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If you hit a wall, then you just find a way
Continued from previous page
start to grasp the deep connections these
around it. That’s essentially what I did to get
characters have to one another.”
these books published.”
Prior to writing “West of Hell,” she wrote
What she did was launch a crowdfunding
short stories, none of which was published.
campaign to help finance the publication of
Yet “West of Hell” clocked in at 880 pages,
“West of Hell,” then published via the hybrid
with two more books to go. If that
press Mascot Books.
sounds like a major undertaking
Replete with editing, PR and
for a first-time novelist, “It was,”
quality, hybrid publishing goes
Emerson confirmed, laugh-
beyond self-publishing or a
ing.
vanity press.
“This was my first go-
“I ended up being able
around. I really latched on
to get the book published,”
to this story, and originally
Emerson said.
had planned on it being a
She went the same route
300- or 400-page book,” she
to fund the publication of
said. “It grew substantially
the 830-page, “East of Hell.”
into a trilogy.” She also notes
Thanks to satisfied readers of
that she rewrote the first
“West of Hell,” which main-
novel, start to finish, well
Submitted photo
tains a 5-star rating on Am-
over a dozen times over four A release party for Whiskey Em- azon, the new book was
financed in about a week’s
and a half years.
erson’s new book will be held
“I’m glad I did, because it June 3 at Velvet Lounge in Bend. time.
But due to the
became the story I wanted it
COVID-19 pandemic, the
to be,” she said.
release of “East of Hell,” which you can also
During the last year of writing “West of
buy at Dudley’s Bookshop Cafe in Bend,
Hell,” she also hunted for representation to
was delayed over a year.
help her get it published.
“I’m excited that we’re finally here at this
“I could not find, as you can probably
point,” she said. She already knows how the
imagine, a literary agent that would have
trilogy will conclude — with “South of Hell,
any interest in drafting a first-time writer
which she hopes to have complete, maybe
with an 800-page book that’s the first in a
trilogy,” she said. “It’s just kind of something even in print, by summer 2023.
“It’s pretty much mapped out,” said Emer-
you do with passion projects sometimes.
book notes
Thursday, May 27, 2021 • ThE BuLLETIN
News from Central Oregon’s reading scene
Revived Oregon poetry journal
seeks submissions
After going defunct more than 15 years ago,
the longtime poetry publication Fireweed: Poetry
of Oregon has been revived as a twice-yearly on-
line publication. Submissions are sought for the
Summer 2021 issue and will be accepted through
Monday.
All topics are welcome, but poets must reside in Or-
egon in order to submit. Editor Sydney Elliott hopes to
hold regional readings in connection with each issue.
For more information, visit fireweedmag.org or email
info@fireweedmag.org.
— David Jasper, The Bulletin
son, adding that she’s “a very type-A, outlin-
ing planner.”
For the sci-fi novel “Rationem,” she’s tak-
ing a different route to publication, going
with a company called Inkshares.
“How they set up publication is you have
to get about 750 pre-orders of your novel,”
Emerson said. “Once you hit that 750 mark,
you’ll be able to work with them, with an
editor. Your book will be printed, depending
on how big it gets, you could do a mass, na-
tionwide scale of printing, which would be
so amazing.” (To pre-order “Rationem,” visit
inkshares.com/books/rationem.)
“I’m really lucky,” Emerson said. “I’ve had
a lot of support from not just my family and
friends, but also the communities of places
I’ve lived. I did my best to pitch a good
story, and I think most people who got into
reading ‘West’ … loved it enough that they
got hooked and wanted to tell other people
about it, which is always the right way to
get your stuff out there, having people re-
ally love what you make and want to share it
with others.”
e e
David Jasper: 541-383-0349, djasper@bendbulletin.com