Saturday, August 22, 2009

The Next One

Ever since I finished Michael Drayton, Detective Guy, I've been thinking about what sort of follow-up that book should have. It's not that I lack for ideas for stories--I have several of those--it's that Drayton doesn't seem to lend himself easily to the longer form of the novel. And his adventures are too complicated for short stories. He's a novella kind of guy. And I hate the idea of padding something out just to make it a more publishable length.

So, this morning, I had the thought that I might try pitching a follow-up that was a collection of three novellas rather than one novel. That way, I can just tell the three stories I have in mind and let them each spin out as they will without having to worry about reaching somebody else's idea of a publishable length. Had I had this idea a couple of years ago, I probably would have just written a Drayton omnibus that would tell all the stories I have to relay for him in one fat volume. Maybe some day I will.

No word yet from the independent publisher. Ten months today. That's fine. I'd rather that they took their time and accepted it than rushed and rejected it. I'm just fine with being patient.

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