“So much to say”
It has been a while since I have posted a blog and I have already fallen short with one of my personal goals for this year—to post a blog at least once a week. So, for those of you who have been avid readers of my weekly gibberish, I do apologize.
So, now where do I begin? So much has transpired since I wrote last and I have so much to say, I honestly, don’t know where to begin. Hmmm. Okay, I got it! How about I start out going backwards since the better news is the more recent?
Well, for starters I landed my first contract with a “brick & mortar” bookstore, as they say in the literary world. I met with Peggy Turner of “Connections Bookstore” in Ft. Worth and after a 30~45 minute meeting we agreed to “do business” together. Peggy has agreed to stock and order a small (baby-steps small) quantity of “Proud Souls” under the stipulation that should we sell them, we can order/distribute more. It was an amazing feeling to shake hands, sit down in a comfortable relaxed environment (I mean, come on now…we were in a bookstore) to discuss the business aspect of publishing that up until now I had only read about. I consider myself very fortunate and very lucky to have met Peggy. I allowed her to take control of the meeting and let her dictate the questions—and she had many of them—questions about my publishing company, my legitimacy, the distribution means and some questions about the book and more questions about me.
Now, I noticed in Peggy something I have begun to see in my readers (even those who are yet to actually read “Proud Souls”). She wanted to hear enough about the story, to feel as though it deserved to be read, but cared to know more about the man behind the story—me! Her final words to me before that meeting concluded were this. “I like you…I’ll buy from you.”
The best way I could possibly describe this emotion—amazing! Purely amazing! This entire process has been both overwhelming and rewarding. I have gone from secrecy (with regards to my passion for writing) to full exposure. I have taken the concept of a story, a daydream and a thought, and in (almost) exactly two-years later I have produced—what I consider to be—a pretty darn good story. I am honored that “Proud Souls” has earned the respect it has thus far from those few people who have read it. It seems with every reader of this story, is a fire within them to share the story with someone else. I have been held at such high regard—not personally, but professionally—because of this story. People EXPECT the story to do well. They expect me to try harder than they might push themselves, not for my glory and honor, but for Justin and Tessa…for Ralph Winslow Parison and Reverend Hillard Ray Polk. After all, as much as this novel was my story, my baby and a part of my own soul, it has taken on a life of its own and become their story—all of them—each of the characters produced within the imagination of my mind.
You will find that “Proud Souls” can touch almost anyone, as this story touches on the senses that are common to us all. There is bitterness in my hero, Justin Olerude Bower, borne from the loss of his wife and son. There is arousal, spewing from Tessa Jameson, as she touches and caresses and watches her own self within the soft lit lighting of her restroom mirrors. There is regret in Ralph Winslow Parison and it is hardened with each sip of his whiskey and shooed away with the church house pamphlets from Sunday morning worship services. And there is reason within Reverend Hilliard Ray Polk. Remember, its just a story, one that I created between various moments within my life. I am honored to see it on a bookstore shelf and thankful to those who have purchased and will, not so much out of the kindness of their heart, but in their faith in me.
Sincerely,
~Bobby Ozuna
“Drawing Stories…With Words”
It has been a while since I have posted a blog and I have already fallen short with one of my personal goals for this year—to post a blog at least once a week. So, for those of you who have been avid readers of my weekly gibberish, I do apologize.
So, now where do I begin? So much has transpired since I wrote last and I have so much to say, I honestly, don’t know where to begin. Hmmm. Okay, I got it! How about I start out going backwards since the better news is the more recent?
Well, for starters I landed my first contract with a “brick & mortar” bookstore, as they say in the literary world. I met with Peggy Turner of “Connections Bookstore” in Ft. Worth and after a 30~45 minute meeting we agreed to “do business” together. Peggy has agreed to stock and order a small (baby-steps small) quantity of “Proud Souls” under the stipulation that should we sell them, we can order/distribute more. It was an amazing feeling to shake hands, sit down in a comfortable relaxed environment (I mean, come on now…we were in a bookstore) to discuss the business aspect of publishing that up until now I had only read about. I consider myself very fortunate and very lucky to have met Peggy. I allowed her to take control of the meeting and let her dictate the questions—and she had many of them—questions about my publishing company, my legitimacy, the distribution means and some questions about the book and more questions about me.
Now, I noticed in Peggy something I have begun to see in my readers (even those who are yet to actually read “Proud Souls”). She wanted to hear enough about the story, to feel as though it deserved to be read, but cared to know more about the man behind the story—me! Her final words to me before that meeting concluded were this. “I like you…I’ll buy from you.”
The best way I could possibly describe this emotion—amazing! Purely amazing! This entire process has been both overwhelming and rewarding. I have gone from secrecy (with regards to my passion for writing) to full exposure. I have taken the concept of a story, a daydream and a thought, and in (almost) exactly two-years later I have produced—what I consider to be—a pretty darn good story. I am honored that “Proud Souls” has earned the respect it has thus far from those few people who have read it. It seems with every reader of this story, is a fire within them to share the story with someone else. I have been held at such high regard—not personally, but professionally—because of this story. People EXPECT the story to do well. They expect me to try harder than they might push themselves, not for my glory and honor, but for Justin and Tessa…for Ralph Winslow Parison and Reverend Hillard Ray Polk. After all, as much as this novel was my story, my baby and a part of my own soul, it has taken on a life of its own and become their story—all of them—each of the characters produced within the imagination of my mind.
You will find that “Proud Souls” can touch almost anyone, as this story touches on the senses that are common to us all. There is bitterness in my hero, Justin Olerude Bower, borne from the loss of his wife and son. There is arousal, spewing from Tessa Jameson, as she touches and caresses and watches her own self within the soft lit lighting of her restroom mirrors. There is regret in Ralph Winslow Parison and it is hardened with each sip of his whiskey and shooed away with the church house pamphlets from Sunday morning worship services. And there is reason within Reverend Hilliard Ray Polk. Remember, its just a story, one that I created between various moments within my life. I am honored to see it on a bookstore shelf and thankful to those who have purchased and will, not so much out of the kindness of their heart, but in their faith in me.
Sincerely,
~Bobby Ozuna
“Drawing Stories…With Words”
No comments:
Post a Comment