2012
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| I do like this shot. Looks natural. Totally setup of course. My step-daughter took it with a digital SLR. |
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| Had a fantastic night as MC'd by Jack Peck |
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| Jack Peck |
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| Hazzy Bee |
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| Hazzy Bee |
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| Original cover - that never saw the light of day |
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| At Travis Little's Book signing in England. What a guy. |
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| The box arrives |
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| Many years in the making. Not the book, the publication. (I know, it's a horrible shot...) |
My fifteen minutes.
Alas all the copies are gone now, so if you have one, you never know...
(I may yet make an ebook available).
This was a little flyer I added with the book.
The writing of Bottomless River
A novella
Anthony J. Langford
The initial draft of Bottomless River was hand written on a train going to and from work over several days in 2006. It was simply a short story then. I tend to get enthused about most things I write, but I let them sit for a while before typing them up and begin the redrafting process. It’s then that I can determine whether it’s any good or not.
I liked the story. It was personal and there was something emotional and raw about it. I spent more time on it and it grew. I let my partner read it and she liked it, and she is quite critical of my writing. She pushed me to get it out there. I searched around for somewhere to publish it but it was too long to qualify as a short story and too short for a novel. Most publishers don’t print novellas, for reasons unknown. You’re guess is as good as mine. Perhaps the cost of printing them makes them expensive and they don’t believe that people will invest in something with a limited amount of pages. I disagree. I think in this time strapped age that they’re due for a major comeback. (A novella is usually between 10,000 and 40,000 words). Some famous writers wrote novellas, including Franz Kafka, Albert Camus and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Did you know that Animal Farm, Dr. Jeykll and Mr Hyde, The Old Man and the Sea, Breakfast at Tiffany's and Of Mice and Men were all novellas?
Every year I would give Bottomless River another draft until finally in 2011 I came across Ginninderra Press. I gave it one last polish and submitted it in May. A month later they came back with a yes. And it’s taken a further 11 months to get it released.
A long genesis for a little book with a big heart.
Great book, it had an authenticity that spoke to me. I suppose others have suggested this, but why not turn it into an ebook? At least that would make it available to new readers.
ReplyDeleteThanks Graham. I'm a country boy like you. It's a great idea. I think originally it was in epub format. I might speak to the publisher about it, or maybe get it done somehow.
ReplyDelete