(Posted February 15, 2010)
Whew. Well, that was about the hardest first draft of a novel I’ve ever encountered. Not as hard as re-creating the life of a real person, mind you. The work I put into my first (and perhaps, only) biography, Mr. Environment: The Willard Munger Story was tedious, arduous, and painstakingly slow. Four and a half to five years worth of researching, collating, writing, and editing went into that labor of love. I think it turned out, for my first major non-fiction work, to be a pretty darn good testament of my uncle’s amazing life and career. But the sad thing is it’s not selling. Try I as I might to garner attention for the tome, it’s just not moving.
Too big? Perhaps. Too political? Guilty as charged; though one would have to ask how you write a book about a quintessential Minnesota Liberal and make the book non-political. Or A-political. Or whatever. It’s a disappointment to have boxes of what I consider to be a fine piece of Minnesota history locked up in a storage unit in Hermantown when every student in high school and college in this state should be learning about how one man, with a high school education, nearly single handily crafted Minnesota’s environmental legacy.
Nuff said. On to brighter topics.
I just polished off the first very rough draft of Laman’s River, my fifth novel. A story set in NE Minnesota and along the Smith River in Montana, Laman’s River chronicles the story of a band of polygamist Mormons whose leader, Obadiah Nielsen, prophesies that it is his followers’ spiritual obligation to cleanse Native Americans of their historically (in Mormon terms) sinful blood. How is this to be accomplished, you might ask? Through intermarriage; through the concept of “bleaching” Lamanite (the Book of Mormon name for Native American) bloodlines; i.e., making the complexions of the Indians whiter and whiter through generations of intermarriage with Caucasians.
Weird concept, eh? Think “Big Love” meets “CSI, Minnesota”. With some old friends to help chase down the crazy religious zealots (Herb Whitefeather, a Lakota and an agent with the FBI; and Cook County Sheriff Debra Slater) reprising roles from The Legacy, the new book promises to be a fast and furious read. Hopefully, it will also educate my readers and cause them to consider the roots and heritage of their own spiritual lineage. Introspection is never a bad thing.
Now to the fun part: months of editing and figuring out how to sell more copies of Mr. Environment to raise money so I can print the new book! It’s a hand-to-mouth existence, this self-publishing gig. You gotta be willing to throw the dice and see what number turns up.
Oh well, let ’em roll!
Peace.
Mark
PS You can read a sample chapter of the new book by clicking on the “Work in Progress” tab on the dashboard. Let me know what you think.
MM
