In the late seventies I wrote several poems that grew into
an idea for a novel. The book took me a couple of years to write and I should
have done my homework on preparing a proper manuscript. Fortunately, friends
loved the book even if agents didn’t. I kept it in my closet for many moons. In
1993 I had a short story published and I was disappointed with a lot of things
regarding writing and its place in my life. I stopped writing that year. I’m a
Christian and I believed back then I needed to give it up and focus on other
things more important—I had been married again two years before and we had our
first baby that year. Fast forward to 2009. I sat at my desk thinking
about our
later years and what we would do for a living when our legs gave out, and I
said a prayer about it. I sensed maybe it was a good time to go back to
writing, so I gathered the family together and told them, then I read my poetry
to my kids and told them about books I had written. It was a great moment in my
life. My family was totally supportive. I should have told them my muse doesn’t
rise until midnight, but I’d
forgotten. So now we are a family of night owls.
A month
later I got this idea about a tall, handsome pilot, a Guild officer in civvies,
taking a shuttle down to an odd planet—a Las Vegas of sorts in the distant
galaxy—in order to steal something of great value. I mined my old book for
various things and out of that work I got this idea for seven or eight
books.
I felt in
my gut The Wonk Decelerator would be published once I finished it. I chose the
small press route, so I could learn the publishing process. The book was
accepted almost immediately, but the publisher went under. I sent a partial to
another publisher and received a very positive response and sent in the rest.
That publisher also went under! Anyway, eventually the book got published and
the publisher is still in business! I have had four Guild books published,
though one of them is a very short prequel I did for laughs at my publisher’s
request and is only available in ebook. The other three are available in ebook
and paperback.
I’ve come
full circle now and I’m back to looking for an agent for my current book
(unrelated to the Guild books), The Dark—a supernatural, sci-fi suspense novel.
Apparently, you’re not supposed to call them horror stories nowadays.
About the Author
I earned a B.A. in Biblical Studies from Coral
Ridge University
and Seminary, as well as an M.A. in Political Science from George
Wythe College.
My first publication was a short story, TELEPIO 690, which appeared in
Sidetrekked Magazine, Issue #48. My other publications are, my first novel
(actually a novella),
THE WONK DECELERATOR, my second novel,
THE LATE, GREATBENJAMIN BALE, my third novel,
RETURN OF THE CRIMSON WITCH and a fourth
mini-book, a prequel to the Guild Series, THE DAUGHTER OF GETH, which is
available only in ebook. I am currently working on a science fiction/horror
novel, THE DARK. One of these days I might even finish it.
Happily, I have a wife and four children and live in Florida.
Website Link:
www.johndoody.com
Twitter Link:
@johnjosephdoody
Facebook Link:
https://www.facebook.com/authorjohnjosephdoody/
books.
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