Allyson Johnson

Pieces of my Mind

Archive for the category “books”

19 May 2026

What I’ve Been Reading: The Friend

A close friend dies through suicide, and the custody of his harlequin great Dane is forced upon the narrator. Like her late friend and mentor, she is a writer. Sylvia Nunez’s brief volume touches on many topics – what do animals experience? What does one owe to a dead friend? How does one deal with death? With grief? What is the role of a writer in presenting a world? Is writing worth the trouble?

Recently lost a close friend who was in the last stages of metastasized pancreatic cancer chose to take his own life (through Oregon’s “Death with Dignity” process). He planned his death well in advance and let his friends and family know. Now whenever I see an obit saying “he died peacefully at home surrounded by the love of family and friends” I’ll wonder if it was an assisted suicide.

I miss my friend, though we didn’t see each other often. He was a polymath, a gifted artist, a meticulous woodworker, a creative thinker and writer, a fascinating talker and persuader. It doesn’t seem at all sensible that the accumulated knowledge of a lifetime should just go poof!

I liked the role the dog played, as a silent companion in mourning. What does an animal know of death? We have the stories of Greyfriars Bobby who reportedly spent fourteen years guarding his master’s grave, and of Hachiko, who went daily to meet his master at the Shibuya train station for ten years after the master’s death. Is this behavior a testament to loyalty, an example of undying hope, or merely the force of habit? We can can only funble in the dark, imagining what happens in another creature’s brain.

I am a writer, so the views of other writers on the process are always interesting to me. I’ve come to believe that there are two types of writers. Type one is exemplified by Nunez’s narrator and her mentor/friend and maybe Ernest Hemingway and Virginia Woolf: writing is painful, torturous, words dragged out of you one by one, agonizing over every phrase. Each word must be true; the whole must beautiful. Writers block is a constant hazard; rejected drafts fill the wastebasket and litter the floor.  

Type two is exemplified by me, and maybe Neil Gaiman, Lee Child, and other writers of popular fiction. Writing is a pleasure, if there is a story I want to tell.  Gloria Steinem said “Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don’t feel like I should be doing something else.”  I agree with that. Though I often procrastinate, basically I want to tell the story. Yes, the tale should be shapely, it should have real characters, and if possible an arc of conflict and resolution. The story might not have a happy ending but the process of writing it doesn’t hurt.

In the last chapter of The Friend, Nunez shatters the wall of belief by imagining (or reporting?) an actual conversation with an actual friend who had an actual dog and was a failed suicide;  I think this shift breaks faith with the reader, who has gone along with the world Nunez has created, and then is told that it was all a trick. The device is a clever ploy quite suitable for a National Book Award winner though; those awards seem often to be given to authors who do tricks with time and space and the role of the narrator. I don’t care for those tricks; I find them confusing. I just want to tell the story.

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14 Apr 2026
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The Publishing Journey – Step 6: Build your Literary Community

What the heck is a “Literary Community”? Why do I need it?

Well, back in the day, an author could count on their publisher to provide visibility for a new release, with a book launch event, book tours, interviews, trade reviews, and so on. But per Jim Millot in Publishers Weekly “The total number of books published in the U.S. in 2025 with ISBN numbers jumped 32.5% over 2024, to more than four million books, according to statistics compiled by Bowker.”

The five major publishers with all their subsidiary imprints published over a million of these titles, with small presses, hybrid presses, and self-publishers providing the balance. But at the same time that the number of new releases is ballooning, the universe of hard-copy book buyers is stable or shrinking.

So how does one find buyers for a new novel? Social media, that dreaded sinkhole of targeted advertisements and cute cat memes, has become a main channel for publicizing a new release. One goal is to find a community of contributors focused on a topic or genre that relates to one’s book, and become a member of that community. Post often, post constructively, and put your name on every post. When the book is released, the power of name recognition will kick in. Other contributors, seeing a familiar name, will be more tempted to click on that “BUY NOW” button.

Sounds like a long-shot bet, doesn’t it? But with the average published book selling less than one thousand copies across all formats and all markets (per Steve Piersanti – Barrett-Koehler Publishers) the author must resort to any possible stratagem.

So what are the communities I might try to join? There are several Facebook groups which focus on historical fiction, both readers of and writers of. That’s a start – though most FB groups do not allow direct publicizing of one’s own work. So I have joined:

  • the Historical Fiction Book Lovers.
  • the Historical Fiction Book Club
  • the Historical Fiction Lover’s Book Club
  • the Historical Fiction Authors

Unfortunately for my literary community building, I don’t always have that much to say, and what I do say, I usually say on my blog. Being an active contributor to even these four FB groups is going to take time I usually spend (on a good day) writing my next novel.

(Some of my younger relatives point out that FaceBook is mostly used these days by parents and grandparents doting on their children. The real jazzy stuff goes on TikTok and Instagram. The more I thought about this, the better I felt about FB – it’s those same parents and grandparents who are still buying hardback books, bless their hearts!)

Image – Pete Sutton

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31 Mar 2026
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The Publishing Journey – Step 4 – Copy editing

SheWrites Press has green-lighted my submission, meaning that they believe if the total manuscript measures up to the sample I sent, they will not require additional developmental editing or content revision. I owe having cleared this hurdlenot to my own care or competence but to the well-considered line-editing and content feedback I have received throughout the development of the manuscript by my Writing Group.

So thanks and kudos to

Rosemary Hayward, author of Strait Lace, a novel of a woman involved in the struggle for women’s suffrage in Britain in the 1800’s. Check out Rosemary’s book recommendations and other writings at rosemaryhayward.com

Claire Noonan, author of The House on Harriman’s Hill, a memoir of the resilience of an indomitable woman, Mary Edwards, in the wake of a trouble-filled childhood. Based on true events in the lives of the Edwards family, set in the Sierra Nevada in the early 20th century

Monica McHenney – writer of prize-winning short stories and flash fiction. Here’s a link to one of her stories: https://www.paloaltoonline.com/short_story/short_story_36/adult9.php and here’s a link to her flash-fiction website: https://monicaflash.com/

Richard Probst – tireless memoirist and enthusiastic supporter. Look for his inside story of the development of the Jeep to appear soon.

Steve Noble – fabulist and raconteur, carrying on the traditions of Robert Heinlein and Flash Gordon in his short stories and maybe a sci fi novel soon. Get a flavor of his writing at his website: Noble Speculations – Steve Noble writes you are invited to Read

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24 Mar 2026
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The Publishing Journey: Step 3 – Design a Cover

I had a title for my novel.  “Her Own Way”. I thought this indicated clearly that the book is about a woman, one who carves her own path rather than meeting the expectations of others. Would you want to read that book? 

My publisher’s crew did not like that title. “Too generic” they said.  They gave me some other choices: 

The Liberation of Nellie Young

The Many Lives of Nellie Young

The Three Lives of Mary Sutton

The Sutton Sisters

I had jokingly suggested that “I led Three Lives” would have been  a good title for the book if that title had not been claimed already by a long-running TV series (though few of my prospective readers would ever have head of it.)  So I went with Option 3. 

I had suggested that I wanted a picture of the great-grandmother who inspired my novel on the cover.  the publishing crew seemed amenable, and Isent two different photos.  Sorry, these are not in the required high-definition format and would look pixilated on the cover – ok if this were a Sci-fi novel but not for a historical.  

Fortunately, I have a friend who worked for Adobe and knows all about creating a 300 dpi photo file fro a 150 dpi scanned image. I scanned the photos on my home multi-function printer and Jim transformed the scanner’s output into the required format.  Hurdle overcome. Enhanced versions sent. 

Sorry.  After several tries, the publisher’s crew of artists communicated that it would not be possible to make a cover that was properly eye-catching using the historic photos.  The one I liked had too much old-=fashioned detail (a chair, a fern) and could not be cropped.  The other one was possible, but they could not figure out how to make her static figure look dynamic against a historic street scene. And the whole effect was too busy. 

In several exchanges of letters, I was educated in the new requirements of cover design.  

Most importantly, the cover needs to convey its message when shrunk to a dimension about the size of a large postage stamp.  

*This is the size which will be displayed in print inserts to local newspapers from local bookstores. 

* This is the size which will appear in print advertising in magazines such as my University’s alumni magazine or in “Wirter’s Digest” or in the New York Review of books.  And above all 

*This is the size which will appear on a potential reader’s phone or tablet when he/she clicks through Amazon looking for something of interest. 

The artists sent four suggestions: 

One simply showed a woman’s expressionless face. What does that tell you?  Not that one. 

One showed a woman from the back, wearing a long black dress, arms pressed close to her sides, her hair in a severe bun.  She looked like Morticia. Why would you want to read about her?  Not that one.

One showed a rather plain young girl dressed again in a long black dress, looking sadly out of a window. No fun.

The fourth was ok.  I sent a note indicating that I thought this was the best of the four.  To my dismay, the team took this to be a full approval . I had expended energy already over my photo failure, and did not demur, as I had no alternative suggestion prepared.   

Of course, a week or so later I had all sorts of better ideas for the cover, but that ship had sailed.  Maybe when the book goes to its second printing? (Ha!  In your dreams – but why not dream?) 

No, I’m not showing you the actual cover.  Apparently the “cover reveal” is a big deal later in the process.  Stand by. 

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17 Mar 2026
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The Publishing Journey: Step 2 – Find a Publisher

The book publishing world has changed a lot since I first imagined publishing a book.

Back in the day, there wree local and regional newspapers that regularly reviewed books by local authors. Almost every downtown had at least one bookstore which featured readings by and interviews with local authors. Non-profit organizations like PTA, AAUW, DAR, and PEO hosted Author’s Lunches as fundraisers, inviting local authors to speak. The Internet, still in its early stages, was begging for content to fill its channels.

New world. Amazon has steam-rollered local bookstores. Online sales channels have sucked advertising revenue from newspapers, which have either folded or are on life support. Non-profit organization struggle to get membrs to attend live meetings post-COVID. And it seems that every Boomer has written a book, flooding literary agents and publishers with as many as one hundred and twenty manuscripts a day. And those publishers are increasingly reluctant to take on any new writer who is not already a well-known name.

So what’s an author to do? An industry has materialized offering aid to authors who lack the time and stamina to go the route of independent publishing. I talked with a friend who had gone the route of “hybrid publishing”, where the publisher takes on the jobs of editing, cover design, print layout, printing, and supplying a distribution channel, and perhaps for additional cash will also help with marketing and publicity. Some of the hybrid presses will accept anyone with cash to pay for service; others are more selective. “The Cadillac of the hybrid presses is She Writes Press,” my friend remarked. “They only accept maybe one in five of the manuscripts they see”. My friend had selected Girl Friday Press as her route to publication, and was happy with her choice, although she said she had to stand firm on the cover art she preferred against her project manager’s recommendation. “After all, I told them,” she said, “you are working for me.”

I checked out some of the hybrid presses my friend had mentioned on the internet. Girl Friday had an extensive questionnaire which included the query “How much are you willing to commit financially to support your book?” At that moment I recoiled, as I had not thought at all of how much I would need to commit up front. I ended up submitting my first pages to Feminist Press, because they are based in New York where my book is set, and, feeling I was taking up a dare, to She Writes Press. She Writes warned that submissions would be evaluated as “red-light – not interested,”, “Yellow-light – interested, but manuscript needs work”, or “green light – looks good, but we may change our minds when we see the full manuscript.

A few weeks later, Submittable, the website which many agents and publishers are currently using to manage submissions,, alerted me to a communication from She Writes Press:

Dear Allyson, Thank you so much for your submission and congratulations on passing through our two-tier submissions process with such flying colors. I’m attaching your assessment for Her Own Way here.I’m excited to be writing to let you know that we would love to offer you a contract to publish with She Writes Press.

OK, I was seduced. The idea that I had been chosen, approved, green-lighted above other competing manuscripts was irresistible. Plus I noted that an old friend of mine had just published a book through She Writes – I would have someone to hold my hand. I signed on. I had a publisher, and pretty soon, after my full manuscript was vetted, a publication date – November 10, 2026. Hang on for a bumpy ride!

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10 Mar 2026

The Publishing Journey: Step 1 – Write a book

The first novel I wrote took me ten years to finish. I had expected once I retired that I would whip it into shape in six months from the fragments I had generated during my off hours at work. Vain dream. I had hoped that once it was finished I would find an agent, who would find a publisher, who would find an audience. More vain dreams. I ended up publishing that first effort online (see ajmccready.com) where instead of going viral it sank like a dime into jello, without a ripple.

Undaunted, I’ve written another book. This one took me only about two years, as I had a historical framework to start from – the fragmentary story of my paternal great-grandmother. And I got a lucky break: a previously unknown relative contacted me, hoping to complete a genealogical record she had been researching, and she ended up being my personal research savior, digging up details of my great-grandmother’s story from census reports, cemetery documents, ship’s passenger lists, and poorhouse records.

There were still enough gaps in the history to allow my imagination free rein. My great-grandmother lived in New York City during the Gilded Age, so there was a wealth of historical possibility I could insert into her story. E.L. Doctorow had inserted Teddy Roosevelt and other historical personages into his classic “Ragtime”; I could do the same. I had fun. I put together almost three hundred pages. I imagined the book being published, with a cover featuring a photo I had recovered of my great-grandmother looking resolute and intrepid.

Onward!

[Graphic on imagined cover of “Fox Spirit” is copyrighted by artist Meredith Dilllman]

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17 Feb 2026
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What I’ve Been Reading: Triple Trouble/ The Hate U Give

Triple Trouble/The Hate U Give

My eyes lit on a battered discarded library book in one of the neighborhood Little Free Libraries.  “Triple Trouble – Lambert” in black capitals on the spine. Could it be?  Yes it was – written by Janet Lambert, the queen of Young Adult fiction in the 50’s, and part of a series that somehow I had never read. (Ah, the publication date was 1965 – I had grown out of the Teenage section of the library by then.) I took the book home, and settled down into a time warp.

Cinda Hollister, the seventeen year old protagonist of “Triple Trouble” lives in a house with a library and a Persian rug and hardwood floors and columns on the front porch and a balcony and a broad slope of lawn and a basement with a rec room.  Her oldest brother is at Princeton, the second is into sports at a the University of Michigan and coaches Little League, and she also has a fourteen-year-old “terror” of a little brother and a quiet little sister. The house isn’t air-conditioned, but they can cool off at the club pool.  They have a cottage at the shore but rent it out for part of the summer.

So what is the Triple Trouble?  Will the oldest brother drop out of Princeton to marry his girlfriend?  Will the second brother drop out of college to accept a contract with a pro baseball team? Will Cinda be taken in by the artsy poet who fascinates her or will she stick with her white-bread suburban high school boyfriend?  At the end, Cinda says ““You know, [Mom], this has been quite a summer…. But you weathered it in fine style.  And because you stood by and kept your good sense of values, we all did.”

By chance, at home I had just begun to read a different Young Adult book, “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas, published in 2017.  Starr Carter, the 16-year-old protagonist, lives in a black neighborhood of Los Angeles with her father, an ex-con who runs a grocery store, her mother, a nurse,  and off-and-on her half-brother, who stays with his father when the man his mother lives with gets violent. The language is graphic, and the action is violent.

Starr has already seen her childhood friend Natasha killed in a drive-by shooting, and early on in “The Hate U Give” she is the passenger in a car which is pulled over by a white policeman who with little provocation shoots the driver, Starr’s close friend) in the back. The rest of the book deals with Starr’s wrestling with her nightmares, the media, the legal system, and the different demands of her friends and family.

Lambert writes of a world that could pass as a MAGA fantasy, while Thomas writes of a reality nearly as dystopian as “the Hunger Games.” Oddly, though, they both end in the same place – the importance of family, community, and values. 

I grew up in a suburban bubble not very different from the one in “Triple Trouble” and felt very much at home in Janet Lambert’s world. I’m sorry that today’s Young Adult readers face a much grittier reality than I had to, but glad that the fundamentals underlying what they are reading about seem to endure.

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16 Dec 2025
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What I’ve Been Reading: The Flanders Panel

Arturo Perez-Reverte has constructed a marvelous mystery which spans centuries. One mystery involves the restoration of a 15th century Flemish painting which depicts a chess game in progress. In the course of the restoration the cryptic inscription “Who killed/took the knight?” is revealed. Does the painting hold the clue to solving a 15th-century murder?

The second mystery develops as Julia, the young art restorer, tries to decipher the painting’s mystery and becomes involved in a series of murders which seem to be related to the painted chess game.

If you are interested in art history, or the miracle of modern art restoration, and have even a passing interest in the game of chess, you will be charmed by this novel. The setting, in Madrid, with some of the key incidents occurring in El Prado, enhances the action perfectly. The solution – without giving the story away, I will say that it is both outrageous and satisfying.

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28 Oct 2025

What I’m Reading: “Loved and Missed” by Susie Boyt

Loved and Missed by Susie Boyt

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Susie Boyt’s 200-page novelette takes on the story of a mother hoping against hope to bring her daughter back from drug addiction, while at the same time raising the granddaughter abandoned by the addicted mother and her lover.
Sounds like a downer. But somehow it is not. Ruth, the narrator for most of the story, explores all the ups and downs of a love which is patient, is kind, that alters not when alteration finds. She doesn’t give up, despite the well-meant urgings of her friends to “move on.” And she works hard also to prevent her love for Lily, her granddaughter, from being possessive, or from seeing Lily as some kind of earned compensation for the sorrows Eleanor, the daughter, brought down.

Love and hope. Not a downer.




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14 Oct 2025
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What I’ve Been Reading: Fools and Mortals

Fools and Mortals by Bernard Cornwell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Bernard Cornwell is a master at recreating a past society, whether it’s life on the battlefield of the Napoleonic Wars, an immersion in the Saxon society of Arthurian England, or in this case, the pinnacles and pitfalls of the evolving theatre in the time of Elizabeth I.
The protagonist is Richard Shakespeare, the younger brother of William, who escapes from a brutal apprenticeship and runs to London in hopes of joining his brother’s theatre group, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. But William’s welcome is chilly, and Richard must pay a steep price to learn the skills he needs to be a player on his brother’s stage.
Did Richard Shakespeare actually exist? Yes, there was such a sibling, ten years younger than William, but the historical record is mute as far as his life is concerned, leaving Cornwell an open field to imagine. The plot is a little thin, involving the rivalry between the Lord Chamberlain’s Men and the struggle to find new plays to please the populace. The world is so real, though, that I could feel the drip of rain down the back of Richard’s neck, hear the pounding of the carpenters working on stage sets as Richard is trying to rehearse, and see the flickering lights of dozens of candles used to light the stage.
Cornwell assumes that the reader is pretty familiar with at least two of William’s plays, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet. If you’ve gotten that far in studying Elizabethan drama, you’re ready to plunge in to Richard Shakespeare’s world.




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