Excited to see what comes of Bloomsbury's acquisition of Rowman & Littlefield, which means both of my books will be under the same publisher. Most of my R & L team has moved on long ago, but I'm unspeakably grateful for the chance they took on me as a first-time author, the patience they showed me when I started missing deadlines (I learned my lesson and it hasn't happened since) and the creative control they gave me in making my own book about the greatest metal band of all time—see the original title and cover art above the final product below. I like to think of that as a nod to Metallica too, who had to change the title and cover art of their debut album before its official release.
Last week, I had the honor of speaking with two different music heroes, from different genres and eras, about the possibility of writing a book with their participation. Whether either of those books come to fruition, I'm dumbstruck that this is my life now, where artists I've admired for most of my life would even think about taking the idea of writing a book with me remotely seriously. I know none of this would have happened if the Backbeat/Rowman & Littlefield team didn't have the nerve to, as Apollo Creed might say, give an unknown a chance. Thank you Robert, John, Barbara, Carol and Brianna for believing in the dream.
