Linda K Sienkiewicz

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The Book That Almost Wasn’t – guest post by Allison Maruska

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Please welcome author Allison Maruska to my blog!

Playing favorites… for a reason:

Almost two weeks ago, my most recent novel The Seventh Seed was released to as much fanfare as I could muster. I hosted a Facebook launch party (where Linda contributed as a guest author and was FABULOUS), wrote blog posts, created ads, set up giveaways, and watched great review after great review roll in.
And all the while, a little thought nagged the back of my mind. This book is lucky to be alive. 
 
I don’t think authors are supposed to have favorites with their books. Like they’re our children. But Seed was an early favorite. When I started writing it more than two years ago, I sensed there was something special about it. So much so that I sent the first scene to a critique partner, who in referring to a YA novel I was working on at the time, said, “F*** Drake, work on this. It’s a bestseller.”

So why did it almost not happen? 

The most obvious and perhaps believable explanation is I won the rights back to my trilogy and wanted to get them out. Which is true. I tried to work on Seed at the same time but it was too much at once. Seed was getting half-assed and I didn’t like it. But instead of saying “I’ll work on it later,” I said, “I’m not going to finish it.”
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It sat in my computer, unfinished, patiently waiting for me for over a year. And to be honest, simply giving myself permission to not finish relieved a lot of stress.
The thing is, I really thought I wouldn’t go back.

But an interesting thing happened:

I cleared my backlog of unpublished work, and when I looked around, I had to ask myself, what’s next?
Me: I suppose I can work this new idea.
Brain: Seed is still out there, though.
Me: I’m not finishing that one. It needs too much work.
Brain: Then why did you save it?
Me: . . .
Me: . . .
Me: Shut up.
Eventually, my brain persuaded me to open the file and fix what was there. The first eleven chapters, a few of which needed significant revisions, hadn’t gone anywhere.
And once I gave myself permission to look at it, I knew I needed to finish it. The first scene was still the one that my writing partner said was the start of a bestseller. All the things that I thought made it special had waited for me.

I realized I couldn’t not finish it.

That was March of this year, and by July I had added 50,000 words to complete it. I tossed around the idea of querying it, considering the success of its predecessor, The Fourth Descendant. But I ultimately decided to self-publish, as I did with Descendant. In doing that, I felt a journey had been completed somehow.
 .
Now that it’s been released, I do worry more about what people think of it than I do with my other books. I’m not sure why. Maybe because we were together longer as an unfinished work, or maybe it’s because I know it’s on a different level than my other books. Whatever the case, I’m glad I finished it. It’s out of my hands and into the world, which is where it was meant to be.

So…

if you have an unfinished thing nagging at you, maybe open the file and have a look. Your brain might just convince you to finish something great. 

Allison Maruska is a YA and mystery/suspense author, blogger, teacher, mom, wife, coffee and wine consumer, and owl enthusiast. Her blog includes humor posts, short stories, and posts on writing strategy, parenting, and teaching.
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Linda K. Sienkiewicz is the author of the award-winning novel In the Context of Love, a gripping story about one woman’s need to tell the truth without shame.

Angelica Schirrick has been running from her past ever since the devastating discovery that her life is not what she thought.

Sarton Women’s Fiction Finalist
Eric Hoffer Book Award Finalist
Readers’ Favorite Finalist
USA Book News Best Book Finalist
Great Midwest Book Fest Honorable Mention.

“…at once a love story, a cautionary tale, and an inspirational journey.” ~ Bonnie Jo Campbell, author of National Book Award Finalist, American Salvage, and critically acclaimed Once Upon a River,and Mothers, Tell Your Daughters

“With tenderness, but without blinking, Linda K. Sienkiewicz turns her eye on the predator-prey savannah of the young and still somehow hopeful.” ~ Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of the #1 NY Times Bestseller, Deep End of the Ocean

Buy now: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

Comments

    • Linda K Sienkiewicz says

      You’re welcome! Glad you like the graphics – I had fun making it. I think your post is so encouraging to writers at any stage. So many of us have manuscripts lingering in the dark. It’s time to bring them to the light!

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