Dear Daniel,
I finished my novel. Well, short novel. As it is I’m
proud of it. It was not an easy book to write. Well, I wrote like a woman
possessed last week. And as of this week the book is done. I have submitted it
to Blackwyrm, but I have taken a huge step and also submitted it to Random
House’s Digital Imprint Alibi. If picked
up by Random House it would mean an advance and
a royalty. How awesome would that be?
I filled out the form and sent it through. Now I
wait for one to two weeks to hear from Random House and whether or not they
want to see a partial or full manuscript. Blackwyrm is in the throes of Con
season, which, honestly, so am I. The next stop is Context this September 27th-29th.
I will have three books there. The Gladiator
Chronicles, Bounty Hunter, and Gemini’s War. I can’t wait to go with my friends
Missy and Pam and I plan on participating in the flash fiction competition
there. As you might have noticed by obsession with winning trophies. Maybe
because I’ve won just about everything else. Ribbons, certificates, plaques,
even medals.
But next week is big. Missy and I find out whether
or not we advance at Austin. We really need the financial help as Austin is
expensive. If we make it to at least the semi-final round we get a nicely
discounted badge. We’d have to steal from Peter to pay Paul but with a little
help I think the trip will be worth it.
Soon I will be publishing the letters. They’ll be
available for sale on Amazon in both print and digital formats, but I plan on
taking a bunch of them and handing them out at Austin as an ice breaker with
people.
There are some people who find this to be a bad
idea. But my gut tells me otherwise. I’ve always been an open book. That often
leaves me vulnerable to attack. But I don’t really know how to lie all that
well. So I don’t do it. I found when recovering in therapy from the abuse and
the bipolar disorder that emotional truth sets you free. And that keeping
secrets rots the soul.
I have no secrets. In stepping back onto the scene
of a major independent film festival, where my first meltdown happened, it’s
like facing down a demon and saying, ha, you didn’t best me. I took the best
that you had to offer and you still couldn’t break me.
Don’t get me wrong, I was shattered when I left
Texas. I felt like a complete and utter failure. I fell far short of my goals.
But as I say that Missy called our time out there EPIC. And it was that too. We
were to twenty-somethings, who, had we planned it a little better, and had I
gotten treatment for my bipolar disorder instead ignoring the symptoms, we
might have conquered the world a little sooner, maybe a little faster.
But it’s like every step you take brings to the
place where you are now. She and I have walked through the fire. The kind of
infernos that would consume lesser, weaker men and women and have come out on
the other side of it.
I have 31 publication contracts. 8 of those are
published stories three of those belong in a series, 1 of them is a series
Missy and I collaborated on. I’ve won awards. I’ve had two Amazon bestsellers.
Now I have finally submitted to a NY Publishing House, Random House-Alibi. Some
would say I have conquered the world. But the reality is, I’ve yet to secure an
agent or win a trophy or meet any number of my heroes, including you.
I have my mental health. I have a fertile
imagination. I have good friends. And a drive that won’t quit. And a cat that
loves me. Which is more than a lot of people can say.
Sincerely,
Amy McCorkle
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