CHAPTER 1: 13 Christopher Street John Lake woke up alone in his new studio apartment. It was a Sunday, a day off, because the coming week’s issue of Newsweek had gone to the printer late last night. No more edits, no further changes were possible. The magazine, including John’s sports feature for the upcoming issue, on A.J. Foyt’s racing season championship, had been put to bed. He surveyed his nearly empty new space, still foreign to him. There was nothing on the white walls, no photographs of his children, no favorite souvenirs from championship games past or his Navy days in Hawaii, no comforting familiarity at all. There was no phone. He had no food or a way to cook it; not even any booze. There was just a small pile of his possessions in the middle of the unfurnished room. [ Read entire first chapter : pdf, 73k]

When I began researching my father’s life and disappearance in earnest, my first interviews were with folks who had worked for Newsweek during the same period as my father. Many of the people I contacted referred me to others whom they thought might also have valuable insights. I quickly filled a few notepads with notes and, spurred by the frequent question, “So are you going to write about this?” I decided that I would.

Although I have written professionally in the past, I was surprised to find the research much easier than the actual writing. I was driven to find people and facts and enjoyed the task, no longer feeling that it was overwhelming. But the writing was tough. Over a few months I managed to write seven of an expected ten chapters, as well as a publishing proposal and narrative synopsis, which described the arc of the story and was used to find a literary agent.

A reporter from The Daily News referred me to a New York agent who, to my delight, agreed to represent me. It seemed too easy, but I was learning that most people found the story of my dad -- and my quest to learn about him -- very compelling.

Unfortunately, after rejections from five publishers, the agent decided not to press further and let me go. I was disappointed, because the feedback from the publishers was positive regarding my writing and the subject material, but cited either market concerns or the fact that my father’s disappearance remained unsolved.

“ It would be nice if this story were resolved,” one wrote.

Well, yeah.

I consulted with three professional writers who reviewed my manuscript. Their unanimous feedback was that I needed to focus more on the disappearance and less on the early days of my father’s life. My father’s childhood might be incredibly interesting to me, they said, but it would not hold the average reader. I was reluctant to accept this at first, because I did not want to sensationalize my dad’s life just to sell a book. I have slowly come to the realization, however, that their assessments are correct. I needed to do a major rewrite.

I also needed to make some money, though, so I went back to work after a year’s hiatus to research and write about my father. In the two years since that time, it’s been slow going. I’ve made some notable progress, such as getting an article in the New York Times written by Dan Barry in August, 2005, having my father’s case assigned an NCIC (National Crime Information Center) number and submitting a DNA sample to be included in the FBI’s database, CODIS, but I haven’t pounded out any new chapters.

My plan is to get back in to the writing in the coming months, realizing that the only way I’ll ever “resolve” my dad’s case is through publicity. Whether it is this web site, my eventual book or other media coverage, I need to keep this issue in the public forum in the hope that someone who knows something about my father’s disappearance will come forward.

I appreciate your interest in this, which for me has become a deeply personal quest.

Eric Lake
August 28, 2006