Whenever I pay to have something edited, the rule I set for myself is to always take the editor’s advice on what to cut, even if it makes me sad. In The River Leith there were a few lines that got cut that I liked a lot, and an entire scene that I’ll post at another date, but there was a specific text interaction that I’d really loved and it was especially hard to cut that one.
It was short. It was sweet. And it probably only makes sense in the context of the book. But here it is. The first text is from Leith, the second from Zach.
***
Today, my psychiatrist compared my mind to a map of the universe.
The reply from Zach took only a few moments.
My God! It’s full of stars!!!!
***
Yep, that took me about thirty minutes of fretting to finally cut. It was the right choice, though. That’s what we pay editors for, my friends!
After an injury in the ring, amateur boxer Leith Wenz wakes to discover his most recent memories are three years out of date. Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain.
For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach’s choices may come back to haunt him.
Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.
