The Last Argonaut: How it got made

It’s never a good sign when a publisher suddenly slips under the radar like a Cold War submarine. Unreturned emails, unanswered calls—it all adds up to one thing: uh-oh.
Fortunately, I had a not-so-secret weapon in my corner—author, investigator, and all-around mensch, Mr. Glen Held. Glen’s a hell of a writer, and both of us had pitched novels featuring Barry Reese’s pulp hero The Peregrine. Part vigilante, part occult detective, all hero—the guy checks every box for two writers who grew up on shadowy alleys and two-fisted crimefighters.
We both worked our tails off on our novels and turned them in… and then? Crickets. Not even polite crickets. Meanwhile, I also had a short story (Operation Purple Zombie) parked with the same publisher, and the runaround had become so routine I felt like I needed frequent-flier miles for it. Add to that the joy of switching literary managers—never a stress-free process—and let’s just say my attention was somewhat divided.
But Glen? Oh, Glen wasn’t having it. He was not about to take this publishing slight lying down.
We traded messages, always ending with Glen promising he’d “look into it,” and look into it he did. He hounded the publisher until, miracle of miracles, an editor named Dale Russell finally emerged from the mist and contacted him. Together they whipped Glen’s book into shape—and surprise! I was next in the chute.
Success! After three years of waiting, something was finally happening.
Once Dale and Glen wrapped, it was my turn in the editing chair. It was my first time working with a bona fide, capital-E professional editor, and Dale was an absolute godsend. Detailed notes on everything—story, structure, and my unnatural fondness for overwriting and repeating myself. (Guilty as charged.) It was genuinely a joy.
Two months later, after a lot of work and a lot of fun, we were finally done.
Off it all went to the publisher and…
You guessed it:

Silence. Again.

Final Chapter:  Next Week!