Fragment author Warren Fahy published his debut earlier this month. With a wedding and a honeymoon now ticked off, he’s had some time to reflect on being a published author.
The experience of writing and publishing FRAGMENT has been strikingly similar to the story of the novel itself: years of evolution in isolation that end with a feeding frenzy as the human, in this case me, was finally dropped into the bowl. I guess that all “overnight successes” probably feel like this: certainly not “overnight”-until the morning actually arrives. It reminds me of an exchange in the movie FLETCH where investigative reporter Chevy Chase lies about witnessing the “sudden” death of a recently deceased man in order to obtain some information. “But he was sick for years,” protests his interviewee. “Sure, but the end was VERY sudden.”
Most surreal was probably my visit to my publisher, HarperCollins, in London. To me, it was like arriving at Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, complete with magical gates that opened to admit one long-struggling writer. A warm welcome from people I had always admired greeted me and I had the great privilege of meeting the editor of Michael Crichton himself. And then, directly after that deeply gratifying occasion, we were given the most dreadful news of Michael Crichton’s death. I had mentioned how much I looked forward to meeting him moments before.
Lots of comparisons have been made between the novel FRAGMENT and JURASSIC PARK and between myself and the author of JURASSIC PARK; how could one not be humbled? If I fill a portion of his large shoes with FRAGMENT, it’s a tribute I’m proud to offer. But what I really hope is that my readers enjoy the ride through Henders Island, which I’m confident is a place unlike any they have encountered before. Oh, and please mind the spigers!
