Tuesday, November 29, 2011

"Lux" is finally done!

Last night, after three years and eight months of hard work that began on Block Island, RI, I finished the third and final draft of my novel "Lux ex Tenebris." I can't believe how far I've come with this book and never in my wildest dreams did I think it would develop into a 350 page, 90,000 body of work. During the course of my entire graduate school experience I have slaved over it, month after month, taking it through four fiction/novel workshops at City College, slaving over re-writes and agonizing sessions where I wondered what book were other people reading during critiques. I'm glad I stuck with it. Perhaps it's a part of my "Taurus" nature - stubborn, determined and thick-skinned. Wanting to see a project through and make it into something special. Not only do I believe I've done just that, I also have left the door wide open for it become a series.

So what is "Lux ex Tenebris" about? It chronicles the lives of two men: "Cupid" - an African-American man born on Chicago's south side, who has suffered tremendous heartache at the early loss of his parents and is raised by his grandmother and grandfather, and Antonio "Tony Cupp" Cuppicciotti, Jr - an Italian-American man born in "Little Sicily" on Chicago's north side, who has long lived under the shadow of his celebrated father - Antonio Cuppicciotti, Sr. "Tony Senior" became a superstar in the Chicago Police Department due to his legendary take down of the Ferruccio Crime Family. "Cupid" (a nickname given to him by his mother after giving birth to him on Valentine's Day) and Tony Junior both do seemingly evil things, but Cupid serves as an anti-hero who struggles to find meaning in his life while Tony Junior was affected by a single moment from his childhood that puts him on a path of rancor and vitriol. Their lives parallel for most of the book until a chance occurrence brings them together. Can they put out the fire that burns within them and make a return to love? I guess you'll have to read the book and find out!

This became my masters thesis somewhere around a year and a half ago. I had another project in mind, but this book took up so much of my time that I thought it would make a great thesis. It really feels great being done with it, and my intention is to locate an agent who will hopefully land it with a traditional publisher. Why this, you ask? I believe not only could this book fare well in a larger marketplace, but I can also see a film project come out of this as well, in addition to a three or four book series. I will consider later projects for Another Shore Press, LLC, but this could be the one that gives me the exposure I'm looking for.

We'll see.