Book 2: TORCH
The Continuing Adventures of Firefighter Bette Maguire
Dedication
The book is dedicated to:
My husband, Greg: Our torch will never die.
Mom, Nonna and Moreno: Thanks for the recipes.
My niece and nephew, Emma and Alex Callahan: Thanks for the drawings.
Inside Illustrations
The two inside illustrations were drawn by my niece and nephew. Emma drew a picture of female firefighter Bette Maguire's two cats, Silvio and Paulie, as they rule the roost in the apartment she shares with rookie police officer Rose St. Pierre. Alex drew a picture of an Italian pasta dish with appropriate wine served as part of the Christmas Eve feast at Bette's parents' home.
Book Title's Origins
The title Torch is based on this haiku-style poem I wrote about the word's different meanings:
1) Is it good to carry a torch for someone, or to love them even though they may not love you? Debatable. Love should be reciprocal, but sometimes it isn't, and if that's all you have for joy in your life, go for it.
2) It's definitely not good to set a building on fire or to "torch" it, despite the insurance money involved or the pleasure you might get from revenge at a jilted lover or the fascination of watching the flames reach high into the black, starless sky.
3) On the other hand, it's definitely okay to use a torch to light the path ahead through a smoky fire, an underground cavern, or a darkened house while the storm rages outside.
One word, so many meanings. Isn't the English language just great?
Production History
November 18, 2005: Torch is finally available for sale. The author copies looked perfect. Thanks to everyone for your patience!
October 9, 2005: Publication of Torch has been pushed ahead until November 2005 due to some internal and cover problems with the book. They're nothing major in terms of the amount of copy needing to be fixed, but they are important in making the cover look great and the inside story make sense. Sigh. It's discouraging, but just part of the process. I apologize for the delay, but I'm 99% sure that Torch will be ready for sale in November.
October 1, 2005: I've finally received the author copies of Torch: The Continuing Adventures of Firefighter Bette Maguire! One hard cover and one soft cover arrived and they look great! (There is one small problem with the hard cover's cover, however.) My next challenge is to read through both books, make sure nothing is missing, and report back to publisher. This may take a week to a week and a half. I hope the cover problem doesn't hold back the book from coming out on sale. I'll let you know what happens right here. Thanks for your patience!
September 15, 2005: I'm still in agony, still waiting for the author copy of Torch, so I can approve it, so the book can go on sale. I'll never understand why this process takes so long compared to all the other rounds of reviews. Sigh. Maybe because they're actually producing a book instead of a pdf file, but still, it takes four weeks?! If I compare this to a stage of pregnancy, it would be the "I'm rushing to the hospital because my water broke" stage. Panic, stress, but joy around the corner to keep me going.
September 7, 2005: Waiting for my author copy to arrive is pure agony. It's like I'm in the 9th month of pregnancy and I just can't wait a moment longer to see the kid, to hold him my arms, and delight in him! I e-mailed publisher yesterday and they said it will be TWO more weeks. Will I survive? Tune in next week to see!
August 19, 2005: I've finalized my second novel, Torch. Yay! Now I wait 2-3 weeks for them to send me a proof copy -- which is the final, final step to producing the book. If all's well with the proof, the book will be available for sale.
August 3, 2005: I've returned the corrected text and cover galleys of Torch to Xlibris. I'd say I found around 15-20 minor typos. (Oh my goodness, I'm not perfect!) I also added in some text, two illustrations -- one from my niece and one from my nephew -- and also some river scene photos. The main river through town plays a big role in the book. I'm very excited the book is coming together so well.
July 13, 2005: I've received the text galley and cover galleys from Xlibris and am looking them over now. Basically, I like them. I just need to check the text for typos, make a few suggestions, and perhaps add some artwork into the book if I get it in time from two fantastic young artists. One interesting thing: even though the book is 30% longer than the first one, it takes up the same number of pages because of a font/interior layout change.
July 2, 2005: I've seen a preliminary galley of the first two chapters of Torch already. They look pretty good;
I might make a few suggestions. It's amazing to see it coming to fruition so fast! It beats waiting 12 months at a big publisher!
June 30, 2005: Torch has entered production with Xlibris! I can't wait to see galleys!
May 29, 2005: I've found a beautiful black Cairns helmet to use on the cover of Torch (probably) against a field of fire in the background. The helmet is a little beat up; I may fix it up with new decals and a frontpiece from Station 10 if I find one in time. This helmet looks much more realistic that the white one below and was actually used by a firefighter at one point. It resembles the one Bette wears in the book. Putting it on my head gave me a new appreciation of how heavy everything is that they carry.
May 29, 2005: The sequel currently totals 129,000 words. It will probably total around 400 pages when it is done. And I can't wait for it to be done! It's like I'm 8 months pregnant and entering the home stretch! (Talk about mixed metaphors!)
May 15, 2005: Husband Greg is done with reading the sequel and he liked it. :-} I had to do a lot of driving while he sat beside me devouring the pages. I'm making final edits to the novel. Can't wait for Torch to be done!
April 29, 2005: Have signed contract with Xlibris again to publish book. I need to get it to them in one year's time. I hope it will only take one-two months.
April 2, 2005: Husband Greg has started to read the completed draft of Torch,
March 13, 2005: Here is one possible cover of my sequel, Torch, to be out this fall.
which means the author is in the final stages of writing!
Nov. 1, 2004: First draft of the sequel has been completed. It has about 70 scenes and 90,000 words.
July 18, 2004: I have 35,000 words done on the sequel and about 20 scenes. It has been a lot of fun revisiting the characters and adding some new, slightly evil ones who challenge Bette and the rest of the crew.
July 8, 2004: I'm working on a sequel right now; I hope to have it done sometime next year. Bette and all the gang will be back.