This is the most peculiar time in an author's life: The eight weeks prior to publication when anything is still possible. "The Wild Duck Chase," my strange little book about the world of competitive duck painting, comes out September 18, 2012. I've put heart and soul into it, nurtured it toward its full potential. In many ways, this book felt like it was writing itself, and I was just doing the typing. But now I have to wait and see how the public and an unforgiving marketplace will greet what struck me from the start as a story just waiting to be properly told.
And so I've thrown "The Wild Duck Chase" out into the world. It's a quirky book about a quirky topic. I believe in quirk. I'll read quirk anytime, and I've thought from the beginning that this book is a Coen brothers film just waiting to be made. Early reviews from Publisher's Weekly, Kirkus, and Booklist have been encouraging. Strong support has come from the book's two primary constituencies -- hunters and birders. The literati? The verdict is still out.
But after five previous books, I know none of that means much unless early enthusiasm translates into sales. And that's a weird alchemy I've never quite understood. So there's just not much to do at this point but wait and hope that this little book I love so much will reach the audience I think it deserves. Godspeed, little book.
And so I've thrown "The Wild Duck Chase" out into the world. It's a quirky book about a quirky topic. I believe in quirk. I'll read quirk anytime, and I've thought from the beginning that this book is a Coen brothers film just waiting to be made. Early reviews from Publisher's Weekly, Kirkus, and Booklist have been encouraging. Strong support has come from the book's two primary constituencies -- hunters and birders. The literati? The verdict is still out.
But after five previous books, I know none of that means much unless early enthusiasm translates into sales. And that's a weird alchemy I've never quite understood. So there's just not much to do at this point but wait and hope that this little book I love so much will reach the audience I think it deserves. Godspeed, little book.
