In the Lone and Level Sands
Page 70
In December 2008, we decided to take another shot at it. We started from scratch, taking turns writing a chapter and sending it back and forth. For the most part, I wrote Layne's arc (and the Norman Peters chapters that come between each part of the book) and Max's arc, while Seth wrote Evan's, Martha's, and Charlotte's arcs. A little way into the first draft, Seth came up with the idea for Jordan's arc, and I had been piecing together Zoe's (which was originally going to be part of a very different apocalypse story, but I was missing some essential pieces that, as it turns out, were present in this one).
We finished the first draft in December of 2010. Soon after, we began the process of editing it. In the subsequent months, after countless hours of work and arguments and lost sleep and 40-hour weeks (without pay, as in most writing careers, that comes later), we realized neither of us really knew what we were doing.
The project went on hold. We both read books on writing and editing (and anything else—you can't write if you don't read), and we worked on other projects.
Somewhere along the way, we had other ideas that didn't quite fit into the overall narrative of this book. I came up with idea to separate them into a collection of short stories, which was put on hold around the same time.
Over the years, we finished another draft of In the Lone and Level Sands, and sent a few queries to agents. What we learned was that the book was way too long to gain much interest on that front.
In late 2012, after a few more years of understanding how this works, I went back and finished editing the short stories. It's almost impossible to publish a collection if you're a first-time author, so we self-published it as After the Bite in November 2012.
After the Bite was met with a reception that was small but on the whole positive. (At least, we didn't hear many complaints.) I was happy with it, which I think inspired me to pick this one back up.
In August 2013 I went through one last round of editing, this time with the benefit of not having read it in a long time. It occurred to me that a lot of the messages in the book are still relevant (though some pop culture references had to be brought forward in time a few years) and that I still liked the story, as well as the ideas Seth and I have for possible future works. Since we self-published After the Bite, we decided to stick with that route for this one.
In the Lone and Level Sands has been a monolith watching from behind me for a long time. It's the largest and most complex project I've ever worked on, not to mention the most time-consuming. I'm excited to finally present it to the world as a finished product that I'm overall proud of. One of the longest chapters of my life is coming to a close, and I can't wait to see what comes next.
Seth and I want to thank our friends and family for being there to answer silly questions like “Where would you least like to be during the zombie apocalypse?” and “Would meatloaf still be good after three days in the fridge?”
And, of course, we want to thank you, for reading the words we put on these pages. Without you, they’d be meaningless.
David Lovato
October 2013
About the Authors
David Lovato was born in California. He spent his early years moving from house to house, eventually settling in Gladstone, Missouri. Seth Thomas moved to Gladstone a year later, and the two met on the school bus, where for years they traded stories they’d written until they decided to write some together.
David’s blog can be found here: http://davidjlovato.wordpress.com
You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter.
Also by David Lovato:
“Hole”, a short story, available for free through most ebook retailers.
Dark Things, a collection of four short stories, available through most ebook retailers.
Six and Seven, a novella, available through most ebook retailers.
Seth’s blog can be found here: http://sevidian.wordpress.com
You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter.
Also by Seth Thomas:
“The Morning Light”, a short story, available for free through most ebook retailers.
After Death, a novel, available in print and through most ebook retailers.
Also by David Lovato and Seth Thomas:
After the Bite, a collection of short stories set before, during, and after the zombie apocalypse. Available in print and through most ebook retailers.
Copyright Info
Copyright © 2013 David Lovato and Seth Thomas
Author picture designs by Seth Thomas, art by Laura Soret, copyright © 2012 Laura Soret http://suthnmeh.deviantart.com/
Cover picture design by David Lovato and Seth Thomas, art by Laura Soret, text by David Lovato, copyright © 2013 Laura Soret