Super Bowl Anniversary

Not four score, but seven years ago this evening, I first put pencil to paper and wrote the opening scene of Bill’s Cajun House of Pleasure. It’s easy to remember this day because it was Super Bowl Sunday. The Green Bay Packers played the Pittsburgh Steelers at then Cowboys Stadium. I’m not a fan of either team, but my girlfriend at the time was super excited to watch her Packers beat the Steelers.

During these seven years, I continued to write Bill’s grand adventure in tiny Bayou Cove, Louisiana. Around chapter twelve, I set the pencil and paper down and moved to the keyboard and screen. I attended my first critique group at the Springdale Public Library and introduced this wonderful group of aspiring writers to Bill’s foul mouth. The moderator at the time, writer Brad Carter, said, “I used f— in every way possible” in the first chapter. I attended classes at the Village Writing School and Northwest Arkansas Writers’ Workshop. I researched all the historical events used in my story. Finally, I finished the Cajun tale. After being rejected by Pandamoon Publishing, I pitched my masterpiece at the 50^th annual Ozark Creative Writers conference in Eureka Springs. Oghma Creative Media loved the voice of my story and offered me a contract. After three rounds of editing, Bill’s was laid out late last month. The cover is being tweaked. If everything stays on track, you’ll have Bill’s Cajun House of Pleasure in your hands by the end of April.

A lot of work went into my story. And numerous individuals assisted me along the way. Thank you all, for helping me make this story great. It’s been a great ride, and it’s not finished yet. I look forward to this anniversary every year and reflect back to how this journey began. It’s a fabulous day and I truly hope you’ll help celebrate this accomplishment with me in late April when Bill’s Cajun House of Pleasure goes on sale. It’s a great romp in the swamp!

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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what book I have my nose in. I may not be a published author yet, but I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read. I’m currently reading Striptease by Carl Hiaasen. I encourage you to read a variety of topics.