My writing mentor/coach, Portland, Ore.-based Charlotte Rains Dixon–whom I met through Middle Tennessee State University's Writer's Loft—tagged me to participate in a blog hop about my next book. She was tagged, then she tagged me and some other writers and I'm doing the same at the end of this post so that two more authors can share about their next big projects and you can visit their blogs and learn about their work. If you're a writer, I encourage you to read Charlotte's blog, Wordstrumpet, which offers wonderful gentle prods, subtle pokes and loads inspiration to write! Charlotte's also has her first novel (but not her first book) releasing next Tuesday, February 12: Emma Jean's Bad Behavior.
So, about my "Next Big Thing," my second book in progress ~
1: What is the working title of your book(s)?
It changed from its first incarnation to the second–from the time when I wrote my first draft, in 2004-5, to 2011, when I began working on it again. It's always been The Journey with Grace, like my blog, which started in 2008. But, as the years passed, life happened and I evolved, it morphed from The Journey with Grace: A Mother's Reflections on Raising a Daughter with Autism to: The Journey with Grace: Lessons I've Learned from my Daughter with Autism.
2: Where did the idea come from for the book?
Well, I always knew I'd write a book. I began writing when I was seven but knew I was a writer by age 10 and definitely by high school. By college, I knew I'd someday write a book. Like other areas of my life that came into sharp focus when my only child, Grace, was diagnosed with autism in 1997, I knew that I would be writing a book about our journey. It wasn't until my first divorce, in 2003, that a year later I followed up on a divine inspiration to write about our life together. (And, yeah, that sounds kinda woo-woo, I know. I've stopped and started for nine years now, to write about the message I received confirming my hunches that it was time to write a book about our life with autism. The final nudge to write this book came from a painting commissioned for me by a friend. A few of you know the story. For those who believe in angels, well, it will knock your socks off. I'll write that story eventually. And, it will be in the book.)
3: What genre does your book come under?
Good question. And I'll be wrestling with that this winter and spring as I'm rewriting my book proposal, which will require me to state just that. And, as I understand, it's often a question mark with authors and publishers. Parenting? (Maybe.) Special Needs. (Definitely.) Spirituality? (Yeah.) Memoir? (Def.) General? (Hmmm). You see, I don't want to limit it, but as those in the biz know, you've got to "market" it properly to maximize the draw to the right audience. From what my readers of "The Journey with Grace," the blog, tell me, our story crosses the boundaries of a special needs mother and her child. And, that's the way I want it. You, see, I'm writing about our life experience of disAbility (and also some about my experience with divorce and job loss). I believe my mother's story of heartache, frustration and lost expectations are a universal story of transforming grief to joy, hope and blessings.
4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Oh, good grief. Hollywood, Schmollywood. I'm so not into that. My first thought is Meryl Streep but she's got a few years on me. I. Dunno.
5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Eek. I so had that down pat in the first version of the book and it's what I'm working on now. Ok. Deep breath. (Drama.) Closing one eye and taking a stab: A collection of reflective essays (vignettes?) about a single mother raising a daughter with moderately severe autism, experiencing loss, frustration and heartache, but discovering transformative joy, hope and blessings along the long-haul journey. Hmmm. Needs tweaking. Yeah.
6: Is your book self-published, published by an independent publisher, or represented by an agency?
Don't know yet. From Heartache to Hope, my first book (yes, I know the link is down, it was hacked and they're working on it,) was published by an independent publisher. For The Journey with Grace, the book, I'm setting my sights HIGH. I'm working now on preparing my proposal to send to a book agent, which, if all goes as planned, will lead me to a national publisher.
7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I've been working on the rewrite of The Journey with Grace, the book, for a little over four years. The first version took me 10 months. It was, in the words of the fabulous Anne Lamott, my shitty first draft. It was the Universe's perfect timing for me to put that manuscript down (though I did shop it to agents and publishers the following year) and to live the life that I lived in the intervening eight years, which included being the associate editor of the then start up, first incarnation of NashvilleArts Magazine, start my daughter's business, GraceArt, build and increase an online and extended media platform, increase my public speaking business, have a major life crash-and-burn-wake-up-call and meet and work with my current spiritual teacher. Now I am writing the version that was meant to be written and to be read. You get a taste of it here, in my posts, especially about autism and disAbilities.
8: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Another tricky question because I had that all mapped out beautifully in the old book proposal for the first version of the book. I'm about to embark on the research for this now. But, I'm going to look into Susan Senator's Making Peace with Autism and Tom Fields-Meyer's Following Ezra. The trick for book proposal research is to find books like yours and compare how they are alike and different. I've yet to find a compilation of essays (or should I say vignettes?) by a parent of a child with autism. Senator's books are one of the few, like this new version of mine, that feature an older child and one who is not high functioning. Part of my anglel is that Grace is on the perilous precipice of adulthood along with 500,000 other youths with autism in the coming decade. She's a part of the generation that's been the first to grow up with the known increased incidence of autism. Where do we go from here? And, who's writing about that? How does it feel? Well, that's what I'm writing about and I guess I'm answering here some of question number 5, a synopsis. Thank you very much.
9: Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Obviously, my daughter, Grace. Her birth into this world as a differently abled being, as I knew her to be within six weeks of her coming to earth, (wow, that sounds like I'm talking about a space alien or something,)….As I wrote in my answer for question number 2, she put my helter-skelter priorities in order. Tap! Tap! I clearly remember where I was, what I had on and how the light shone on the day that I got it: everything I had done in my life–my professional work, education, spiritual and emotional growth, familial upbringing–had prepared me to be Grace's mother. I'd always been a flag waver. With Grace I was given the greatest cause of my life. She's also been my greatest teacher, which is how the rewrite of the book has evolved. And I'll pick up the rest in question 10
10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
It's obvious, *I hope,* that I don't believe my daughter's "disAbility" is a "bad" thing. And I also have a hunch, shared by others in the "alternative" spirituality community, that there's a reason for the influx of all these children being diagnosed with this difference. What can we learn about ourselves as a culture? What can we learn about ourselves as individuals? With a fair serving of humble pie and heapings of vulnerability, I share how I'm being transformed by these lessons. Maybe it's a blueprint or an inspiration for others. I'm gratefull, that's for sure.
You still with me? Okey-dokey, then. That's it for me! Now I turn it over to these two Tennessee-based writers, who will publish their answers to the above questions next Friday, February 15th. Please go visit them and tell 'em Leisa said to tell 'em "Hi!":
Kathy Rhodes ~ kathyrhodes.wordpress.com
Julie Gillen ~ juliegillenblog.blogspot.com/
