finding Moby

I'm not the swiftest person in the world, I'd be the first to admit it, but I hang around some pretty swift people, and sometimes a little something will rub off.

Today I discovered the website MobyLives. It's a great little place dedicated to "news and commentary about books and writers." I'd heard of it, but had never checked it out before today. Today I went to read just one article that had sparked my interest, and I found myself clicking link after link to read more and different articles. I liked it. I liked reading what some of these authors had to say, and the way that they wrote it. Let's face it. Sometimes writers get a little caught up in their own affectations -- putting on airs with their vocabulary. What I read at MobyLives came across as pretty straight-forward, honest writing. I'll be checking their site periodically, and you can too by clicking on the link to the left.

One of the articles that I read was a short piece by Larry Baker, author of The Flamingo Rising. I'd read an advanced copy of that book and, quite honestly, was under-whelmed by it (though I remember it well enough to be able to talk about it at a party if it came up in conversation). As I'd not seen his name since I'd read the book, I was curious as to what he was writing about in a "small" web site. His article details his struggles to sell his second and third novels, one which he himself believes to be a much better book. Despite six-figure advances and movie rights on his first novel, he can't seem to get an audience with a major publisher and he even parts company with is agent

He doesn't give up, however, and his solutions are creative and his results are mildly interesting. He's not getting six figure advances, but he is getting published and his work is selling.

What this says to me is that the dedicated, passionate author will find a way. As the major publishing houses continue to buy and sell each other, becoming one giant, Mega-Pub Books with many imprints, there are still MANY smaller presses looking to make a name for themselves in the market.

There are white whales out there, but for many writers, it might not be the Great White -- old, imposing, and threatening -- it might be a baby Beluga -- young, trusting, and still maturing.