There are stories that come to authors, but when we write them we are left feeling somehow incomplete. This happened to me. I had worked on my debut novel THE VOICE I JUST HEARD for many years before self-publishing in 2012. It's the story of an aspiring soprano and for three years my book had been represented by a literary agent while I was rewriting. We eventually parted ways and I released the novel via CreateSpace through Amazon. My former agent had preferred a certain ending that I used despite feeling it might be a little too glamorous and artificial.
As the years went, I wrote and published a second novel, ONE MORE SEAT THE ROUND TABLE, and grew as an artist. I decided the first ending of VOICE, which found my protagonist performing as a successful opera soprano, no longer resonated with me. The novel is about finding one's vocation in the shadow of a family tragedy, and while my main character Nora Costello meets another singer, Bart Wheeler, in the novel proper, I no longer felt it was desirable to have the couple accidentally reunite five years later during a Washington, D.C., production of Carmen.
I had always envisioned my first novel as a coming-of-age story, and I preferred to end the book with Nora contemplating her losses while making decisions about her future, rather than pursuing a career. As for Bart, he had painful family issues of his own, and I was no longer sure that opera stardom was feasible.
I went back to the drawing board and rewrote the entire novel, refining my original characterizations but making both Nora and Bart deeper and placing my emphasis on the way they interact with their families. Singing—their study of the craft and its role in their lives—is still front and center, but it's part of a more detailed portrayal of their growth.
My original version also featured a couple of graphic sex scenes that no longer felt necessary. So I replaced them with tasteful, subtle scenes that shouldn't offend anyone.
I am much happier with the revised edition, which will be published on September 16 by Atmosphere Press. And even if you read the 2012 edition, I hope you'll give my book another chance, which is why the ebook is priced low at $6.99. I think you'll find yourself falling in love with Nora and Bart and the city of Cohoes, my hometown, where much of the action is set.