Dear Readers,
               As a little bonus for your time and attention, I'd like to offer you something I think is kind of special: The full first draft of an as-yet unpublished novel of mine, THE PAGAN TRAILER PARK.
       I know this is pretty unusual, but it's an unusual book, and I don't know if it can -- or should -- ever be published. It's not typical of my work, for one thing. It's not a YA. It's a fantasy novel, but the fantasy elements are not as prominent as they usually are in my books. Also, although it may seem like an autobiography, and there are indeed some autobiographical elements about it, the book is not an autobiography.
       My agent, who is wise but practical, thinks the book represents a sort of cleansing experience for my heart and soul, and as such, ought to remain private. She also doesn't think any publisher with an ounce of brains would want anything to do with it. She's probably right on both counts. It's a weird book, with perhaps three times more characters than the average person can retain in memory. It doesn't follow a conventional plot. Not everyone falls in love at the end, although they do, in their own ways, live happily ever after. So, frankly, since bestsellers are never weird, you might not want to buy the book if it were for sale. But it's not for sale. It's free. So what the hell.
       This much I can tell you: THE PAGAN TRAILER PARK was written during one of the worst times in my life, after my divorce from (novelist) Warren Murphy. I took ten years to write it. During those ten years, although I wrote every day, I produced nothing that was income-generating or otherwise productive. But after it was finished, I could finally, like my protagonist Mo Owens, breathe a little easier. Somehow, writing this book helped me to understand who I was and what I really needed to stay alive and sane. So I'm thinking that maybe, despite its lack of professional appeal, it may do the same for someone else.
       I'm not promising anything. As I said, it's a first draft. Well, maybe more a third or fourth draft, actually, but not a perfect draft. I think I have someone wearing a sleeveless blouse in winter. I'd fix that sort of thing if this book were making the rounds of publishing houses. But it's not. It's staying here, close to my heart, warts and all. And I'm thinking that maybe some of you would like to spend some time here, too.
       If so, be my guest in the trailer park.