Phil Brown: Blog

Well, boys & girls… it's done!

After nine long months and over a million words, the Epilogue to "Second Time Through - Book Two" is finally posted.

I commented to one of my editors that I felt like I had given birth, after living with the story every day for nine months. Her response was quick and to the point.

"When you piss a grapefruit through your dick, you let me know. THEN, we'll discuss whether giving birth to a story is like giving birth to a baby!"

Okay, okay! Point taken.

But I do have an empty feeling since I don't have any personal deadlines to get chapters posted anymore. In fact, while the final chapters of Book Two were with my editors, I actually started the re-edit of Book One. Mostly because I just couldn't quit writing 'cold-turkey'.

And as soon as my editors take a breather from the pace of the last nine months, we'll all be hard at work on that project.

After Book One is reposted, I plan on starting Book Three. I already have it outlined, having already begun discussions of some of the things that will happen with my editors. But as to when that will actually be, I don't really know.

I will confess that I have discovered that I love to write. And now that I have discovered editors and proofreaders, I'm in hog-heaven (a good place to be, in case you're not from East Tennessee), as I no longer worry about the mistakes. Good editors are like addictive drugs, in that, after a while, you can't live without them. That's how I feel about Jack, Cassie, LaToya, and Roger.

So I plan to keep on writing, but all I'll promise for now is to keep writing. This is because I still work fulltime for a living. And since I do, a vast majority of Book Two was written at my local IHOP. (Open 24 Hours and an endless pot of coffee). Thanks guys! You know who you are and I promise to be back soon.

To the rest of you guys who read every chapter as I posted it, and always seemed to find the time to write and the words to encourage me along the way, a BIG thanks. I'll feel lost not getting regular emails from you, and that alone will spur me to writing again soon.

As for those of you that may not have read my story yet, let me know what you think. There's a feedback button at the bottom of the page.

Finally, always remember that truth REALLY IS stranger than fiction.

As always, thanks for reading my story,

Phil Brown

(For those of you who have been following the weekly postings, Book Two is almost completed, and the final chapters should be posted shortly. Thank you for all your feedback, encouragements, and ideas - Phil).

For those of you who only read completed stories and therefore, may be new to 'Second Time Through' - Welcome!

Here's a little history, I hope will help you:

I work in the construction industry and I have never written before. I fell on a jobsite and broke my femur (the big bone above the knee). Recovery is usually 8 to 10 months, and I was about to go crazy. My doctor recommended I try writing. So I did, writing most of Second Time Through.

Once I returned to work, I dropped it, picking it up to write some more, only when things were slow.

By accident, my sister saw the story (she borrowed my laptop and I had forgotten it was on there) and badgered me into posting it on-line, at this cool site called SoL. I am an amateur, and a first-time amateur, at that. I had not written STT with the intensions of ANYONE else ever reading it. But, I finally gave in, (those of you with little sisters know what I mean) and posted it in October of 2011.

At the time, I didn't have a clue what editors and proofreaders were, or what they actually did, but I learned… the hard way.

Aside from the emails about grammatical and punctuation errors, (which I really did appreciate, believe it or not), the vast majority of the responses were overwhelmingly positive, and many of you requested a sequel. So I started writing STT -Book Two. This time, posting the chapters as I completed them.

Fortune smiled on me as I began to acquire a team of volunteer editors and proofreaders. I cannot tell you how valuable they have been! They are not professionals, and their efforts are strictly voluntarily. Only one of them has ever edited for an SoL author before. But they are accurate and extremely responsive, consistently helping with ideas for improving the story. They have often reviewed a chapter for errors, only to have the entire chapter altered (by me) and then have to review and correct it again. There was one chapter that was rewritten seven times! (I consider myself lucky they didn't quit on that one!)

So my special and heartfelt thanks to Jack, Cassie, LaToya, Bill, and especially Roger. I cannot even imagine having done this without each of you.

My current plans are to go back, and with the help of this same team of volunteers, re-edit and improve Book One, to make it more consistent with Book Two. Then, start tackling Book Three in the series.

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, (about the story), please let me know. And as always, THANKS for reading STT.

Phil Brown

P/S: For all of you who blessed us with your wonderful e-mails of concern and warm wishes, my wife and I are doing much better now. It is a long road we walk, but finally, a happy one.