Friday, September 2, 2011

Feeding the Habit

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook chances are you have already heard the news, but I'm going to share it again nonetheless.

Yesterday, I signed a contract with TAG Publishing (the link takes you to a list of Tag's titles currently available on Amazon) for The Feedstore Chronicles. 

The Feedstore Chronicles started as a series of posts here on this blog back in the spring of 2007. In many ways they were what made this blog as until I began posting them I had few readers and even fewer who commentators. Some of you longtime readers may recall the tales about my days as an impressionable teenage boy working for what I still believe to be the worlds most morally bankrupt boss at a Texas feedstore.

For the sake of protecting the not-so-innocent I changed my boss's name to Earl in those days and I told tales about dead parakeets, sack room sex, bulldog masturbation, love both found and lost, arrests, ostrich boots, dead bodies, and fist fights.

Well for the full length book all those things and more are included, but my boss's name has been changed to Doyle and while everything is based on the truth characters and events certain things have been manipulated to better fit the arc of the story. Call it the writers prerogative.

I began fleshing out the stories and turning them into a cohesive story rather than a collection of anecdotes in 2009. It was in October of that year that The Feedstore Chronicles found its first success.

It was then that Blog Star/former super agent now turned writer and tech man extraordinaire, Nathan Bransford hosted a Stupendously Awesome First Paragraph contest which drew over 2600 entries. When the smoke cleared I was shocked and damn proud to discover my opening for The Feedstore Chronicles had won.

The opener has been tweaked a might since then, but here is the current first paragraph ...

Most coming-of-age stories are fraught with symbolism, hidden metaphors, and a heaping mound of other literary devices. Not mine. you see, I came of age while working at a dusty Texas feedstore.  A place where To Kill A Mockingbird involved a twelve-year-old and a BB gun. Of Mice and Men was a problem easily solved with rat poison. And David Copperfield nothing more than a dude that made shit disappear. 

  So nearly two decades beyond my working there and better than four years after the first blog post, my experiences working at the feedstore will be published sooner rather than later. Work is already underway on the cover and a few changes as requested by the acquiring editor. I will keep y'all updated along the way and thanks to all of you, my friends for, the continued faith I would get here as well the camaraderie to keep me writing even when most of the world kept saying no.


18 comments:

Sarah Hina said...

Wonderful, Travis. I'm so glad to hear this.

Can't wait to read the finished product! Congrats on keeping the faith and pushing through. Feels good, doesn't it? :)

Stephen Parrish said...

That is still one of the best opening paragraphs I've ever read.

Melissa Amateis said...

Awesome news, Travis! So excited for you. Congrats!!!

Angie said...

How excellent! Congrats! [hugz]

Angie

Wendy said...

Yay, Travis. I'm happy for you! Congrats.

Mom24 said...

Congratulations! Very exciting.

Teresa said...

Congratulations!!!

Old Kitty said...

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GOOD FOR YOU!!!!! Yay!! See? Lettuce does work. :-) Take care
x

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Congratulations, Travis! This is wonderful news indeed!

jjdebenedictis said...

**Flails the pom-poms of victory**

I'm looking forward to buying a copy!

Eric said...

I can't think of a more deserving person, Travis. You have proven that persistence will get you there, and you've always been an inspiration to me. Congrats big guy! I will be in line with everyone else, waiting to buy my copy with an expectant grin on my face.

G. B. Miller said...

I'll say it again here.

Congrabulations!!!

the walking man said...

Excellent news Travis! Congratulations I hope it is just a first step on the full realization of what you have been working on for a long time! Excellent!!!

Megan Bostic said...

CONGRATS!!!! I'm so happy for you!

Charles Gramlich said...

Congrats, man. Good stuff will out. I do believe that. Looking forward to it.

Beth said...

Congratulations! Your talent and determination are inspiring....

(yeah, i'm back...)

DrillerAA09 said...

Congratulations. I know it is only the beginning of a successful career.

Unknown said...

Congrats! :D (And that is a really good opening.)