Wed - June 29, 2005
I wanna be a workhorse
I'm blog skimming as I have a late night email
conversation with Sam. It's after midnight here, something like 3pm tomorrow
there... A typical night at Tambo's.
A month or two ago, someone sent me to Tess Gerritsen's blog. I want to say it was PBW, but it might have been Gail or Linda. Anyway, she's in my bookmarks, but not the blog list because, well, she only posts to her blog about once a month. Maybe.
Anyway, while waiting for the next Sam-email (we're currently discussing the differences between granola and museli, such vital, earth shattering conversations we have these late nights but, golly, they're fun), I go see if Tess has added anything new. She has .
I've never been to BEA, so far my exposure to such events has mostly been fan cons and SFF pro cons, but I'm intrigued by the concept of freebie books, just for a signing. Wow. Do authors supply those, or do publishers? At all the con's I've been to the books are For Sale and I usually don't buy because, well, I have to eat while I'm At Con, and if I bought all these cool books I'd be chewing airline seats on the way home. Not pretty or nutritious.
But I digress.
I've seen, and met, some hot properties while at professional events. Sure it looks like fun to be the toast of the town and have a bazillion screaming fans, but, after the fans have gone home... What's next? Can the author even write a decent followup? Can anyone say Robert J. Waller? Can Dan Brown adequately match the success of DaVinci Code? Think of all the authors that had their blast through the stratosphere moment, then were never seen again.
That's not the kind of writing career I want. I'm not a get rich quick and disappear kind of person. Long haul, far reaching plans, steady progress, that's me. My Sophomore Effort will be at a bookstore near you in early November. It's better than my first book. By a lot. If you're the least bit squeamish, you might want to skip it. If you're easily offended and have delicate sensibilities... you might want to spend your hard earned cash on something else. But it's better than Ghosts. I promise. I intend for The Unnamed WIP to be better still. And the next, and the next... and maybe, just maybe, around book seven or twelve or twenty three I too can have a best seller and give books away with a signature. That would be cool. But I'd much rather work my way there, earn my way there, than blast there. Just like Tess.
A month or two ago, someone sent me to Tess Gerritsen's blog. I want to say it was PBW, but it might have been Gail or Linda. Anyway, she's in my bookmarks, but not the blog list because, well, she only posts to her blog about once a month. Maybe.
Anyway, while waiting for the next Sam-email (we're currently discussing the differences between granola and museli, such vital, earth shattering conversations we have these late nights but, golly, they're fun), I go see if Tess has added anything new. She has .
I've never been to BEA, so far my exposure to such events has mostly been fan cons and SFF pro cons, but I'm intrigued by the concept of freebie books, just for a signing. Wow. Do authors supply those, or do publishers? At all the con's I've been to the books are For Sale and I usually don't buy because, well, I have to eat while I'm At Con, and if I bought all these cool books I'd be chewing airline seats on the way home. Not pretty or nutritious.
But I digress.
I've seen, and met, some hot properties while at professional events. Sure it looks like fun to be the toast of the town and have a bazillion screaming fans, but, after the fans have gone home... What's next? Can the author even write a decent followup? Can anyone say Robert J. Waller? Can Dan Brown adequately match the success of DaVinci Code? Think of all the authors that had their blast through the stratosphere moment, then were never seen again.
That's not the kind of writing career I want. I'm not a get rich quick and disappear kind of person. Long haul, far reaching plans, steady progress, that's me. My Sophomore Effort will be at a bookstore near you in early November. It's better than my first book. By a lot. If you're the least bit squeamish, you might want to skip it. If you're easily offended and have delicate sensibilities... you might want to spend your hard earned cash on something else. But it's better than Ghosts. I promise. I intend for The Unnamed WIP to be better still. And the next, and the next... and maybe, just maybe, around book seven or twelve or twenty three I too can have a best seller and give books away with a signature. That would be cool. But I'd much rather work my way there, earn my way there, than blast there. Just like Tess.
Posted at 09:10 AM |
Mon - June 27, 2005
Moving right along.
I have words. Wonderful lovely
words.
Well, maybe dead coyotes aren't lovely. Or rotting dismembered bodies, but, hey, you get the idea.
Words words, words, words, words!!
For the moment, at least.
Tomorrow afternoon I'm taking the kid to The Orthodontist. She will be promptly examined and measured for braces, dramatic calculations will ensue, and our savings account will be emptied. She's not flustered at all, as far as I can tell. I, however, am fighting the urge to just say no. They are gonna inflict pain on my baby. Sure, she's fifteen and as tall as me, but, hey, she's still my baby. And I'm asking them to bring her physical pain in the name of straight teeth.
Dammit.
She has too many teeth for her mouth, and she rarely smiles because of it. Must be done. Must.
Will they be willing to give me happy gas so I don't go medieval in the waiting room?
Well, maybe dead coyotes aren't lovely. Or rotting dismembered bodies, but, hey, you get the idea.
Words words, words, words, words!!
For the moment, at least.
Tomorrow afternoon I'm taking the kid to The Orthodontist. She will be promptly examined and measured for braces, dramatic calculations will ensue, and our savings account will be emptied. She's not flustered at all, as far as I can tell. I, however, am fighting the urge to just say no. They are gonna inflict pain on my baby. Sure, she's fifteen and as tall as me, but, hey, she's still my baby. And I'm asking them to bring her physical pain in the name of straight teeth.
Dammit.
She has too many teeth for her mouth, and she rarely smiles because of it. Must be done. Must.
Will they be willing to give me happy gas so I don't go medieval in the waiting room?
Posted at 05:04 PM |
Fri - June 24, 2005
A few quick things...
Amazing when you add complications in Chapter 2
how many pressing issues in Chapter 7 become.... trivial. Had a 3k word day
yesterday, and I feel a great deal happier, overall. Still a ways to
go.
In the mean time, a couple of links. First gleaned from Monica (which she picked up from Anna ) An article on how literary publicists work and a second article on how writers don't understand . Fascinating stuff. My publicist, Chris, is a great guy, very approachable and helpful. But he's my publicist, which means he deals with publicity which is a different animal than marketing. As a new author, I have limited access to marketing, a limited marketing budget and, well, I don't even know who my marketing people are. Chris, on the other hand, I've met in person, laughed with, talked on the phone to, emailed... And, no, I don't want to be on Oprah. It's silly to think I would since she doesn't do slasher fantasy, which is what I write. Silly. So stop asking.
People do actually ask me when I'm going to be on Oprah. It's a crazy world.
Now, if Elvira still had a show, that I could be on.
Sheila's running a contest to give away copies of Stuart McBride's novel , Cold Granite . by showing him having a bad day. I'm a sucker for a guy with a beard (and I do adore Stuart ) but I had to leap giggling into the fray .
Plus it gave me an excuse to play with PhotoShop, which I haven't done much lately.
In other news, I am somewhat ticked over this news item which Bill mentioned last night at supper.
I was born into a long line of dedicated Iowa liberals... I've done the caucus thing, even been a state Democrat delegate. As I've grown older (and the kid has too) I've drifted toward being a middle of the road moderate and that's not gone over well with my family. If I keep hearing shit like this, that it's okay to just take people's property, their homes, farms and ancestral roots just to put in another damn mall, I'm gonna climb off that fence and become Republican. Then I'll be completely ostracized, instead of mostly ignored, and things could get ugly. Or quieter. But, still, despite the silence, it's just wrong to take people's property like that. Wrong!
Thank you, Sandra Day O'Conner for saying so.
Back to work....
In the mean time, a couple of links. First gleaned from Monica (which she picked up from Anna ) An article on how literary publicists work and a second article on how writers don't understand . Fascinating stuff. My publicist, Chris, is a great guy, very approachable and helpful. But he's my publicist, which means he deals with publicity which is a different animal than marketing. As a new author, I have limited access to marketing, a limited marketing budget and, well, I don't even know who my marketing people are. Chris, on the other hand, I've met in person, laughed with, talked on the phone to, emailed... And, no, I don't want to be on Oprah. It's silly to think I would since she doesn't do slasher fantasy, which is what I write. Silly. So stop asking.
People do actually ask me when I'm going to be on Oprah. It's a crazy world.
Now, if Elvira still had a show, that I could be on.
Sheila's running a contest to give away copies of Stuart McBride's novel , Cold Granite . by showing him having a bad day. I'm a sucker for a guy with a beard (and I do adore Stuart ) but I had to leap giggling into the fray .
Plus it gave me an excuse to play with PhotoShop, which I haven't done much lately.
In other news, I am somewhat ticked over this news item which Bill mentioned last night at supper.
I was born into a long line of dedicated Iowa liberals... I've done the caucus thing, even been a state Democrat delegate. As I've grown older (and the kid has too) I've drifted toward being a middle of the road moderate and that's not gone over well with my family. If I keep hearing shit like this, that it's okay to just take people's property, their homes, farms and ancestral roots just to put in another damn mall, I'm gonna climb off that fence and become Republican. Then I'll be completely ostracized, instead of mostly ignored, and things could get ugly. Or quieter. But, still, despite the silence, it's just wrong to take people's property like that. Wrong!
Thank you, Sandra Day O'Conner for saying so.
Back to work....
Posted at 09:15 AM |
Thu - June 23, 2005
Working...
Gonna be mostly AFK for the rest of this week and
the weekend as I try to wrestle the book into some definite shape. It's
currently untitled - Valley of the Soul is a no-go - so I also need to locate
some catchy phrase to accurately describe it that will coordinate with the
previous two books
and
look good on the cover.
So, while I'm gone, feel free to talk amongst yourselves and spool potential title ideas if you're so inclined. Dismembered victims, a ravine, a swamp, and the ghosts Dubric gets are merely heads.
Have fun!
So, while I'm gone, feel free to talk amongst yourselves and spool potential title ideas if you're so inclined. Dismembered victims, a ravine, a swamp, and the ghosts Dubric gets are merely heads.
Have fun!
Posted at 12:13 AM |
Wed - June 22, 2005
Guest Blogger Bird
In an effort to save my sanity this
week, I've handed the blog reins over to a friend, name withheld to protect the
snarky.
"What Were They Thinking?"
OK, in the aftermath of the great Snapple disaster of 2005 in New York City , my mind has turned to weighty thoughts about good intentions gone horribly astray.
Specifically, how big a favor are you doing a new writer when you compare them to a big gun author?
Let's go to the Land of Make Believe with our two authors--fictional ones just to protect both the innocent and the guilty. Susie Newbie's first book has just hit the stands. In the initial buzz of interest, since it is a pretty gosh darn good book, eager reviewers try to give it a shortcut boost to success by saying "Newbie's book is just like the books written by Ima Cultural Icon."
Sounds good at first but it has more ways to backfire than a Plymouth with a wonky carburetor. I'll spell out the ones that leap to my mind. I'll leave it as an exercise to the reader to expound on the straggler blunders that showed up after I wrapped up this little note.
First, why are you assuming that I am a fan of Icon and her work? If I am, that's fine. I might stroll down to the local book hyper-mega-mini-mart for a latte, a roast free-range-beef sandwich on artisan rye, a how to teach yourself to juggle kit, and, oh yeah, a copy of Newbie's book.
But wait, there's more. You knew that. Wipe that smug look off your face.
If I don't like Icon's books, you have just damned the innocent Ms. Newbie with your oh-so- faint praise. If I wouldn't touch an Icon book with a ten-foot Handy Dandy Eensy Weensy Booklight®, there's no way that I am going to be motivated to try out the Newbie until giant popsicles spontaneously freeze in Manhattan in June. I'll stay home and deny the book hyper-mega-mini-mart my hard earned cash and pull one of my old faves by Sheez Neverletmedown off the shelf. Poor Newbie! Stabbed in the back by the well-meaning.
Second, when you tell me that the Newbie is just like the Icon, what are you telling me if I've never even read an Icon? Zip, nada, zilch, the big goose egg, nil, zero, nothing. I read a lot but even I can't read everything. "This book is just as good as the tenth volume of Buck Broadshoulders's Boondoggle in Botswana." Comprehension fades. Relevance lost. Eyes glazing over. Help me! Mommy!
How about a real recommendation? "Newbie's book touched me. I loved riding along with a heroine that I couldn't stop rooting for. This book is a tour-de-force of the {Insert favorite here} genre. Polly Protagonist didn't just sit there waiting for Linc Loveinterest to save the day. She kicked butt, took names, and saved them both as well as the planet from the highly personalized yet still bent on world-domination schemes of the I-love-to-hate-her Vera Vile. I couldn't put this book down because of the depth of emotion shown by all the characters and the breadth of a plot that included disarming the warheads of ICBMs in space and saving a cute tabby kitten from a tree. And that wasn't even the climax! I was on the edge of my seat until this book knocked me off it. I loved this book and I think you ought to look for it next time you leave your own book-lined suburban cave."
THAT'S heap-big praise!
Now, tell me. You can be honest. What ARE you thinking? Yeah, obviously I was going for the laugh but what ELSE are you thinking?
Yours truly,
A Little Bird on Tambo's Shoulder
"What Were They Thinking?"
OK, in the aftermath of the great Snapple disaster of 2005 in New York City , my mind has turned to weighty thoughts about good intentions gone horribly astray.
Specifically, how big a favor are you doing a new writer when you compare them to a big gun author?
Let's go to the Land of Make Believe with our two authors--fictional ones just to protect both the innocent and the guilty. Susie Newbie's first book has just hit the stands. In the initial buzz of interest, since it is a pretty gosh darn good book, eager reviewers try to give it a shortcut boost to success by saying "Newbie's book is just like the books written by Ima Cultural Icon."
Sounds good at first but it has more ways to backfire than a Plymouth with a wonky carburetor. I'll spell out the ones that leap to my mind. I'll leave it as an exercise to the reader to expound on the straggler blunders that showed up after I wrapped up this little note.
First, why are you assuming that I am a fan of Icon and her work? If I am, that's fine. I might stroll down to the local book hyper-mega-mini-mart for a latte, a roast free-range-beef sandwich on artisan rye, a how to teach yourself to juggle kit, and, oh yeah, a copy of Newbie's book.
But wait, there's more. You knew that. Wipe that smug look off your face.
If I don't like Icon's books, you have just damned the innocent Ms. Newbie with your oh-so- faint praise. If I wouldn't touch an Icon book with a ten-foot Handy Dandy Eensy Weensy Booklight®, there's no way that I am going to be motivated to try out the Newbie until giant popsicles spontaneously freeze in Manhattan in June. I'll stay home and deny the book hyper-mega-mini-mart my hard earned cash and pull one of my old faves by Sheez Neverletmedown off the shelf. Poor Newbie! Stabbed in the back by the well-meaning.
Second, when you tell me that the Newbie is just like the Icon, what are you telling me if I've never even read an Icon? Zip, nada, zilch, the big goose egg, nil, zero, nothing. I read a lot but even I can't read everything. "This book is just as good as the tenth volume of Buck Broadshoulders's Boondoggle in Botswana." Comprehension fades. Relevance lost. Eyes glazing over. Help me! Mommy!
How about a real recommendation? "Newbie's book touched me. I loved riding along with a heroine that I couldn't stop rooting for. This book is a tour-de-force of the {Insert favorite here} genre. Polly Protagonist didn't just sit there waiting for Linc Loveinterest to save the day. She kicked butt, took names, and saved them both as well as the planet from the highly personalized yet still bent on world-domination schemes of the I-love-to-hate-her Vera Vile. I couldn't put this book down because of the depth of emotion shown by all the characters and the breadth of a plot that included disarming the warheads of ICBMs in space and saving a cute tabby kitten from a tree. And that wasn't even the climax! I was on the edge of my seat until this book knocked me off it. I loved this book and I think you ought to look for it next time you leave your own book-lined suburban cave."
THAT'S heap-big praise!
Now, tell me. You can be honest. What ARE you thinking? Yeah, obviously I was going for the laugh but what ELSE are you thinking?
Yours truly,
A Little Bird on Tambo's Shoulder
Posted at 03:15 PM |
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On Writing
"...I'm genuinely torn between a healthy respect for access to publishing for all and aggravation that so many people think anybody can write a good book. It's like saying anyone can be a brain surgeon; it would be nice if it were true, but it's just not so." -- Kel Munger
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Published On: Jun 30, 2005 12:21 AM
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Published On: Jun 30, 2005 12:21 AM