Several months ago, I announced that To Love Mercy was going into a second printing. As Mark Twain noted about news of his funeral, the announcement was premature. Turns out 500 books were unaccounted for. Those books are gone now and, glory be, the second printing is occurring.

A novel called Beneath a Marble Sky is going into its second printing too, and the author, John Shors, has done a brilliant thing. Shors was the subject of a recent Newsweek article headlined “BOOK CLUBS Invite Me! I’ll Come!” The story said Shors added a personal note in his second printing offering to appear at book clubs in person or by phone. Since June, the article said, Shors has “been doing at least one book club each night — and he’s booked new ones as far off as November ‘07.”

My wife Carol clipped this article while I was in Chicago last week. “Your book is going into its second printing too. Read this,” she said, and winked.

(I made that up. She didn’t wink. Carol never winks. Maybe I’d have winked, but not Carol.)

I found Shors’ email address and asked if he’d share his letter. He kindly did. It’s a wonderful letter. I recommend you buy the second (paperback) edition of Beneath a Marble Sky and read it for yourself.

It was very personal, a letter only Shors could write. But it inspired me to write the following letter, which will appear in the second printing of To Love Mercy:

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First novels usually are autobiographical. To Love Mercy is no different.

All but two of the principal characters are inspired by people in my growing-up. For some 50 years, my grandfather Nathan Joseph owned and operated a movie theater at 35^th and State that was much like the Calumet [the theater in To Love Mercy]. When I was 6 years old, my family brought in a housekeeper who resembled [the character] Dora Barfield, and her name was Dora too; she cared for me and my sister Judy pretty much full time until I was 10, and stayed in our lives until I was 15. [The character] Steve Feinberg’s father, mother and sister are rather like mine, and Steve himself is rather like the kid I used to be. Even the “man with the curly gray hair” [character] reminds me of someone I once knew. (But [the character] Sass has no counterpart in my life. He just appeared inside my head one day and started talking. And while the real-life Dora had a son named Joseph, I never met him or even saw his picture. [The character] Joseph, like [the character] Sass, also is a pure product of my imagination.)

The process of writing a novel is a mysterious one. Just to take one example, when I was writing the story that became the chapter “Dora on the Bus,” tears unaccountably began flowing down my cheeks. I wasn’t “crying”; I don’t even remember feeling sad; but I couldn’t stop the tears. I thought something was the matter with me. Then a few days later it happened again. This time I realized the tears were the outward sign that what I was writing had touched something deep inside me. I began hoping for more tears.

Readers often ask about experiences like these and I’m glad to share them. I care deeply about the themes of race and religion that underlie To Love Mercy. The writing process is one of endless fascination. And even though I left there decades ago, Chicago still sometimes seems more real to me than the Washington, D.C., area, where I now live.

So if you are in a book club that’s reading or considering To Love Mercy, please let me know. I’ll make myself available – via speakerphone, or even in person if feasible – to talk about these topics … or any other. If you are not in a book club but just want to chat, that’s good too. Just send me an e-mail at frank@tolovemercy.com.

It will be my chance to get to know you as you’ve gotten to know me.

Frank S. Joseph
www.tolovemercy.com

P.S. To Love Mercy has just been named a runner-up for Best Novel of the Year in the annual DIY Book Festival judging [www.diyconvention.com]. And the novel also has just been nominated for inclusion on the Abraham Lincoln Young Readers 2008 reading list [http://islma.org/lincoln.htm]. Students at participating Illinois high schools must read at least four of the 22 books on the list during the school year. At the end of the year, the students vote for the best book. Deepest thanks to Jane Sharka, incoming president of the Illinois School Library Media Association and my host at Naperville Central last week, for making this nomination.

P.P.S. In addition to Naperville Central, last week I also visited my old high school in Park Forest IL, then called Rich Township, now renamed Rich East. I’m still processing this experience, but hope to write about it next time.

P.P.P.S. The second printing of To Love Mercy also will include a nifty two-page map of Chicago, highlighting the spots on the odyssey of Steve and Sass. It will be posted on our website at http://tolovemercy.com/to_love_mercy_excerpt.html