The (American) Writer I am
If you have read the acknowledgments pages in any of my books, you will know that I am highly sensitive to the energy of place and that I always thank those locales that inspired me in writing that particular work.
A few days ago, as I was preparing the acknowledgments for my newest book, it occurred to me that of my soon-to-be-19 books, 17 had been conceived, written and published here in the US.
And although I began work on the remaining two while still in Canada, neither was completed and published until after my "accidental immigration" (see The "Accidental Immigrant").
I'm not saying that I could not have been as creative or successful had my car not turned left instead of right 24 years ago today, but as this country is where I have experienced the bulk of my creative output, today seemed the perfect day to acknowledge that. (The above photo was taken in January 2019, immediately after my citizenship ceremony.)
What of that 19th book? It's called The Bard of Bryn Doon and it's a fourth installment in my Legend of Q'ntana fantasy series. Best of all, it will be out next month (August 2021)!
As I have mentioned here before, Bryn Doon was not a book I expected to write, given that I was convinced that the Q'ntana stories had satisfactorily concluded with The SunQuest. But, boy am I glad I did. In rereading the manuscript this week to make some final prepublication tweaks, I'm convinced that it's not only the best book in the series but, perhaps, my best book ever!
Of course, you'll be the best judge of that! To preorder your copy (signed, if you like), head over to www.bryndoon.com. And if you need to get up to speed on the award-winning series (which is ever so slowly making its way to the big screen, based on my screenplay adaptations), you'll find all four titles at www.qntanabooks.com.
By the way, The MoonQuest, my first book and the first in the Q'ntana series, was one of the two books I conceived and began writing in Canada. You can read the story of its birth, as serendipitous and peculiar as that of my "accidental immigration," in Acts of Surrender: A Writer's Memoir. I also shared it here in A few days ago, as I was preparing the acknowledgments for my newest book, it occurred to me that of my soon-to-19 books, 17 had been conceived, written and published here in the US. And although I began work on the the remaining two while still in Canada, neither was completed and published until after my "accidental immigration" (see The "Accidental Immigrant," above)..
