We are proud to invite Yvonne Lieblein to the Underground for our second Emerging Author post. Yvonne is a writer en route to finding a publisher for The Wheelhouse Café, her novel with a musical soundtrack. She shares poetry via her website, www.theversevault.com, and recently launched a blog, www.yvonnelieblein.com.  Today, Yvonne will be conducting a series of interviews with an emerging e-publishing company. 

At the end of this post, we will include the pitch that Yvonne gave to editors at the Algonkian Pitch Conference. If you enjoy Yvonne's writing and want to read a sample of her novel (and a clip of the soundtrack), please vote for her in the 'comments' section of this blog post. In order for your vote to count, you must have an email subscription to the Underground.

“Leap, and the net will appear.”

A neon flash of this John Burroughs quote kept coming to mind as I interviewed Cerro Chato Publishing founder John Nicosia and the authors of his company’s first two releases, Michael Kirkbride  {Deep Scratch in the Vinyl – Nov. 2011} and Jason Hefter {Hump Day – Feb. 2012}.

Sure, neon is an unlikely way to envision words of wisdom from a literary naturalist, but the juxtaposition of down-to-earth and modern is apropos when it comes to these three recent additions to the literary landscape. Each has taken a leap, veering off their respective career paths to venture into new territory. And now, fueled by a shared belief that publishers and writers can actually work as a team, they’re creating books for an audience they know exists. 

Let’s start at the beginning. John, what inspired you to start a publishing company, and why did you decide call it Cerro Chato? 

A couple of years ago, I visited Cerro Chato, a dormant volcano in Costa Rica. I’m more than a little terrified of the jungle, so when I finished the rigorous four-hour hike to the top, I really felt like I’d faced my fear head on.                              

Shortly afterward, I had the idea to create an ePublishing company. A great life coach helped me explore how I could use my skills in this new way, and I put a business plan together. Later that year, my girlfriend and I split up. I realized I could let that experience bring me down or use it as a catalyst to really change my life. That’s when I decided to move ahead with my two main goals – to write a novel and to get a publishing company off the ground.


What was it like transitioning from a corporate structure to a wide-open landscape?  

I’d been a lawyer for 15 years, working in litigation for a large national law firm for the last seven. I definitely felt disoriented when I first I transitioned out of that life. I made schedules and lists like, “This is what I’m going to eat.” It was exciting and terrifying, but I got up and wrote every single day. When I got to 18 chapters, I realized I had a structure, so I outlined the last two-thirds of what would become a 70,000-word novel, The Red Typhoon.It’s an adventure/thriller set in a massive cave system in Vietnam.


So you accomplished your first goal, and now you’re a publisher and an author.   

Yes, and as a writer it’s important to me that Cerro Chato forges true partnerships with authors, especially those who haven’t had success with traditional publishing houses.We want to help writers find their readers, to be an incubator where they can develop a readership and maybe get the attention of a bigger publishing house. When that happens for a writer we’ve published, it will be one of my greatest thrills.


This seems like the perfect place for you to chime in, Jason. Your first novel is in the Cerro Chato pipeline, and I know that John’s writer-centric philosophy really appeals to you. 

Absolutely. When John told me that a writer can walk away from Cerro Chato at any time, I knew that I wasn’t going to get that kind of teamwork deal from a major publisher.

 
Hump Day will be released on a very rare “Leap Year Hump Day,” Wednesday, February 29. What’s happening behind the scenes right now?

We’re wrapping up final edits. Editing is always a challenge for me as tend to take criticism personally. (I'm aware of this and working on it!)  At first, I responded to the editor's notes with an over-reactionary, "She's wrong, doesn't get the book and doesn't know what the @#!!$ she's talking about!" After a couple of days, I began to see the edits had more than a little merit. 

I wasn't seeing that the jokes in the book weren't always in service of the story.  I also wanted to protect the noir-ish voice of the narrator, but again, not if it took the audience out of the story.  It's a tough balancing act, but the editor has an objectivity that you no longer have because you’re so close to the characters.  Keep in mind that the editors want the book to be good, too.  I have to try to take my emotions out of the process.  John was great and supportive when he said, "If you really don't believe in the note, just don't do it."


In the meantime, cover art is evolving. You’ve shared a sneak peek of that work-in-progress with us.  It must be incredible to see something inspired by your story come to life. Do you remember when your Hump Day journey began?

I was living in New York, and one of my many odd jobs was to cover what Miramax considered to be “edgy” scripts. Eventually, I decided to write a book that was a mockery of edgy. I had a lot of bar stories floating around in my mind, and Hump Day came to me almost as a dream. The idea of writing anything much more than 100 pages was scary to me, so I decided to write it as a screenplay.


What happened when you finished it? 

They say you never forget your first, and Hump Day was the first thing I’d written that got me any attention. It opened doors for me in Los Angeles. I got an agent.

Good news? Hollywood thought the writing was original. Not so good news? Studios thought it was way too weird to actually make into a movie. That’s when I decided to rewrite Hump Day as a novel. I’d always wanted it be a book but was afraid to make that commitment. I expected the process to be frustrating, but it was actually liberating, and I discovered that a screenplay is a great outline for a novel. With the book, I got to really hang out with these characters.


From the length of your first draft, it seems like you really got to hang out with your characters. 

You can say that again. It’s a dark comic pop culture noir, and I wrote 800 pages in 10 weeks.  It was one of the first things I ever wrote just for me. I didn’t expect to sell it.


What was the response to your finished draft?  

A book agent read the novel and tried to do something with it, but major publishers had trouble because they couldn’t lump it into a proven genre. Was it “lad lit?” What can we compare it to that’s selling right now? One publisher said, “I was laughing out loud, but I still don’t know what to do with it.”

I believed that there was – that there is  -- an audience for my book, but at that point I decided to stick with what I know and get paid for. Even then, I just couldn’t put it away.

 
That’s your cue, John . . . Cerro Chato, enter stage left. 

Exactly. Cerro Chato’s vision is to publish books like Hump Day and our premier release, A Deep Scratch in the Vinyl – noir-ish stories, pulp fiction, adventure stories for people who want to read but don’t because they’re not finding what appeals to them. These are the books my friends and I like to read, and I know there are more of us out there.


Speaking of your friends, tell me about your book club . . . you know, the one that gives peer pressure a literary kick in the pants? 

That would be the all-guy book club that started meeting at the Patriot Bar in Tribeca. Now there are 10 of us, and whoever selects the book chooses the venue. We have dinner, talk about a book and then drink together. You will be made fun of if you didn’t read the book. Peer pressure is strong.


Just think . . . now your publishing company can offer up two book selections with more to come! What’s next for Cerro Chato? 

We’ll continue to be a stepping-stone – a happy medium between traditional publishing and vanity presses. We want to establish a recognized brand for good quality books and plan to publish four to five books per year.


How can a writer connect with Cerro Chato? 

We encourage writers to visit our website, www.cerrochatopublishing.com. Also, while we’re not currently accepting submissions, interested writers can like our Facebook page. to get an upcoming announcement regarding our submissions policy.

Excellent. Here’s to leaping and knowing the net will appear. Much success to you both . . . and to Michael, who’s up next!  

Michael, you not only have a day job, you’ve also admitted to actually liking said day job. What is it that you do?

It’s true. I do like what I do, and if it wasn’t for the people I’ve met and experiences I’ve had through my jobs, my book wouldn’t exist.

Right now, I work in finance, managing people’s money. Before that, I was an elementary school teacher. That’s where I really learned about time management.


With a full-time job and a family, how do you find time to write? 

It’s all about carving out time. I don’t have a real writing routine, but I try to catch an hour here or there whenever I can. I enjoy the process, so finding time to write is a pleasure.


What helped you write your book? Did you use an outline? 

I worked on A Deep Scratch in the Vinyl each night for about nine months while my wife, Pamela, was incredibly busy with work and school. I started by capturing stories on paper, and the characters erupted. After the first 40 – 50 pages, I wasn’t sure where the novel was going, so I started writing the second half well before I finished the first. Once I realized what the story was, I went back and forth between two sections, letting my mood dictate what I wrote that day. If I was in a nostalgic mood, I wrote about the early 90s. If I was feeling more reflective, I wrote about being a grown-up.


So you wrote toward the middle . . . interesting. Was the end result cohesive? 

The novel folded into itself.  Then, I went back to find any parts that lacked continuity to make sure I was telling a continuous story.


Did you know when you were done? 

I thought it was done, but I wasn’t sure. The first person I showed it to was Pam. I said, “The last year or so I’ve been . . . writing a book, and I think I’m done.” Huge exhale. She had no idea what I’d been up to! I’d never shown my writing to anyone, so it was utterly harrowing to have Pam read my book, even though she’s my best friend. She agreed that it was done from a story perspective an gave me early edits and positive feedback.


A Deep Scratch in the Vinyl digs deep into some intense long-term relationships like a deep-rooted friendship between two men, a complicated magnetic attraction between a man and woman, and a crumbling marriage. What was most important to you when you brought these relationships to life?  

I didn’t want cardboard cutout, black and white characters. In a scene about a disintegrating marriage, things that used to bring these two characters together, like trips to the beach, become a source for arguments and discomfort. I wanted to show a guy who really cared about his kids and didn’t feel like he wanted to run away from a terrible life. He and his wife just didn’t see each other the way they used to.


You originally called the book Glacken’s Pour after a drink at a legendary Bronx bar. How did the title morph into A Deep Scratch in the Vinyl? 

Glacken’s Pour was too obscure for most people. A Deep Scratch in the Vinyl has a direct tie to a pivotal scene, and it’s also a nod to how a scratched record is a lot like the repetition of human experience. There’s nothing really novel about what the characters go through in my book, or in what we all go through in life. It’s an endless repeat.


Ah yes, our trials and tribulations aren’t spectacularly original. There’s strange comfort in that sentiment, one that definitely calls for a Glacken’s Pour. Cheers, Michael, and thanks.


Where to find A Deep Scratch in the Vinyl:

Amazon.com
Barnes & Noble
Apple iBooks

Pitch for Yvonne's novel, The Wheelhouse Cafe:

At 30, Arden McHale is a go-to publicist and accomplished sailor, but she hasn’t been lucky in love. Drawn to tugboat captain John Raymond, she’s hesitant to get close to the almost-40 seaman who has  isolated himself from finding love and pursuing dreams of a musical career.

In spite of her doubts, their relationship accelerates when Arden enlists John to protect an eight year-old boy threatened by his abusive father. The boy escapes danger by going to sea with John. The plan involves setting up a marine radio in Arden’s apartment, and this allows her to listen to the floating concerts John performs from a tug in New York Harbor.  He sings and plays guitar through the radio, calling his performances The Wheelhouse Café. For the first time, John knows that someone actually hears him, and he seduces Arden with songs and stories about life at sea.  As Arden falls for John, she struggles to believe she’s capable of loving someone... especially when that someone has given his heart to the sea for so long.

Inspired by true stories, the novel includes a soundtrack of the songs John performs in The Wheelhouse Café.


We invite you to vote to read the first chapter of her novel in the 'comments' section of this blog post.  If Yvonne gets ten votes by next Friday (February 17th) we will post her first chapter on Underground Book Reviews. In order for your vote to count, you must have an email subscription to the Underground.