02 January, 2009

GRABBING THE OARS

So, a few people have responded. Some say I should just start posting the chapters. At 60 years old I am still unused to the practice of calling attention to myself. My intention here is to get enough people interested in reading the novel to make it worthwhile posting the chapters. How many is enough? I don't know. Maybe 25.



So how to scare up 25 readers? Perhaps you have a suggestion.



I'll tell you a little about the book. It first germinated around 1970 when I cowrote a song with David West, called "Claudia Queen of the Sea." But it didn't feel like Claudia's story was fully told, so I wrote another song, "Wilbo's Second Song the Claudia," in which I introduced Claudia's love interest as a guy named Wilbo. Then it didn't feel like Wilbo's story was told, so I wrote a third song called "Wilbo's Third Song to Nobody in Particular."



Over a period of about 30 years, Wilbo's (and Claudia's) story slowly took form in a subroom of my imagination. Finally in 2003 it had completely arrived and I started to talk it out into a little hand held tape recorder during lunch-break walks while working as a Lab Director at a wastewater treatment plant.



The story is set in 1973 in an unnamed California coastal city based loosely on Santa Cruz. Wilbo is an aging hippie and street performer who undergoes a spiritual transformation in a period of about two weeks. In a snapshot at the end of the story he looks the same as he did when it started out, but the reader has been through the changes with him and knows there is a completely new man hidden inside.



If it is autobiographical it is only allegorically.



Please provide some feedback, a thumbs up if you want to read it. It's not that long and I think the experience will be painless.



Thanks

13 comments:

  1. I am a different man than who I was than when I first started writing this comment. I'd love to read a chapter or 25.

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  2. hi, jim

    i'd like to see the first chapter and then . . . who knows?

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  3. Count me in. I read things like blogs sporadically, when the mood hits. But I'm looking forward to reading what you post here.

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  4. Hey,
    I'm your biggest fan. But tell your huge following to check out my blog:
    http://saltlighttomatoes.blogspot.com/

    You rock my world, baby!

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  5. You got me with your synopsis. Post on!

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  6. Yeah sounds great - California, Ageing hippie, Spiritual transformation , and all those years in the making. Looking forward to reading it.
    Thanks for the comment about my photo, very kind.

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  7. Jim
    25 is as arbitrary and meaningless as 579 1/2

    'cast your bread' and see what happens!

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  8. Sure, I'd be willing to read your first chapter. Post it!

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  9. hey Jim, this is Harlan, Devin's old drummer! i was talking to Devin online the other day, and i told him i've been reading voraciously (16 books in 7 months)! so he recommended your online novel. I just finished the third chapter and am honestly very impressed! you've got literary talent. I've been writing short stories since 2004, completing five so far. Someday, i'd like to publish a novel myself! So thanks for the inspiration!!

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