The Platinum Chain Annotations

The Platinum Chain originates in a small attempt to collaborate with a friend during my earliest attempt to start up a solid career in writing. I'd written some short stories, but was still very green then. The friend and I were both interested in writing and thought it was a good idea to try bouncing our productivity off of one another.

I was wrong.

After we talked over the idea for an initial scene, we agreed that each of us would take turns a scene at a time. I started us out with what turned out to be a mere few pages of what would become the pivotal event for the whole book. I sent this scene off to her and she was excited about the idea. And then I waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

Every author faces this. If not from others, than from themselves as well. “Oh I'll get to it when I have time.” or “I just need to get freed up from this thing in my life first.” I would ask about it time to time, but eventually became certain it wasn't going to happen. I tucked the scene away in a file and moved forward with other things.

After I returned from the trail, I was gifted a laptop by someone who stated they wanted to help me get a solid writing career going. I wrote a short story or two, then outlined and wrote a book about the Appalachian Trail. I was still green. The stories were okay, but not really publishable and a book about the Appalachian trail can be a hard sell to agents and publishers. I pulled out old files to see if I had a good spark for another work and ran across the scene from before. I decided to place it deeper into the story and wrote two chapters leading up to it before the rug got pulled out from under me.

My benefactor felt I wasn't producing fact enough (despite the fact that I was doing 12 hour work days at that time on top of writing and they were only supplying a computer) and demanded I return the computer. Rather than get into what might become a legal battle over what was an expensive machine at the time, I shipped it back to him and cut ties.

I still had a PC at that time, but since I couldn't move it about and take it with me to make use of free time, writing ended up falling to a very slow pace. A lot of things changed and time moved about on me as time does. I changed jobs a few times before eventually ending up living in Maryland and working as a Correctional Officer. Here I had a surprising amount of free time, but still no laptop. Unlike before, these free moments weren't small blocks, but instead could span hours at a time.

Initially I used them to read, but eventually I realized that all that time would be well spent writing. Notepad in hand, I returned to my pre-laptop days and hand wrote the first draft of what I was calling “Ill'ln”. When I left Maryland, I began transferring it into my computer right where I had left off.

Somethings about the story weren't working though. I was too close to it to work it out and at that time I had only my wife as a reading partner. She's amazing at finding grammatical issues, but story issues are less of her forte beyond knowing what she does and doesn't like. The best way to see your story with fresh eyes is to set it aside for a while. So that's what I did. Time passed and I would go on to do a number of other writing tasks. I did news articles, informational articles, ghost writing, and eventually moved into blogging some as well. Around the time I started blogging, I also returned to the book.

It's amazing how much things change with new eyes and greater experience. The entire first 3 chapters didn't work at all. It wasn't poorly written persay, just dull. The words were fine, but nothing compelling. I had to sit down and completely alter the book. I had to change elements, alter plot threads, rework segments. With the help of a critique partner, I was able to sharpen the writing quite a bit into something I was much happier with.

Off I went to the races, querying every agent I could find who dealt with fantasy. I got a lot of form letters and a few very kind letters. Agents rarely have time to offer direct advice or their deeper feelings on a work, but I was lucky to have several who expressed enjoyment of the material, but that the story didn't happen to fit their current profile or needs. To be blunt, the book isn't one easily fit into one of the popular categories presently.

I again set the book aside to focus on other projects after almost two years of fruitless effort seeking representation. I worked on other stories and another book. I admit I was stubborn. My first foray into self publishing went pretty poorly. An inexpensive collection of short stories had found no traction and I deeply wanted my first novel to be through traditional publishing. Had it not been for this stubbornness, you might have seen The Platinum Chain several years ago.

I can't say what lit the fire to finally release it on my own, but it may have something to do with a planned move. The prospect of changing day-jobs yet again is daunting. It's always a gamble if I will make as much money in a new job. I love learning those new things, but it can also come with an element of fear. Maybe the book won't have a great cover? Maybe it isn't going to sell many copies.

The truth is, if I never release it, it never sells anything at all. Tightening up the pages a bit with editing and working on getting a decent cover, I was ready. Thus you now find the book available to the public. Unlike my collection of short stories from years before, this time there are physical copies. I obtained an ISBN and am releasing it in multiple formats. If you've read it and found your way here, I hope you like it. It's now officially my debut novel. Whether you enjoyed it or hated it, I do hope it at least compelled you. Moving forward, I would like to continue the series as well as produce other novels outside of the series for years to come.

It's been a winding road that led to the book, but one that spanned my adult life. The release draft that is now out was a labor of love and has been reforged by the experiences and development of my skills over that time.