FLEMINGSBURG — A local man recently released a book called Silas in the Old Barn: A Christmas Tale.
The story, written by James Colgan of Flemingsburg, is a story about a scruffy tabby cat named Silas that wanders into an old barn. In the barn, the cat discovers a young couple and their newborn baby. Silas climbs into the baby’s crib and helps to calm the child. During the night, the cat meets many strangers who come to visit the baby and eventually leaves a magical gift with the new mother before departing.
Colgan said the most difficult part about writing the book was having to rewrite after losing the original version.
“I didn’t have the original version that I’d read many years ago, so I had to completely re-create the entire tale, try to see it through Silas’ eyes,” he said. “Try to imagine and then put into words all the things that this poor cat had gone through before he walks unwittingly into this wonderful event.”
According to Colgan, there was a lot of work that went into writing and publishing the book.
“Writing a book and publishing it are, I’ve learned, two completely different things, two completely different skills,” he said. “I spent much more time working with my graphic artist, Angela Traver of Speakeasy Communications, in acquiring the photos and laying out the book on IngramSparks’ platform that I did writing it and working and re-working the story with my editor, Rebecca Grubb of Sterling Words.”
He also offered some advice for those interested in writing a book.
“Obviously, though, the writing comes first, and there are literally hundreds of books and online programs for learning how to approach writing and actually do it,” he said. “And everyone approaches it differently and different things work for some people and not for others. I.e., I know some writers who write every day for a set period of time, usually four hours, whether they know what they’re writing about or not. That doesn’t work for me. For me it all starts with a basic idea, maybe just a germ of an idea, for a story that I let percolate in my head for a while and then go from there.”
According to Colgan, the book is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Etsy and by contacting Colgan. It was published through IngramSpark.
