Writing is like sex. First you do it for love, then you do it for your friends, and then you do it for money. - Virginia Woolf
Happy June to everyone! I hope you are enjoying your summer. It is hot as blazes here and humid as a sauna in a greenhouse in the South American rain forest. But it is Texas, so I guess I shouldn’t complain. It’s not as if this type of weather is a surprise to anyone.
Without further ado, I guess I should elaborate on why that graphic dominates this post.
I have published another book!
Ventured went live last week and is available in e-book format on Amazon.
Those of you familiar with my books are aware I enjoy publishing in a variety of genres. I started my writing career with magazine articles, then progressed to non-fiction books for children. Then came middle grade fiction, then a YA action thriller trilogy. My latest book continues this pattern, which is no pattern at all.
Ventured is historical fiction and is at an adult reading level. It’s the story of a young woman living in France in the 1680s who decides it’s time for a lifestyle change. And boy, is it a big change!
No spoilers, so I’ll leave it at that.
I was inspired to write Ventured by French explorer Robert La Salle’s doomed expedition to the New World in 1684. When the remains of one of his ships was discovered in Matagorda Bay in 1995, it was a pretty big deal. I’ve always been fascinated by New World exploration. When I heard about this, my ears definitely pricked up.
Turns out one of the surviving members of the expedition, Henri Joutel, kept a journal.
How he was able to do this, and keep it in one piece, not to mention legible and protected from the elements for more than four years, is beyond me. I do well to keep track of a few family birthdays, and that’s with the help of the almighty Google, for crying out loud.
Joutel and his journal survived his New World experience. That’s more than we can say for most of the other members of the expedition. Of the more than 300 people who set out with La Salle, only a handful who landed on the Texas coast with him made it back to France.
It’s not as if they loved it in the New World and refused to return.
Nope.
They couldn’t go back, because they died.
They died of illness, in combat with the natives, or by what we might call misadventure—drowning, snakebite, alligators, botched surgeries, starvation.
It didn’t help that the expedition overshot their intended destination by about 400 miles. Aiming for the mouth of the Mississippi, they ended up closer to Galveston.
Far from home.
Far from help.
One of their supply ships was taken by privateers. Another ship returned to France. The two remaining ships sank, and most of their supplies with it. All the surviving colonists could do was hole up in a rickety, hastily constructed fort while La Salle and a few of his more experienced military crew legged it far and wide across uncharted territory, hoping to stumble across the nearest French settlement.
Which was 400+ miles away.
Did I mention La Salle was one of the casualties, murdered by his own men?
Apparently he was not exactly the Winston Churchill of his day. Too common for the blue bloods, too snooty for the commoners, and just not a people person. After a couple of years wandering in the wilderness and coming up empty, some of the rabble rousers had enough of him and finished him off.
Now that I have probably depressed you beyond all reason, I guess I should remind you that my book is fiction. Inspired by La Salle’s travails, but with some light moments tossed in for good measure. There are several colorful characters. Some much-deserved sweet come-uppance. And nothing happens to the dog.
I will leave you with three things.
My daughter is part of a sketch comedy group in Los Angeles. Their YouTube channel is live now. Give it a watch if you’re in need of a few NSFW chuckles today.
The main character in Ventured is named for the shipwreck that was discovered in Matagorda Bay. If you’re in the Austin area, drop by the Bullock Museum and check it out.
La Salle isn’t the only French explorer who had a rough go navigating the Texas coast. Louis Antoine Andry was recently honored with a statue in Indianola, TX. Would you believe my friend’s husband descends from him? Small world.
When an investigation of illegal match fixing by the Russian mob brings the FBI to her tennis club in the person of hunky agent Wilson DuBois, Veronica Burk vows to help him solve the case quickly before her own very successful gambling habit falls under suspicion.
Ventured is available now on Amazon.
When she takes a chance on making a new life for herself, French orphan and cutpurse extraordinaire Belle must find a way to survive in the New World—or she may not live long enough to enjoy it.
My YA trilogy is also still available if historical fiction isn’t your thing.
Brody Morgan grew up starring in commercials for his dad's mega food corporation. What will Brody do when he discovers what he's really been selling?
Congratulations on your new book Lissa. It sounds like an interesting tale of exploration. I’m wondering how a woman made it into the main character role amidst all these sailors. Keep cool!