The Most Hated One

"Tour of Homes"... takes readers on a fascinating, disturbing, and yet often hilarious journey across the political landscape of a town trying to deal with the economic reality of too many sick people, not enough services for them, and health care struggling for survival. Elliott exposes the administrative travails of health-care management."

That's pretty good!

After "Out from Under the Rock" I'm really into honest writing and "fiction" is the best way to honestly write so "Tour of Homes" is a novel.

It's a big novel ... meaning a large book ... 368 pages!

I'm really into Pat Conroy novels at the time ... and Conroy writes really big novels about himself ... so I decide I want to do that ... so I do.

It's my sex/drugs/rock-and-roll book and there's lots of all three.

It's a fictional look at my life up to that point with the names slightly changed so I can say whatever-the-Hell I want ... meaning the truth as I understand it.

A "professional reader" in Los Angeles is hired to read it first because ... I'm friends with the wife of the Publisher ... so he can't trust me ... and pays for an objective opinion.

The "reader" loves it so ... in spite of the Publisher's misgivings ... a book is born.

The people of Savannah, where it's set, hate it.

"Why did you write that?" everyone seems to ask at the same time ... but the Mayor really rakes me over the coals one day in his office.

"You didn't say much nice about Savannah," he lectures. "Too many people are killed unnecessarily in your book."

"Well," I answer, "too many people are killed
 unnecessarily in Savannah!"

"Well I hate it," he says standing up.

"Yeah me too," I reply talking about something else entirely.

It's hard to live an honest life which is why fiction exists.

The other day I met with some friends of some friends on Tybee Island who want me to perform their wedding ceremony.

Afterwards we're talking and the friends say, "So when we were thinking about moving here ... we read Tour of Homes and were introduced to the dark sides of Savannah and Tybee ... it really helped us understand what living here is really like ... and what to expect ... thanks."

I tell Sarah when I get home ... still stunned by the words.

The other thing I remember about "Tour of Homes" is how many people tell me they hate me for writing it.

Lots of people I believed were friends tell me where to go as they walk away from my life.

I learn a lot.

And it's a long time before another book comes along.