I would like to run some title ideas by you, especially to those familiar and/or intimately associated with the original printing of the first Canis Sapiens book, which was further identified as Book One: The Dingo Factor. As you may well be aware, I have no affiliation with the original publisher and found that particular relationship to be a negative one. I had interrupted work on the sequel in order to revamp the first volume so that I could present new publishers with a revised--and expanded--edition of the original, but most publishers will not even look at previously published books unless they were blockbuster hits. I have found one or two that would be willing to look at it if accompanied by its follow-up, and so now that Book One has been revised, I have returned to Book Two and have maybe one-third left to write.
With that being said, I decided to give the first book a new title (which was suggested anyway by one publisher), and to further relegate the series title to a more secondary position. So the revised and expanded edition of Canis Sapiens Book One: The Dingo Factor will now be known as The Hollow Howl. Whatcha think? And after a very tough time trying to come up with a title for the sequel as I've been writing it, I finally hit upon In Sheep's Clothing. Both would be accompanied by "A Canis Sapiens Adventure" to announce the series they belong to. (And long ago I had already declared that the third installment would be called Red Fang.) It was not easy to rename my baby--and there are those who are strongly against it--but I do feel that the new name and arrangement are more fitting with what is found on the covers of its contemporaries. I also like the new name itself. Anyone familiar enough with the story to find it to be particularly appropriate?
25 Comments
So just as the Canis sapiens of my series are looking for a place to live and thrive, so too is the series itself. Dissatisfaction with its previous publisher has kept me from submitting the sequel there, and I am endeavoring to find a publisher that would pick up the series and run with it in a more productive fashion. So if you were wondering whatever happened to Book Two, this will hopefully explain its delay, for the obstacle that I have to deal with is the fact that offering Book One to a new publisher (which I am able to do, now that all the rights have reverted back to me) involves finding one that is willing to accept what they will consider to be "a reprint" as it has already been published before. And since most publishers are not interested in (and strictly refuse to consider looking at) reprints, this limits where I can take it. I was given hope though in my discussions with some industry professionals, particularly an acquisitions editor I chatted with at last week's Book Expo in New York's Jacob Javits Center, so I am not discouraged. In fact, I am more charged than ever to find a home for my creation that will be a better fit for it. So stay tuned, and be patient, as I have not abandoned it--or you!
Thank you for patiently waiting to hear more about Beverly's experiences. No one is more excited about seeing this tale unravel further than myself, and now that certain obstacles have been removed which had deterred its progress, it may now continue as planned. In the meantime, I shall be bringing copies of my book to several places in the coming months to try to initiate more readers into the fold. First up is the Baltimore Book Expo, where I may be found at my publisher's table on Sunday, September 24th, from 11:00 AM to 2:55 PM. For more info about the show, visit: http://www.baltimorebookfestival.com/. After that will be the York Book Expo (yorkbookexpo.org/) on October 21st, where I will have my own table for the duration of the event, and a local store appearance (date yet to be determined).
My apologies for the delay with Book Two. A personal crisis derailed my life about a year ago and is yet to be resolved, and unfortunately it has robbed me of my ability to work on it as I had been doing. Seeing my post about the book finding its bones reminds me of the great strides I had been taking, and it quite frankly pains me that I have not been able to continue as I had planned. But rest assured, the second installment IS being worked on; it is just progressing painfully slowly due to the as-yet-unresolved situation that still plagues me. Beverly Journal's tale continues!
Nothing like the feeling when a story finds it bones! I was starting to worry that Book Two would suffer that literary equivalent of the "middle child syndrome," which often plagues second installments of trilogies. Then I hit upon the missing element that was needed to save it and make it stand out from Books One and Three. Now, instead of it being "that book I have to get through" to get to the one I am more excited about, I am actually enjoying the experience and look forward to getting home every night to continue work on it.
Check out this interesting article from a West Michigan news site:
http://wwmt.com/news/local/michigan-monsters-dogman-legend-continues-to-howl-across-state?linkId=24777219 Could Canis sapiens be loose among us? Right up there with “What is your book about?” the next question that is always asked of authors would be “What kind of book is it?” And while it is nice to have a simple category that adequately sums up the tone and content of your story, the answer is not necessarily so easy to come up with.
I guess there must have once been a time when a horror was a horror and a comedy was a comedy, and never the twain shall meet, but I don’t recall it. Sci-fi/horrors, paranormal romances, dramedies! Nowadays we just love to dip our chocolate in someone else’s peanut butter in the hopes of inventing a new flavor. But it’s not even intentional. Sure there are those who set out to reinvent sub-genres from the get-go, but often it is the case that an author develops a story the way he/she feels it should be, and then has to struggle afterward trying to determine what category it most closely fits into. Then add to that the problem of dealing with a series, where one installment may stray from the previous one’s prescribed subject matter. For it is as much fun for the author as for the reader to have a running character be suddenly put into a circumstance beyond his norm. Take James Bond, for instance (the literary creation, not the film series, although there has been some variation there as well). Throughout the course of his novels, he has been involved in grand espionage adventures, but there have been attempts to stray into far-flung territories that have virtually gone unnoticed under the overall guise of its spy novel roots. He has been involved in a Western (The Man with the Golden Gun, complete with shootout on a train), a science-fiction plot (Dr. No, who is more machine than man—an early Darth Vader?), an Asian-themed excursion (You Only Live Twice), a taut thriller (The Spy Who Loved Me—just Bond showing up at a hotel to protect a woman from thugs), a tragic romance (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service), and more. Giving each novel its unique flavor was what helped keep Fleming’s series fresh and interesting. So how do I describe my series? I simply call it a werewolf story, but if pressed I would describe it as horror, cringing to do so because it does not exactly fit with what I consider a horror, except superficially. I almost want to call it science fiction, since to me it is more about exploring the culture of an alien (no, not from outer space) species, but I also acknowledge that Book One is very much a paranormal romance, with a great deal of it concentrating on a forbidden love affair. However, the second book is by no means a paranormal romance, and the third (not to give anything away) is actually the closest to being an actual horror story. So how do I describe the series as a whole? ...No, really, I’m asking you: How do I describe the series? Is it even necessary to describe a series? Must everything be pigeonholed for easy consumption? Don’t get me wrong; I like to know what I’m getting into when I start reading a book or watching a movie. In fact, knowing what genre it falls in helps me decide whether to read/watch it or not. But I also like a little leverage where that’s concerned. I particularly like my sci-fi and horror to blend; in fact, films of the fifties did this all the time (The Thing from Another World, The Blob, etc.). So why was it that the first ALIEN film was treated like it invented the wheel? What kind of book is it? To me it is so much more than one thing. It has horror elements, but it also has science-fiction elements. It is a tale of forbidden love, but it is also a thriller about a person dealing with emotional trauma. I find it as hard to simplify into one word as I would find it hard to describe one of my sons in one word, but nevertheless an author is expected to be able to do so with his or her book. I suppose simply saying “fiction” isn’t good enough, huh? Tonight I'd like to address some of my literary inspirations, especially those who have written werewolf stories. As for those who haven't, I am a longtime fan of the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Richard Matheson, as well as the controversial John Norman, but there are certain werewolf tomes that stand out in my mind as being the pillars on which my book rests. I am in no way comparing my work to these, or myself to these authors; I simply acknowledge their contributions to the genre in general and to myself as a writer. First and foremost is the Howling trilogy by Gary Brandner, although I must admit that it was the Joe Dante movie that inspired me most. In fact, it doesn't take much to realize how that film helped mold Canis Sapiens into what it became. In fact, I will readily admit that when I close my eyes, I envision one of my characters to look exactly like a character from that film. Of course, storywise they are not alike, except in a very basic sense. For those who like their tales to be epic in nature, S. P. Somtow's Moon Dance is a sprawling adventure spanning generations and incorporating other supernatural elements not usually linked to the werewolf theme. I have always considered it to be the Gone with the Wind of werewolf stories. The next book is the second installment of a trilogy that is almost entirely unknown. Wake of the Werewolf, by Geoffrey Caine, is sandwiched between a vampire novel and a zombie one, and each one is an iconic, worthy tribute to its corresponding sub-genre. Finally, even though Carrie Vaughn's Kitty Norville series was written after I had already composed my first draft, reading it inspired me in a different way. Finding her style to be similar in tone to my own, I felt a strange kinship in this other werewolf-loving contemporary author and felt hopeful that there just might be an audience for my work too.
I encourage others to check out these predecessors, and I thank them for figuratively letting me stand on their shoulders. |
AuthorCreator of the Canis Sapiens series, Anthony Regolino created this blog to discuss his work, upcoming projects, and writing in general. Archives
April 2023
Categories |