Drafted

Hitting a big milestone, plus my weekly shareables: Jack Reacher's co-creators, finding redemption in a video game, and Nile Rodgers brings the funk

Just after midnight as Monday eased into Tuesday, I wrote the last word of the first draft of the manuscript of DOGLAND. Later that morning I shipped it to my editor and agent. I signed and emailed the contract to write the book on Nov. 10, 2019, two weeks shy of four years ago. Tuesday was the first day since then that I woke up without a book deadline.

I feel a little like Inigo Montoya after he killed the six-fingered man. I have been in the DOGLAND business so long, I don’t know what to do with the rest of my life.

The truth is that “the rest of my life” is only going to last maybe through this weekend. Then I’ll dive back in to start revising, and sometime soon I’ll hear from my editor and a few folks who are reading this early version, and I’ll be right back amongst the dogs again.

Just getting to this point kicked my ass in so many ways. COVID wrecked most of a year of dog shows, I had three or four crises of confidence, and then a couple of illnesses sidetracked me right as I got to the end. I am thrilled to have made it here and also relieved. This will probably be as close as I get to how a marathoner feels.

There are a LOT of steps between “first draft manuscript” and “finished book on the shelf at the bookstore.” Along the way I’ll share with you as much of the process as I can. We’re at roughly T-minus six months from the publication date (April 16), and I can’t wait for you to hold the book in your hands. (Or on your devices, if you buy the audiobook or ebook.)

This is probably a good time to remind you that you can preorder DOGLAND in all the usual places, but my preference is always your local independent bookstore. My local independent book store is Park Road Books in Charlotte, and we’re doing a special deal there: If you preorder from Park Road, I will sign the book and inscribe it however you like. When I stopped by the other night, they already had a thick stack of preorder slips. I’m gonna have to do some wrist curls between now and April.

I’m also going to have a couple of bonus deals for paid subscribers to the Writing Shed—I’m working on those now and will announce them when they’re ready. You’re going to want to be a subscriber when the time comes, so might as well go ahead and mash the button:

10 things I wanted to share this week:

1. This week’s SOUTHBOUND was a really enlightening conversation with turkey expert Mike Chamberlain, a University of Georgia researcher who runs the online resource called the Wild Turkey Lab. You will learn so much about this fascinating bird.

2. It’s funny how books overlap: Just as I finished the DOGLAND manuscript, a couple of mentions of THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM came bubbling up. I am told by reliable sources (the author) that Dwight Garner’s new book THE UPSTAIRS DELICATESSEN, about the joyous combo platter of eating and reading, features some of his thoughts about ELEPHANT. (Dwight gave my book a kind review in the NYT when it came out in 2019.)

3. Dietician Michael Mandeville also wrote a thoughtful review of ELEPHANT on his site, The Habitrition Dietitian.

4. The most profound piece I read this week is Hanif Abdurraqib’s essay about playing God with a video game character, and the debts you collect and accumulate in life and the afterlife. (Paris Review)

5. DOG NEWS: From now until DOGLAND comes out (April 2024!), I’m devoting this slot to dog stories. This week: I’ve been soaking up this collection of dog poems from the Poetry Foundation … click on the title of each poem for the whole thing.

6. The new Jack Reacher novel, THE SECRET, came out this week and this household will be devouring a copy as soon as possible. Author Lee Child is turning the series over to his brother, Andrew … this Washington Post story gets into the nuts and bolts of the transition.

7. My friend Diana Ewell Engel has started a poetry Substack called Seized by the Poem. I think it’s going to be great and you should check it out.

8. A wild story about a fellow University of Georgia grad who probably is not going to make the alumni magazine. (CNBC)

9. Speaking of UGA, Saturday is the annual Georgia-Florida football game, otherwise known as The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. (I’ve never understood the need for “outdoor” there—is there some indoor cocktail party with more than 68,000 people?) Anyway, here’s one of the greatest moments in college football history, and definitely the greatest call in college football history, from the 1980 game. The voice is the late and legendary UGA announcer Larry Munson.
   

   
   

10. Not many people are responsible for more joy in this world than Nile Rodgers. His NPR Tiny Desk concert is half an hour of his massive hits (“Le Freak,” “I’m Coming Out,” “We Are Family,” “Get Lucky,” “Good Times” and “Let’s Dance”—holy HELL). Pure pleasure.

    
    Have a great week, everybody.