Ace Boggess's Blog - Posts Tagged "novel"
Interview in ORP
Oyster River Pages, which published a poem of mine recently, has just posted an interview they did with me recently. It's a little different than my normal interviews. Quirky. I dig it.
https://www.oysterriverpages.com/cont...
https://www.oysterriverpages.com/cont...
A Song Without a Melody
Today on Ace-TV, here's an excerpt from my novel. Not the best recording, but the reading's good.
https://youtu.be/xmz7kDpMq4o
https://youtu.be/xmz7kDpMq4o
Prose News
Yes, I know it's Poetry Month, but I have prose news (oh, rebellion against the established order!)
This summer, my literary novel STATES OF MERCY will be released by Alien Buddha Press. Much backstory to this book, which I will share in the months ahead.
Then, later in the year, my slapstick novella SOMEWHAT MISUNDERSTOOD will be included in the the Running Wild Press Novella Anthology. Again, more details to come.
This summer, my literary novel STATES OF MERCY will be released by Alien Buddha Press. Much backstory to this book, which I will share in the months ahead.
Then, later in the year, my slapstick novella SOMEWHAT MISUNDERSTOOD will be included in the the Running Wild Press Novella Anthology. Again, more details to come.
Interview with Bellingham Review
Almost missed this interview with Bellingham Review (who were kind enough to publish me in their recent issue):
http://bhreview.org/2019/07/03/contri...
http://bhreview.org/2019/07/03/contri...
My novel States of Mercy is out today!
Finally, I'm excited to announce the release of my literary novel States of Mercy from Alien Buddha Press. This book means a great deal to me. Its journey has been as long and harrowing as mine. Over the next few weeks, I'll tell you all about it. For now, please order a copy from Amazon. I want you to love this book as much as I do. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1095480081?...
The Story of the Manuscript, Part 1: Is It Cursed?
Over the next couple weeks, I'll be sharing the story of the manuscript for States of Mercy (not the story IN the manuscript, mind you--you have to buy the book for that). Here's today's installment:
THE STORY OF THE MANUSCRIPT, PART 1: IS IT CURSED?
I have, at times, believed it was. It has had a profound effect on my life. Many of you have heard me say this: although everyone else called me a poet, I always considered myself a novelist. When I say this, it should clear that up. STATES OF MERCY was the 13th novel that I wrote. By comparison, for those of you that have read A SONG WITHOUT A MELODY, that was my 5th. That's a lot of novels and a lot of years of my life.
Is it cursed because it was #13? Probably not. That's just a coincidence. Why then? Tune in in the coming days for more details.
https://www.amazon.com/States-Mercy-N...
THE STORY OF THE MANUSCRIPT, PART 1: IS IT CURSED?
I have, at times, believed it was. It has had a profound effect on my life. Many of you have heard me say this: although everyone else called me a poet, I always considered myself a novelist. When I say this, it should clear that up. STATES OF MERCY was the 13th novel that I wrote. By comparison, for those of you that have read A SONG WITHOUT A MELODY, that was my 5th. That's a lot of novels and a lot of years of my life.
Is it cursed because it was #13? Probably not. That's just a coincidence. Why then? Tune in in the coming days for more details.
https://www.amazon.com/States-Mercy-N...
The Story of the Manuscript, Part 2: Agent of Chaos
THE STORY OF THE MANUSCRIPT, PART 2: AGENT OF CHAOS
States of Mercy was my third novel manuscript to be represented by a literary agent. I won't say her name, because she was a wonderful person and did her best, but couldn't make it happen. If she had a weakness it was that she refused to deal with smaller presses (and in her eyes, St. Martins was too small). She worked with the same agency that handled Joyce Carol Oates and E. Lynn Harris, so I really thought this was it. Unlike with the previous two manuscripts which received a slow drip of rejections over several years, she believed in this one so much that she sent it to editors at all the major NY publishers simultaneously. In the span of about a month, it was declined by all of them. The average rejection letter said, "This book should have a huge audience. It's just not for us."
https://www.amazon.com/States-Mercy-N...
States of Mercy was my third novel manuscript to be represented by a literary agent. I won't say her name, because she was a wonderful person and did her best, but couldn't make it happen. If she had a weakness it was that she refused to deal with smaller presses (and in her eyes, St. Martins was too small). She worked with the same agency that handled Joyce Carol Oates and E. Lynn Harris, so I really thought this was it. Unlike with the previous two manuscripts which received a slow drip of rejections over several years, she believed in this one so much that she sent it to editors at all the major NY publishers simultaneously. In the span of about a month, it was declined by all of them. The average rejection letter said, "This book should have a huge audience. It's just not for us."
https://www.amazon.com/States-Mercy-N...
The Story of the Manuscript Part 3: Calamity
The original draft of States of Mercy was written in longhand while sitting for hours a day at a restaurant/bar in Huntington, West Virginia, called Calamity Cafe. Calamity Cafe was, and I don't say this lightly, the only place I've ever felt at home, including the places that actually have been my home. I would sit there drinking coffee, writing, and having conversations with any of a hundred people I called friends, from musicians and writers to bikers, lawyers, socialists, professors, and even nuns. For someone with my weird and overpowering social anxieties, this was a cone of freedom. Anyone was welcome to stop by my table for a chat or a game of chess.
Calamity Cafe closed down around the same time States of Mercy was being snubbed by all the NY publishers. The combination of these happenings left me feeling isolated and a complete failure. My drug addiction, small and manageable at the time, began to spiral out of control. So, in a way, States of Mercy and the closing of Calamity Cafe were what pushed me down the path to my implosion and, ultimately, the penitentiary.
https://www.amazon.com/States-Mercy-N...
Calamity Cafe closed down around the same time States of Mercy was being snubbed by all the NY publishers. The combination of these happenings left me feeling isolated and a complete failure. My drug addiction, small and manageable at the time, began to spiral out of control. So, in a way, States of Mercy and the closing of Calamity Cafe were what pushed me down the path to my implosion and, ultimately, the penitentiary.
https://www.amazon.com/States-Mercy-N...
The Story of the Manuscript, Part 4: Doing Time
THE STORY OF THE MANUSCRIPT, PART 4: DOING TIME
Out of all my manuscripts, States of Mercy was the only one I had sent to me in prison. Considering the strict DOC property rules, a 300-page loose manuscript was technically a violation and could've caused me some trouble, but luckily for me, the prison was relatively new, and no one ever questioned me about it. So, for five years, the only manuscripts of mine that I had access to were States of Mercy and the poetry collection The Prisoners which I was writing and building from scratch. I reread States of Mercy at least twice a year, not marking it up but memorizing the typos and figuring out everything I wanted to fix when I made it out. The first thing I did after my release was edit States of Mercy again (those of you that know me know I say 'edit' rather than 'revise' because the former implies fixing and the latter changing). I had had five years to figure out exactly what I wanted to do with the manuscript, and the truth is, other than word choices here and there and a few bits of overwriting, I didn't alter much. After all that time, I still believed in this one--cursed or not.
https://www.amazon.com/States-Mercy-N...
Out of all my manuscripts, States of Mercy was the only one I had sent to me in prison. Considering the strict DOC property rules, a 300-page loose manuscript was technically a violation and could've caused me some trouble, but luckily for me, the prison was relatively new, and no one ever questioned me about it. So, for five years, the only manuscripts of mine that I had access to were States of Mercy and the poetry collection The Prisoners which I was writing and building from scratch. I reread States of Mercy at least twice a year, not marking it up but memorizing the typos and figuring out everything I wanted to fix when I made it out. The first thing I did after my release was edit States of Mercy again (those of you that know me know I say 'edit' rather than 'revise' because the former implies fixing and the latter changing). I had had five years to figure out exactly what I wanted to do with the manuscript, and the truth is, other than word choices here and there and a few bits of overwriting, I didn't alter much. After all that time, I still believed in this one--cursed or not.
https://www.amazon.com/States-Mercy-N...
The Story of the Manuscript, Part 5: Success at Last ... Psych!l or, The Return of the Revenge of the Curse
THE STORY OF THE MANUSCRIPT, PART 5: SUCCESS AT LAST ... PSYCH!; or THE RETURN OF THE REVENGE OF THE CURSE
I continued submitting the States of Mercy manuscript to every small-press publisher I could find, new or established. And then, to my great joy, the book was accepted in 2015 by the up-and-coming Double Life Press. This was a year before another small press accepted A Song Without a Melody, so States of Mercy was going to be my first novel to see print (there were a couple others released as e-books back before e-books were a thing, but it's not the same and few folks ever saw them). Imagine how excited I was, imagine how relieved, imagine how anxious when I didn't hear from the publisher again for almost six months or receive the promised contract. Then the e-mail came: DLP, as happens with so many small presses, was folding, and the publisher, AS DOES NOT often happen in the small presses, was suddenly and unexpectedly homeless. The curse had struck again.
I continued submitting the States of Mercy manuscript to every small-press publisher I could find, new or established. And then, to my great joy, the book was accepted in 2015 by the up-and-coming Double Life Press. This was a year before another small press accepted A Song Without a Melody, so States of Mercy was going to be my first novel to see print (there were a couple others released as e-books back before e-books were a thing, but it's not the same and few folks ever saw them). Imagine how excited I was, imagine how relieved, imagine how anxious when I didn't hear from the publisher again for almost six months or receive the promised contract. Then the e-mail came: DLP, as happens with so many small presses, was folding, and the publisher, AS DOES NOT often happen in the small presses, was suddenly and unexpectedly homeless. The curse had struck again.
