BlakeCharlton.com

Longing for September but Thrilled with a new Blurb

July, fully into summer now and I still haven’t taken the USMLE. Many of my classmates have and are starting their first rotations. It’s hard to watch a preclinical class break into different groups. The process is especially pronounced here at Stanford where so many of us take years out to do research. Not that I regret my choices. Hard as the past month has been, I’ve managed to turn around the final edit of book one, outline in detail book two, and complete a scholarly article with my mentor Dr. Verghese. In between all that, I snuck in enough studying to be halfway through “First Aid for Step 1,” the study bible every second year lugs around. And after a number of practice exams and drills to increase my speed, I am now almost, mostly, pretty much, could-maybe-have-only-a-little-doubt-but-really-am sure that I’ll be able pass the exam without special accommodations. I’ll be dyslexic forever, but for the first time since I was six, I won’t be labeled as disabled.

The copy edited manuscript arrived the other day and with a little help from friends (notably editorial goddess Deanna Hoak) I’m digging into it. I don’t know if other first-time authors feel this way—or perhaps all authors do—but each draft that beings me closer to final publication fills me with a greater sense of apprehension, this being one of the last chances to catch weak points. At times, stuck between the licensing exam and publication, it feels as if I might not survive the summer.

But there are brighter moments too. For instance, yesterday my editor sent me a blurb from Daniel Abraham. Daniel is the most talented fantasist that you haven’t yet (and desperately need to) discover. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work. He’s been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards. And if you haven’t yet picked up a copy of his Long Price Quartet, you’re in for a real treat.

“Spellwright is exactly the kind of book that got me into fantasy in the first place. Blake Charlton has built a world that is as new as it is classic, and a story that kept me reading late into the night. Blake Charlton is a talent to watch.”
-Daniel Abraham