There is a Kindle book out there called Write to Market: Deliver a Book That Sells by Chris Fox. I skimmed it for funsies (Kindle Unlimited, so I wouldn’t feel so dirty after spending $3 for it). He basically says if you want to sell books, you have to write what people want. To hell with your art. To hell with what you like. You write at the behest of your fans.

This goes against why I write. I don’t write to sell, though that’s nice. I write to read. I write a story that I myself would plunk down money for. Another reason why I write is because the muses have this story idea that they want to get out on paper, and if it goes out into the world, so much the better. That’s Brent’s story, which started as a dream. It turned into a “story I would pay for” later.

Which brings me to the title. I found out that the Association of Rhode Island Authors is holding a contest for their next anthology (title TBD), and they put out a theme “People of the State of Rhode Island.” Instead of my muses saying, “*scoff* That’s stupid. Why write to what they want?”, they took the bone and tossed it into the cauldron. What I got a couple of days later was a memory: my Uncle Manny telling me stories of prohibition.

Hm, hm, hm, I thought, and mulled it around like sucking a hard candy. I had heard other stories from my family – my Aunt Alice’s courtship, my grandmother Elsie’s love for an Irish boy, my Aunt Emma’s death at 14 from some unknown sickness, my Uncle Charlie’s death in the war. My great-grandmother Rose was still alive when I was very young, couldn’t speak a word of English; but my Uncle Manny would tell me all the stories of how she, as the matriarch, kept the family together after her husband, also named Manuel, had died (before my time).

I brainstormed in my journal. I gathered the characters, made them young enough for Prohibition and courtship, and then put pen to paper to start writing. As I usually do, I research on the fly. There was a “Danny Walsh” who operated in the Valley, an Irish bootlegger centered in Pawtucket. I threw him into the mix. I made up the name of the bar and owner (until I get to the Cumberland Library for research).

Of course, my first draft is just getting it down on paper, but I’m already editing as I’m going. I have 5K words to get this story on paper, and I’m not even sure if it’s worth a story on its own. But I’m going to try it, get my beta readers to look it over see if they like it, and then submit it. What’s the worst that could happen? They say no?

So when given a theme, an idea, or a spark, I notice that it’s something the muses thrive on. It’s a writing prompt, not a command. My art won’t suffer for it, but will thrive.

Next Appearance:

I’ll be at an Author Meet and Greet in Narragansett, RI in the Theatre-By-The-Sea on Beach Street, September 10 from 10-3. I’ll have Homecoming, and also Best Intentions selling under the table. There will be about 40 other authors there with their wares, as well. It’s after the tourist season, so it would be a great time to come to the beach and check out one of the more beautiful places in Rhode Island.