Around a year ago, on a writing website for the published-challenged, I came across a novel excerpt, The Daguerreotypist by Eric Lowe. While I’d read a lot of fiction on the site that I thought was publishable, some very good, The Daguerreotypist, struck me as being the most likely to hit big. The hook was terrific and original — a dangerous immortal who wasn’t exactly a vampire is sought out by a lapsed-Mormon call girl seeking immortality who has a clever scheme for contacting the undead. The voice was quirky and unique, the pace quick and there were no excess adverbs or other annoying habits to slow a reader down.
The novel and Eric disappeared from the site as quickly as they had arrived. For all I know, Eric decided that someone might steal his brilliant concept, or maybe an agent or publisher had seen it and snatched him up.
I keep waiting to read a review or see a copy in a bookstore. I can’t get the book out of my mind and want to read past the eight chapters I saw so long ago.
I’m hoping Eric will one day search for himself or his title on google and maybe come across this.
Eric, if you’re out there, I’m harmless, not a stalker and unfortunately not someone who can help you get an agent or find a publisher, but I’d love to read the rest of your story.
Don’t be shy.
In the meantime, if anyone wants to comment on a book-in-progress or excerpt, they once got a peek at that then seemed to disappear forever, feel free to drop a line.
Tags: Eric Lowe, The Daguerreotypist, unpublished novels, Utah