Why, it seems like only yesterday that I got news that my first ever book would be published. Today, I learned that I am now the proud father of a trilogy. The third and final (so far) book in the Unwritten Books series will be part of Dundurn’s Fall/Winter 2008-9 season.
Here’s the official e-mail:
From: “Barry Jowett” xxxxxxx@dundurn.xxx
To: “‘James Bow’” xxxxx@bowjamesbow.xxx
Subject: The Young City
Date: Fri, Jan 25 2008 11:44:13 AM GMT-05:00Hi James,
At long last, we’ve given the go-ahead to The Young City and would like to publish it in the Fall/Winter 2008-09 season! I’m looking forward to it - I think it’s going to be a strong part of a strong Boardwalk list.
I’ll work on the contract in the next week or two and get that out to you. In the meantime, I need to prepare for a concept meeting next week and am hoping to have an initial run at the catalogue copy for that meeting. Would you be able to provide about 150-200 words about the book that we can use as the basis for the copy? Also, if you’d like to modify your author bio, let me know and we can incorporate any changes in the bio in the catalogue. (Or if you’re fine with what was used on your last book, we can go with that.)
Well, here’s what I worked out, with a lot of help from Erin:
Rosemary Watson and Peter McAllister think their future lies clear before them: they’re finally out of high school and heading off for university. They’re thinking about finding apartments, picking courses, living like adults. Everything is certain, especially the life that they’ll share together.
But what happens when the future becomes the past? While helping Rosemary’s brother move into his basement apartment in downtown Toronto, Peter and Rosemary fall into an underground river and are swept back in time, to the City of Toronto in August 1884. It’s a struggle to survive in a strange new city, to adapt to the alien culture of the late 19th century. Peter and Rosemary are forced to work together, to live together, and become the adults they’ve only been pretending to be.
And as the days stranded turn to weeks, then months, Rosemary and Peter begin to wonder if they’re really ready for a future together - and what they will do if they can’t get back.