Welcome to 2012

Happy New Year!

First, a look back and then a look ahead.

On January 9 (just a few days away), Commodore revealed the Commodore 64.  The computer cost $299, which was not horrid back then, but not exactly peanuts either.  The real downside was that EVERYTHING was extra - floppy storage was another $179 for the original 1541, if you could find one.  Most folks started off with the $99 tape drive.  Yes, kiddos, before games came on DVDs (or there was anything remotely referred to as 'the cloud,'), we had games that were stored on cassette tapes.  Oh, wait. You might not even know what cassette tapes are.  Yeesh.  Before MP3s and CDs, we had these plastic cases with a think ribbon of 'tape' that held our music.  Well, the same technology to store music was used to store data.

Aside from the affection Mac owners are known to have for their computers, Commodore owners probably 'loved' their computers the most.  No other company (again, aside from Apple) garnered such admiration for a line of computers as Commodore.  Even today, you can ask people about their old '64s and watch as their eyes glaze over, their head tilts slightly to one side and their mind wanders back to a time of 8-bit wonders.

Some time ago, several years actually, several groups/companies came up with C64 emulators that would run on PCs.  Now, you could have all the nostalgia running in a window on your computer while you surfed the web, played other games, or did just about anything else you wanted to.  The entire C64 collection of games fits on a series of DVDs.

And then, Commodore was reignited and a new company brought forth a C64 clone.  The new machine is a PC running the emulator.  It also costs over 3x as much as the original, listing for $999 from CommodoreUSA.  No thanks.  Even if I bought the emulator and the DVD series, I'd still have change left over for my card hobby.  So it wouldn't LOOK like a C64. Who cares. I digress.

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As for looking ahead, I managed a paltry 80 posts in 2011.  I posted more than that during my first year of blogging when I really had no idea what I was doing or why.  I am not a "resolutions" kind of person, but I absolutely resolve to post more in 2012.  What accounts for the lack of posts?  I'm ashamed to admit it, but Facebook and Twitter have become my main outlet streams.  That's not a bad thing, really, but I am a huge proponent of blogging, especially in education, and so I need to champion that which I, er, champion.

Of course, the first round of solid postings will come from the annual "American Idol" rundown.  I also plan to post some of my more in-depth musings on here and let those take on a life of their own here and in the social networking realms.  For instance, my thoughts on public breastfeeding sparked quite a conversation on Facebook.  It would have been fun to start that here and then follow it in both circles, possibly cross-posting back here as to additional comments, etc.

I have been putting off two novels as well.  I don't mean reading them - I mean writing them.  So, the next "resolution" on my list: Write 'em.  I've actually decided that "Summer Breaks" will become a larger version of itself to be entitled, "Extended Summer Breaks."  It will be cleaned up and several elements expanded based on feedback I've received from friends and reviews.  The other novel, "Somewhere Main and Maple Meet," is already 2/3rds complete in first draft, so I'm looking to finish it up and get it published as well.  In fact, I plan to shop that one through Christian publishing circles to see if I can get a tradition publisher to pick it up.  I'll keep you posted.

My final "real" resolution relates to my bucket list.  I am picking one item to cross off the list and will focus my attention throughout the year to make it happen.  Not sure which item yet, but once I choose, that will be the one I try to knock off.

Thanks to everyone who comes by to read my ramblings and musings, and I hope to provide you much more entertainment in 2012 than in 2011.

Summer Breaks: a novel IS PUBLISHED!

Summer vacation brings the promise of ice cream, backyard games and adventure for ten year-old Corey Decker and his friends.  As summer breaks, the band of seven friends watch in horror as a tragic car crash plays out right in front of them.  From there, the next weeks are spent laughing, playing, fighting and making up again.  When the gang learns of a "mad man" rumored to live in the nearby woods, they set out exploring parts of their Western Pennsylvanian suburban neighborhood they never knew existed.  Set in an unspecified timeless past, follow Decker and his friends over a creek and through the woods, into an old quarry and through a corn field as they seek out on an adventure to find the "Mad Man of Appleton."  What they find along the way will amuse, thrill, disgust and surprise readers who enjoy a little summertime escapade.

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I am thrilled to announce that my debut novel, Summer Breaks, has been published!  Originally, I had called it "Summer of Seven" and it was just the first chapter.  That was in 1998 or so.  I had written it as part of my undergraduate project in the hopes it would one day become more than a single chapter.  Though it had been revised for inclusion in my Master's Thesis Project, it still remained one chapter.  In fact, I had to change the ending of that piece because it made no sense outside of a larger body of work.

Then, I read about NaNoWriMo.org in a magazine and decided to take "Summer of Seven" out of the dusty digital archives and see where things went as a challenge to reach 50,000 words.  What ensued was a flurry of writing almost every single night for the month of November.  I was so spent after that, I set the book aside and let it marinate.

When I started reading it, editing it, shaping it, I saw the story unfold in front of my own eyes.  I grew to like certain characters and not like others.  I had no real plan when I started "Chapter Two" other than to tag along as Decker and his friends started out their summer vacation from school.

With the help of Shan, my mom, and Oretha Ferguson (a colleague I met through the Technology Infused Education program and fellow Plurk user), my novel was honed and fine-tuned.   And then, as mentioned in a previous post, Mr. Adrian Cain was incredibly generous enough to grant me permission to use his artwork for my cover! 

I don't know how other people feel when they publish their first novel, but I am excited, nervous, relieved, and thankful.  I am especially thankful for all the folks that have supported and encouraged me to put myself out there.

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Author contact info for interviews, book reviews, etc: David Henderson, davidinark@yahoo.com.  David and his family reside in Prescott, Arkansas.

The book is available for purchase in paperback: http://stores.lulu.com/davidinark for the debut price for $9.99.  Readers can also download an electronic version from that same site.  A Kindle version is currently "under review" and I will let everyone know when that is ready.  Other ePub formats can be obtained from Smashwords.com.  There will be an iBooks-friendly version available (hopefully) soon as well.

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Summer Breaks - Cover art from across the pond

Summer Breaks (a novel) is "published, but not released to the public" at this stage of the process.  That means I have an author's copy coming to me that I can hold in my hands and check for things like quality (though that's rarely an issue), coherence, typos etc.  I can also determine if the format I chose is the best format for the book.  I went with the "digest" format for the novel because as best as I can determine, that's close to what a bookshelf paperpack looks like.  Again, I'll have a better idea once I have the book in hand.

The cover art above was painted by Mr. Adrian Cain, a rather interesting fellow I befriended on Plurk.com some time ago.  He lives in Worcester, Great Britain.  You can find some of his works on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/adiecain/page3/. 

I don't actually recall just how "AdieCain" (his Plurk name) and I came to cross paths initially.  That is, I don't remember how the first connection came about.  Of course, with most personal/professional learning networks, things just kind of "happen."  In any case, Mr. Cain (who is really just a few years my senior and would probably bash me on the head for calling him "mister") is what I would suspect many people think of when they think of an artist: kinda wild, a little crazy, and paints as the mood hits him.

One day, he's hanging around the virtual water cooler and asks for ideas for a new painting.  I jumped on it.  I offered up descriptions of a field, overgrown and wild with a little house sitting in the distance.  The house is unkempt and ignored.  Other Plurkers took my suggestions and added to them.  Adie took all the suggestions and said he'd keep up informed of the progress.  It wasn't long (a week or so maybe) that he posted the beginnings of the work - rough sketch-in of rolling hills and the slight indication of the house.  We went bananas.  Really!   Several of the "smileys" on Plurk are banana-related (dancing ones, rockin' ones, etc). 

Not long after that, he posted the basically finished foliage portion and had more of the structure drawn in:



I was drooling.  This was shaping up to be a perfect fit for the novel!  The painting had a few things that didn't quite match the story, and even the finished product isn't exactly what I had pictured in my mind.  But, the great part about cover art is that it often gives the reader a hint of things to come, but doesn't always represent the story "exactly."  And for me, that is what makes it perfect for my novel.

In the novel, Corey Decker and several of his friends witness a horrific car accident while playing "cops and robbers" nearby.  When they learn of a "madman" that once lived in the woods behind his house, Decker and his gang set off to uncover the truth.  On their journey, they have a few misadventures, as kids often do, and along the way learn about each other and of the cruel tricks life plays sometimes.  After falling into an abandonded quarry pit, Decker and his friends come through a corn field only to discover a run-down, presumably abandonded house. 

I asked Mr. Cain for permission to use his artwork as the cover of my book, and he graciously allowed me to do so! Stop and think about that for just a moment. A guy in the United States joins a professional learning network. A few months later, he connects with an artist living in the UK. A moth or so after that initial connection, the artist hits a wall and needs an idea. On a lark, a suggestion is made, a painting is born, and soon the finished piece becomes the cover art for a novel. That blows my mind, and is something that could have really only happened through the "magic" of the Internet. Oh sure, people have communicated across the pond for centuries. But what are the chances an average guy would have happened to meet the person who would paint a cover for his novel (especially through writing letters)? Very slim, I would venture. For that matter, what would have been the chances an average guy could even publish a novel without "inside" connections to the publishing world? Again, slim. Thanks to the Internet, now anyone can publish easily. Before anyone gets all haughty on me, I recommend you watch "Ratatouille." Just sayin'.


Though the layout of the neighborhood is based loosely on the area I spent my early life, the tale comes completely from the space between my ears.  Most people have some "madman" or other legend they grew up with - the tales spun by older kids or adults to scare the wits out of younger kids or tales of strange floating lights or boggy-bottom monsters.  What makes those kinds of stories great is that finding the truth behind them is often more of an adventure than the legends themselves.

A novel update - All part of the process

As you may recall, last November I took part in the National Novel Writing Month challenge (write 50,000 words in 30 days).  This helped me move my long-slumbering novel-in-progress from paper weight to actual paper.  Once the contest was over, I took a little time to soak up my self-congratulatory celebration then got back to work.

Getting back to work meant ironing out some of the rough spots, making first-round edits, and turning the thing loose to a couple folks that asked to read and review it (with the added bonus of editing it).  I don't know what the average time it takes for the rewriting and editing process takes for a novel, but I can tell you it is a daunting task.  There is no way I could have done it without the help of the folks that lent a hand!  They'll be named in my acknowledgments once things get to that phase, for sure!

As of today, I have officially "finished" my novel!  I put that in quotes because if I choose to seek out an agent, editor, and go the traditional publishing route, then I am sure they will require that I do some editing.  Then again, maybe not since I've gone through that already.  You just never know how a certain editor will react.

So, now the question that occupies my mind centers on whether I want to seek out an agent or go the self-publishing route like I did with my short story collection.  There are benefits and drawbacks to each route.

Agency means finding someone that I get along with and that really wants to work with me as we develop my writing career.  There might be a lot of time involved, and there is the possibility of a false start or two.  The upside is that if everything works out, it could launch a new chapter in my life.

Self-publishing means I have control of the finished product.  The downsides mainly involve distribution and publicity.  Exposure will be much less in a self-publishing scenario, at least at first.  There have been plenty of authors that have proved very successful going the self-publishing route.  I'm just not necessarily a 'sales guy.'  The novel is in a form that I am happy with. I had a member of my professional learning network on Plurk actually provide the cover art I'd like to use.  The book is essentially print-ready from my perspective.

The first question most people ask is, "What's your book about?"  In a single sentence, I believe this describes it best:

Summer Breaks - After witnessing a horrific car crash in his neighborhood, nine year-old Corey Decker and his friends begin their summer break searching for a "madman" rumored to live in the woods nearby.

I'll let you know which path leads to the published novel!

If you've got any input, I'd like to hear it!  Know an agent that might be interested?  Feel free to pass my info along to them and/or their info on to me.  Have a preference/recommendation as to the agent/self-publishing route, let me know.