I was a lot younger then. In 1998, I was still in my early 30s, not yet married, living on my own in a basement apartment, with a growing law practice and a long-distance relationship.

All of that meant that, when I agreed to write a text book on real estate law for a Toronto publisher, I could dedicate my evenings and weekends almost exclusively to that task. I completed the manuscript in a matter of months, submitted it ahead of deadline and received positive feedback for how clean my writing was. There was very little editing to be done and, when the text first appeared on campus book shelves across Canada in 1999, it sold very well.

My relationship with Emond Montgomery, the publisher, flourished and I was asked to co-author two further texts in 2000 and 2001, books that have also done fairly well. The real estate book, however, was the big one and I was pleased to revise it for a second edition in 2003. Sales continued to be strong and we were all very happy.

Since then, EM has continued to be good to me. I’ve written a chapter for another book and have seen them translate materials from some of my earlier texts into specialized editions for different post-secondary programs. The publisher has asked me on several occasions to revise both the real estate text and one other (which one, to be honest, escapes me) but I have unfortunately felt compelled to turn them down since I was, by the time of their requests, no longer practicing law and no longer up on the most recent developments in the practice.

That doesn’t mean, however, that EM and I are no longer friends. In fact, they recently asked me to update my biographical note on their website and, even eight years since our most recent direct collaboration, they still send me a very nice present every February: a royalty cheque.

I just got the latest little present and, although it is no longer quite so big and robust as it was in the glory days, this cheque is still a welcome financial injection.

And it is still a source of amazement for me. Think about it. I completed work on these books and chapters more than eight years ago and yet I’m still earning money from them. And not a trifling amount either.

It’s not making me rich, of course, but the cheque is worth the effort in cashing it.

The funny thing about those books is: the money wasn’t even the best part. I still cherish the joy and wonder I felt when I first opened the box and saw my name on the cover of a published volume. I am still amazed when I walk into a college or university book store or any kind of library and find one of my books on the shelves. It’s a rush, an amazing feeling, a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment that I had never imagined was possible.

Perhaps the biggest writing rush I ever had, however, came when the first edition of the real estate text was still fresh and new, when I was still practicing law in the West End of Hamilton. I had occasion to call First Canadian Title Insurance Company in Toronto on behalf of a client and, when I spoke to the FC clerk and told her my name, I heard a sharp intake of breath.

“Are you really Mark Walma?” she asked.

I laughed, a kind of uncomfortable, uncomprehending laugh, and said, “Yes, I am.”

“The author of the text book?”

Comprehension dawned, bringing with it a rush of excitement and satisfaction. “Yes, that’s me,” I said.

“Oh my god,” she said. “I can’t believe it. Did you know that we have your text book right at our desks? Whenever we have a question on some real estate issue, we say, ‘What does Walma have to say about it’ and then flip through your book.”

The rest of the call is a blur, to be honest, because I was instantly overwhelmed by what I was hearing. My book had taken on a life beyond me. It was “Walma” and it was being turned to on a consistent basis to answer questions and resolve issues in the offices of one of the biggest title insurance companies in North America.

The memory of that telephone call still makes me happy.

If the publication of a text book can bring that much joy to my life, can you imagine how I will respond if and when my fiction, the writing that really means something to me, finally finds a publisher?

Today's Photograph: A Blue Jay nabs a peanut with his beak near Oshawa, Ontario.

Tags: Emond Montgomery, Publishing, Advanced Residential Real Estate, First Canadian Title, Royalties