Well, I signed the contract. It was with Simon & Schuster, and the terms were good. I should get a lump sum of money (there will be 3 plus a percentage of the royalties) soon. I find myself imagining the things I will do with this “windfall”. Some of them are obvious: medical bills, student debts, and credit card bills. Then I may buy some new clothes (I haven’t gotten any new clothes in ages). Before I do all this I should have a meal out and maybe go to the book store. Maybe I will go to the Spice Merchant…
I am hoping that I can take a trip with Aunt Clara or Cousins Zsuzsanna or Renee to New Orleans… Years ago I went there because of Hurricane Katerina. Yet I would like to go there as a tourist… I would especially like to go there during Mardi Gras. For all that I am not Catholic, I find the city and its aura fascinating. I remember trying to write a book about it: The Ghosts of New Orleans. It was not much of a book. Yet I still fantasize about writing a book about New Orleans. I think of the Louis Armstrong song,
Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans
When that’s where you left your heart
And there’s something more
I miss the one I care for
More than I miss New Orleans…
As I do I imagine that beyond finishing The Ghosts of New Orleans, I could write another book of novellas: Gumbo: Three Jazz Novellas or Gumbo: Four Jazz Novellas. I forget what one of them is about, but the names of the stories are: “Willow Weep for Me”; “The Ancient Persimmon Tree”; “A Bracha said for Gumbo” and (possibly) “Daisy.”
In the meantime I have other projects. More: I have another contract on the way from a 2nd agent I have. He should be getting back to me next week. I am hoping that it will be all four books of The Bible According to Eve, with a contract for each individually. I am also hoping–and it may be in vain–that the publisher will be with HarperCollins.
Wish me further good luck.