Scott's Christmas Surprise

The highlight for December was the unveiling of Scott's surprise gift, the book he wrote almost thirty years ago. He had no idea it was coming, which was an accomplishment in itself, given my difficulty keeping secrets, unless they are really Top Secret! He was definitely overwhelmed, shed a few tears, as I did, and has been bragging about being a published author ever since. He's also told me it's the sweetest gift he's ever received. We were at the doctor's office on Friday and he merrily motored around the waiting room in his "electric chair" asking if anyone wanted to buy a book, He got a lot of laughs, but no sales.

Here is the story behind the story which is also in the Editor's Notes at the back of the book:

The manuscript was yellowing and frayed at the edges. Some pages had lost their anchor in the cumbersome three-ring binder. That’s what twenty-eight years of idleness will do to a dream.

Scott first began writing The Last Apocalypse in 1983 and it wasn’t until his second wife, Donna B., put the words to paper in typewritten form in 1985-86 that there was hope this science fiction novel would become a published book. Unfortunately, plans to publish the book came to an end. So did the marriage.

In our twenty-year relationship, Scott has asked me more than once if I’d read the book. Truth be told – I hadn’t. The three-inch binder seemed too onerous to tackle. I intended it for a rainy day project and there never seemed to be enough of them – until 2013.

With my retirement in 2008, came a new found passion for teaching memoir writing, photography and an opportunity to meet interesting and interested people. Jacqueline Martens, a student in my memoir writing class and a whirlwind typist, agreed to take on the project of converting Scott’s typewritten pages to digital copy. My new found friend and fellow photographer, Vee Sawyer and her husband John Budz, agreed to assist with the layout and publication of the book through their company, Ward Street Press. Our talented son-in-law, Michael Hutton of Michael Hutton Design, was very open to designing the cover for the book. All of this was done without Scott’s knowledge, although I did have to ask him the occasional off-handed question about some aspect of his past.

As the digital pages arrived from Jacqueline and I began an initial editing read-through, it became apparent character development pieces were missing, very important pieces. Some time ago, Scott had told me about a particular part of the book that I just couldn’t find in what I had sent Jacqueline. So the hunt began… on the backsides of the manuscript pages. In an attempt to be economical with paper, newer iterations of the story had been typed on the blank sides of older versions. I began reading the manuscript’s backsides and eventually made another copy of everything there. It was a puzzle to put together, since pages were upside down, right side up, and in no apparent order. The missing pieces finally emerged and an additional forty pages of manuscript were sent for digitizing. The story was finally whole.

As I read and re-read The Last Apolcalyse, I gained a renewed appreciation for Scott’s innate and acquired intelligence. Please remember, this was written before being able to ‘Google’ information about any and all subjects. Anyone who knows Scott very well will attest to his knowledge of history, his interest in world events, and his breadth of information on just about any subject. Ask him about his past and he will be happy to tell you of his experiences. He is definitely a story teller, many of them – war stories.

In The Last Apocalypse, I also marveled at his ability to create a storyline by visualizing the scene in detail, to become the characters and to allow the story to unfold before him. It was not surprising that his military training and experience drove details and that his own life experiences were woven throughout the story. Devon Everly is Scott Haverly - in large measure.

The original manuscript is still yellowing and fraying at the edges, but finally after twenty-eight years, The Last Apocalypse is no longer just a dream, it’s a published book.

Bonnie King-Haverly

The Last Wife

Available at
Createspace 
https://www.createspace.com/4569527
and
Amazon Books 
http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Apocalypse-Scott-Haverly/dp/1494465531/