I ran two miles in the morning, then hiked five miles, and biked seven in the evening. In between, I mowed the lawn. Obviously, I didn’t do that every day, but you get the idea. At 58 I was in great shape. I was eating healthily, more or less vegetarian, lots of natural micro-nutrients, and had lost ten pounds. Then a lump on the neck needed to be checked out, removed, and whoops, suddenly, I was faced with losing my ability to swallow and breath normally and talk, and…. all a stark probability, a case where I’d be rendered more or less useless, essentially gone before sharing my lifetime’s work, a first and forever novel, a humorous masterpiece (even if only in my own mind). Would I never experience the publication (and critical acclaim from my peers of course) of Roobala Take Me Home?
I came close. But after too many Roobala rejections, I moved on, and wrote Where the River Splits, a novel “normal” enough to fit a genre, and finally published in 2008. In between, of course, I published articles, short stories, poetry, and so on. And I wrote more novels like No Teacher Left Standing. But I always came back to rewrite Roobala. It has gone through about twenty complete or partial revisions, the last one nearly killing me, transforming from third person to first person.
I would have loved to rekindle publisher interest in Roobala, like in the 1980’s, a time when dialogue with agents and publishers seemed more likely. 1979 – “You certainly have a vivid imagination!” 1980 – “Many moments are beautiful, witty, and surprising, and the entire work is permeated with a curious nostalgia that I found very touching… you have presumably worked long on this, and spent quite a bit of money for typists on top of it. So any talk of rewriting is no doubt obnoxious at the moment, and you’ll forgive me for bringing it up.” 1987 – “I was beguiled by many aspects of Roobala….” 1987 – “There is a lot in it that I admire, but my final sense is that we would not have the success with it that you would want and, indeed, should have.” 1988 – “Very intriguing.” 1987 – “You write a nifty query letter.”
But obviously things have changed a lot since then, and I’ve finally given up, at least on traditional publishers. A 12-hour life and death surgery and on-going recuperation has altered my thinking about “publishing” my masterpiece. Never one to sit on my sorry ass for too long – I would if I could but I’m not made for it – I’ve decided to at least publish Roobala Take Me Home as an ebook. Also, “publishing” now seems timely given the Great Recession and protests about income inequality. Note: At some point, when I am fully recovered, I will likely write about my illness, but I’m not prepared to discuss it now.
I’d like to believe that I’m building on 1960’s and 70’s literary influences – primarily Kurt Vonnegut and Richard Brautigan, not necessarily in tone and style, as I have my own voice, but in spirit. However, my fear, a justified fear for any author, but more so for an idiot who presumes to “build upon” Vonnegut and Brautigan, is that my work will fall short of it’s mark, the laughter coming only from mockery. But, if staring into the face of death and disease does not chip away at your sense of dignity, what can? (A problem in the age of writing technology is I think just the opposite – all out braggadocio with no honor whatsoever.) Submitting my comedic masterpiece to “self-publishing” is relatively easy compared to the indignities of ill health.
So, if you are a fan of Kurt Vonnegut, Richard Brautigan, or possibly Douglas Adams, you might enjoy Roobala Take Me Home. Or being a fan of them might have nothing to do with your response to Roobala Take Me Home. Who the hell really knows? But at least now I am giving Roobala a chance.
