Just wanted to drop a quick line to all my friends here and at H2O. I've been silent for quite a while now (for which no doubt many of you are thankful!), and thought I'd update you guys on a couple of things. Miss you all.
I'm finishng a rewrite on a first novel in prep for sending it out via my agent. I also have a children's book in the hands of a well-known artist, and hoping the best for that as well. Of greater interest to you all may be that I have started a novel about a man in his early 40's who leaves the Jehovah's Witnesses, is DF'd for asking questions and refusing to shut up, and what happens to him afterwards.
The story's premise is what would happen to a person if everything they'd built their life on suddenly collapsed from under them. The controlling idea is that a meaningful life has to be created from within the individual, not impressed on one from an outside source like religion, and that happiness then comes from learning how to express that meaning through one's work, creativity, relationships, etc.
Considering that this brother is a subcontractor for a Witness builder, and his wife is a very loyal sister, all you ex-JWs will understand the ramifications of his leaving the WTS and getting DFd. Considering that many of you have lived this story, and expressed your feelings about it so well here on the Net, I want to thank you for your help. Thanks also for letting me work out a lot of the ideas in this story here on H20 over the past 14 months or so.
I am part of a very small professional writers group that meets for several hours every two weeks. You all would be fascinated by the response I've received to the first 40 pages or so of the manuscript as it's read aloud to the group. The Watchtower "culture" is a pretty amazing place to people who have no idea what it's all about. Everyone in the group has been appalled by the Witnesses' practice of disfellowshipping, and more so by the shunning.
One of the writer's said that his family has been discussing the Witness idea of "current or present truth" and thinks that one of those terms ought to be the title of the book. I have other ideas in mind.
What do you think? "Present Truth" a catchy title? He said that it is simply mind boggling for him to think that a religion would urge it's members to keep up with "present truth" or that "current truths" could end up as beliefs no longer held, or that people could acutally ask, "were there any new truths on the convention program?" Any other title suggestions?
What else can I tell you about the book? I've got it totally outlined, and nearly all the scenes created. There's plenty of action, a little violence, a riveting judicial committee hearing, some fine Witnesses and a few who are jerks, some fine ex-Witnesses and a few who are jerks, a lot of questions, quite a few tears, a very sad death, plenty of good music, good food, some wonderful sex, and a relatively happy ending, (afterall, I'm still an optimist, though a more realistic one now).
All the writing means I'll be dropping in only very occasionally here and at H2O. I am quite literally working about 12 hours, seven days a week to get all this stuff done and still make a living. I will check here for the next few days to see if anyone drops by to say hi back to me. Plenty of you have helped with the development of the ideas and plot for this book, and I thank you all. Feel free to email me personally about the book if you'd like. I check that every few hours. You may have some helpful suggestions.
There are also a few major media projects still in the works like those that took so much time over the past year, revealing the REAL truth about the WTS. Hell, if the Governing Body was upset about the bad media they got LAST year, they must be tearing their hair out (what's left of it!) this year! And they haven't seen the worst of it. The year's only two and a half months old. When the book comes out (and I'm confident it will - there's the optimist again!), maybe you guys can help me get the word out and we'll turn this into a bestseller and give them another media nightmare. AND, I'm really fair to the WTS in this. You really only have to describe the way things actually are in the WTS to simply terrify the normal human being!
Please drop me a line if you feel like it. I haven't heard from Uncle Bruce or Tina or Dedalus for a long time. Tina was supposed to send the bio. Please do.
Also, I'll be at the PEN New England conference at Dartmouth this coming Saturday, March 17, if you're interested in attending and would like to meet up. It's an all day affair. Email if you want more info.
Love to you all, and I really do miss you, but I must get on with my life, and this is an important year for that in a lot of ways.
S4