LITERARY ENDEAVORS
In 1979 I undertook my first attempt at writing a novel - Bad Timing. I spent several hours per day, every day of the week, on a portable Olympic electric typewriter, The novel was finished in 1981 and gracefully rejected by publishers. My personal accomplishment overpowered by rejections I received.
When I moved in 1980, the manuscript was packed and literally lost for thirty-six years. In 2018 the manuscript was rediscovered in an old unopened moving box as I began downsizing. Reading through the manuscript, I gained a new appreciation for words typed on beautifully textured cotton-bond paper. I also determined that the content of the novel had merit but needed to be revisited and edited to correct all the errors I had made in the original; I understood the reasons for all of the rejections. In a subsequent move from Holladay to Moab, I misplaced the manuscript again. As before, when unpacking moving boxes in 2023, after moving back to Holladay from Moab, I found the manuscript once again, read through it again, and recognized that the story had meaning and merit, but needed refining. Bad Timing I intend to have published and on the market by late-2024.
That novel provided confidence in my ability to write. During the same period of writing the novel, 1978 - 1984, I penned numerous articles for local and regional publications to garner by-lines. For the Salt Lake Tribune I wrote travel articles; occasionally garnering the front page in Sunday's Travel Section and gaining recognition for my photography as well. Utah Holiday Magazine published a number of articles. Expression Magazine provided me my first interview-based article focused on Utah artist; Margret Card. Utah Business asked me to pen a piece on Salt Lake City's economic loss when the proposed Rolling Stones concert at the University of Utah Football Stadium was declined by our civic leaders. I traveled to the Stone's concert in Boulder in 1981 to gather data related to the acclaimed economic loss. In December 1993 I had the honor of interviewing Chip Davis, founder of Mannheim Steamroller for The Event Magazine. I believe that was the best piece I created during that period. It was published in The Event and in Penthouse. Chip Davis sent me a very complimentary letter of thanks. Most articles published included my photography.
During this same period, I began ascending the corporate ladder and it was not difficult to comprehend which provided a greater return on my investment of time. In the corporate world I enjoyed all the writing experiences one could ask for; press releases, business related articles, company directives, manuals, memorandums, etc., I wrote prolifically as I scaled that ladder, and realized my writing skills were paying off in a much different way than I had previously desired or thought possible, and I did not have to schlep books.
The outcome of writing and creating management training manuals for Sprint Communications resulted in the creation of material I relied on as I wrote and published my first commercial book, Successful Management 101; The Manager's Manual, available on Amazon. The revised, second edition is scheduled for release in 2024.
I am in the final stages of finishing a book of poetry and prose, TALES OF LOVE & HATE, which is currently scheduled for a February 2024 release.
Setting aside time to write has changed, as inspiration often takes control of when I sit at the keyboard: "I do not summon words, they come for me."
"Inspiration knows not how to tell time.
she comes when she wants....."
Raymond Cannefax
Medicine Man Revised March 2024
This recounts an actual event in 1973.
NEWS! Revised March 2024
Successful Management 101
Available on Amazon
Second Edition available in late-2024
RIGHT OR WRONG?
LITERATURE
Most my life, I have labored at becoming an accomplished writer. Having had no involvement within the literary community, and studied only the required English courses in college, I ventured out on my own, knowing I could overcome obstacles encountered. English was not my first language.
TALES OF LOVE & HATE
Poetry and Prose
2024 Release
LIZARD KING - JIM MORRISON
MARGRET CARD - Interview
(A link to all my literary material on this site.)
Below are examples of the material in PROSE.
Copyright @ 2014 - 2024 Raymond Cannefax
