Is 35 years too long to write and release a novel?
In September of 2025, I released a novel that I started as a short story over thirty years ago. When I showed it to a friend, he wanted to know more about the characters. We talked about that a bit and I invited him to write it with me.
So we did.
Over the course of several years, we met once a week and talked about the book, and wrote some of it although Craig’s favorite line as he left was, “Now do that writing stuff with it.” He was more of an idea person than a detailed writer, but was always an enthusiastic partner.
The book sat at various times over the years, getting close to being released, but then for a while I worked for Craig’s wife and that seemed like the wrong time to release a book. I have a tendency to put people into my novels that I later meet in real life. As in, I had an evil company that happened to have my daughter-in-law’s last name—this was years before we knew her. So it would be quite possible for people in real life to think we wrote about them when we really didn’t.
As I took a break from a series I’ve been working on for years, I decided that it was time to release The Imaginations. I knew that Craig would enjoy seeing our book in print. So I did another couple of read throughs with minor edits and sent the proof copy to him. And then when the text on the back couldn’t be read with the clouds, despite two tries, I changed to a more solid book cover for the paperback. I do prefer the clouds, though so kept that on the Kindle version.
The original title was The Nothings, which I like, but it does lend itself to people think that the book is ‘about nothing’ which isn’t what we wanted. It’s about being believed by the people you love.
Book Blurb: When an imaginary monster from his childhood attempts to coil around his newborn niece’s head, Nick instinctively moves the baby to safety. When his sister-in-law responds, “You can see it, can’t you?” everything changes. If the white shape on the wall is real, Nick’s brother was wrong when he said it was his imagination.
Even though they both see the creatures, Nick and his sister-in-law stifle their impulse to shout to the world, “The creatures are real!” If they aren’t believed, the baby could be taken away and the creatures would get her.
Until they can guarantee the baby’s safety, they dare not let anyone know they see the creatures, especially not Nick’s brother.