Old Ruddy’s Questions: Coming Soon

By Courtenay March 21, 2023 Fiction, Old Ruddy's Questions, SAWPublications, The Bookshelf

Well, launch day is getting closer and closer. We’re finally within ten days of the 30^th—so we can officially say Old Ruddy’s Questions is coming soon.

(Yes, I totally made that up. But ten days sounds like a good timeframe for “coming soon” doesn’t it?)

Anyhow, Old Ruddy’s Questions has been dawning on the horizon for a while, and I thought today I’d give you a bit of backstory on how it came into being.

Art Thou Weary?

The backbone of Old Ruddy’s Questions is the hymn “Art Thou Weary, Art Thou Languid?” translated (or perhaps more accurately, rewritten) into English by John Mason Neale in 1862, but actually dating much, much further back, to the Greek of Stephen of Mar Saba in the 8^th century.

“Art Thou Weary, Art Thou Languid?” is written in seven verses. Each verse begins with a question about the basic Christian life. The second part of each verse replies to the first, answering the question.

These seven questions and their answers became the outline for Old Ruddy’s Questions. In seven chapters, Old Ruddy (and hopefully readers, too!) asks these seven questions out loud—and finds the answers touching other lives in ways he could never have imagined.

Writing Old Ruddy’s Questions

The writing of Old Ruddy’s Questions was a very fun experience. I wrote it quite quickly. (I think the first draft was complete in 4-6 weeks, in the summer of 2019.) It was the first time I had done an “impulse” write. In fact, I think it was the first time I had even attempted a novella at all.

It was a very different experience from a full-length novel, with its layers of outlines, and planning, and heavy slogging.

I felt at the time, and I still feel today, that Old Ruddy’s Questions came together in a very special way. While I am much more attached to the cast from some of my longer stories (we’ve spent a lot more time together, for one thing!) Old Ruddy will always hold a special place in my heart—perhaps because he feels like more of a “gift.”

Putting the Pieces Together

Since that time, Old Ruddy’s Questions needed editing (thank you Erika!), a cover and typesetting (thank you, Mom!) and a launch team (thank you, all of you ladies who volunteered for that!)

I can’t say any of the post-first-draft stuff is typically my favourite part of a project. (There has been one exception to that, which we’ll perhaps get into sometime in the future.) But I’ve been blessed with people who threw their hearts into the project, even on days when it felt frustrating.

And now, lo and behold! The process is just about done. And Old Ruddy is just about ready to meet all of you!

Old Ruddy’s Questions: Pre-Order Today!

As promised—or maybe it was actually more of a hope than a hard-and-fast commitment—Old Ruddy’s Questions is available for pre-order as an e-book. (I would have loved to offer the print copy for pre-order, too, but unfortunately that’s not an Amazon option at this point.)

Just click below, to order Old Ruddy’s Questions, at an exciting, reduced pre-release price:

Preorder Old Ruddy’s Questions

Or, if you’d rather have a print copy, come back on March 30^th for the link to that, as well as launch tour spotlights, and more!

For a little more info about Old Ruddy’s Questions, see my cover reveal post: