Husband's novel will be a movie!!!!!!!!!

[Thirtieschild]

Well, a Hallmark movie, or maybe even just a DVD movie - didn't know there was such a thing, but whatever, however, it's a done deal, we got a nice check today (nice for us, not so nice for the big names).

The novel - Shikar by Jack Warner - has traveled a long, rocky road. Had a great agent (Richard Curtis), after Jack turned down Harper-Collins because they wanted to desecrate it took five years to find a publisher (Tor/Forge), got no push from said publisher (now isn't that a surprise), almost no reviews though those few it got were tremendous (except for Kirkus, which hated it, but PW loved it), sold something like 3000 copies, ended up remaindered, picked up by i-books as a paperback, named changed to Maneater, i-books promptly declared bankruptcy.

I mentioned the novel here several months ago. Shikar - hunt in Hindi - tells the story of a man-eating tiger loose in the mountains of North Georgia. The heart of the story is the struggle between the tiger and an aging hunter for the soul of a small boy - the tiger is trying to teach the child what it means to be a tiger and the hunter what it means to be a man. The book is in most libraries and can be bought on Amazon for something like $1.50. Did I say it had been remaindered.

The most touching story that came out of it came from a man in Oklahoma who lost his much-loved horse to a mountain lion. He was obsessed with killing the lion until he read Shikar. He had an epiphany and understood his loss from the lion's point of view.

Anyway, we are thrilled, so thrilled I had to share the news with all of you. Maybe now he'll write another one. He's one of those speed writers who are totally intimidating. He wrote the first third of Shikar during a week of vacation, and finished it during the next five weeks while also working 40 hours a week as a reporter at the AJC.

Thanks for listening.

[rusty charly]

1. congrats!

all the best!

Whoo-HOO!

[stellanoir]

2. congrats !!! and many more to come

[Solly Mack]

3. Beyond Awesome!!!!!!!! Congrats to your husband!!!!

[unhappycamper]

4. Congratulations!

Be sure to let us know when it hits the big screen/little screen/DVD.

You guys should treat yourselves to a dinner. :thumbsup:

[Kukesa]

5. Wow! What an accomplishment. Congrats! nt

[vickitulsa]

6. From a fellow writer, congrats on this success!

Can't wait to see the movie and will try to find a copy of the book to read -- it sounds right up my alley.

I know all about the "bidness" of publishing, too, so I sympathize with all you both went through in that process. Takes a lot of "sticktoitiveness" as my granddad used to say, to hang in there long enough to succeed -- especially when you're not a "big name" already.

My own agent had a heart attack just when he'd been making some progress getting my first novel noticed, and I didn't follow up with anyone else after that, so it's my own fault my work didn't get past a very small (basically local) publication run. My family likes it though! ;)

I also know what the partners of writers endure as their loved one goes through creative periods (and the "blocks" as well), so I'm giving YOU a big ole "hooah" for your support of your spouse as well.

Again, congrats to you both! And a K&R to help more DUers see this great news.

[Thirtieschild]

12. Publishing is a horrendous "bidness" - and getting worse

I'm intimately familiar with the trajectory, or lack thereof, of four published books (books written by my husband, by our son-in-law, by both of my two closest friends) and the struggle for recognition is mind-boggling. Don't blame yourself for not following up after your agent's heart attack - I'm not sure it can be done by the author alone. We spent something like 15 hours a day, every day for three months, to little avail. We visited every bookstore in every town between our little corner of southwestern New Mexico and Atlanta, giving buyers copies of the book with the hope they'd read it and recommend it, calling owners of private bookstores and offering to give them a copy of the book, sending announcements to everyone I'd ever known, up to and including the 50 members of my 1953 high school graduating class.

I'm working on a coming-of-age novel - am embarrassed to say exactly how long I've been working on it. More than anything, it's the novel I'm not writing. My mother, who will be 98 in a couple of weeks, begs me to finish it while she's still alive - waiting for it may keep her going well past 100.

[vickitulsa]

14. I hope more folks here will K&R this for ya

because just the exposure you could get here at DU if this thread makes it to the Greatest page might boost your sales quite a bit! You and your husband deserve it, is what I'm thinking. :) I really will be sure to get a copy of his book and read it, I'm not just saying I'll do it.

I was already familiar enough with how things work in a similar field (songwriting, where I dealt with Capitol Records for years) to know that I couldn't have followed up on my own as an individual to keep promoting my first novel after my agent's "big one." Really what I meant was I didn't even try to get another agent, but it was for personal reasons, not careerminded ones. Then my house burned down and all my creative writing projects went up in smoke (back in the early 90's before we all learned how important it was to save backups of important documents OFFSITE).

After that disaster I've never really had the heart to work at writing for mass publication again, but I may return to it someday yet, ya never know! I do have a manuscript in the works for an offbeat market of sorts -- tips for pain control I've learned from experience. It'll be a sort of pamphlet, though, and I don't want to charge people for it, so there ya go.

Meanwhile I encourage other writers like you and your guy every chance I get. Back in the 90's, it had become as difficult simply to get an AGENT as it once was to gain the attention of a publishing house! Most modern writers can hardly even remember the days of "slushpiles" when manuscripts came in "over the transom" at publishing companies -- and many were actually read and eventually published that way.

I'm sure it's even harder and more stressful now than when I last dealt with the business end of things. But when success finally arrives, it's mighty SWEET, isn't it? *BSEG*

Hope you have a big party or three or four. You've paid your dues and deserve to be happy. I also hope that your promotions efforts prove exceedingly fruitful! Keep us informed on how it goes, will ya? :)

[Glorfindel]

7. Fantastic! I must read the book, and then see the movie...

since I was born and reared in the mountains of North Georgia. I'm excited to know that a novel other than "Deliverance" has been set there. Thank you for posting this heads-up, and congratulations to your husband and to you.

[niyad]

8. congratulations!! raising a glass in your honour--this is wonderful!!

[Sequoia]

9. What a great story. Thanks and congrats.

Hunting from the animal's point of view. Now your talking!

[eleny]

10. This is wonderful

May I suggest that you let Mike Malloy know about this. He and his family live in Georgia. You might post about it at his web site's bulletin board, too.

Congratulations!

[Thirtieschild]

13. Excellent suggestion. I'll do just that. Thanks. eom

[donco6]

11. Good for you! I'll watch for it. eom

[pitohui]

15. congratulations!

richard curtis is a legendary agent, and it sounds like your husband has told one hell of a story!

[Goblinmonger]

16. Just finished reading it yesterday.

It was a good read. Pretty fast read, too. I thought it was well paced and I actually gave up on of my prep periods at school to finish it. I teach English and we have students do personal reading for the first 10 minutes of class and I also read with them (good modeling, you know). I got about a 100 pages from the end and just had to finish it.

[RetroLounge]

17. Congrats!

:hi:

RL

[JitterbugPerfume]

18. that is great!

and it sounds like a very interesting book--movie!

[Downtown Hound]

19. Awesome!

Congrats on a great accomplishment!

[RedSock]

20. VERY cool!

Wow!!!

...

Curtis was my agent also, though he could not sell my book. (I put it out myself.)