, someone will let you know about it.

I also have a few interesting characters who in the current draft make just one appearance. Anytime a character has pull with an audience, as these characters do with my beta readers, it behooves me to include them as much as possible. Without it, the reader gets frustrated. Imagine The Big Lebowski with just one Jesus scene:



You'd want to strangle the Coen Brothers for not giving you more, wouldn't you?

I don't want to get strangled, so the bit players come back.

I promise to write more on this novel in the coming weeks and months.

Yours in laying down the law,

Art

Buy Ghost Notes, the novel or brand new audio book.



Buy Songs from Memory, the album


Buy Stuck Outside of Phoenix, the novel