Trials and Tribulations

What No Publisher?

As most of you know already, Forbidden Publications has shut down. That leaves myself, and a lot of other writers to make hard decisions. A great majority of authors in the Forbidden stable were published in other markets and with other publishers; those hard working ladies and gentlemen will carry on without too many problems. It's a totally different story for others though; as you will see shortly.

In this craft, time and experience is a giant portion of ones ability to catch the eye of agents and publishers; whether they are involved with E-Publishing or the much sought after "Brick and Mortar" houses. It is as important, in many cases, as our skills as writers and the quality of our prose. The first thing that an Acquisitions Editor will see in a query will be a definite shortage of credits, and sales that were not all that great. Publishing is a numbers game and publishers are in business to support and market entertainment to readers that will raise the bottom line. That will often lead to a jaded view of any manuscript offered for review.

Now that is not necessarily a bad thing. A closer inspection of ones work will, in many cases, make strong points stand out as boldly as weak points in writing. Personally, I would want more than a cursory glance at any piece I submit before a decision is made. But, what of those that were still in the formative stage? Great plots do not just happen. Writing is a progressive, step by step, journey. You see, with every edit and rejection comes lessons learned that slowly make a writer better.

Decisions!

So, I and a lot of others need to find a new home for our work. It will not be short process. Some will remain in the realm of E-Pubs and some will take a shot at landing an agent and attempt to entice a New York publishing house to review their wares in hopes of breaking into the "Big League". And some will walk their books door to door as 'Self-Published' authors.

I haven't decided what I will do yet. I still add to stories that compel me. I chase my muse around the room in a frenetic frenzy when she comes whispering in my ear about a new idea or plot. I drink pots of coffee and burn the lights at home 'till early into each weekend morning. I am back at the stage of procrastination. I know I have a decision to make, yet I know I will not stop writing. So, what will I do now? Only time will tell.

I'm A.C. Croom, and I WRITE!

Writers write and Dreamers dream! I'm Both!

She's beautiful isn't she? The culmination of thousands of years of evolution or one single instant of creation; take your pick. It is the dream of man to hold beauty close and cherish it. Offer himself or herself to an equal in the quest to create beauty, most times in the ultimate sharing of Love as soul mates, a fleeting, almost magical moment stretched into a single lifetime to be enjoyed time after time with smiles and happiness.

Writing is like that to me. A story begins with a single thought and grows to maturity in my imagination to become the most beautiful thing I can share. I try to know and understand each and every character in my stories so thoroughly that they can tell me the story in their own words. I try to create worlds that will please them and the people they entertain as their tale unfolds. I try to let the story end happily if I can.

When I was a young boy, I began to read the classic authors that were available to me; Hemingway, Dickens, Zane Grey, Longfellow and of course old Sam Clemens (Mark Twain). I read of impossible feats accomplished by determined heros, love as viewed in the 19th. century, hard fighting cowboys and the west as it should have been instead of the tough life that was in day to day reality, poetry that sang of far away lands with magical men and women, and innocence that always held purity high for all to see.

With all those beautiful images in my soul, how else could I be. Everyone has a story to tell. I have many! Once started on the road as a bard, it's hard to imagine life without the beauty of the telling or the happiness it brings.

I'm A.C. Croom and I write!

From A Distance

It was February of this year when cancer claimed my mother. I watched her go through her ordeal for almost three years. Mother was always amazing in her strength facing lifes everyday burdens, but in this she was truly the rock that I anchored too.

Too many Mothers, Fathers, Sisters and Brothers face a similar fate and I am saddened that a non-destructive cure hasn't already been found to fight this modern day demon. Please, help support Cancer research by donating to the American Cancer Society so one day all of us may be able to look on this disease as a thing of the past.

In Honor Of My Mother!

From a Distance

From a distance I look and see
A woman with a tender heart watching over me
She smiles and I find what I most desire to be
A man of strength that can make my own fears flee

Hers is a world I have never had
I watch from a distance, far away and sad
She is untouchable now; that makes me mad
Her remembered smile makes me happy; that makes me glad

But for the touch of time
I would rush there and make her world mine
Tell her the things I feel; that would be fine
Alas, I miss her; I sit here and pine

I watch from a distance; what do I see
A lady in white smiling back at me
Showing me glory that will one day be
I call out to her; "Go now Lady, Move forward and fly free."


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