A FIRST-TIME novelist acquired an advance of nearly US$1 million to write his magical, but true, story about his adopted dog and her fatal tumor.

    Steven Rowley’s book “Lily and the Octopus,” which was acquired by Simon and Schuster, was written in 100 days, according to the Portland Press Herald.

    The 45-year-old American spent each day writing the short story about his dog, Lily, and their adventures together.

    “I was terrified that if I stopped or took even one day off that the story would dry up or that the octopus would take back his ink, and it was sort of out of sheer terror that I kept writing,” Rowley told the Herald.

    Simon and Schuster bought the book during a 48-hour negotiation. The editor at the publishing company told the Herald that they had “something magical” on their hands.

    Rowley, who is from South Portland, has always wanted to be a writer.

    He moved to Los Angeles after graduating from Emerson College and has spent his time there working as a screenwriter.

    Rowley sold a script and optioned a few others, but he hasn’t had much success.

    He told the Herald that “there’s so much waiting for other people to say yes when you’re a screenwriter.”

    And because of that Rowley said he decided to “focus” his writing elsewhere so that he could have a little more “personal control” of getting his stories out to the world.

    In order to pay the bills and keep food on the table, Rowley got certified as a paralegal and worked full-time during the day so that he could write on nights and weekends.

    After finishing the novel, Rowley sent out queries, but heard nothing back. And instead of waiting he decided to take steps toward self-publishing.

    He hired freelance editor Molly Lindley Pisani, a typesetter, layout designer, someone to create an e-book file, and a graphic designer to do the cover, according to the Herald.

    Rowley was just about to hire a printer when Pisani asked to send the book to a friend at Simon and Schuster.

    It took just one weekend before Rowley heard back from the company offering him a publishing deal.

    Marcus, at Simon and Schuster, said the staff looked for comparison titles such as “Life of Pi” and “The Art of Racing in the Rain,” which sold more than 3 million and 4 million copies, respectively, according to the Herald.

    “Lily and the Octopus” has already sold foreign rights in 14 countries and Rowley said Creative Artists Agency is marketing the film rights.(SD-Agencies)