by Alison Janssen
I really love to hear the "how this book got published" stories, especially for my favorite books, and so I thought today I might share the story of one of our Tyrus Books, Late Rain.
Once upon a time, a popular and talented crime writer was looking for something new to read. He was browsing the selection at his local used book store, and found a title he found intriguing. It was called The Long Fall, and was written by a man named Lynn Kostoff. Published in 2003 by Otto Penzler Books, our intrepid, read-seeking author purchased it and hurried home to start in.
He read the book in only one day, and loved it so much that he wrote about it on his website (scroll waaaaaaay down, to 5/24/07, to see the review).
Now it just so happened that Lynn, the author of The Long Fall, visited that website and saw the review of his novel. It touched him to see someone recommend it so highly, and he decided to email a thank you note.
The two authors began a correspondence, and in the natural manner of things, Marcus asked Lynn, "What are you working on now?"
Lynn was working on a manuscript about the murder of a soft drink mogul in South Carolina, witnessed by a man suffering Alzheimer's, who couldn't put the words together to describe the killer. It was a bleak manuscript, but with a cast of characters who grabbed your heart and hung on. Marcus asked, "Do you have a publisher for this new one?"
Lynn said, "No," and that's when Tyrus Books got very, very lucky. Because Marcus said, "I have a friend who's an editor, want me to introduce you?"
And I received an email from him, telling me the story so far, and praising Lynn's writing in no uncertain terms. And then I received an email from Lynn, asking if I might like to see the new manuscript.
You bet I would, buddy!
And now, several years later, Late Rain is a brand-new Tyrus Book July 2010 release. In fact, it's a Tyrus title I'm incredibly proud of. It's a title I believe represents the kind of book Tyrus was founded to publish.
I love it so much I want you to have a copy. So today, the first three people to comment on this blog post will get a copy for free. Because even if the books don't have happy endings, the stories of the books always do.
