This past weekend, my publisher released what they called the “Cover Reveal,” in which they celebrated the design of the outside of the book-to-be. The whole thing struck me as a bit strange, like those “Gender Reveal” parties young couples throw themselves these days during which they tell their friends and relatives what sex their future child will be. In those parties, the parents devise some dramatic way of unveiling the gender of their baby. Some of them send up pink fireworks or balloons. Others spray their audience with blue paint or use some other nonsensical way to illustrate to friends and family whether they will be having a boy or a girl. A few of these dramatic events have ended in tragedy in the form of explosions, forest fires, or even plane crashes when a plane trailing a banner with “It’s a Girl!” written on it crashed in the water in Mexico, killing two people. I can promise no such over-the-top drama, but I first started working on this novel in the mid-nineties, and I am ready to finally give birth to this, my child, after a gestation period that has lasted more than a quarter-century.
Moreover, my baby is “trans,” if we are still talking in terms of gender. When I first wrote the book, my teenaged protagonist was a boy. At one point, though, smarting from another spate of rejections, I stepped back and re-evaluated my entire story. I asked myself what sort of character I most enjoyed seeing in literature or films. I decided that I especially liked strong, young females who are often underestimated by their adversaries. Three such characters are Lisbeth Salander, from Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series (Dragon Tattoo, etc.), Katniss Everdeen, from the Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games books, and Arya Stark, from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series (Game of Thrones). Another rewrite began, and my teenaged hero underwent a gender transformation, changing from male to female. As I wrote, moreover, and crawled inside the head of this new character, it all felt right, as if this was how it should have been from the start. This significant change also affected the manner in which other characters interacted with her, so it involved much more work than simply altering the pronouns. Now that I think about it, I suspect that some of those parental hosts of Gender Reveal parties may be in for a surprise down the road when their child comes up to them and says, “Mom, dad, I have something to tell you . . .” Those parents may find, as I did in writing this book, that you have to be flexible these days.
Anyway, the Cover Reveal has been exciting for me simply because, after all of this work, it is the first tangible sign that this endless project will finally come to fruition. Here are the details of what is to come, at least as far as I know them at the moment:
–Along with the cover reveal, Written Dreams has begun taking pre-orders at their website (writtendreams.com). You might have to poke around a bit in order to find my book, but the pre-orders will be shipped as soon as the finished product is available.
–When the book is complete and printed, sometime this fall, it will also then be available worldwide in hardback, paperback, and e-book formats (I am not sure of the prices at this moment). I am assuming Amazon and other websites will carry the book, too.
–I have to coordinate all of this with my editor/publisher, but my plan is to have three book-release or signing parties. The first will be in River Falls, followed by similar events in Chicago and Nashville. My brother Dan will be hosting the Chicago party in a local bar, but I am open to suggestions for the River Falls and Nashville gatherings. Due to the timing, my best guess is that these things will have to be held indoors.
Thanks to all of you who have read my scribblings over the years and supported me in this endeavor. I hope to see many of you soon.