I turned 50 years old today, and also today I just finished looking over the final proof for Book One. The funny thing is, I consider the latter a more monumental occurrence in my life.
As a teenager and then a man in my 20s, I always looked younger than I was. When I was 16 years old and had just gotten my driver's license, I was pulled over by a disbelieving police officer convinced that some 12-year-old had sped off in his parents' car. Even into my early 30s, I was continually carded whenever I purchased a six-pack of beer. So in some regards, aging has been a blessing to me. About the only thing I don't like about being 50 is that my hair has thinned considerably, which annoys me to no end. Otherwise, being a mature person both in personality and appearance has benefits that I enjoy.
Being so close to the publication of Book One of my series is huge to me. If all goes as planned, printing of The Pit will begin this Tuesday, and it will become available for purchase the first week of September. I'm also within two weeks of finishing the final revisions of Book Five, which will leave just Book Six (currently a finished first draft) to go.
A lifelong dream ... so close.
It only took me 50 years to achieve it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
About Me
- Jim Melvin
- Clemson, SC, United States
- I was born in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., but grew up in St. Petersburg, Fla. I graduated from the University of South Florida (Tampa) in 1979 with a B.A. in Journalism. I now live in South Carolina near the Blue Ridge Mountains, a pleasant setting for writing, to say the least. I was an award-winning journalist at the St. Petersburg Times for twenty-five years and I currently work at the Charlotte Observer. I am married with five daughters.
The author
Jim Melvin, a veteran journalist, debuts as novelist.
7 comments:
Happy Birthday to You!
I like getting older, too. I'm a lot more content than I ever was in my harum-scarum days, and aging sure beats the alternative!
Congrats on your progress toward getting that book on the store shelves!
Great news about your book. I almost posted a happy birthday to you in my update, and then thought: "Well, he didn't actually say he turned 50 today," and decided to read your blog so I would know. Yes, you did! Many happy returns of the day.
And the book sounds very interesting.
Thanks much for the nice comments and congrats. Rather than do some massive party, my wife and I decided to get a babysitter and spend the evening together. We went to an obscenely expensive restaurant and then wandered around a surprisingly cool downtown (Greenville, S.C.) that included some amazing art galleries. Beats a big party any day of the week, in my book.
Happy Belated.
-Jen
Happy birthday!
I'm excited to hear about how close you are to the printing of "the Pit".
Congrats on the upcoming publication...and happy belated b-day!!
Ollie, Eric, Allie (hey, there's a nice rhythm to that!) ... thanks so much!
Post a Comment