Gary Lucero Writer

I'm excited to announce I will be at Coronado Mall in Albuquerque, NM, this Sunday, October 6th, 2024, from 12pm - 4pm, to sign my new book, In Letting Go.

 

 

Please visit and introduce yourself. I would love to meet you!

 

Gary

Music has been important to me since I was a child, but in the early 1970s, as I transitioned from being a kid to a teen, Neil Young entered my life. I was captivated by the melancholy of albums such as Time Fades Away, On The Beach, and Tonight's the Night. There was something about this guy, with his honest, heart-felt lyrics, and high-pitched voice, which spoke to me, and I couldn't get enough of him.

 

Neil Young: On The Beach

That was middle school, but by the time I reached high school, I found life much less easy to deal with. I was no longer interested in getting good grades. I just wanted to hang out with friends and get high. I was lost and directionless.

 

Then, in the 11th grade, I took a Creative Writing class that changed my life. My teacher, Mrs. Barnes, introduced the section on poetry, and I suddenly found an outlet for all the stuff swimming around in my head. I was 17 years-old, shy, and had a terrible stutter, but I was excited to discover poetry.

 

Now I could create lyrical landscapes just like my idols. Or at least I could try.

 

Neil Young was a major inspiration for my poetry. His music and as well as that of others, such as The Who, Jethro Tull, Yes, and Rush, have always helped me to see lyrics as the most important aspect of a song. They enabled me to see that music could not only speak to what is going on in the world, but also speak to my heart.

 

 

Jethro Tull: Aqualung

I wrote constantly, and brought my poems to school to show Mrs. Barnes. She was always supportive, but I imagine to this day she cringes thinking about how terrible they were.

I wrote about 5,000 poems in the first five years and they were dreadful. All but one, which was called The Dock. That was the only decent poem I wrote during that period. But I kept writing and after 10+ years, started to see a real improvement.

 

Finally, I could pen more than one decent poem.

 

I continued to write but didn't know a way to publish, and it wasn't until around 2014 that I discovered Amazon's KDP self-publishing service. I decided to take the leap.

Since then, I've tried self-publishing many times. My Goodreads account is littered with failed attempts. Then about a year ago, I finally got serious. I found every poem I'd written, pulled them all together, sorted through them, and began determining which were worth publishing and which were rubbish.

 

Yes: Tales From Topographic Oceans

 

With this process complete, I began revising them.

 

A few months ago, I realized I needed a professional editor to help me and was fortunate to find Lisa McCoy through the Southwest Writers website. She not only edited the poems in In Letting Go, but she also helped me sort through them. And she helped me understand things about writing I never knew. She encouraged me, and she's been a great help in navigating the world of self-publishing.

 

Lisa turned me onto Kate Russell from Westley Enterprises, the talented graphics artist who created the cover and illustrations for In Letting Go. Kate also formatted the book and has been an invaluable resource.

Without these two women and the support of my therapist, I could never have completed In Letting Go. More than once during the process I wanted to ditch the project and go back to being a closet poet. But I persisted with their help.

 

I'm also thankful for my parents, who were always supportive even when I was a troubled teen and young adult and caused them nothing but problems. They never gave up on me while they were alive, and I appreciate that.

 

Lastly, I want to thank my friend James who used to ask me to recite The Dock to him back when we were both in our late teens and early twenties. It's the only poem I ever memorized, and it sticks with me to this very day.

 

I always say that In Letting Go is a book focused on the travails of life and the inevitability of death, and it is, but it's that way because loss, failure, and regret are the pillars of my life. And while I find myself a success professionally, I never think of my personal life as anything but a mess.

 

The Who: Quadrophenia

 

That doesn't make me a bad person, but it colors everything I do, and it also makes me appreciate all the good things I encounter in this life. I'm grateful for growing up in a good home, and for every other positive thing, but I always remember those things that hurt and writing them down helps me to deal with them.

 

All that said, today is the day that In Letting Go is finally available from all major booksellers. If you have an interest in it but don't want to buy it from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, or Google Play, you can visit most local bookstores and ask them to order a copy for you. They'll be glad to do so.

 

I appreciate your support on this journey and hope you find In Letting Go to be a worthwhile read. I've poured my heart and soul into it, have worked tirelessly on it, and I'm proud of it. I think it's a book of poetry that can help people deal with loss, failure, and regret, the same way creating these poems has helped me.

 

You can find me online at garylucerowriter.com, on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube at @garylucerowriter, and can e-mail me at contact@garylucerowriter.com.