(the writer, not the other guys)
Let’s say you’re the author of the greatest mystery story ever told. Do you give away the big secret before the end, knowing that a lot of people won’t bother with the rest? Or do you ignore the constant carping and let everyone get to the ending on their own?
Just asking.
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After 25 years, I've gotten the rights back to this landmark first biography of Rod Serling, detailing everything from his deceptively idyllic childhood that he could never recapture, to the haunting World War II experiences that informed his vivid imagination, to his sudden emergence as one of television’s Golden Age luminaries. Last Stop, The Twilight Zone paints a surprising picture of the complex, unhappy man beneath his gregarious yet suave public persona. Despite boatloads of critical and popular acclaim, Serling felt imprisoned by his most famous creation, and began doubting his own talent, causing him to accept nearly any job offered, from writing to pitching products. Here is the Rod Serling we never knew, the man whose success overshadowed his ambitions and, eventually, his life—a life that ended far too prematurely.
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Ignore all carping.
Just finished reading LA ’56 and thoroughly enjoyed it. Every page had something interesting and it had great pacing. Very concise and entertaining.
Antonio: Thanks much.
Not to turn this into a congrats thread, but I also appreciated L.A. ’56, and noted so. I number my readers in pairs at best, but here’s hoping I made you a sale or two 😉
http://friarsfires.blogspot.com/2013/05/three-different-books.html
Brett, thanks for the very kind words. I hadn’t seen the review before and am pleased to read it now. By the way, you should know that the first several drafts of the book were written, as you suggested, in the conventional past-tense author’s voice. But clearly, something was missing. Only when I decided to go present tense did the urgency of the story come alive for me as the book’s first reader.
You’re welcome.
That’s interesting to hear; it may be just a preference of mine then. After all, you’re the pro, and your way it sold 😉