Good marketing and craft development led a lot of authors to view their most recent as their favorite, but author Tim Hallinan's response caught my eye.
He gave me permission to share it here:
Mine is the worst book I ever wrote, but it was also the first I ever finished.
It's called The Wrong End of the Rainbow, and except for the title, it's awful. Not a likable character in it—they're like rejects who were turned away because they weren't cheerful enough to appear in a Patricia Cornwell novel. I did everything wrong: wrote a long (really long) prologue and put it in italics; started the book halfway through the action and then told the bulk of the story in flashback; cheated the reader regarding the murderer's identity. And did I mention the characters?
But I finished it, and at that point my life changed. I was someone who had finished writing a novel. It was a terrible novel, but it was a novel, and at least I didn't have to worry about sophomore slump, because the second one couldn't possibly be worse.
And it wasn't, and the third got me my first three-book deal.
I no longer have a copy of The Wrong End of the Rainbow, which is probably just as well. Some day, though, I'm going to use the title.
The key words for me are "at that point my life changed." I love it!
You can get Tim's newest, Breathing Water at Amazon or your local Independent bookstore. Or a chain bookstore. Pretty much anywhere. The thing is, Breathing Water, as well as the other's in the series have received amazing reviews.
CR: Dark of the Moon by John Sandford.
BTW, my rhythm is back. I'm rewriting my rewrites. Pretending to be professional. I only want to hurl every other day now.
It's all better with friends.
