*Tell Us a Childhood Story*, Part 1

Strange true tales of my life in the 70s and 80s

I have abundant vivid childhood memories, and I often share them with my children. They especially enjoy stories about my youthful bad behavior in the free-range era of the 70s and 80s. Growing up, I really was a lot like Greg Heffley from Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Since Jeff Kinney’s iconic series has sold hundreds of millions of copies, and since I already have one New York Times Bestselling graphic novel to my name, I’ve long been toying with the idea of entering Kinney’s market.

Last May, I wrote and storyboarded a sample chapter, tentatively titled Tell Us a Childhood Story. I then hired @sengsavane, cover artist for my essay collections, to illustrate it. She’s done, and I think she did a fantastic job.

Writing chapter one was a blast, and — since my own memory is the only available source — almost effortless. My writing speed was easily 10x normal. And I recall enough childhood stories to fill ten books. While I know my odds of becoming the next Jeff Kinney are low, I’m very open to the possibility. Easy come, easy go, you know?

Breaking into new genres has always been challenging for me, but I believe in the power of persistence. If you’re a publisher interested in this project, or an agent interested in aggressively selling it, I welcome your emails.

Curious? I’m sharing the whole chapter as a two-part series: pages 1-8 today, pages 9-16 tomorrow. Alternately, you can download the whole pdf here. I hope you enjoy this literary experiment, and share it with your kids.

P.S. If you remember the 70s, I hope you appreciate all the period details. Look closely!