As of today, I have told you everything I can tell you about “Days of the Phoenix” without damaging your ability to enjoy the story unfold. It has been a process and I am very glad to have been on the journey. When such a project is complete and you have done your duty, it’s good to take a moment to reflect about what has been done and what you are looking forward to.
I’m going to do just that in this week’s blog.
“Days of the Phoenix” was a project that has been over a year and a half in the making. I am grateful for everyone who helped bring it all together, for I could not have done it without you. I am grateful to my beta readers, I am indebted to the people who encouraged me, and thankful for the experiences that I’ve had leading up to the release. When I was releasing “Broken Promise Records,” I thought to myself: “Man, this is so cool. If I never write anything ever again, I can always say that I wrote a book.” I am very fortunate in that I wouldn’t let it stop there.
I just read over the manuscript again and I am feeling a sense of loss. My ability to change the past of the characters, the present before them, and their futures has now come to an end. Their lives are now documented and no longer mine to hold exclusively. The men and women in the book, those individuals who have changed and grown, their story is yours to enjoy now. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did — I really feel like I’m breaking up with them as I write this, damn. Within those pages are personalities and people that I’ve grown to live; there are people that I would lean on, people I could fall in love with, and people that I could share triumph and heartbreak with.
There is something that I want you to take away from that story: that good, or bad, we’re all the main characters in our own stories. It is up to us, exclusively as individuals, to make it a triumph or a tragedy. Some folks don’t know that and it makes me sad that people feel that way. Take a moment to smile at someone you don’t know, or encourage someone who is struggling.
Stephen King, in his book “On Writing,” preaches a lot about persistence and I’ve taken it to heart. I’ve already started other manuscripts, I am persistently pursuing my craft as a wordsmith. Just as “Broken Promise Records” will always be my first child, “Days of the Phoenix” will live with me as well — it was the book I was writing when my mother passed away. “Days of the Phoenix” is now imbued with an emotional energy that I couldn’t change now if I wanted to. “Days of the Phoenix” has set a very high standard in regards to my work output. My next novel has a tremendous hill to climb to be comparable in quality; you’ll have to read it to find out why.
On May 7th, I would be honored if you would pick up a copy of “Days of the Phoenix.” It’s a book that I have cried over, lost sleep over, and smiled into many, many times. After you read it, tell me what you thought about it, write a review, and tell your friends about it, good or bad. Thank you for following me along this trip, thank you for being there with “Broken Promise Records,” and I hope to see you when it’s time for the next novel to be released.
With much love and impervious sincerity,
-A.P. Miller
A.P. Miller 