F. P. Dorchak

Speculative Fiction (New Weird) Author

Novel

Update on WIP: Out For Proofing

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Wailing Loon (2013, F. P. Dorchak and Lon Kirschner)
Wailing Loon (2013, F. P. Dorchak and Lon Kirschner)

After seven months of rework, I’ve completed going back through my current Work-in-Progress (WIP) and sent it out for my beta reader/proofreader review. I’ve also sent it off to my “Cover Guy,” Lon Kirschner, so he can read it and come up with the cover (Lon is one of the rare breed who actually reads all books he does covers for).

To me, it’s a powerful love story written with strong sexual elements. I wouldn’t necessarily call it “erotic fiction,” per se, as I’ve mentioned before…but can see how it could definitely be classified as such. Especially since I even subtitle it “an erotic tale of nonphysical love.”

Now, whether it succeeds or not will be interesting as I get my comments back from my readers. Hopefully the content justifies the story.

I’m looking to get comments back by the end of May, expect to incorporate them within a month or so, then get the manuscript formatted, which can take a couple weeks, depending on Pam’s schedule—but she already has me “penciled in” for the summer. So…if this passes muster…this should see the light of day around a June-ish/July timeframe. I’m also looking to do this as an e-book. If the sales do well, I’ll also publish as a softcover trade.

What’s next?

Well, that will be it for drawer-manuscripts (those manuscripts written and hidden away in drawers)…I mean, I have several other manuscripts (mss) I haven’t published, but I really want to get back to something new…and that means a couple years of work. It takes me on average about 2 1/2 years to complete a new manuscript. However, if my current novel sells well, I’m very interested in publishing some of my short stories…but that’s only if the income will carry the outflow of publishing said book.

And none of this considers promotion!

Yes, I plan on doing more promotion…and am trying to work up some ideas there. Hard to do when you have a more-than-full-time day job. So, if any of you have speaking engagements or signings you think might be a good idea for this or any of my other work, feel free to contact me, at fpdorchak at fpdorchak dot com. I can do telephone interviews, blog interviews, guest blogs, et cetera.

So, while you’re waiting for the final product, feel free to check out my Pinterest site for this WIP, to load up on some of the imagery this novel has to offer.

I thank all who have been supporting my (and other indie author) work—thank you all so damned much! Even “on your own” it takes a TEAM to publish a book! And part of that team is the readership!

Otherwise, it’s a return to more blogging and new writing!

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What I'm Working On For 2015

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What do you do in the wee hours of the night...and is it something you're proud of? (By Mark J Sebastian (Jackie Martinez (#31827)) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
What do you do in the wee hours of the night…and is it something you’re proud of? (By Mark J Sebastian [Jackie Martinez (#31827)] [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
I’ve been working on another project that I’d started back 1997, then also put off for many years. But not without trying. I’d actually had a bite on it from Joelle Yudin, then Assistant Editor at William Morrow, who found my project “quite intriguing” in her 2003 letter to me. Alas, she could not interest her colleagues, who (I found out later, when I actually called her) found it “too small.”

So, you see, things get rejected not just because they suck.

“Too small.”

Yeah, that was “The Problem.”

I’m still keeping the title under wraps, but this project has been one of my favorites, and ranks up there with ERO. It had been forwarded to Joelle from another, who I’d originally sent it to; the man (Michael Morrison…who has moved up the rungs since this incident, I’m not sure was the original intended editor, but it had been he who had forwarded my query to Joelle) had been kind enough to forward it to Joelle to get her thoughts on it. I thank both of them for their efforts: thank you, Mr. Morrison and thank you, Joelle!

This project is about failed relationships. It’s the most mainstream effort I’ve ever written.

It also sports some hefty sex in it. I can’t really call it “erotica,” because I didn’t write those scenes with the intent to cause sexual feelings or arousal. That was never the intent (not that there’s anything necessarily wrong with that…). It was about the story and what the hell was happening to my protagonist.

I used to call it “my embarrassing book,” because I’ve never written nor read “erotica,” but I’ve finally gotten past that. I’m finally taking ownership of it…as in “own it, dude.” I figure, what’s “worse”: writing about nasty violence or writing sex scenes?

But, it’s not about the sex…in that I didn’t write the sex scenes in and of themselves…they were “just” integral to the story…what happened to the protagonist that further exacerbated his spiral of failed relationships. There’s more to it, but, the entire “thrust” of the book, if you’ll pardon the pun, is that the main character just can’t seem to get his life together because of what’s going on with him and his family…what’s going on in his head.

It is also a love story.

But I wanted to let you all in on this, because it is taking up all my writing time, and other things in my daily life are temporarily taking up more of my time, so my blogs are suffering. So, it’s not that I’m not doing anything…I’m just focusing all my efforts on getting this work out there next year—earlier rather than later are my hopes. So, please, bear with me on the lack of substantive posts. You can, however, check out my Pinterest board for this WIP, at http://www.pinterest.com/fpdorchak/next-work-in-progress/. These are all images that pertain to this effort. As you can see, photography, modeling, traveling, the Northeast all figure prominently in the novel. I hope you’ll “follow” and periodically check back.

But…be warned. I pull very few punches in this novel. When I tackled this project, I wanted to tackle something I felt was “out of my range,” something that would help me grow as a writer, even if somewhat “embarrassing.” I didn’t want to shy away from the subject matter…wanted to tackle it head on, no matter where it went. So, yes, this novel took me places I was (at first) hesitant to go…but to have “pulled those punches” would have killed the story. Believe me, I considered it. So…I did what any writer worth their salt would do to a compelling story that wouldn’t leave them alone…

I wrote it.

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