“Oh Hell,” or Your 1st Amendment right to Tweet

Even though Justice is no longer blind and taxes are more confiscatory than ever, for the most part we still live in interesting times. Until you try and find an agent to get your book published.

If this agent stalking goes on for a long, long while (or a few short months if you’re the impatient type) and you decide to go the Independent way and self-publish, you will quickly rediscover that increasingly rare sensation, Freedom. That fundamental freedom we (still) have to wield a free press. Think of it. You picked the celebrity you just Tweeted about. Similarly you can choose the Cause to célèbre; the dragon to slay; or simply the rat (or the dozen) you’ll toy with next.

And then you’ll “just” do it. Because Francis Porretto makes exercising your 1st Amendment rights look oh-so-easy, doesn’t he? Well…hats off to him. Maybe even shoes and socks, too.

After a winter and spring of unsuccessful agent-hunting, smarty pants that I am, I thought, I can do that self-pubbing thing. And so this past summer I did. In a small way. Successfully “premium-listed” several short stories on the indie-publishing site (find them here) that I first learned about three years back, on Mr. Porretto’s EternityRoad.

I got this, I thought, after those first-timer uploads went Premium. I assumed that preliminary story business would prepare me for putting my (first) novel up “sometime later.” Well, later came sooner (about three weeks ago) in the form of a swift motivational suggestion by my better half (see post here). I’m pretty wordy (if you can’t tell) so I found getting the (equally-wordy) “Oh Hell” manuscript through the approval process by Smashwords a (well-fed Yellowstone Grizzly-) bear.

And here I thought I was such an expert.

What I’m trying to say (and using three-hundred words in the process!) is: my first novel, “Oh Hell,” is available (Patrice's iTunes/Apple page; Barnes and Noble page; Amazon.com page; Smashwords.com page). It toys with several rats: male suicide, a divorce-ravaged family, legislated Inequality, and restless Spirits, for starters. In an irreverent way.

If you’ve ever thought, I can do that, too, join me (and 189,000+ others) in creating your own unique and thought-provoking story. Fly by the seat of your pants with fellow freedom-of-the-press fighters by participating in National Novel Writing Month (visit NaNoWriMo). There’s tons of inspiration, camaraderie, and plain ol’ fun to be had. If nothing more stop by and get a unique peek into “the writer’s mind.” 

Thanks Mr. Porretto, for lighting the way (for me).