Parallel Lives: Mother and Son Follow Unusual Paths in Writing and Publishing

A mother and son, both newly-published writers, relate their non-traditional path into print.

(PRWEB) July 31, 2005 -- John Temple, a redhead with a friendly smile and an easygoing manner, is a creative nonfiction author and a journalism professor at West Virginia University. His mother, Loranne Marsh Temple, is a fiction writer, a previous winner of the 2001 Best of Ohio Writer's Award in fiction and, presently, a candidate for a Masters in Fine Arts degree in creative writing at The Ohio State University.

Both son and mother had first books published during the past year, and they will appear together on a panel at the 2005 Winter Wheat Festival, a literary conference sponsored by the Mid-American Review at Bowling Green, Ohio in November. On this panel, they will discuss alternative paths to publication offered by university presses and small presses, as well as the personal side of their intertwined writing lives. They have previously appeared together on the public radio show Prosody, which airs in the Pittsburgh area.

John Temple first tried to place his book, entitled Deadhouse: Life in a Coroner's Office, with a commercial publishing house. His book proposal attracted the attention of a literary agent, who sent it to all of the major publishing houses in New York. After two years without a successful bite, John parted ways with the agent and sent the proposal to four university presses. Two editors soon asked to read the entire manuscript and gave him detailed feedback, which he used to improve the work. He eventually signed a contract with the University of Mississippi Press, and Deadhouse came out April 1, 2005. It has sold well and is now in its second printing.

Looking back, I believe this university press was a perfect fit for my first book," John says. It looks great, and many copies have been sold in the Pittsburgh/ Ohio/West Virginia region. I am now at work on a second book about a team of death row lawyers in North Carolina."

Meanwhile, Loranne Temples first attempts to publish her novel through an agent in New York were similarly frustrating. At Kenyon College (where her husband Dan is Vice President for Library and Information Services) Loranne joined a writers group and befriended a small press editor who responded very favorably to her stories of growing up in the deep south. XOXOX Press of Gambier, Ohio published Lorannes short story collection less than a year later, and the book, Coming to You from the Blue Room, has sold well and received very positive reviews, including one in the current issue of The Antioch Review.

The Temples experiences are similar to those of many writers who have tried the traditional commercial publishing route and found it wanting. University presses and small presses offer a personal touch and individual attention often lacking in todays mainstream publishing world. As far back as the 1960s, major writers like poets Robert Duncan and Ed Dorn eschewed mainstream publishers in favor of publishing with people, rather than houses." Authors who want a say in how their book is edited, designed and marketed often find themselves shut out of such decisions when working with a larger publisher; working with a smaller publisher, theyre often given opportunities to exercise more control over the presentation of the final product.

In spite of the generational and genre differences in our writing experience, my mother and I seem to have led parallel writing lives," John Temple says. Throughout this period of writing and trying to market our work, we have critiqued and encouraged each other. We both graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1993 with writing degrees and also had our first books published only months apart. Ours is an interesting story with a satisfying end in publication, which may be inspirational and informative to readers and to other aspiring writers."

Loranne Temple will read from her work at Barnes & Noble at the Lennox Towne Center (1739 Olentangy River Road, Columbus) on August 18 at 7pm, and at Joseph Beth Booksellers at Rookwood Pavilion (2692 Madison Rd, Cincinnati) on August 24 at 7pm.

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