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WHERE WE ARE 2021 or HOW TO (POSSIBLY) ALIENATE ALL YOUR FANS

As I’ve said numerous times, writing is art, but publishing is a business.

A professional writing career is the successful, consistent, convergence of those two things.

But by the time I started seriously writing, I already had an established, time-consuming career (federal agent) that’s kept a roof over my head and the lights on for nearly three decades. THE FAR EMPTY, my debut novel, was written in the midst of that career; written out of pure passion and a burning desire to tell stories. Writing was truly a hobby, something I did in my spare time. And although I got an agent, I had little expectation that THE FAR EMPTY – or frankly, any book of mine – would sell. Now, five years later, I’ve had four novels published – three in the Big Bend/Chris Cherry series and last year’s stand-alone, LOST RIVER – was brought on for two great anthologies, and even hired to write on some film/TV projects.

My hobby became a pretty decent “second” career as well.

And trust me, I’ve been incredibly blessed and fortunate, lucky beyond belief, experiencing far more success than I ever could’ve dreamed of or deserve. But like every published writer, I’ve had my share of frustrations too. Publishing is a harsh, at times arbitrary business. For all the pre-publication talk about how my true-life experiences as a federal agent would translate to interest in my stories (all of which to date have touched on DEA and/or the Border in some measure), that never seemed to quite pan out, despite the books enjoying great reviews and loyal readers. Similarly, I suffered the same fate as many authors who published in 2020, a “lost” book – the aptly named LOST RIVER – that ultimately succumbed to little fanfare during the pandemic. LOST RIVER was an intimate, first-hand look at the opioid crisis, released in a year when more than 90k people succumbed to substance abuse disorder. Again, it was a timely book drawn on real-life experiences. Again, it was generously well-reviewed. Again, it didn’t quite catch fire the way I’d hoped.

Those four books were published by one of the oldest, most honored imprints in the business. Putnam’s been a wonderful home, and they loved those books as much I did. I have a great agent who’s been supportive of every decision and crazy idea, and has worked hard to make those ideas a reality. But the reality of publishing for every author is there are so many great books released each year, and the opportunities for any individual book to spark so fleeting, even success can feel like failure.

But as I wrote back on this very blog in October 2020, my “real” career affords me the luxury to constantly reassess my writing one, because the writing doesn’t keep the lights on. Although I’d love to publish every year like clockwork, I don’t have the pressure to just get a book done, any book, even one that’s not working. I can chase wild ideas, take chances, and truly write the stories I want, only those I’m most passionate about in the moment. That doesn’t mean anyone will ever publish them, but no one can stop me from writing ‘em.

So here we are—

Author of THE FAR EMPTY and LOST RIVER J. Todd Scott’s THE WORLD BURNS BRIGHT, pitched as THE GIRLS meets A HEAD FULL OF GHOSTS, in which a woman who survived a doomsday cult must rescue her daughter from a new generation of true believers while signs of the apocalypse are appearing, to Jessica Tribble Wells at Thomas & Mercer, in a two-book deal, for publication in fall 2022, by Carlisle Webber at Fuse Literary (world).

This is the book I alluded to back in October that I was tentatively calling THE ARK (and the title will likely change again, as these things often do). I wrote it during the teeth of the pandemic. I wrote it while I was moving from Texas to Kentucky; I wrote it while I was taking over a new job title at DEA and assuming a whole new slate of responsibilities for not one but three states; I wrote it on my laptop in hotel rooms and in the back of my car; I wrote it whenever I could steal a few minutes because my tried-and-true writing process was shot all to hell due to the move and the job and the pandemic and a host of other reasons.

The main thing is – I wrote it because it was the story I was burning to tell.

But here’s the disclaimer – the hard part to say out loud to all the generous fans I’ve gained since THE FAR EMPTY debuted – it’s ALMOST NOTHING like my other crime novels.

Hell, I’m not sure it technically is a straight crime novel.

It’s not about DEA or the Border or any of that stuff. It’s not about agents or dope or cartels. It’s less Don Winslow and CJ Box and more Paul Tremblay or Josh Malerman or Riley Sager. There’s maybe more Stephen King than Craig Johnson, and those who’ve listened to my readings or appearances know that I was actually agented on a ghost story. But it’s the story I had in my head – in fact, I’ve had a version of it rattling around for a while – and it’s one that allowed me to stretch and challenge myself as a writer and try something totally new, particularly when I didn’t really feel the other books were breaking new ground. And although I think it has some of the best traits of all my books – interesting, flawed characters and a dark beating heart – I know that for those fans – those of you – who were ready for another Chris Cherry book, or even something in the vein of LOST RIVER, it’s going to be a helluva pivot. Maybe too big a pivot, and I get that, but I sure hope some of you follow me down this new dark path for a bit anyway.

I took a chance writing this book. I hope you give it a chance too.

That doesn’t necessarily mean I’m done with the Big Bend, over even a spin-off from LOST RIVER. I have parts of both of done, and would love to return those worlds when the time and home is right.

But until then, here’s hoping THE WORLD BURNS BRIGHT catches fire in 2022.    

Writing is art but publishing is a business. A professional writing career is the successful, consistent convergence of those two things.

I’m thrilled to see what Jessica and Thomas & Mercer have planned for this book and the next, because although I’m slowly winding down my DEA career, I’m still at the start of this whole writing gig, and I have a lot of stories left to tell.

SEE YOU IN 2022

It’s been a minute since I’ve had the opportunity to catch up with the latest book and publishing info, and I’m working on a blog post now. I plan on breaking down where I’ve been and what I’ve been up to…and more importantly, what’s coming next!

See you in a couple of weeks….

A quick catch-up on the state of affairs!

It goes without saying that I’m not much of a blogger; my day job, and the novel writing, leave me little time to write posts or essays. But it’s been a long time since I checked in, and now is as good a time as any.

Honestly, I’ve been one of the lucky ones during the COVID-19 pandemic. I’m an essential employee (although let’s be honest, that’s a pretty hazy term), and other than a cross-country move (right in the first two months of the lock-down, and nothing I would ever recommend), I’ve been at work every day. In fact, I’ve bought and sold house, moved, driven back and forth to Texas (twice), been to Florida (twice), spent a week in Tennessee, and hosted my daughters from Arizona. 

If anything, I’ve been just as busy as I ever was before the pandemic.

That’s not to say the virus it hasn’t had an impact. I released LOST RIVER in June, almost four months ago now, and without the regular sort of promotion/publicity and book store events that prop up a new release, I’ve faced the real possibility that a book I worked hard on and I’m proud of will sink without a trace. It’s just incredibly difficult to generate much excitement enthusiasm and frisson for certain projects in this environment, and LOST RIVER may prove to be one, although it’s tough to draw hard conclusions (yet). That being said, I’m far from the only writer who’s had to face this, so even if LOST RIVER never quite finds an audience now, I hope it finds fans in the future.

Similarly, the various other projects I’ve been involved in (film and TV) have all taken on water too, victims of COVID-19 and the subsequent lock downs and a general re-assessment (I think) of the kind of stories that are viable and pertinent and immediate to the moment. It’s fair to say that I spent late 2018 and a good chunk of 2019 devoted to these projects, and while they were lucrative and enjoyable and I learned a tremendous amount from them, there’s a decent risk that these might not get their heads above water either. Such is Hollywood. That’s not an indictment of the business, that’s the reality of the business of being (a part time) professional author and screenwriter.

So, in terms of novels, what did I get done? A chunk of a crime thriller, titled BURN DOWN. The start of the 4^th Chris Cherry novel (tentatively titled A SILENT SKY), a possible Casey Alexander book, file-saved as THE NIGHT ROOM. A full re-write of 13 DAYS, a book that I’m fond of but just can’t seem to nail down; a bit of another book without a decent working title, and finally, the one I’m currently working and aiming to finish by the end of this year that I’m simply calling ARK (yeah, it’ll have a different title when I’m done). 

ARK, like LOST RIVER, is another stand-alone. One of things I had several discussions with both my publisher and agents about was trying my hand at some different novel genres, since my film/TV stuff has ranged from sci-fi to horror. And one of the advantages of my “day career” – and it is a career, I’ve been doing this whole federal agent thing for 25 years – is that I do have the luxury of writing the kind of books I want to, when I want to. Now, that doesn’t mean anyone will publish them, but I can afford to take the occasional flier on a book, without worrying if it lands. The disadvantage? Sometimes the career truly does swamp everything else, and when I was promoted to the Special Agent in Charge and moved back home to Kentucky – in the teeth of this pandemic – I spun my wheels on another book that wasn’t going anywhere, all the while juggling work, the move, new responsibilities, and the family, as we all dealt with pandemic disruptions, before returning to ARK for the homestretch.

And I am in the homestretch for ARK. I feel damn good about it.

THE FAR EMPTY debuted in 2016, and I’ve been fortunate since then to release three more novels, be published in two anthologies and one magazine, create and sell an original audio series, write three feature film screenplays (and earn my WGA membership), and a TV series pilot. I’ve also been talking with my German publisher recently, as we get closer to releasing THE FAR EMPTY over there. That’s a helluva lot of full-time work in a short amount of time for a part-time professional, and I don’t plan on stopping soon. Although 2019 was challenging personally and 2020 has been challenging professionally, I’ve still been able to create and produce. 

That’s always been the one constant…one word, right after another.

Best, JTS