According to Amazon, Nightmares with the Bible has now been published.Authors are seldom the first to see copies of their own books, strangely enough.I probably won’t have any physical copies for a couple of weeks yet.Until then I’ll wait like an expectant mother.I don’t actually read my own books after they’re published.Like some other writers I know, I’m terrified of finding mistakes.And the older I get the less certain I am about anything.I’m not even sure if it’s officially published yet or not.I choose to trust Amazon’s opinion on that.
Right now I’m caught up between four or five other book projects, each a good bit along.Since writing is often a mood-based thing, what I do in the sleepy hours of pre-dawn is what I feel like writing on any given day.Unless you have a book contract in hand, that’s not, I suppose, that unusual. I’m trying to guess what might most get the attention of an agent. Both Holy Horror and Nightmares with the Bible were written for general readers. I don’t have the name-recognition to command any kind of attention (or affordable prices), so I need to find a topic that’ll do the work for me. I personally find religion and horror a fascinating subject. Many other academics do as well, but general readers not so much. It’ll feel more like reality when I have a copy I can have and hold. I still haven’t reconciled myself with ebooks.
What usually makes me stick with a project for the dash toward the finish line is a book getting close enough to see the ribbon ahead.I write incessantly, so I have a backlog from which to draw.I know my tastes are odd, which means it’s a challenge to get others onboard with my likes.I know horror fans love to read about movies.I suspect most of them don’t care much about the religious aspect of what they’re seeing.That’s why I write about it.People get information about religion from popular media.Even if they deny their interest, writers and directors will slip it in regardless.I’m just calling them like I see them.The nice thing about movies is you can have instant replay.And with a fair number of us now publishing books in this niche, hopefully conversation will follow.Until then, I’ll just be waiting here until my first copy arrives.