Welcome to the Blog Tour for The Baggage Handler by David Rawlings with JustRead Publicity Tours!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: The Baggage Handler
Author: David Rawlings
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Magical Realism / Christian Allegory Fiction
Release Date: March 5, 2019
In a similar vein to The Traveler’s Gift by Andy Andrews or Dinner with a Perfect Stranger by David Gregory, The Baggage Handler is a contemporary story that explores one question: What baggage are you carrying?
When three people take the wrong suitcase from baggage claim, their lives change forever.
A hothead businessman coming to the city for a showdown meeting to save his job.
A mother of three hoping to survive the days at her sister’s house before her niece’s wedding.
And a young artist pursuing his father’s dream so he can keep his own alive.
When David, Gillian, and Michael each take the wrong suitcase from baggage claim, the airline directs them to retrieve their bags at a mysterious facility in a deserted part of the city. There they meet the enigmatic Baggage Handler, who shows them there is more in their baggage than what they have packed, and carrying it with them is slowing them down in ways they can’t imagine. And they must deal with it before they can leave.
In this modern-day parable about the burdens that weigh us down, David Rawlings issues an inspiring invitation to lighten the load.
Guest Post from David
I want to thank A David Rawlings for answering a few questions to let us know a little bit about him and his writings. It’s always interesting to know what goes on in the daily life of a writer! I hope you enjoy knowing more about Mr. Rawlings and that you will check out his exciting new book, The Baggage Handler.
1. A day in the life of David Rawlings
6:30 a.m. I woke up to a thought that was both amazing and daunting. Writing Day is here. Today I won’t need to dovetail my writing with the work that (currently) pays the bills.
6:31a.m. checked my phone. I know this is not advised – a thousand sleep specialists, doctors and even relationship counselors are clear on that. But my marketplace, publisher and agent are in the USA, as are most of my publicity opportunities. I’m in Australia. Our primary method of communication seems to be overnight email; it’s as if email has suddenly gone old-school and requires a postage stamp and a little extra time to cover the distance. Anything super-urgent is dealt with straight away, other messages are flagged for later.
7:30 a.m. get into it. My kids are now senior school age, so they get themselves ready and my wife works at their College, so they hitch a ride with her. The house is quiet.
First up, I take advantage of the primary window for social media posting for a US market which is quite early for me. I respond to what I need to do, write and post what I need to and schedule the rest. Then shut off social media, the greatest time sponge in the history of mankind.
The morning is the time when my emotional energy is at its highest, and so is my creativity. So I change from my marketing hat to my creative hat. This helps me bang out 3,000-4,000 words in the next three hours on Book 3. I’m a pantser trapped in a plotter’s body, so I’ve already storyboarded how the story is going to go. Some days when it’s flowing it feels more like painting in the numbers. Today is one of those days. I change some of the numbers as the characters make it pretty clear to me that my idea for this chapter isn’t where they want to go, doesn’t challenge them enough or even keep my own attention.
10:30a.m-11:00a.m. Stop writing. There’s a part of me that wishing I wouldn’t, but that’s about as far as I can push it at that rate. There’s always a feeling when I feel like I’ve stopped moving forward and my words are now simply marking time. I reach for another hat – my editing chapeau – and start editing The Camera Never Lies. Book 2. This is a key transition, but it’s something I’ve done pretty much every day during my corporate copywriting career over 25 years. I put my Book 3 storyline on hold, and reacquaint myself with another story that is a lot further down the road. And editing rather than writing helps – it somehow doesn’t feel as “creative”. Edit for another two hours. In a way this is kind of weird. For three hours I’ve been frantically adding words to a page as the word count goes up. Now I’m searching and destroying them in a drive to get the word count down.
12:30p.m. Lunch. Talk to our greyhound, who hasn’t moved all morning and shows no signs of wanting to start now.
1:00p.m. Now that my creative side needs refreshing, I head back to the hatstand for another change of hat, this time: marketing. This is for The Baggage Handler, my debut novel and the only book of mine people can currently buy, so it’s important to keep up the momentum from the launch. Write articles for a range of blogs and online magazines. Look over some questions for an upcoming podcast. Brainstorm ideas on how I can do something a little different to stand out in the marketplace. Update my web site, plan another newsletter.
4:00p.m. Pick up the kids from school. Another hat. From a different hatstand.
4:30p.m. Make dinner and answer any homework questions which don’t require me to dredge up 30-year-old memories from high school. During this time, ideas for new stories always push through to the surface. They always appear at first to be the most brilliant synopsis anyone has ever conceived, so I write them down so I don’t lose them. (Knowing that when I review them later the sheen of enthusiasm will look very different).
Evening. Another check of social media. The primary time for an Australian marketplace is 7p.m.-9p.m. Answer questions, contribute to other people’s social media efforts, share some posts from author friends.
Then head to bed, wishing tomorrow was another Writing Day. It isn’t, so instead I’ll need to grab those blocks of time as they become available. And I probably won’t need all the hats.
2. Handling pressure when writing under deadlines.
Deadlines don’t really bother me. That’s not false bravado, or someone living in denial.
I’m used to them based on my nearly 30 years as a copywriter. Every day of my working life I’ve had deadlines in front of me that need to be hit.
So I’ve taken that comfort into fiction, and I don’t really feel it like some authors do. If anything, the deadlines in publishing are spread further apart than what I’m used to, which is often getting deadlines that measure in the hours or days. Not months.
One key benefit of working in this field for as long as I have is that I’ve developed a way of pacing myself towards deadlines. That means when I’m facing a publishing deadline, I’ve got a fair idea of where I need to be in order to get there.
3. Did this book energize or exhaust you?
The Baggage Handler energized me. Once I got on a roll with it, I found I couldn’t wait to get back to it. I wanted to see how the characters were going to deal with their baggage, or if they’ve go on carrying it.
I also find that the creative process actually gives me energy rather than takes it away, up to a point.
I’ve also found the marketing of the book quite energizing as well. I’ve had a number of messages and emails from readers telling me how the book has impacted the way their think about their own lives and the baggage they may be carrying. I find that inspiring to hear that the story has played a role – however small – in helping people address the things in their life that are slowing them down.
LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository | Christian Book | iTunes
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Rawlings is an Australian author, and a sports-mad father of three who loves humor and a clever turn of phrase. Over a 25-year career he has put words on the page to put food on the table, developing from sports journalism and copywriting to corporate communication. Now in fiction, he entices readers to look deeper into life with stories that combine the everyday with a sense of the speculative, addressing the fundamental questions we all face.
CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR: website | facebook | instagram
TOUR GIVEAWAY
We’re collecting all the Baggage Passport Stamps to get rid of! Collect them all and enter the giveaway below. Each stop will have a unique stamp. Just enter the word(s) you’ll find on each stamp for more chances to win!
(1) winner will win:
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- a hardcover copy of The Baggage Handler,
- a book tote from the publisher, Thomas Nelson
- and a $15 Amazon Gift Card!
Be sure to check out each stop on this tour for more chances to win. Giveaway begins at midnight April 1, 2019 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on April 8, 2019. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. Due to shipping cost, only US mailing addresses valid. For our giveaway rules and policy, click HERE.
The stamp you’re collecting from this stop is:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
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