Pike Author Starts Writing Second BookBy Linda KarnIt is time to retreat into his white room of silence for local author Gerry Justice. The Pike Township author is working on his second book called Believe Me. “This is a good story despite how I write it,” Justice said. The story is about a man deceiving his friends and the church community. Justice explained the novel is about 85 percent true. The story is good regardless of his ability to tell it. Justice was not downplaying his writing skills, but he wanted to depict the difference between story and storytelling. He believes he has a “jackpot” story worthy of being turned into a movie. He shared the first five pages of his new manuscript with Speedway Writers’ Group at the January 27 meeting. Justice did not ask for critiquing. The partial manuscript was included with other writing materials to improve everyone’s skills. Justice was also able to discuss a variety of related writing components by inviting an inclusive group conversation. The vast discussion included members elaborating on their favorite authors, life themes, writing skills, and the methods of being published. The discussion of book authors led the group into an analytical dialogue of character development and style. Clare Board and Angie Justice agreed that good character development makes the reader feel as if he is friends with the characters. Board sometimes laments when the book is over because it is like saying good bye to friends. “You are sorry the story is over,” she said. An author’s writing style can make or break the reader’s interest. Gerry is drawn to the authors that can bury a key sentence in the middle of the paragraph to hook the reader. This technique enables the writer to make a smooth transition into a different topic without bringing noticeable attention to the reader that he is on to another idea. “You don’t have to scream it by placing it at the top of the paragraph,” he said. Thelma Payne raised the issue of identifying our life theme. She believes our life theme becomes our motivational reason to write. Payne’s life theme is everything matters. Observing anything can inspire her to write. Payne’s life’s theme is even on her car that replaced her other slogan “I’d rather be happily married.” Justice’s book, Knock My Socks Off, is a series of anecdotal stories of people, places and things that made him say “wow”. Angie said the basis of her husband’s book started when they went on a cruise. The red carpet treatment and the exquisite atmosphere had him writing notes in awe of the great customer service. It was no holds bar for the cruise staff to implement painstaking details to insure the passengers felt special. His theme became people make a difference. It was only natural for Justice to talk about Antonio’s work as he briefly gave an overview of the book. Justice explained Antonio calls about 800 people a week to participate in blood drives. Over 14,000 donors have given blood in the last four years due to his persistent calling. “I call him my personal blood collector,” Justice quipped. This time, Justice plans to seek an agent instead of using print-on-demand to publish his book, Knock My Socks Off. However, Justice expressed no regrets using print-on-demand for his first book. “It is done. I would still be waiting. It would be difficult to find a publisher to understand what I was trying to do,” he said. Justice did his own book layout. For his book cover, he used Russell Philbrick, a former Pike High School student, to do a back flip. “I had the vision of a back flip for my cover,” he said. Justice said he will have to sell 500 books to break-even, but he is convinced he can sell them because of the various website exposure he receives by using AuthorHouse Publishing. “The book is sold on Amazon.com,” he said. He also noted another print-on-demand publishing company, BookSurge, that could serve as another source for writers looking to publish their material.
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