When my friend Roger died in November, he was in the process of working with his publisher, Untreed Reads, to reissue all of his earlier books in the Dick Hardesty series that were out of print. They had worked on several, including the first one, The Butcher’s Son, which tells the story of how Dick became a private investigator. Additional books that were republished include The 9th Man (which was actually written before The Butcher’s Son), The Bar Watcher, The Hired Man, The Good Cop (a particular favorite of mine), and The Bottle Ghosts.
As Roger’s executor and beneficiary, the task of editing the remaining books has fallen to me. It’s a job I enjoy, even as I know the responsibility is enormous: correcting errors, of course, but also looking for any contradictions or inconsistencies, and yet always remaining true to the books as Roger published them. Fortunately, I am working with KD of Untreed Reads, their CEO, who has simply been marvelous, encouraging me and being patient with me as I struggle with Microsoft Word, a program I was totally unfamiliar with (I’m used to paper and red pen!). I’ve done two now, The Dirt Peddler, which has just been released, and The Role Players, which is due to be released later this month. The remaining books will be released approximately one a month through this year. Right now I’ve just started editing the next rerelease, The Popsicle Tree.
I’ve spent years editing essays, of course, as an English teacher. But with those works, there was just me and the essay and the student; now I’ve the additional burden of knowing that many people will read these books. And always there is the spirit of Roger hovering over me, not menacing, but I never forget that he’s there, not literally of course, but in my mind. It’s a burden, mostly a pleasant burden, but I’m not sure I’ll ever be completely happy with the job, even while enjoying it.
The proof will come in the sales of the book. I hope they fly off the shelves (or, since they are also ebooks, zip off the internet). My task, simply put, is to keep Roger’s legacy going. Fortunately, these very entertaining books do that job on their own. And I am honored to have this task.
