What it takes to write a book...
Michael McColly in the Chicago Sun-Times on his book The After-Death Room and what it took to write it:
But as Michael McColly well knows, more tangible perks are harder to come by. In The After-Death Room: Journey Into Spiritual Activism, he catalogs his trips through Asia, Africa, and the United States as he attempts to get a grip on the global AIDS crisis. It's a powerful, panoramic glimpse into the religious aspects of AIDS activism, the reality of the problem among poor sex workers, and the various bureaucratic bottlenecks that hamper better treatment. But struggling to get it published did McColly's bank book no favors.
McColly, an adjunct writing professor at Northwestern and Columbia College, took two unpaid leaves of absence in 2002 and 2004 to travel, research and write. "I'm not doing that well financially, frankly, because of the choice I made to do this book," he says. "It takes a lot of time to research. I took a second leave in 2004 because I realized that the book wasn't getting done fast enough. I sacrificed some financial security to get this done."
See also, Michael's essay on Beatrice;
this interview at The Publishing Spot; and
listen to his interview on Chicago Public radio...