Buchanan hopes to soar into 'flight' with new book
By Alonzo Weston
Diversity Institute Fellow
07.23.02
|
| Brian J. Buchanan |
Brian Buchanan, the online managing editor for the Freedom Forum, has written his second novel, “Angela’s Flight,” and will soon be looking for a publisher.
He doesn’t expect the search to be easy.
“It’s real hard to get a book published these days, especially a fanciful romance,” he said. “I’m going to try to find an agent.”
Buchanan’s first book, “Ruby Boat, Topaz Sea,” was published online by 1stBooks.com in 1997. However, he doesn’t really consider it his first published work.
“I don’t regard it as legitimate because I had to pay them to do it,” Buchanan said. “But at least it’s out there. You can read it online or order a printed copy of it.”
Buchanan, whose Freedom Forum duties include editing the content on the organization’s website, wrote the first draft of “Angel’s Flight” during a three-month sabbatical he took from his job last December.
His wife, Juda, is now reading the second draft of the manuscript, providing what Buchanan calls another set of eyes to help him look for inconsistencies in his story. It was Juda who suggested the book’s title, he said.
“I thought it was better than what I had,” Buchanan said. “I was calling it 'Angela's Escape.'”
The 240-page manuscript is based on a short story titled “Made Strange with Flowers,” which Buchanan had published in a magazine in 1977.
The story recounts the thoughts of a troubled teenager named Angela Crieve as she’s being taken to a mental hospital. On her way to the institution, the 16-year-old high school student spots a weather balloon and imagines escaping in it. The book is about how her wish might shape her reality, Buchanan said.
“What if instead of being taken away, (she) made a break for it, got away from everybody, ran across the field, got into the balloon, threw off the rope and floated up in the air?” he said.
Buchanan said that he will begin looking for a publisher after his wife reads the manuscript, and he rewrites it again.