WRITING + NEW AUTHOR

Butterfly: A Siblings’ Story

The journey of writing my first novel.

“Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar.” — E. B. White

The End.

I was emotional as I wrote those final words. I was overwhelmed with joy and a sense of accomplishment, yet also with a touch of sadness.

Was this the end of a journey or the beginning?

I had wanted to write a novel for over twenty years.

So one day I decided to do it.

Prologue

I was torn between writing a pure fiction novel versus a book of lessons for my children. I considered a memoir but I am not a fan of that format. My biggest concern was boring myself to death as I wrote story after story of my life. I needed a mix of fiction in my writing.

I love to read fiction.

Non-fiction is a mirror of life. Fiction is a window into the soul.

I feel everyone has a remarkable story to tell. I didn’t want to be writing about my own for over a year. I needed to find a formula where I could share lessons on life with my children but also keep the story engaging.

I decided to blow up the world.

Jumping off the Cliff

I signed up for David Wheeler’s online writing course on Coursera in August 2021. I didn’t spend weeks looking for a course. I simply wanted a structure to keep me focused. His program would have a writer complete a 50,000-word novel within twenty-four weeks.

My book was initially written only to be for our two children, Chayton and Chenoa. As I was writing the novel, almost everyone told me to publish the novel and make it public. So for better or worse, I have done that.

I had a vision for the novel but I did not create a detailed outline. There are millions of perspectives on how to write a novel. While I am a planner and like structure, I didn’t want to be constantly bound by endless rules.

My novel is different. Yes, every novel is different. But this was in many ways a private letter to my children.

My brother passed away at a young age, and I wanted to honor and celebrate him. I believe that butterflies carry the spirits of those who have left us, and I had an unusual encounter with a butterfly while I was in Japan. I found out later that many cultures believe that butterflies are carriers of souls. I wanted to play with the symbolism of butterflies.

I had also read Stephen King’s book, On Writing, which was the best advice I had received. The book can be summarized into one line on how to become a good writer: read a lot, write a lot.

So I jumped off the cliff and started writing:

CHAYTON WALKED BEHIND his dad as they exited the stone-paved driveway and made their way up the narrow, bamboo-strewn path that led to their neighbor’s compound.

Since his Indonesian was better than his dad’s — who would debate that his Indonesian wasn’t terrible — he tagged along to discuss relocating their neighbor’s pig farm.

And the journey began.

On Writing

The story begins with cataclysmic volcanic eruptions around the world. Chayton and Chenoa, my actual children and protagonists of the book, are the last survivors on the island of Bali.

With all influences and obligations of school, technology, and work wiped away, the children journey through loss, survival, reflection, and understanding as they witness the emergence of a new world.

They are challenged to address the meaning of life and whether life is worth living.

Butterfly is a father’s story dedicated to his children. I use my children as the main characters and utilize the vehicle of loss to create a world where they are forced to face the extreme challenges of life.

While destruction and loss provide the foundation of the story, Butterfly is a story of hope. From the ashes emerges a world that we all desire: clean blue oceans and rivers, flourishing forests, and pristine air. Life returns to the planet, and we witness this rebirth through the eyes of two young children as elephants and tigers once again roam across the island of Bali.

Butterfly is a dystopian novel of hope, a story of love and beauty in a world gone awry.

On Editing

Writing Butterfly was genuinely a joy. I enjoyed most moments. I felt free to explore but was always focused on my love for my children and family.

Then I found out what this whole writing thing was really about.

I found an editor through Reedsy, the largest independent online writing service in the world. I had spoken with a few editors from Reedsy and found one whom I felt was a perfect fit.

I hadn’t been through this process so didn’t quite appreciate that I needed to book editors months in advance. She couldn’t receive my manuscript for two months and then the multi-layered editing process took almost four months.

I do not like editing. And I particularly don’t like editing my own writing. This was the most difficult part of the overall process.

This was the only time where I felt frustrated with launching a book. I find editing tedious, repetitive, annoying.

But I now understand the great value that editors bring to writers. It is not just a skill they have but an art. I can see how a writer’s voice could be taken by an editor. The editor needs to honor the vision and feelings of the author.

I worked through this process and each step brought me closer to how I wanted to express my thoughts and feelings.

And then came publishing.

On Publishing

There are more opinions on how to publish than there are grains of sand in the world.

An author can launch their novel independently with no assistance or they can work with a publisher who will manage the entire process.

I did not want to be doing all the tedious work, wanted to be involved with all creative decisions, and did not want to be spending a year pitching my novel to big publishers.

I came upon hybrid publishing.

An author-friend of mine suggested a contact of hers in London who ran a company called SWATT Books. I met with the owner, and she provided exactly what I needed. They would walk me through cover and back designs, internal formatting, listing the book internationally, and putting everything up on Amazon and Ingram for both paperback and ebook versions. These are not easy to do. Plus an author needs to acquire an ISBN, provide metadata information, and write book summaries for stores and online distribution.

The process was smooth and seamless. We worked with 99designs to create a brief and run an online contest for my cover designs. I have spent over twenty years in marketing and this was an excellent process. I had well over fifty initial concepts which continued to get revamped until we came to a winner.

SWATT Books also did all the interior designs. I reviewed multiple variations which we refined to a style that fit the theme of the book.

The publishing process took about four months as we crafted the look and design of the book.

The novel was now ready to launch.

Epilogue

I never questioned myself throughout the entire time until about halfway through the publishing exercise.

I asked myself one day, “What if people don’t like it?”

This surprised me as one of my lessons to my children was to always be themselves, and be happy with their achievements.

I ironically listened to my own advice to my children to get me through this moment of self-doubt.

I of course hope people enjoy the novel. But most importantly it is for my children. I feel I have been able to give them something that might be able to offer grounding and guidance in their lives.

And as I wrote The End, I was also sad. I felt as if I had come to the end of a journey for maybe the last time. I had thought about this project for so long that as it finished, I wondered if I would do it again.

My novel was a metaphor for my life. It had a beginning, middle, and end. I have one life.

Will I also only have one novel? Or is this just a chapter?

It has been an inspiring, emotional, and complicated journey. I have come to the end of this chapter of my life.

I look forward to the next.

The End.

Butterfly: A Siblings’ Story is available on Amazon, Ingram, and booksellers worldwide.