Terry Fallis - Best Laid Plans

I’ve told my editor/publisher Douglas Gibson that I’ll have the completed manuscript to him by October 31st. So I thought it was time for another update. (Anything to distract me from actually finishing the book!)

I’m actually quite far along now and feeling good. It seems to go faster when the finish line is in sight. There are 20 chapters in The High Road, and I’ve just started to write Chapter 18. Yes, only two and a half chapters to go and I’m done. Well, not so fast. Actually, when I finish Chapter 20, I’ll then go back to the beginning and take another pass through it all to edit and polish. But I’ll make my Halloween deadline. Doug has already reviewed the first 60,000 words or so and has made some suggestions that I’ll incorporate. Mercifully, there are only minor edits to make and he’s quite pleased with what he’s seen so far. So I’m breathing again.

Usually, if we’re not too busy on weekends, I can write a first draft of an entire 5,000 word chapter from Friday night to Sunday evening. And it almost always happens on weekends when I can carve out several hours at a time to write. I don’t seem to be able to get much writing done during the week after a long day at the office. So thanks to my very indulgent and understanding family, I able to sequester myself in our third floor library for long stretches on Saturdays and Sundays. I’ll report in again when Chapter 20 is in the books (as it were).

Next week I’m off to speak about, and read from, TBLP at the public libraries in Fort Erie and Pelham, in the Niagara region.  It’s been in the works for a while now and I’m looking forward to it.  I’ve done a couple of interviews with the local media down that way and the resulting stories are starting to emerge. I hope the media coverage helps to draw a good crowd for the events.

Though I’d never thought of it, a couple friends have asked whether I would read from the manuscript of the TBLP sequel, still tentatively called The High Road. Good question. I suppose I could but I suspect that most of the people in the room will not have read TBLP yet so it may not be particularly meaningful. On the other hand, if most of the audience has read TBLP, they might prefer to hear me read a snippet or two from the next book. I’ll have to play it by ear and decide when I get there.

Stay tuned for a writing update on my progress on The High Road.

Here’s the Niagara This Week story. Ahhh but fame is fleeting. The reporter (very nice guy) actually got my name wrong in the first sentence and in the photo caption calling me first “Doug Falls,” then “Doug Fallis.” It’s already gone to press so the print versions will feature my new pseudonyms but the online story should be okay. He sent me this corrected copy. I thought it was quite funny. He was mortified. No matter. It’s when they stop talking about your book that you have to worry…

My friend and fellow hockey parent Peggy Lampotang has kindly reviewed TBLP on her blog.  She’s an accomplished photographer, artist, and a very good writer too. I really hope more readers will get to see her short stories sometime in the future. Thanks Peggy…

I’ll be taking a vacation day on September 30th for readings at the public libraries in Fort Erie, in the afternoon, and then in Pelham, in the evening. After a very quiet August, my autumn dance card is rather full. Feels good to get back out there…

Jenn Jilks is a Muskoka educator, writer, poet, and photographer who writes a blog populated with her musings, reflections and photographs.  She was kind enough to read and review TBLP.

I know I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. What has struck me over and over again, throughout this writing adventure I’m on, is just how gratifying it is to hear positive feedback from readers who have enjoyed the book. There is nothing more meaningful or rewarding. In the end, it’s what it’s all about. It’s why most writers are prepared to sequester themselves for long stretches of isolation. A positive review from a reader is, to a writer, what that one good shot amidst years of slices and hooks is to a golfer.  It keeps us coming back, whether we’re banging on the keyboard, or swinging at the driving range.  Thanks Jenn.