BUSY

It's a busy time.  It always seems to be a busy time.  Have you noticed?  If it's not a busy time for you, then you're a lot wiser than I am.  These past few days I have been busy working on the final--well, semi-final--preparations for the publication of The Pilgrim's Staff.  Yesterday, I read through the entire text again, nearly four hundred pages of it, searching for errata in the formatted version; and was surprised by how many I managed to find, despite previous fine tooth-comb reading.  A very intense and concentrated read.  I don't know how many times I've read the entire story now, but it must be dozens.  It's getting so that the eyes begin to glaze...

A couple of days ago, it was the cover.  My friend Gregg Chadwick was generous enough to create an image for the front.  Having read the book, he delved into the art of the 18th century, particularly the erotic prints and drawing of artists like Thomas Rowlandson...

... and George Cruickshank and came up with an image that captured the spirit of both the period and the story that I've written.

Gregg Chadwick, "The Embrace," 2014, 30" x 24", oil on linen

Loved the painting--but there was some concern about the penis!  Even though that's the reference of the book's title--an 18th century euphemism.  But would CreateSpace allow it?  To put the offending organ in context, I suggested using a studio shot with the artist's palette, paint tube and so on arranged in front of the image.  Which is appropriate anyway, because the second of my two narrators (the other is an 18th century English gentleman) is a contemporary figure painter.

So that's how it will look.  I'll keep the actual cover for a later date, but it's now agreed upon.  For the back cover blurb, I wrote the following:

“I am no Rake.” So says the anonymous English gentleman whose two hundred year-old journal falls into the hands of the prominent Los Angeles-based figure painter and avid blogger, David Soames…

 … who is skeptical of the author’s protestation.  “No Rake…?”  Blog and journal soon begin to mirror each other in an exchange that echoes across the centuries.  As the potboiler romps exuberantly through 18^th century Georgian boudoirs, it triggers the intimate memories of a 21^st century man reflecting on youth—and age.

 The more things change, it seems, the more they stay the same.   At least when it comes to men and sex.  The Pilgrim’s Staff is an explicit, unabashed reflection on the nature of masculine sexuality…

So these are the details that have been keeping me busy.  We're getting there... I hope you'll keep an eye out for the actual book, which should be available by mid-October.  I think it's an entertaining read, and it does try to say something of value about its chosen topic.