August 11: Marley Was Dead, Starting Over, New Cartoon

Marley was dead:  to begin with.  There is no doubt whatever about that.  The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner.  Scrooge signed it:  and Scrooge's name was good upon 'Change, for anything he chose, to put his hand to.  Old Marley was dead as a door-nail.

Well, I have gone back to the beginning.  The paragraph above, as you are probably aware, is the first paragraph of the novel.  It sets up many of the novel's main elements:  death, money, a hint of something a little paranormal (insisting that Old Marley is dead promises that he will eventually make a personal appearance).  Generally, ghost stories involve some kind of retribution or judgement.  A living person learns something, and the world that has been out-of-balance becomes balanced once more.

I am returning to the beginning this morning.  After learning last night that my book of poems did not win the poetry competition, I need to rethink, reevaluate, and resubmit.  Like Marley's ghost, that book keeps coming back to me, shaking its chains and moaning, "I'm not done yet.  Not yet.  Not yet."  I have to come up with another plan to put that manuscript to rest, short of cremation, which I have contemplated.

My current plan, as of 10:11 a.m., Saturday, August 11, 2012, is to talk to some of my poet friends and get some leads on publishers and university presses.  Then, I will submit my book again.  I'm not done yet.  I still have hope for Marley yet.

Saint Marty is finished wallowing.  He needs to get busy exorcising some ghosts, putting his world back into balance.

Confessions of Saint Marty