At my request my publisher, CK Books Publishing, is using Create Space to create my second novel, Out of Darkness.  I self-published my first novel, Murphy’s Troubles, with Create Space in 2013 and was astonished at the quality of the book.  I also like how easy it is to order my own copies of the book and find the pricing from Create Space fair; I am able to retain 65%.

After the editing is completed and the cover meets Create Space specifications the next step is to order a proof copy of the book.  There are two choices, either order a hard copy or download a pdf file.  Create Space recommends ordering a hard copy proof for the first proofreading.  This week I ordered a hard copy proof of Out of Darkness.

Receiving a proof copy of my novel is exhilarating.  This is the stage where all the hard work comes to fruition.  The day I received my proof of Murphy’s Troubles I ripped open the box and there it was smothered in bubble wrap.  I took it out of the box with great care.  I fanned the pages and admired both the paper color and the font.  A book, I’ve written a book, I thought.  It took me three days before I could calm myself sufficiently to begin the hard work of proofing the copy.

The most important reason to proofread from a hard copy is that it is easier to actually “see” those little things that must be changed to have a high quality publication.  It’s just not the same as reading a pdf file on your laptop or tablet.

The process for Out of Darkness is different.  I’ve hired a professional proofreader and will relinquish the task.  I was embarrassed that even after three separate proofs with Murphy’s Troubles, re-reading last year to prepare for a book discussion group I found 46 errors.  It wasn’t perfect.  For a small fee I corrected those errors and re-published the book.  I gave away my remaining copies of the error latent version, explaining to readers that they would find errors.  It is worth every penny to have a professional proofreader correct Out of Darkness.

        

I don’t understand book covers.  I know it’s important.  If and when books are displayed either at a bookstore or online I know a cover can either attract or repel potential readers.  For me, working on the book cover with a graphic artist/designer begins after the manuscript has been cleaned and scrubbed and ready for the first proof.  My timing might me a problem because the book cover becomes a snag in the publishing process.

My publisher found a book cover designer/artist to draw a cover for Out of Darkness.  The artist was given a copy of the manuscript to read in order to develop a cover concept.  After two months I was sent a very rough hand drawn sketch of two IRA fights crouched behind a wall aiming rifles into the distant nowhere.  Not to be too critical, but, my four year old grandson could have drawn the sketches I was given.  More important to be was that the sketches didn’t reflect the story at all.  The sketches gave the appearance of the standard “IRA guys fighting in the street”.  It was painfully clear the artist never glanced at the manuscript.

In order to set the direction straight I clarified that I wanted the book cover to include an image of a peace wall in Belfast because they are central to the story.  I then searched the web for free images of the peace walls and sent several examples to my publisher to share with the cover artist.  The cover artist was offended and wasn’t interested in working with images, they wanted to only work on creative drawing so they quit.

No problem.  The publisher agreed to find a graphic designer who could work with images.  The publisher found a person and shared the wall images I had previously sent as examples.  The graphic designer then searched the web and found other images and sent them to me for consideration.  I didn’t like any of the images and some of them had been altered to give a different perspective of the image.  Several weeks go by and I received a second set of images to consider, again it was a bust.  Finally, my publisher said maybe the graphic artist shouldn’t select the book cover image, just use them for the graphics.

I again searched the web and found 20 images I thought would make a good book cover and asked the graphic designer to choose several from among them and design the fonts to use.  I thought it would be easy.  It wasn’t.  Graphic designers just can’t leave things alone; they have to play with the images.  What I received back was a set of images looking at a peace wall as if you were lying on your back next to it and looking toward the sky.  Really?

Next it took over a week to select a font, font size, and number of lines for the title.  With a three word title you wouldn’t think there are that many options but a graphic designer has a different viewpoint.

Yesterday I sent final instructions to my publisher or edits to the most recent book cover.  We are very close to the final.  The book cover looks great and it is unique which I hope will draw readers like a magnet.           

I always wait until I’m finished with the first draft of a manuscript before I give the work a title.  Deciding on a title is tortuous for me, I don’t know why, but it is.  When selecting Murphy’s Troubles as the title for my first novel I spent a morning writing down potential titles in two columns on plain paper.  I filled three pages with about sixty candidates.  I set aside my “brain drain” for a few days.  I was exhausted from the process of trying to be creative for a catchy title.  After three days I picked up the list and read over the potential titles.  I started by eliminating titles I definitely didn’t want and reduced the list to about forty.  Again, I set aside my pages for a few days.  The second step was to circle titles I thought would work and reduced the list to about ten.   I waited several more days and then reviewed the list of ten and at the top of the third page – Murphy’s Troubles screamed out to me.  That was it!

My process for selecting the title for my second novel was quite different.  I didn’t wait until I finished the first draft before bestowing a title on my work.  Ian Murphy is a troubled man, suffering from chronic depression and alcoholism most of his adult life.  He is a loner who is often alone with his own thoughts and demons.

In parallel after the 1998 Peace Accord resolution passed by huge margins in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland a sense of hope and relief from violence spread throughout both countries.  None of the factions in Northern Ireland were realistic about how difficult it would be to form a government.  Hope was shattered in August 1998 with the bombing in Omagh and the founding of the Real IRA to replace the Provisional IRA.  Northern Ireland was cast again into the darkness of terrorism.

Both my protagonist Ian Murphy and Northern Ireland struggle to get Out of Darkness.         

At author presentations I’m often asked about the process I use when writing the first draft of a manuscript.  There are as many methods for writing a novel as there are snowflakes.  In fact, one author, Randy Ingermanson one method of writing a novel is called the snowflake method.  He uses ten steps from simple to complex to get to your goal of writing a novel.  I don’t do that.

I don’t want to prescribe how anyone should go about writing a novel.  Writing is different for everyone.  I don’t want to give tips on how to write a novel.  I do want to describe the process I use in hopes that it may help someone along their own path.

I know the both the beginning and end of the novel before I begin writing. I know exactly what my protagonist wants, however, in the process of writing I figure out how the protagonist reaches his goal.  In other words,  I have a “big picture” of the novel.

Because my writing his history based I pick an actual historical event, research the details and then insert my fictional protagonist into the event.  I think in terms of episodes to get me from the beginning to the end of the novel.  After the 1998 Good Friday Peace Accord was approved by referendum in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland true peace remained illusive.  As is the Irish way, a large minority didn’t accept the peace accord and a splinter group calling themselves the Real Irish Republican Army was organized and they bombed a building in Omagh in August 1998.  My protagonist, Ian Murphy, is furious that the fragile Peace Accord is in jeopardy because of the bombing and he rushes off to Omagh to subdue the violence.  At this point the novel is off and running. 

My process for writing my second novel, Out of Darkness, is radically different from the tumultuous journey to write my first novel, Murphy’s Troubles.  The two primary differences are time and experience.  Murphy’s Troubles was crafted while I was raising a family and had a full time career at the University of Wisconsin.  It was written in spurts and sprints over a twelve year period.  While working on that novel I promised myself that some day  . . .

Without the oppression of a full time job beginning in 2010 I controlled my schedule and could devote myself to writing.  I began my second novel in February 2014 and gave myself a monthly word goal and tracked my progress weekly.  I also fought and subdued my internal editor to just enjoy the process of creating the first draft.   The first draft was done by Halloween.  I surprised myself at how fast I wrote and how much I enjoyed creating a fiction world in 1998 Ireland.

The second difference was experience.  For a first time novelist there is nothing better than independent publishing because you learn what it takes to create a book and you control every decision.  My first novel was written in third person objective point of view because I didn’t know any other way to write it.  Third person point of view gives an author the freedom to be in every character’s head and to provide the reader with multiple perspectives.  Many readers have commented that reading Murphy’s Troubles is like watching a movie, it’s that perspective.

Once I accepted that Ian Murphy had more stories to share I knew that the book must be written in first person point of view.  First person point of view is very common and for me the advantage was that I could be psychologically close to Ian Murphy.  Ian Murphy would tell Ian Murphy’s story.  I would draft about three chapters at a time take a day or two break and then read the draft.  I found it extremely difficult to write in first person point of view.  I googled first person point of view novels then went to the library and selected about half a dozen.  I skim read the books to learn how authors wrote from only one character’s perspective.  First person point of view allows for depth but it is also extremely limiting because all the action is seen from only one person’s viewpoint.

I continued writing three chapters until I had something I wanted to share.  I confessed to my friend and mentor, Marshall Cook, that I was wrestling with point of view.  He understood why I wanted to use it and agreed to read my chapters.  As is his way, he succinctly found my errors and pointed out what I could and could not do within first person point of view.  For example, I often had Ian in his own head thinking and I used italics to indicate thoughts in the draft.  Marshall pointed out that the reader needed to see the character’s actions, not his thoughts.  The reader would understand his thoughts by his actions.  So I re-wrote and re-submitted to Marshall until he was satisfied I learned the craft of first person writing.     

My first novel, Murphy’s Troubles, was released in November 2013.  I knew I had an opportunity for holiday sales so I devoted all my activity to marketing.  My emphasis was to market locally by having author discussions at our local library, the coffee shop, and an article in the local newspaper.  One of the questions always asked at the author presentations was:  are you going to write another book and have you started writing it?

The little voice inside my head screamed – are you kidding?  I’ve been working on this book for over ten years – off and on, the last three years intensely.  No, I’m not ready yet but yes I will definitely write another novel.  Fortunately, my internal editor squashed the little voice inside and I would politely respond that yes I want to write another novel but am not quite ready yet.

By February of 2014 I was ready to begin thinking about the next book to write.  At that time I had no idea what I wanted to write about.  I started a few books, two or three maybe – writing about three chapters and deciding it just didn’t feel right.

One evening I had a dream and the protagonist in Murphy’s Troubles told me he wasn’t done with his story.  It may sound bizarre but that’s exactly what happened.  I began researching what happened in Northern Ireland in the months following the vote on the referendum approving the 1998 Peace Accord.  It was a rocky road.  In August 1998 a group of disenchanted IRA members formed a new group called the Real Irish Republican Army (RIRA).  The RIRA refused to accept the Good Friday Agreement and vowed to continue the violence. 

In addition, the British government didn’t trust the citizens of Belfast, fearing that violence could/would/was likely to erupt at any time.  Their solution was to build more walls separating Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods.  These two historical events became the plot to continue Ian Murphy’s story.    

I was fortunate to be invited to make a presentation on my novel at local independent bookstore, Mystery to Me, on St. Patrick’s Day.  It’s a small store and the audience of 10 mostly filled the back corner of the store that is set up for author presentations.  In the front of the store a table was set up with a display of my books, a plate of shamrock cookies and a bottle of wine.  It was an inviting display.

I provided two bottles of whiskey, a Concannon and a Jameson aged black label to share with the audience following my presentation.  I sent out 35 evites for the event but received only one positive response.  However, of the 10 people attending I knew 7 of them and each had received an evite but didn’t respond.  That is one of the mysteries of evites.  I’ve concluded people don’t like to make a commitment and respond yes.  I did receive about 10 no’s most because people had plans to go out and eat corn beef and cabbage that night.

There were a number of excellent questions during my presentation.  But - - - there’s always that one in the crowd isn’t there.  Yes, even with an audience of only 10 that one was in my audience.  As part of my presentation I explain how the Irish Republican Army was the first organization designed as international terrorist by the United Nations.  A woman raised her hand and explained she looked up the definition of “terrorism” and had a diatribe on how governments practice terrorism including the French, British, American and others.  What could I say?  She was so off topic.  The only saving grace was a person in the back row raised their hand and I called on him to cut off the woman.  A bit rude but I was desperate.

At the close of the discussion we stood around, sharing a bit of whiskey and talking for about twenty minutes.  Now, here’s the odd thing.  Not one person bought my book.  Not one person bought ANY book.  I was flabbergasted!  People come and listen to a discussion for an hour, drink my whiskey and don’t by a $14.95 book?   

I’ve participated in over 20 events in the past year and in each one sold books.  The Saint Patrick’s Day Event was the first time not a single book was purchased, and this took place in an independent bookstore. 

So, when you attend an author event – PLEASE – BUY A BOOK!     

Eileen Donohue is a respected investigative journalist in her mid-thirties with two children and a husband who is an aspiring politician.  In the Cork community the Donohue’s are considered a “power” couple.  However, with the stress of two professional careers and two children their marriage has become an empty hull without love.  Their commitment to their professions leaves them without time, energy or interest in maintaining a strong marriage.

Eileen is attracted to Ian Murphy through his writing and she decides she must meet him by taking an adult learning course on literature from him at University College Cork.  Eileen is both selfish and self-centered.  She has no guilt in actively pursuing a relationship with another man and emotionally abandoning her marriage.

Middle aged bachelor Ian Murphy is fascinated with Eileen and astonished with her interest in him.  In a short time Ian is infatuated with Eileen which he believes is love.  Ian wants Eileen to divorce her husband so they can marry.  Eileen reminds Ian she is Catholic and Catholics don’t divorce.  Eileen needs Ian’s adoration and professed love but doesn’t make the same emotional commitment, she never considers it.

Eileen demands their relationship remain a secret and goes to extraordinary lengths to be discreet and secretive.  She fears the consequences to her career if her relationship with Ian is exposed.

Eileen accidently discovers handwritten drafts of what she learns are the Green Book.  Her curiosity and sense for a sensational investigative story drive her to expose Ian’s secret involvement with the Provisional Irish Republican Army.  She struggles with the decision to betray her lover or keep his secret.  Her selfishness and need to be the preeminent Irish investigative reporter have unintended consequences for Ian Murphy.   

Kieran Fitzpatrick is from County Donegal, the most northern county in the Republic of Ireland and the county with the longest border with Northern Ireland.  Kieran’s major flaw is his obsessive devotion to both the cause of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and his friend Ian Murphy.

County Donegal has the reputation for being fiercely independent and boasts the greatest number of Gaelic speakers of any county in the Republic of Ireland.  Kieran is one of the founding members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) and a member of their ruling Council.

Kieran recruits Ian to join the PIRA following the death of Ian’s best friend, Timolty Doyle, during a raid in Belfast.  Kieran convinces Ian to use his skills as a writer to write propaganda for the Cause.  In 1977 Kieran recognizes that the PIRA recruits are not disciplined and are disorganized.  Kieran convinces Ian to write a training manual for PIRA volunteers.  Ian writes the manual that became known as the Green Book.  The tide turns for the PIRA with disciplined volunteers and the friendship between Ian and Kieran is impregnable.

Kieran’s devotion to The Troubles and Ian clash in the last chapter of Murphy’s Troubles and he’s forced to make a choice between his devotion to the PIRA and his devotion to his friend, Ian Murphy.  Kieran has the choice to betray the Cause or to betray friendship.  Whatever decision Kieran makes he will pay a personal price.

Caitlin is Ian Murphy’s younger sister.  Ian is ten years old when she is born and at that age has no interest in having a sibling – especially a girl.  Caitlin looks up to her older brother but finds him aloof and a bit of a mystery.  By the time Caitlin is eight her brother is off to Dublin to attend Trinity College.

The relationship with Ian begins when Caitlin is 18 and engaged to be married.  Caitlin wants Ian to be a brother to her finance, Brian Lourigan, because she believes Ian has always wanted a brother rather than a sister.  One of Caitlin’s flaws is that she is always trying to fix things that don’t need fixing.

Ian completely rejects Caitlin’s idea that Brian Lourigan can be his brother.  The two men, on the surface, have nothing in common.  When they meet Brian is 20 years old and a mason by trade.  Ian is 28 years old, a graduate of Trinity College, an author and lecturer at University College Cork.  However, the two men are unaware they have two things in common.  First, they both have secrets and second their secret is that they are volunteers in the Provisional Irish Republican Army.

Caitlin’s major flaw is that she is an idealist.  After Brian Lourigan is killed in a botched IRA bombing she moves to Belfast with their one year old daughter (named Brianna for her father) to work with Sinn Fein to bring peace to Northern Ireland.  Her move causes major heartache for her mother.  Her father refuses to visit her in Belfast because as a young man was a volunteer with the IRA and believes violence is the only way to reunite Ireland.  Caitlin’s idealism is the cause of her own family dysfunction.

Brianna is injured by a Molotov cocktail while playing in a Peace Zone in Belfast causing Caitlin’s idealism to be shattered forever.