We Are Not Mr. Tanner...

I listened to a lot of Harry Chapin when I was in high school and later too. This guy can really sing a story. 


I was too young, then, to understand the story he was trying to tell in the song, Mr. Tanner.


Mr. Tanner owns a cleaning shop in a small town, but his love is singing. He's a big fish in a small pond, but doesn't find his identity there, he just loves to sing. His friends and neighbors finally convince him to sing in New York and seek the big time, where he is panned by critics. He comes home and never sings again, except when he's all by himself in the darkness of the cleaning store.


Chapin's Mr. Tanner is a story about losing your love after taking it to the larger stage where for money and fame it is judged, compared with others, and evaluated for it's worth to the larger audience.


All this to say that we have entered Broken Road in a contest for self-published works through Writer's Digest. It cost us a whole hundred dollars, totally depleting our very humble Broken Road account.


But we did it just to see if we can get the attention of more readers. News of our incredibly amazing, big-screen bound story has moved disappointingly slowly. There is no doubt Broken Road is worthy of submission, but like Mr. Tanner, it may not be seen as something the larger audience would be willing to pay for. But it seems worth it to us for a chance to capture more readers.


Even if Broken Road receives no recognition at all, we're not folding this tent. We've heard way too many interesting and wonderful comments and reactions to the characters in our story. We're moving forward with this. When Roxie hears Sophie say Caleb's a slow mover she says, "Molasses in winter is a slow mover."


And right now, so is Broken Road.


Special thanks to www.rollingstone.com for the pic of Harry.