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THS teacher publishes novel 
Brush |
What began as an idea that popped into his head has turned into reality for James Brush, a teacher at Taylor High School. Brush, who teaches English and debate, recently published his first novel. He said the idea for a book came to him 10 years ago during a college class. "The idea hit me ... in my film editing class," Brush said. "I got up that instant and left class and wrote down my ideas." Since then, Brush said, he has written down more and more ideas for his book, putting it aside occasionally. "I thought about it off and on for several years," he said. "Five years ago I decided to stop thinking about it and do it." Brush said once he made the decision to go forward with the book it took him one year to write the first draft and he continued to revise it until April of last year, when he asked his wife, Rachel, his sister and brother and friends from graduate school at The University of Texas to review it and give him feedback. Brush said he would classify his book, "A Place Without A Postcard," as general fiction. "There is some science fiction and a murder mystery in the background, but I would call it general fiction," he said. "A Place Without A Postcard" is about a photographer who takes pictures of fake UFOs for tabloid magazines and wakes up in an unfamiliar place, completely blind. He can't recollect what happened to him or how he got there. His only companion is a stranger, who he must decide whether to trust. The lead character is also questioning whether UFOs really exist, Brush said. The cover photo of the book is a photo taken by Brush of a "fake" UFO. "I put my camera on a tripod and I held a frisbee with some cardboard attached to it by a fishing pole in front of the camera," he said. "I wanted it to look like a fake photo but the fishing line didn't show up in the photo." Brush said he enjoys his schedule as a teacher because it gives him time to concentrate on his book during summer vacations. After he graduated from graduate school in 1998, Brush said, he decided to put more energy toward finishing his book. He said he took a job as a mail room supervisor and unloaded trucks at an IBM plant, both physical jobs that didn't require much mental energy. He said he would think about his book throughout the day and then come home and write at night. "I would make myself write to the point where I was excited about what would happen next and then I would stop," he said. Brush also has other ideas he is working on for future publication. He said he has a collection of short stories and he is working on a second novel that isn't into the first draft stage yet. "I'll be working on my second novel and marketing my book this summer," he said. Brush went with a non-traditional publisher, which means he did all his own editing and is responsible for marketing the book. His publisher did post it online with major book sellers such as Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com and Wal-Mart. Brush said all the marketing he's done so far is word-of-mouth. "I'm grateful to people in Taylor for buying my book and complimenting me on it," he said. For those who, like Brush, have an idea for a book and have been thinking about it for awhile, Brush said, "Don't put it off. Just do it!" "Almost every writer is guilty of this. It's definitely worth doing," he said. Brush and his wife, Rachel, live in Pflugerville and have two dogs and a cat. Brush said he grew up in a military family and has lived several places, including the Philippines and Italy.
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