Of Typos and Perspective

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. It's always great to have you drop by for a visit. I know there is a lot of competition for your attention each and every week, and I really appreciate your visits. I have basically only been posting once a week on Mondays and it has helped free me up to visit your sites as well, but still not as often as I would like. There is just not enough time in the day, is there?

So, I came here today to tell you a story that happened to me this past week. It's not a very good story. In fact, I'd rather keep the whole thing to myself, but I feel compelled to share it, since it affects everyone who reads my debut, Dance on Fire.

Thursday night, I sat in a room in Fresno, Ca. with local authors, Marilyn Meredith and Lorie Ham. We have been doing library events periodically. This was our third. The three of us also contribute articles for Lorie's on-line magazine, Kings River Life. In any event, when it became my turn to speak, I introduced myself to the few who had joined us that evening. Once that was done, I read the blurb for the book and then launched into a reading. I feel bad for the other two, having to listen to the same bit of my book each and every time; however, it is a very good place to share and very convenient for me. I started reading and saw the mistake immediately. My heart sank! I had taken twenty years to write this novel, and had been reading the same passage for two years, and I had never caught the error before. I continued on as if nothing had happened, but I felt my temperature rise and the beginning of some perspiration start to develop.

I managed to finish and hold it together, but I was pretty devastated. The error is so juvenile, so Bush League, as they say in baseball terms. I really don't want to draw any one's attention to it. It has to do with time and occurs early in my story, but if no one has caught it as of yet, I really don't want to taint the book. Perhaps it has been caught, but no one wants to bring it up - I don't know. If you have seen it, thanks for ignoring it and not allowing it to detract from what I think is still a very good story.

I have contacted my publisher to see whether we might be able to correct this as well as one other thing. A buddy of mine just pointed out that I had used the word "peek" with the incorrect spelling (waves to Natalie). That drives me crazy, too, but not nearly as bad as the time goof that is sitting there and threatens to outlive me.

As I mentioned, I was really upset by this turn of events. However, on Saturday morning, I sat in a church and offered my support to a friend of mine that I went to school with, who was burying his young daughter (nearly 19), who died tragically the previous weekend. I won't dishonor my friend or the memory of his child that he has lost by offering her as fodder for one of my posts, except to say that it gave me some perspective on the whole thing. He and I are the same age and my sons are just a few years younger than his son and daughter, and now just son. It could very easily have been me sitting in that front row.

My perspective is this: it's a good book. Is it great? I'm guessing not, but many people have come to me, whether in person or on the world wide web to say that they liked it, and that is enough for me. Have I learned some lessons? Yes, and I darn well better get some other eyes to read my manuscripts from now on! Any beta readers out there? *begs* I had hoped that I had a clean book after all of this time, but much better novels than mine have had egregious errors and have lived to grace many famous book shelves and have been considered classics. I will strive to do my best to never let this happen again as I get better as a novelist.

Yet, in the grand scheme of things, there are far worse things to be devastated about. My love and deepest sympathies to my friend, his ex-wife, their son and entire family as they attempt to carry on without her.

We'll talk soon.