I’m excited to announce that CLTolbert.com has launched! Although OUT FROM SILENCE is not yet published, I am looking for readers, and welcome all commentary. (If anyone is interested in reading the manuscript, I will be happy to forward a copy.)
Ann Lamott, a brilliant author who’s written volumes about the art of writing, including the lovely “Bird by Bird,” has stated that “…perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people.” I’ve been reluctant to release my website, my blog, even my manuscripts, time after time. My hand stops short over the send button, frozen, and I over- edit, or try on some new form of perfectionism for size. Angst is my shadow self.
Readers have come to my rescue. Their encouragement, their comments, and suggestions (gently telling me the difference between a bullet and a casing, for instance) have given me courage. Readers have forged a new me, and I owe them all a great deal. They are far more important than they will ever know.
I’ve always enjoyed writing in my hole of an office, in complete solitude. Writing enlivens me. Ann Lamott noted that “…writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation.” They make us feel more alive. As a child I read voraciously. The characters in my books were my best friends. I still read all I can, but have discovered that, with the exception of family and friends, nothing makes me happier than writing. This blissful feeling doesn’t apply to editing, or re-writing. Both are painful. But for the past few years writing has become more routine. It has become a way of life.
I’m now writing my second novel, THE REDEMPTION, which is set in New Orleans in the early 1990’s. This is another murder-mystery with Emma Thornton, the protagonist from the first novel. Here Emma finds herself defending a young man who is only fifteen years of age, accused of murdering two men. One man, a Catholic Brother, lived next to The Redemption, a housing project where the murders occurred. The other was a known drug-dealer from another neighborhood. The City of New Orleans, beautiful, decadent and sometimes dangerous, is also one of the main characters in the book. As the story unfolds, I peek around the corner to see what happens next.
In launching my new web-site I will need the help of all of my friends, family and readers. I look forward to speaking to you all to get the word out soon!
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