BREAKING IN
Eddy Boudel Tan
After Elias (Mainstream fiction, October, Dundurn)
“When the airplane piloted by Elias crashes one week before their wedding day, Coen loses the man he loves and the illusion of happiness he has worked so hard to create.”
Vancouver. Apart from my career as a communications strategist, I was running a community initiative that serves home-cooked meals to the homeless. I shared the stories of the people I met in a series of articles uncovering the causes and consequences of homelessness. Though doesn’t center on this experience, it includes themes of class and wealth inequality. The concept of putting someone through the worst personal crisis I could imagine and exploring how it alters his perception of the past, his loved ones, and himself took a year to mold into a fully It took three months of querying before I found my agent, Jessica Faust of BookEnds. I knew from that first phone call that she was the right partner for me. Getting published seems to be a secret sauce of personal taste, profitability, timing, talent, perseverance, and luck. There’s no magic recipe, but it comes down to finding the right people who believe in your work. Whether it was honing my craftor learning how to write a killer query, I put in the time and pushed myself to improve. Gathering and listening to feedback played a critical role. I would have gotten involved in my local literary community ages ago. I’ve started to do this recently through festivals and events, but I wish I’d made it a priority in my younger years. Read widely across genres and a diverse spectrum of writers. Step into the shoes of someone with an unfamiliar background and see the world through their eyes. All writers should expose themselves to a diverse range of human experience. My second novel, , is slated for release in 2021. It’s a story about obsession, blame, and belonging set on the Mediterranean Sea. My third book is in very early stages of development.
