The Willow and the Thorns Returns

Time does funny things to one's perception. My brother and I originally published the Willow and the Thorns under the pen names Paul and David Still. I eventually took the book down from Amazon because there were narrative issues that I wanted to correct, namely too many events and not enough book. I decided to split the book in two, and have written the first half of it already. Part two is in the wings, waiting for all my other projects to get completed, Lord willing and the creek don't rise.

But I've recently decided to try my hand at narration and audio work, and, during that process, I chose to tackle a project that was long overdue. My wife and a friend of mine read The Willow and the Thorns for an audiobook edition. I offered to put it up as an audiobook because I'd spent the last couple years working in radio and I thought I knew adobe audition well enough to meet whatever standards were required. Alas, I was wrong. Without going into too much detail, don't ever mix up dbs and rms.

I figured out that it was going to take some extensive or at least technical editing to repair their work, and honestly, it was several years before I was in a place to understand audition well enough to fix the issues. Anyway, I eventually did become skilled enough, at least I hope, and, during this process, I realized that the book didn't stink half as much as I thought. I must've gotten into my own head.

Is it good? I think so. I say this timidly because it's almost like reading a different writer. I guess that makes sense since eight years have passed since I published the book the first time. I guess I would say the book--while not canon for what will eventually become The Varson Archives, again, Lord willing and the creek don't rise--is good in a different way than I am accustomed to writing now. There's much more passion. It's odd. The sentence structure isn't nearly as complex, but I was still in a phase of life where I had some naivety left over. I don't know how I could tell precisely, but the voice of that eager novelist hoping to be published is still present. I remembered my excitement when writing about Pandoris and Garren and Gabriel, and it helped me to remember why I wanted to be and have worked so hard to be a writer. I say there are more scenes than book in the story, which is to say there are a number of jumps, but you know what, I don't really care. I was wanting to show people a world my brother and I had spent years building. I loved those old stories we built as kids. I still love them. So, I'm publishing The Willow and the Thorns again, warts and all.

Honestly, I don't think the book is bad. I've certainly read less enjoyable works. I won't say it's good. That's for you to decide if you read it, but I will say it has more heart than--I'm sorry to say--my later work. In my mind, writing hadn't fully become a craft or skill yet, I still loved to tell a story for it's own sake, and I didn't give a rip for tropes and structure. I was basically a kid sitting at a camp fire. I hope I can get back to that place because I miss it.

Thanks,

Gary