The Freeway....again

My first book, "The Freeway," has seen a resurgence in sales recently. I've done a little blabbing on Facebook and Amazon, and have mentioned it to my art students, (no hard-sell tactics, I swear) and it's moving again. Its Amazon rank has been raised to near seven-hundred-thousandth, which sounds pretty puny, but compared to way over two-millionth? I'm hot!

My recent rise to micro-stardom inspired me to read "The Freeway" again. How fascinating to have the distance to read my story as if I were not the author. I saw myself as objectively as I'm ever going to, and did I like what I saw? Yes, overall. I realized a few things during my read.

First, I am a goofball, and always will be. I honestly did not realize how prevalent my goofiness is. Second, I've decided people don't change much. I read statements and recognized attitudes that I still say and carry today. I've been hooking up with old friends from high school lately, and I say it again. People don't change much. It's good.

Lastly, I learned that I have changed a lot. And that is good, too. I cringed at some of the crazy stuff I did, and wished I could go back in time and tell that inexperienced Dori to lighten-up, not take that road, quit thinking like that, and quit being such a penny pincher. But at the same time I remember being in younger Dori's shoes. I remember exactly why she made that decision, took that path, and said those things. And those reasons were just as valid at the time as the ones I use now.

Writing a book is an amazing journey on so many levels. Getting to re-read my book every so many years is not a perk I'd ever thought about. But it's really something.

Comments

  1. UnknownAugust 25, 2009 at 9:38 PM

    Congrats on the sales resurgence!

    This reminds me of (*geek alert*) a Star Trek TNG episode where Captain Picard had the chance to go back in time and "redo" an incident he felt had been a terrible mistake--his youthful participation in a brawl that nearly killed him. This time, he declined to fight and--to his horror--his life turned out to be a dreary tale of mediocrity and forgone opportunities. It was that brush with death that gave him the focus and clarity he needed to shape his life into something extraordinary. The episode was called "Tapestry" because Picard found that by tugging on a loose thread of his life, the whole thing came unraveled.

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  2. OwenSeptember 10, 2009 at 4:18 PM

    Hi Dori,

    After about a year of scouring the local used book stores, I finally ordered "The Freeway" from Amazon in May. I wanted to read your book because of the UltraVan content, but I found the human story very compelling.

    It's interesting that you now find the "penny pinching" element overdone, because it really resonated with me. My wife and I have been struggling with reduced income since she quit her job to pursue her dream of writing, and your story brought our struggle into stark contrast.

    Anyway, I want to thank you for a beautiful story!
    Owen

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