When I was seven I wrote a story about a space ship landing in our back yard. The aliens were friendly and, at some point, they ate purple ice cream. As mothers do, mine told me it was brilliant. A year later, I thought it was dumb. A year after that, I wished I could write like that again. The next year, I burned it. My mom spanked me for playing with matches. The next day I wrote a story about a mean old mother and her reign of terror. As mothers do, she said it was cruel. The next day, I burned it.
I was always a writer. Only, I was never very good once my age hit double digits. And I've only gotten worse with age. Last year, I published "The Angel Walks at Dawn," my third short story, as well as "Booker Dane and the Case of the Copper Box," my second failed attempt at a novel. Tim Zachary, my publisher, loved it. I wanted to trash all copies of it. He said it was gold. I wanted to go back to purple ice cream. He published it. And it sold. Four copies. Two of them to Zach. The Dane story had been out a few weeks and had tanked so badly that Zachary wanted a sequel. Go figure. The cruel mother was creeping back into my thoughts. Zach suggested that I consider bringing in a youthful detective for Booker to train. He thought it would grab a larger audience. I considered his words.β¦youthfulβ¦trainβ¦. I took a train back to where I was when I was youthful.
I needed to clear my thoughts. I wanted to write something fresh.
I went back to my college for inspiration. I never had any while I was here, and the muses decided I would find it just as fleeting. Hell, I don't know what I was expecting. I had only graduated two years before. I needed to dig deeper. Go a little farther back.
In high school, I wrote for the school paper. Twice. The first time was a travesty. My article on dropouts among the football players, "Varsity Team Perfects Incomplete Pass," went over like caviar at a trailer park. My second article was a mistake. Suffice it to say, the storm after the football story was paradise. No one ever signed my yearbooks.
Mom had kept my room the way it had always been. You couldn't see the walls for the posters, couldn't see the floor for the toys. The desk was blue, the bed sheets were Star Wars. She thought it was nostalgic. I thought it was revolting. A week of cleaning later and the desk was mahogany, the bed sheets were white, the floor was spotless, and the posters were history. The globe on my desk was replaced by my laptop. I began. Page 1β¦
The days passed.
I continued. Page 1. Line 8.
I tried to tell myself to face facts, that I was no good and should have been a gossip columnist. I didn't listen and suggested I go fuck myself. About 2AM, I reasoned that I should get piss drunk. I did. It worked. I churned out what my drunken self considered Shakespeare. The next morning, well, afternoon, my hung-over self recognized it as Much Ado About Nothing, Act III. No more booze.
Mom saw what I was going through. Hell, she had seen it coming years ago. I had no talent. No gift. Just desire. Desire doesn't pay the bills. Once, after another day of writing attempts, she called me into the living room to take a break from my blank pages. She was spread out on the couch in her green robe, watching some old black and white flick. She was short and trim, but still managed to take up the whole sofa. I sat in the recliner and tried to get into the movie. No dice. A half hour of uncomfortable silence and I began to fidget. She glanced over at me. She asked: