Now that my book is released and the book launch is just days away, I wanted to give a “sneak peak” into the letters that my Irish immigrant ancestor wrote to his wife and children…His words are heartfelt and genuine. His motivation for joining the war was not political nor for personal pride; it was to benefit his family. Florence Burke joined the Union Army as a “substitute.” In other words he took the draft of a wealthy man in exchange for cash and a plot of land. He made a desperate gamble because he knew that owning land would be a life-changer for his family. Did his gamble pay off? (You’ll have to read the book to find out!)
That’s it! I’m self-publishing!
I’ve never been good at waiting. After all, how do you move forward if you’re stuck in one place? My debut novel, a historical fiction entitled Yours Faithfully, Florence Burke, has been caught in “publishing purgatory” for seven months now, and I’m frustrated with the snail’s pace that Literary Agents and publisher’s move.
There has been interest in my book; in fact it has been sitting on the desk (probably on the bottom of a huge stack of other manuscripts) at a literary agent in London and New York and at a small publisher in Boston. But I can’t get an answer from them! A simple “yes” or “no” is all I am asking for so I can plan my next move. I prefer straight up rejections (and I’ve gotten plenty of those).
Fact, Fiction, or Maybe a Little of Both?
How should I preserve the historic letters of my great-great grandfather and how can I best share them with others?
A Biography? Hmmmm.
Initially I thought about writing a non-fiction book, a biography on my ancestor’s life. I pictured myself gathering data, creating a time-line, a family tree, and highlighting the exciting events. I would include the letters in their entirety so that my family, especially my children, could read them and appreciate the struggles their Irish ancestors faced while Immigrating to America. However, as I collected information and researched my great-great grandfather’s past, I knew non-fiction would not be the appropriate genre for me to express his life story.