I’m not the first author to compare a novel to a baby, but I’d like to take that a few steps further, because I love metaphors and analogies.

Let’s start with the end of life for a book, so we have a frame of reference.

There’s a lot to be said for buzz, and the Pulitzer Prize, for books on required readings lists in high school and college literature classes, and Oprah and Reese’s book clubs. All that is like life support for books.

But most books are no longer cherished after about five years. Literary agents no longer want them listed in queries as comparable titles. Screenwriters have already passed them by. Authors have moved on to their next book and publishers aren’t planning a new printing.

A book is fully formed upon publication, and remains a young adult for the first 90 days. After that, sales fall off, until that dreaded five-year mark. So for a book, 90 days is age 21. The first year is about 35. And each additional year, 2-5, is equivalent to about 12 years.

Which means my debut novel, Hatfield 1677, is about 50 years old right now, in book years. In it’s youth, it was an Amazon Hot New Release in Historical Biographical Fiction.

But that was then. This is now.

Aside from a movie deal, the only way to extend a book’s lifespan is to write more books. Sort of like a royal family’s “heir and a spare” logic. The second book prompts readers to revisit the author’s first book, and the middle-aged book gets up from their lounge chair to give it another go.

The bigger the splash a book can make before it turns twenty-one, the better, in terms of it’s lifespan. Pre-publicity starts when the author finishes what they believe to be the final revision of their next book.

So, here is a Q&A for my grown up book’s new sibling.

Q: What names have you picked out/ What is the title for your upcoming novel?

A: The Lark

Q: Is it the same genre as Hatfield 1677?

A: Yes, historical biographical ficiton

Q: What is your publication/due date?

A: Late September 2026.

Q: Do you have a cover yet?

A: This is basically the gender reveal for a book – the cover reveal. And no, not yet. But I have a feeling about it.

Q: Can you tell us anything more?

A: Strangely, I can, because unlike a child, a book enters the world fully formed. But I can’t decide which version to put on the birth announcements. I mean, the back cover and the Amazon listing. Let me know your favorite!

VERSION ONE

The Lark tells the true story of the man behind the music of the 1903 Broadway comic opera of The Wizard of Oz.

Decades before Dorothy’s ruby slippers graced the silver screen, twenty-three-year-old Paul Tietjens is a brilliant classical pianist with dreams of greatness and a non-refundable ticket to Europe to study with the master composers of his time. But the bank calls in the loan on his family’s Missouri farm, and Paul sacrifices his heart’s desire to save them from financial ruin. Desperate to find a new road to success, he moves to the up-and-coming city of Chicago, where he convinces L. Frank Baum to collaborate on a comic opera of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. 

Paul’s aspiration to soar with the larks takes a dangerous turn when Paul falls for his best friend’s beautiful but married sister, and The Wizard of Oz operetta demands not only his talent but his soul. Journeying from turn-of-the-century Chicago to the streets of Manhattan, from his family’s farm to the beaches of Michigan, Paul fights to hang onto the chance of a lifetime, his integrity, and the woman he loves.

VERSION TWO

Paul Tietjens, a twenty-three-year-old classical pianist, has booked passage on a steamship to Europe to study with the masters. But just before his ship sails, the bank calls in a balloon loan on his family’s Missouri farm, and Paul sacrifices his dream to save it.

Hoping to get rich quick and recapture his dream, he moves to the up-and-coming city of Chicago to live with his friend Ike, where he meets and convinces L. Frank Baum to create a comic opera of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

But the opera’s promises of fame and financial reward demand Paul set aside his artistic integrity, and his growing feelings for Ike’s married sister careen toward scandal and heartbreak. What price is Paul willing to pay to fulfill his dreams and win the woman he loves?

With the musical ambition of The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable and the romance of Chopin’s Last Manuscript by Elizabeth Kellam, The Lark blends the pathos of Blue Moon (2025) with the charm of Finding Neverland (2004).