I was too excited to blog very much yesterday due to the news arriving that Bailey Black was ready for purchase on the PublishAmerica bookstore located at http://www.publishamerica.com/ Once there, click on the Online Book Store Tab. I have to confess that, as happy as I am that the book is now published, I am suddenly very self-conscious and vulnerable. The big test is here: Will anyone actually like the book? That's right...I am suddenly struck with stage fright!
It reminds me of the days of my short-lived acting career in the Gatesville Civic Theatre. I was fortunate enough to be cast in a city play in my junior year of high school. I was the hero/villain Pound Sterling in the play "An Old-Fashioned Melodrama - Modern Style." I knew I was not an Oscar winner, but I believed I could play my part adequately. Well, just a few minutes into the first rehearsal, I found that acting was a little more complicated that I thought it would be. My most recent acting experience was playing "Joseph" in the elementary school play one Christmas in Gatesville. Anyone remember that? Kathy Munday played "Mary" in that play.
Anyway, back to "Pound Sterling." The cast worked for several weeks in anticipation of the dress rehearsal, on which night local senior citizens were invited as guests of honor. So, it was time to raise the curtain. The other cast members took their places...and the lights were on! After the curtain opened, I entered from stage left, went strolling to my X-mark at center stage, took a deep breath, gathered myself to project my voice across the auditorium.....and....
That's right. I had forgotten each and every one of my lines. In those first few seconds of dead air, that seemed like four lifetimes to me, I felt sweat breaking out on the beads of sweat that had suddenly formed on my forehead. I could just make out several hundred (okay, about a hundred) people in the darkened galleries...just enough to see that they were all looking AT ME. Never mind that I could not actually SEE their faces...I knew they were all staring at me, all acutely aware that I had no idea what I was supposed to say...
(Silence...plus crickets in the background...)
At this point, one of the cast members, the late Johnny Hendricks, ad-libbed "Pound! Don't you have something to TELL US?!"
Saved! Somehow those words galvanized my brain to take action. I literally felt the electric message flowing from my brain, across synapses to nerves, down my head to other nerves, finally activating my mouth.
"I have some GOOD NEWS! And some BAD news."
With that, I was able to stumble through my lines and finish dress rehearsal. That night was a disaster for Pound Sterling. But on the three nights that the play ran, I did manage to "get in character." But that burning, desperate, almost totally helpless feeling I had that night has returned to some extent as Bailey Black is now being offered for sale.
I sincerely hope that any of you who are feeling a little yearn for some arm-chair adventure will at least read the blurb about Bailey Black. If you are really brave, I hope you will see your way to buy a copy. Maybe if two of you want to be brave together, you can go in for halfies for one book. Then, if at least one of you likes the book, you can buy out your partner's interest if the other person does not like it. But on a serious note, I would like to express once again my thanks to those of you who have followed along through the publication process. I hope you will read my book, and most of all, I hope you like the story. And, in the weeks to come, I will be announcing signing events as they are finalized. Thank you all!
No comments:
Post a Comment