Where the Road Roams 2009 - 2019
Time passes so fast in its fleeting ways. It is the reason I only write for this blog once a month. Other commitments always pull and tear at time. I have quite a few posts now waiting to be discovered on this site, which is finally coalescing after trial and error as Punk Fiction. I feel my writing has a foundation with my first wave of books and an identity now that I have named it. In the spirit of these thoughts, I am proud to reach another milestone. This year, 2019, marks the 10th anniversary of my first published work, Where the Road Roams.
Ten years ago, I knew nothing about publishing a book and went the route of vanity through Wasteland Press. I have learned a lot since those early steps, on my journey, and am thankful for the experience that has led me to where I am. The novella, as primitive as it is, is a landmark in being my first published work in 2009. Along with The Dark Lands, it was combined in a second edition by Beau to Beau in 2012 with a shirtless guy romance cover to coincide with The Wild Boys. An opportunity to create an audiobook came to fruition and was recorded at Double J Studios with Jason Swarthout in 2015. In isolation, while staying in a cabin in New Braunfels, I fixed some edits long distance and released it on Audible in 2016. Later that year, all my rights reverted back to me, so I included it inside Anarchy - Strange Tales of Outsiders (2017) with most of the stories from Dark Lands and new stories in a punk fiction collection I am proud of.
The stand alone versions of Where the Road Roams are long out of print. I am publishing it under my own imprint to go along with the Audible reading, since my self-narrated story is contracted with ACX till 2023. The story is the same rough one I recorded with a new cover that is similar to the original. The revised description is as follows: A journey begins for Dean the day he is released from rehab and receives a key to the past. Out on the streets, he searches for Mark, the lost brother he left behind. A silver holds the truth, and a tattoo is the calling card of street punks to avoid––both will guide him through danger. Facing his fears as well as those he cannot trust, Dean will unlock the mystery of the road less traveled in darkness and light.
The passage of time is hard to fathom. The same year, 2009, was also a dark one as my mother passed away from cancer. I lost everything after having to take care of her. In those lost moments of starting over, I pushed forward with writing. I don’t know if the drive was out of escapism or the magic of creation. Most likely, the truth lies somewhere in between. Ten years of writing has been spurred by one flawed and curious novella. I am glad I chose this path as my journey continues beyond where the road roams.
DS
