Guest Post by Metaphysical Fantasy Author Florence Byham Weinberg
From early childhood I wanted to write,
probably because both parents were teachers. My first poem was published in a
children’s magazine when I was four shortly after I learned to read, and I
wrote my first “novel” at about age six, illustrating it myself. The title,
“Ywain, King of all Cats,” looks as if I might have intuited tales of King
Arthur and his knight Gawain, but in reality, I created the name to imitate the
cry of a cat.
I continued
writing in one way or another during my school years and read voraciously. I
wrote and published my doctoral dissertation, as The Wine and the Will: Rabelais’s Bacchic Christianity. Three more
scholarly books followed, as well as many articles and book reviews. I retired
in 1999, as soon as financially feasible, to practice what I had considered a
lifelong vocation: writing fiction.
My daydreams
about quick publication of fiction had already been darkened by the instant and
repeated rejection of a novella I’d marketed in 1990 (the precursor of Anselm, a Metamorphosis). So, I was not
at all surprised ten years later, when I had written Apache Lance, Franciscan Cross, about the founding of San Antonio,
Texas, and sent the manuscript to a number of agents who rejected the book. Then,
on an editor’s suggestion, I submitted it to a Texas university press. They got
a negative report from a historian who claimed there was no stone quarrying or
construction by San Antonio missionaries in 1731, therefore the book should be
rejected for historical inaccuracy. It mattered not that I produced a copy of a
letter dated that year by Fray Antonio Margil de Jesús, founder of San José
Mission, stating that the nearby quarry was producing wonderful blocks of
sandstone that he was using for construction. The book was still rejected “for
historical inaccuracy.”
Undaunted, I wrote
another book about the early Southwest called Sonora Wind, Ill Wind, a historical mystery. This,
too, I sent out to agents. One day, I received a positive response from an
agent in east Texas, who told me he could get it published immediately. I was
thrilled. He indeed got it published, by a company called Publish America, a
POD publisher. I was disappointed by the quality of the final product, but was
still delighted to be published, at last!
Disappointment followed. The local newspaper would have nothing to do with the
book; a local bookstore specializing in mysteries told me, “We don’t stock that
sort of stuff.” I began to realize that there are agents and then there are
agents, publishers and then there are…. But before that lesson had thoroughly
sunk in, PA had already published a prequel: I’ll Come to Thee by Moonlight, another historical mystery. I again
found out that I must market my books from the tailgate of a pickup at flea
markets if I wanted to sell to anyone other than friends and family.
Still undaunted,
I wrote a sequel to the two mysteries, The
Storks of La Caridad. By then, I had joined a literary critique group,
Daedalus, and received excellent editing and advice from them. One member
suggested that I contact Gerald W. Mills (google him!) who had done an editing
job that had won her a literary award. I submitted Storks to him, and received close editing and teaching at
the same time. He taught me what writing a novel really entails, rudiments like
Point of View; showing, not telling, and much more. He met with a publisher to
sell his own book, No Place for Gods,
and he took Storks along. The
publisher, Twilight Times Books, accepted and published both books. My fortunes
changed. Modestly, but they changed. TTB also published Apache Lance and many more books since then. They have just brought
out the latest novel, Anselm, a
Metamorphosis, a metaphysical fantasy/suspense novel, which weaves an aura
of black magic and nightmare that should fascinate all levels and ages of
readers.
Here are tidbits
of wisdom from my saga to date as a writer: learn your craft. Learn grammar,
punctuation, and formatting. Build a wide vocabulary. Join a critique group. Don’t
be discouraged by rejections. Keep at it, but Do Your Research: to avoid agents
who are unqualified; to avoid unscrupulous publishers. Don’t expect to make
millions with your books. But perhaps you’ll be the one in ten million who’ll
be noticed by one of the NYC “biggies” and will become a best-seller. I
sincerely hope so, and wish you all the luck!
Purchase Florence's metaphysical fantasy, ANSELM, A METAMORPHOSIS
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She traveled extensively with her military
family during World War II. With her husband the brilliant scholar and teacher,
Kurt Weinberg, she worked and traveled in Canada, Germany, France, and Spain.
After earning her PhD, she taught for twenty-two years at St. John Fisher
College in Rochester, NY, and for ten at Trinity University in San Antonio. She
published four scholarly books, many articles and book reviews, doing research
in the U.S. and abroad. When, after retiring in 1999, she was freed from
academia to devote herself to writing fiction, she produced ten novels, ranging
from fantasy to historical romance and mystery. An avid researcher, she grounds
most of her publications in historical fact. She spends hours combing through
web sites, books and periodicals, and historical archives to enhance her
writings with authenticity.
Eight of her ten books are now in print: an historical
romance about the French Renaissance, published in France in French translation
by Editions Lyonnaises d'Art et d'Histoire, and two straight historical novels,
Apache Lance, Franciscan Cross and Seven Cities of Mud. In addition, four
historical mysteries starring the 18th-century Jesuit missionary, Father Ignaz
(Ygnacio) Pfefferkorn. Two of these are set in the Sonora Desert, the third in
an ancient monastery in Spain,
and the fourth, Unrest in
Eden, follows
Pfefferkorn's fate after his release from Spanish prison. Five of the
historical novels have received a total of ten awards. Unrest in Eden is now published in German translation by Dr. Renate
Scharffenberg under title Unruhe im Paradies.
The most recent book, Anselm, a Metamorphosis: metaphysical suspense, weaves an aura of black
magic and nightmare that should fascinate all levels and ages of readers.
Florence also serves as Lector at Our Lady
of Guadalupe Catholic Church in San Antonio, Texas, as well as appearing as a
guest lecturer to various groups throughout the country and abroad.
Her favorite animals are horses-an intense
love affair over many years-and cats, her constant companions. She enjoys
music, traveling, hiking, biking, gardening, and swimming.
Website: www.florenceweinberg.com
Twitter: htpps://twitter.com/floren4
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