newsletter – Reflections

Gracious Reader,

“Reflections” is the name of this blog. It is also the name of Your New Favorite Writer’s “author newsletter.”

In fact, the two are one. If you got here by surfing the Web and you found this site, you are reading my blog. If it arrived in your inbox, because you signed up, then you are reading my newsletter. It is the same content, only delivered by email, so you don’t have to search the Internet to find it.

If you have not yet done so, please sign up for the newsletter version, using the “Share My Journey” box at right. You’ll be glad you did.

The tagline of “Reflections”—whether you call it a blog or a newsletter—is “Seeking fresh meanings in our common past.” That’s all I write about.

In the pages of the blog/newsletter, this search for the links between present and past ranges over a vast field of ruminations. But every post has something to do with present and past. I like to think of “Reflections” as “Miscellany with a purpose.”

That purpose, simply put, is to offer us all, on a weekly basis, a fresh dash of historical perspective, from any source.

But What About News?

Lion. Photo by Kevin Pluck, licensed under CC BY 2.0.

This being a newsletter and all, I really ought to share some news. Mostly what I share is random thoughts and woolgatherings. I do hope you enjoy them, but it’s necessary from time to time to toot my own horn—self-promotion being a solemn duty of the Literary Lion. That’s what I mean by “sharing news.”

You may recall that in August 2022 I published—or rather, DX Varos Publishing, Inc., published—my first novel, a compelling work of historical fiction called Price of Passage: A Tale of Immigration and Liberation. Since then I’ve been living the life of a published author.

It’s a life filled with glory in lieu of monetary rewards. I call it “living the dream.”

A kink appeared in the dream last July when Dan Willis, the guiding genius behind DX Varos Publishing, died unexpectedly. Without Dan’s sacrificial levels of one-man input, the corporation is failing to thrive. I have been forced to reclaim my rights in Price of Passage, meaning DX Varos will no longer publish it. There is hope, however, that a new edition will be published.

And What of Izzy?

You may also recall that I wrote a middle-grades novel, Izzy Strikes Gold!, about a twelve-year-old boy in 1957. It won the hearts of my grandson’s fifth-grade classmates and teachers when I read it aloud to them over several weeks last year. I am proud to announce, if I have not already done so, that HenschelHAUS Publishing, Inc., of Milwaukee, will publish Izzy Strikes Gold! later this year. When the publication date is set and pre-orders can be taken, I’ll announce that here.

It happens that HenschelHAUS is also interested in republishing Price of Passage, with a new cover and new subtitle. I think it’s okay to mention that here, although a contract has not yet been inked.

Work in Progress

“So, New Favorite Author, what have you done for us lately?”

I’m working hammer and tongs on a new adult historical novel about two brothers who are at odds with each other when World War II separates them. It’s the most ambitious project I’ve tackled yet, and it’s going slowly. But I’m deeply wrapped up in it. When it is finished, it will have been worth the wait.

The reason the writing goes slowly is that my brain works slowly. That’s all there is to it.

The advice of many authors is, “When writing your first draft, just write flat out. Get it down on paper as fast as you can. Don’t stop to fix anything, you can do that later.”

That’s all right for them, but I’m me.

Having written a couple of good novels, I know my process and how it works. Writing a first draft, I often follow my instincts down a blind alley. I paint myself into corners. I set up situations I cannot plot my way out of. As soon as I get a glimmer that I’m doing that, I need—absolutely need, Dear Reader—to go back to where I went wrong and find a new angle of attack. This is an essential part of the process.

Usually what saves me is research. I learn something completely unexpected while researching to verify particulars of the plot. For example, does such-and-such work in 1937?

I found out that when one of my two heroes in the new book, a Naval ROTC cadet, took a summer training cruise on the battleship Colorado, he would have unexpectedly been called to take part in the wide-ranging search for the lost aviator Amelia Earhart.

Amelia is still lost; but it excites me to find real facts of that kind that my story can tie into. It inspires me to invent new plot points. Nuggets of historical reality give me little pegs on which to hang a compelling story.

But working everything out, and narrating it in the right direction and at the right pace, takes a lot of time and effort.

So stay tuned, Gentle Reader. My entire career as a Literary Lion is a work in progress. You can’t know how glad I am to have you along for the ride.

Blessings,

Larry F. Sommers

Your New Favorite Writer

A lot can happen in from one week to the next.

Two weeks ago, I announced that my novel, The Maelstrom, would be published July 26. One week ago, March 1, I announced that no, it would actually be August 23. And with a new title.

As of today, the August 23 release date is still good.

Now here is the new title: Price of Passage—A Tale of Immigration and Liberation.

And look! Here’s the cover.

A book’s cover is key. Sometimes, the cover even drives the choice of title.

When I first started writing this book, I just called it “the Anders and Maria book.” Eventually, I settled on Freedom’s Purchase. I did not like Freedom’s Purchase much. It seemed hyper-inflated. But it fit, because throughout this story, characters pay high prices to secure their freedom. They must give up precious things to be free and prosperous.

When I re-wrote the book I changed it to The Maelstrom. I was thinking of a great whirlpool, like the Moskstraumen off the Norwegian coast. It seemed to capture the vortex of looming disaster that was the pre-Civil War United States.

DX Varos Publishing bought the manuscript. Publisher Daniel Willis wanted to add a subtitle: A Tale of Immigration and Liberation. This would give readers more information about the nature of the story. So we were set to publish The Maelstrom—A Tale of Immigration and Liberation.

Several people had previously said things like, “Maelstrom? Huh?” “What’s a maelstrom?” “Is this a book about some ocean current?” In my wisdom, I had ignored such minor quibbles.

We’re Covered

A good story often has a last-minute twist, and here it is: The publisher sent me the cover art.

It showed a railroad track in foreground, a breaking chain overhead, and a distant sky full of clouds and sunshine. The track could suggest immigration; the broken chain, liberation; the half-sunny sky, a brighter future.

I was underwhelmed by this cover. I surfed the web frantically and found an image that embodied the dynamic tension of “maelstrom.” It was a blue-green ship in a stormy ocean, a large whirlpool churning in the foreground. I sent it to the publisher.

He said, “Well, yes, but everybody’s going to think they’re buying a sea story.”

Curses!

A cover is not just about symbols and metaphors. It should give the reader a clue about the actual contents.

It’s true this book includes an ocean voyage, but it’s a minor part of the story. Everything important occurs on land, in the middle of North America, far from any ocean.

Bowing at last to common sense, I accepted the publisher’s cover. But the title, The Maelstrom, did not match the cover image. Rereading Chapter One, I stumbled on the phrase, “price of passage.” It relates to the purchase of a transatlantic ticket to America, but it’s also a good metaphor for the costs incurred in “freedom’s purchase.”

We ran it up the flagpole, and everybody saluted.

So now, with pride, DX Varos Publishing and Larry F. Sommers give you Price of Passage—A Tale of Immigration and Liberation–available for pre-order in late spring.

I’m glad to be partnered with somebody who knows what they’re doing in this business.

And that’s not all

I hereby announce the inaugural issue of The Haphazard Times, a very occasional newsletter, by email, intended to apprise you of only the most significant developments in this writer’s life.

Why should I trouble your Inbox on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, just to meet an arbitrary deadline? The Haphazard Times will appear in your email only when important events or milestones occur. Events like the opening of pre-orders for the book and other key milestones for the book or for me as a writer. Other than that, I won’t bother you.

All you need to do to get on the mailing list for The Haphazard Times is fill in this form:

I hope you will.

Note Well: This “Keep Up!” signup is for the newsletter. The other signup, at right under “Share My Journey Week to Week,” is for email notification whenever this blog is posted. If you already receive such notices, they will continue. If you do not, but would like to, just enter your email there. But that will not get you the newsletter. I recommend taking both.

Blessings,

Larry F. Sommers, Your New Favorite Writer

Author of Price of Passage—A Tale of Immigration and Liberation.

Price of Passage

Norwegian Farmers and Fugitive Slaves in Pre-Civil War Illinois

BUY NOW

(History is not what you thought!)

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Price of Passage

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