I’m Fixing to Start a New Project

I’m fixing to start a new project.

Actually it’s an old project, but it’s new in that it’s number five in the series of my young adult historical fiction novels, and it’s also unique in that it most likely will be the last one.

In fact the fourth one still has some newness to it in that it’s currently just a manuscript, but my publisher, after I gently poked them a few times, finally asked for a copy of it.

That was just before Thanksgiving. They’ll read it soon, I hope, but they are busy people and probably have a lot of projects in front of mine. I suppose their being so busy explains why they have to have a copy of a book almost a year before they intend to publish it.

So what I’ll do now is just wait and hope they will call or e-mail me to inform me what a great piece of work it is.

But who knows how long that will be? While I wait time seems to pass as slowly as pouring molasses on a real cold morning.

In the meantime I’ll spend the time imagining all these negative reactions they may have. What if they say, “Uh, this isn’t quite up to the literary level and standards we normally expect, consequently, we’re going to have to pass on this one.”

I break out in a cold sweat when thoughts like the above cross my mind, and think these words couldn’t possibly be intended for my poor ears.

More than likely they won’t even call, but rather just send an e-mail saying something like, “Thank you for your submission, however, we are not accepting any new manuscripts at this time. Don’t call us, we’ll call you.”

And here I am getting ready to start working on number five while number four isn’t even officially in the bag yet.

The title of the fourth one is: The Salvation of Miss Lucretia. There now, you, my dear readers, are the first to see it in print, because I feel sure my publisher hasn’t bothered to look at it yet.

They did acknowledge they had received it, and I can’t imagine them not admiring it, because it’s about the further adventures of Ted and Poudlum in the Spring of 1949.

Besides the historical aspects of the work, it’s the story of the two boys journeying into an ancient and deep forest where they happen upon the shanty of Miss Lucretia, the last Voodoo Queen, who had been banished to the forest and had lived there alone for the last 15 years.

Now you know more about the story than my publisher does.

All I’m fixing to want for Christmas is a contract on Miss Lucretia.