Manuscript accepted, contract signed!
I've just contracted my YA sports novel, Changing Gears, to be published as an e-book by Euterpe, the YA imprint of Musa Publishing.
In Changing Gears, Barry Sloane knows he’s not going to get a car for his sixteenth birthday. But that’s okay, he’ll be happy with a mountain bike. Instead, his stepmother gives him her old road bike - not just any bike, but a high-end, shiny red racing Eddy Mercx. Disappointed at first, Barry soon discovers that not only does he like riding fast on the road, but also he has the makings to be a top racer, maybe even to go to the Olympics some day.
That’s not the end of the summer’s surprises, however. First he meets Daphne, a very cute girl in the local bike racing club. Daphne is sophisticated in an eccentric sort of way. She’s one of the strongest junior women racers in Southern California and can kick Barry’s butt on the road any day of the week, but she doesn’t care about her race results and instead seems to delight in seeing just how disconcerting she can be.
Then Kurt, Barry’s best friend, drops a bombshell: he thinks he’s gay. Barry isn’t quite sure how to handle this news, and he soon finds that he’s much more interested in bike racing - and Daphne - than he is in helping Kurt sort through his problems.
Changing Gears is the first novel I wrote. Actually, it's also the second novel I wrote. After unsuccessfully shopping the first version of the manuscript around, I decided a major rewrite was in order. I changed the point of view from third person to first, changed most of the plot and sequence of events. Really, I only kept the characters and the overall story arc. Oh, and exactly four pages of the original manuscript. And I still didn't get any bites.
Until now. It's been a long time coming, but I'm so happy to see the book in print. Or, well, in pixels. Initially, it will be available only as an e-book. Later, it might appear in print; it's too soon to say.
The tentative release date is July 2012. I'll post more news when there's more news to post.
In Changing Gears, Barry Sloane knows he’s not going to get a car for his sixteenth birthday. But that’s okay, he’ll be happy with a mountain bike. Instead, his stepmother gives him her old road bike - not just any bike, but a high-end, shiny red racing Eddy Mercx. Disappointed at first, Barry soon discovers that not only does he like riding fast on the road, but also he has the makings to be a top racer, maybe even to go to the Olympics some day.
That’s not the end of the summer’s surprises, however. First he meets Daphne, a very cute girl in the local bike racing club. Daphne is sophisticated in an eccentric sort of way. She’s one of the strongest junior women racers in Southern California and can kick Barry’s butt on the road any day of the week, but she doesn’t care about her race results and instead seems to delight in seeing just how disconcerting she can be.
Then Kurt, Barry’s best friend, drops a bombshell: he thinks he’s gay. Barry isn’t quite sure how to handle this news, and he soon finds that he’s much more interested in bike racing - and Daphne - than he is in helping Kurt sort through his problems.
Changing Gears is the first novel I wrote. Actually, it's also the second novel I wrote. After unsuccessfully shopping the first version of the manuscript around, I decided a major rewrite was in order. I changed the point of view from third person to first, changed most of the plot and sequence of events. Really, I only kept the characters and the overall story arc. Oh, and exactly four pages of the original manuscript. And I still didn't get any bites.
Until now. It's been a long time coming, but I'm so happy to see the book in print. Or, well, in pixels. Initially, it will be available only as an e-book. Later, it might appear in print; it's too soon to say.
The tentative release date is July 2012. I'll post more news when there's more news to post.