Many people are talking about changes for the new year, but my internal clock runs on a different cycle. I start to think about what is passing from my life and what is to come next when the leaves start to change colors. While the trees are bare and you can see every fractal of nature in their branches, I'm deep in my own head, tending to seeds that won't sprout for a while.  It won't be for a few months yet that I'll come out of my head and maybe you'll see a little green here and there. Then it will be time to start over again! Who am I kidding? I spend most of my life in my head. I like it that way.

There are some writing seeds that have taken shape that you may start to see draft chapters of around summer. I've been swimming in a sea of Southern Gothic fiction lately: Cormac McCarthy and Flannery O'Connor, mostly. I've re-read Beloved and Song of Solomon byToni Morrison fit and even given  Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee another romp to consider whether it might have been called Southern Gothic if it had more care and feeding when Lee first took it up.  The subject matter is often gruesome, but it resonates with me as truth. Having grown up in the South, I see people I've known - many to whom I am related! - in these characters and I love to hate them. Words beget words, and the more I read the more I write. Got Down on my Knees is happening, slowly but steadily. 

And people are saying nice things about Wailing Wall on GoodReads and Amazon! I've also gotten emails from many people saying the story hit home for them: either from their own loss, addiction or parenting. There is no greater honor than knowing that this story has connected with so many people. Human connection, I'm convinced, is why we write. Let me hear from you, won't you?

~D

Ten days until Wailing Wall is published and I am already overwhelmed with the reception. First, long-time friend Janice Person reviewed it on her blog saying such nice things, I got teary. Then, Richard Alley at The Memphis Flyer gave it a lovely review. I was floored ...and thrilled that Wailing Wall might find a place with male readers! Then, as backers of the project started receiving their copies, I started to get text messages, FaceBook posts and emails from people who read it in one sitting. It's all surreal and wonderful that the story has connected with so many people. 

Cool stuff is happening! If you are in Michigan and want to help celebrate the launch of Wailing Wall, join us at Beezy's Cafe on Nov. 13.  If you're in Memphis, the book launch will be at Bumpus Harley-Davidson of Memphis on Whitten Road. And, if you'd like to win a copy of Wailing Wall from GoodReads, what are you waiting for? Go enter!

~ Dee

PS Review, review, review! Review on Amazon. Review on GoodReads! Review in your blog! And don't forget to tag me. 

Last week while I was in the airport flying from San Diego back to Memphis, I started getting pings on my phone saying, "My copy of Wailing Wall has been shipped!" Mid-October snuck up on me, it seems, and the book will be in YOUR hands before it will be in mine since I won't be back in Michigan until October 25. I hope you enjoy the read and I hope that the beauty of Joshua's story touches you in some way. I also hope you'll post pictures on Facebook (tag me, please!) and, if you feel so moved, reviews on Amazon so that others will get a sense of what the story is about before they buy. 

Whew, I guess it's time to get started on the next project. "Got Down on my Knees" follows the story of drugs and alcohol through my family with moments of deep sadness and huge triumph. I hope you'll be along for the ride.

~ Dee

It's time to launch Wailing Wall! If you are around Ypsi/Ann Arbor, Michigan, I hope you will join me for the Michigan book launch on November 13, 2015 at Beezy's Cafe. Details are on the Facebook Event. Please RSVP so that we can plan for food & drinks.

It's almost fall, and you know what that means. PUBLICATION! Wailing Wall will be published on November, 10th and things are starting to ramp up. My publicist, Angela, has been really working hard to sell to book stores, schedule readings and guest blog posts to get the word out. We're still far enough away that I haven't had to pinch myself, but I can feel it coming.

My life has always been an open book. With Wailing Wall nearing its target publication date of late summer, 2015, that will soon be more true than ever. Since memoirs often discuss touchy topics (what fun are they otherwise?) there's a lot of talk among memoirists about how to manage you content when it involves people who would have preferred you keep the family secrets tightly under wraps.

For the most part, memoirists say that you have to tell your own truth. Talk about how you experienced certain situations from your own perspective. Okay.But some of the things I talk about in Wailing Wall includes *real* people. People that I love.

Hi, Everyone! Draft 3 has gone to the editor so I thought I'd post the revised Chapter 1 for your reading pleasure. Thanks to some great support from my writing group and editing team, this version is FAR better than the one that was previously up - I hope you'll think so, too.

Dear Backers,

It's practically Spring! Even though many parts of the country are covered in snow, the calendar says it's coming and I'm thinking sunshine. Of course, Spring also means the anniversary of Joshua's death, so it's bittersweet. 

Today, I took a long drive in the country to gather my thoughts before I dived in to Draft #3 of Wailing Wall. One more round of rewrites with my editor, Anne Horowitz, and we will be ready to go. I can't believe I'm almost there. It's been a difficult story to write and I'm grateful to each of you for hanging in with me over the past year. 

You can expect to see your copy of Wailing Wall in late summer. As we move through design, I'll have a better idea of the publication date. In the meantime, I hope you'll holler at me on my Author page on FaceBook - Deedra Climer. That's where I do most updates, rants and share other info about the writing life. You can also ask questions about the project, my writing or anything else you're interested in. My life is an open book ... literally!

Best,

Deedra

Dear Backers of Wailing Wall,

I have two exciting announcements and I wanted you to be the first to know!

1) The first draft of Wailing Wall is complete!  What a crazy wild ride. I hear that rewriting is the fun part and I sure hope that's true because getting the first draft out was downright painful! 

2) We have an editor! Anne Horowitz has signed on as the developmental editor for the project. Previously of Soft Skull Press, Anne is now a freelance editor out of Brooklyn, New York. She'll get the first draft in mid-December and start working her magic!

As for me, I'm going to take the month of December off from writing and spend some quality time with the people I love.  And maybe, if there's a good snow, I'll get some skjoring time in with Ezra, Prince Among Dogs. 

Love to all,

Dee