As that great philosopher David Bowie once observed, time can change me, but I can’t change time.
So. Some news about my life and writing career.
The most important news for your correspondent is that I moved into a house this weekend. A house, as in a structure I share with no one but my stuffed mermaid Mariah and my writing support dragon Ferdinand.
The place is in Barstow, a small town in the California Mojave Desert which is name checked in the song “Get Your Kicks on Route 66.” Name checked and nothing else, as there’s nothing else in Barstow.
But it’s nice to live in a house again after the small cramped quarters of the Hesperia Ranch, on the edge of the desert. Monsieur Coyote will no longer come to visit me (he would come to the edge of the chain link fence and stare at me for a few minutes, then casually saunter away), but the place has lots of nooks and crannies into which I can cram things. It’s nice to stretch out. And the rent is only $350 more than the tiny little duplex I was renting.
In other Mark Bruce news–and yes, that’s as awkward as it feels–I have begun to send out Minerva James and the God of War. I intend to query 100 agents, hoping I find the one who will see the potential in my girl.
As those of you who have read a Minerva story know, this is not an ordinary Mystery character. She’s a cross between Sherlock Holmes and Wonder Woman. I need an agent with vision, one who can see that this character has the potential of changing the way mystery readers think of women in the law.
Minerva came to me when I was thinking of an entry to the Black Orchid Novella Award. The award, given by the Nero Wolfe Pack Society in New York, is bestowed upon any author, professional or amateur, who can write a novella (15,000 to 18,000 words) which reflects a dynamic similar to that famous detective and his bloodhound, Archie Goodwin. A criminal attorney in California is not allowed to investigate his own cases, which makes the attorney-PI relationship perfect for the BONA.
Thing is, there’s no one like Minerva out there right now. The mysteries involving women lawyers that I’ve read make them seem frivolous and more interested in pleasing their man than helping their client. This is completely false to real life. Real life women lawyers are tough, intelligent, capable, resourceful.
Minerva will be a hard sell because she’s not like anyone else. The publishing world says they’re looking for something fresh, but that’s not what they’re publishing.
So, even though she’s a goddess, Minerva will need a bit of luck getting past the “gatekeepers” of the publishing world.
Finally, I got word last week that my short story Love Potion #10 will be included in an upcoming anthology. That’s the fourth short story I’ve placed this year. Not an impressive total, but it does show I’m still in the game.
Which brings me to Writer’s Shed Press. Its latest anthology, Second Thoughts includes one of my St. Alphonsus Stories, Idolatry. You can order a copy here. Here’s the cover:
Watch out you rock and rollers, pretty soon you’re gonna be older...
Mark Bruce, Writer 