Bronson's Treasure

I'm convinced that my friend Bronson really has something wonderful in his hands. We were talking on the phone the day before yesterday, and he told me that he's got many, many courtship letters written by a couple of family members that date back almost 100 years! Even better, he's got photos!

He was talking about printing them up working in cooperation with an historical society, but I think he could and should aim higher than that. If I were Bronson, I would seriously consider getting an agent and trying to market the letters to a large reading market. People like to read things like this! There's history, of course, and romance. There's also a kind of a memoir aspect. People love memoirs; the market is saturated with them, but there's still plenty of demand.

Bronson is a clear, competent writer. If there were gaps in the letters, or things that were hard to grasp just from reading the letters themselves without knowing the family history, he could provide insightful commentary to aid the readers. He's always talking about making a movie, but this would be better than a movie (said the bookwormy friend!) and in many respects, it would be like moviemaking because one has to use many of the same skills in assembling a story. After he put the book together, he could work on the screenplay.

I really hope he takes this gift of terrific raw material and combines it with his gifts and creates something lasting.