On Writing and (sometimes) Publishing

On Bullies, Essayists, and Chicken Boy

2012-02-01T08:23:00.000-06:00

I ran across some good things online this week, particularly relevant to writers. But if you're not a writer, it's still good stuff to read:

1. Samantha Mabry blogged about the Tuscon United School District's banning of the Mexican American Studies program. Teachers actually snatched books away from children at school. They're "storing" away those dangerous books by Cisneros and Urrea (and many others), and chocking in some Shakespeare and Sherman Alexie (a brilliant Native American writer) because those guys also make people think for themselves (a dangerous and seditious mental activity). Bullies. Sandra Cisneros was THE writer who made me believe in myself as a writer, made me believe that stories about women and girls mattered, too. Samantha's short response to the Tuscon United district is spot on. Read it.

2. On the lighter side, in case you're thinking about dating an essayist, hop over to BARK and read this fun list of reasons "not to sleep with an essayist." Particularly relevant to people who have never attended a creative writing (or creative non-fiction writing) program.

3. My old (and dear) friend Greg Allen won the first round of the MeeGenius picture book story contest by popular vote late last year. Now, his story about a boy with autism and a great imagination has been illustrated by an appointed artist and is up for votes again; this time, he's up against 14 other stories that the MeeGenius crew selected from the batch of entries. Please vote for Greg's story.

If you have some good stuff to share with me, I'm always up for a distraction.

The Magic of Critique Partners

2012-01-18T09:41:00.002-06:00

I can't believe I haven't peeked in on my blog for a month. (That New Year's Resolution doesn't count because it was stolen from Neil Gaiman, who probably grumbled at Tweeters and Bloggers and Facebookers worldwide, "Get your own resolutions!")

Now that the spring semester has begun, I'm getting back to my writing schedule. Paris was lovely and relaxing and good for the soul, but it wasn't my quiet house in Plano where I'm most productive with fiction writing. In December, I did two things that have already started paying off.

First, I joined SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) because I wanted to understand the market for Middle Grade and Young Adult novels. I was a little overwhelmed by the immensity of this group. (It reminded me of the first time I attended the AWP conference in Chicago. I was a guppy in the Pacific Ocean.)

Second, I found a local (North Texas) Critique Partners group through SCBWI. Not two minutes after I paid my dues to join SCBWI, I emailed the leader of the CP group and asked if I could join. I haven't been a member of a CP group since I was in grad school, and frankly, I had no interest in joining one for the past 8 years. But I'm in new literary territory now, and I realized last month how much I need a close, trustworthy community of MG and YA writers. But I was nervous, too. What if they were wack?

They weren't!

I lucked out. I've had a month to critique a few works from my CPs and they've responded to my first few chapters; my CPs rock! I'm so relieved that they understand the nature of critiques, the delicate balance of honesty, tact, and perspective. It doesn't hurt that they're a nice blend of writers: some agented, some with traditionally published books, some new writers. We are seven in all, but because only about four of us are actively submitting at any one time, the critiques are not overwhelming.

I didn't realize how much a good group of CPs could rejuvenate my writerly soul. Now, I'm inspired to go back and tackle those final two chapters that have been haunting me. They're not quite right, but with the feedback from my CPs, I know they'll shape up and turn into something stunning.

I don't know about other writers, but I find that I'm most productive when my plate is impossibly full.

from here

Like "Pancho's" full.

also from here

I'm all "Raise the Flag!" and pile on more projects the second I see plate peeking from beneath all the stuff I have to do. (To those of you who don't understand the Pancho phenomenon, forgive me.) I can write a college syllabus, reread Fitzgerald and Roland Barthes, help my son with his science project, work on my manuscript, query agents, and write this blog entry only when they all need to be done in the same week. I'm never this productive when I actually have a free week to do any one of these.

So here's to a New Year (imagine my raised champagne glass): may you always have enough on your plate to keep you active and hungry for more. May you find critique partners who have razor-sharp vision but gentle souls. May you create something that is beautiful to you, and dare to show it to others.

Olé!

New Year's Eve Wishes

2011-12-31T08:21:00.000-06:00

"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself." ~ Neil Gaiman

"Listen to Neil." ~Lori Ann Stephens

Bonjour from the Seine (photo taken by my 8-yr-old, Julien)

Blogging from Paris

2011-12-16T05:15:00.000-06:00

So, I'm in Paris now. I've been busy completing an interview with the marvelous writer, Matt Bondurant. Now that I've sent that off to the publisher, I'm working on my own writing and revisions. Mostly, though, I'm transcribing my younger son's blog. He's eight, and keeps a daily blog when we travel to Paris. Hop over and visit or follow his blog. He loves to read comments from readers.

Herve came home with a Christmas tree for Julien. Our first Paris tree. We've already started decorating it.

Break

2011-12-04T21:52:00.001-06:00

So, it's the end of the semester, and that means a few things. Grading final essays, submitting grades, France for Christmas Break, and writing.

As soon as I submit final grades for the semester, I hunker down and write. Seriously write. Six-hour-a-day writing, the kind that makes my heart want to explode, it feels so good. My favorite place to write is on the plane to and from France. The in-flight movies are either terrible or I've seen them (or both), so I pull out my laptop--and then my notebook when the laptop dies--and type/hand write several chapters over the Atlantic.

When we're in Paris, my eight-year-old son keeps his daily blog, which he dictates to me. That means I'll have little time to even log into my own blog. So if I don't make an appearance over the next few weeks, it's not because I'm not writing.

Have a great holiday break, teachers, students, and colleagues.
Oh, and if you don't want to fight the crowds at the mall:
Song of the Orange Moons makes a great little holiday gift (hard back OR on Kindle) for friends and family!

Seeking Angels

2011-11-27T15:09:00.001-06:00

Dear Readers and Bloggers,

If you've ever participated in the "Angel Tree" gift-giving, or if you ever wanted to give a holiday gift to a child who really needs and deserves a miracle, please consider making a donation to Sarah, whose jaw was destroyed by a tumor.

It's been a rough year for everyone I know. We all seem to be in the red by the end of the month. But consider swapping one holiday video game purchase for a holiday donation to Sarah's surgery.

Please give forward this month. Here's a link to sweet Sarah's donation page and photos.

Every donation counts. If all my Facebook and Blogger friends donated just $25-$35, her surgery expenses would be met.

Thanks for paying it forward this post-Thanksgiving season.

Lori

Thank you, Sherman

2011-11-26T17:12:00.001-06:00

So, on Thanksgiving morning, as we were packing the car for Mee-maw's house, I stopped to lament.

I couldn't help it. Something had been weighing heavily on my heart, and I couldn't stand it any longer. I marched into the kitchen and confessed to my partner.

As much as I try, and much as I read, I cannot, cannot get into Young Adult fantasy books. Even the bestsellers. What is wrong with me?

It's kind of a problem because I just wrote this manuscript that is kind of fantastic, kind of science fiction. And I've been immersing myself in YA, as any responsible writer of a new genre should do. Contemporary? Check. Dystopian? Not a problem. Zombies? Well, I like the French ones. But every time I check out a fantasy novel, I can't get past the names without either groaning or giggling.

I felt truly, terribly awful for having decided, once and for all, that fantasy isn't my thing. What made me think I would be charmed by Daughter of Smoke and Bone if I couldn't get past page 3 of The Lord of the Rings? I tried. Lord knows I tried. So I spent the first few hours of Thanksgiving morning in frustration, until my partner, as always, put things into perspective.

"That's all right," he said. "You don't have to like fantasy."

Oh.

So the day after Thanksgiving, after having taken my son and nephew to Legoland Discovery Center (a glorified store, folks--not a theme park), I poured myself a well-deserved glass of wine and settled down with Sherman Alexie's graphic, violent, disturbing novel, Flight.

from here

Holy crap. That book saved me. Sherman Alexie pulled me from my reader's malaise and shot his arrow right through my heart.

I don't enjoy violence in novels. Usually it's gratuitous and caters to a blood-titillated audience, long ruined by Hollywood bloodlust.

Flight is not a long novel. I started on Friday and I finished it this morning.
It was rough and painful and disillusioning.

And so I was completely gobsmacked when the last three pages made me cry.
Three times.
I had to quickly shamble to the bathroom so my nephew wouldn't see my stupid, wonderful tears rolling down my cheeks.
(Shamble is Alexie's word. I stole it from Flight.)

So thank you, Sherman Alexie. Thanks for making me feel the magic of fiction again. For helping me see the Literary in the novel again.

For making me believe in happy endings.

Query Survival Kit

2011-11-21T11:00:00.001-06:00

I have reached the Summit of Blues. For those who have been there, it's a mountain deep in the Wilderness of Agent Seeking.

I'm not depressed, but I am feeling this: ugh. I need more energy, more caffeine, more pep talks, more something to get me through another round of queries. I am fortunate that two of my manuscripts are in the hands of agents who requested Fulls, but it's been a while, and the more time passes, the more I feel grim. I figure I need Russell, from the brilliant film Up, to visit me.

He has a Wilderness Survival Guide that might help me during this Agent Query search.

How to Build a Tent.
Or, How to Survive the Query Process
Step 1: Separate Tent Parts.

Or, Separate your self worth from your manuscript.

(That's harder than it looks.)
Step 2: Follow Directions Carefully. Or,

Research the heck out of agents, fall in love with agent, craft a specific letter to agent, get rejection from agent on pitch alone, sigh, and repeat from beginning of Step 2

Step 3: Never Force Anything. Or,
Realize that agents have specific ideas about what will be a success in the market--or desirable to publishers--and your manuscript might not "fit" those ideas. Truth be told, they're forced to judge a book by its cover (pitch), right?

So take a deep breath, and just say it: "Tents are hard."
Rejections are hard.
But look at Russell's face. All red-whipped, and he's still not giving up completely.

Getting rejections is an important part of becoming a better writer and determining how much I believe in what I'm doing. Even published authors get rejections. (Yep, there are many of us. I'm not alone.)

Now, it's back to work. I've got a tent to build.

The King's Speech

2011-11-12T13:01:00.001-06:00

Stephen King, that is.

Here's my ticket. I took a photo in the car, just in case they wanted to keep the ticket as I walked in the door. (There were 1000 attendees, by the way, and I was approximately #40 in line, thanks to my arrival three hours before showtime.)

As you (and all my Facebook friends) know by now, I had the extraordinary fortune to see Stephen King last night as part of his 4-city book tour. And more good fortune to be sitting on the fifth row, directly in front of him.

SPOILER ALERT! If you bought tickets to one of the three other King appearances, skip over the next paragraph. He may tell these stories again, and I promise, you'll appreciate them more in person.

Stephen was funny, humble, proud (contradiction intended), and above all, adorable.
He talked about his tendency to be demonstrative ("My grandfather used to tell me, 'Stephen, you open your mouth and your guts fall out!'"). He talked about his overly-agreeable nature ("My mother used to tell me, 'Stephen, you're so agreeable that if you were a girl, you would always be pregnant!'").

He told us about the time he was invited to lunch by Bruce Springsteen, and about the first time he was recognized by a stranger and asked for an autograph. In the bathroom. I'll resist telling you the hilarious details of these stories until King's book tour is over. Go buy your own ticket.

Then he read from his new book, 11-22-63, a novel about time travel and JFK's assassination. That's all I know. (I didn't get one of the 250 randomly placed signed copies in the pile, but I was so content with my book and the entire evening, I didn't mind.)

Anyway, it was marvelous and thrilling and magical to sit in front of the man whose book, On Writing, became my writing Bible. (I recommend On Writing as mandatory reading for all fiction writers, regardless of their genre.) I'm such a wuss, I've never been able to read King's horror stories. But "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" (and the other stories in the Different Seasons collection) captivated my heart and mind.

I ended the evening with dinner and good company of friends. Here are a few more pics, all taken by my seatmate and graduate school buddy, Diana.

That's me with the blonde hair and googly eyes. Diana took these photos. Thanks, Diana!

Have a great weekend!

In celebration of the palindromic moment

2011-11-11T08:37:00.001-06:00

Apparently, this is the exact moment to slip on something made of corduroy, the Date that Most Resembles Corduroy. Which will then bring you good luck until...the next palindromic opportunity?

Thanks goodness I have my brown corduroy blazer nearby. Wouldn't want to press my luck.

Tomorrow: Stephen King

2011-11-10T12:51:00.001-06:00

This guy:

PLUS

This book:

Plus

as many flash-free snapshots from my cell phone as I can take

and still listen to King read

Live, in a high school auditorium,

EQUALS

One happy girl.

I'll be the one clutching a worn copy of On Writing.

I am Joy, I am Wonder

2011-11-09T07:10:00.003-06:00

The Kool Kats over at YA Highway have asked writers to contribute again to yet another deeply profound prompt:
What are your writing and publishing superpowers (drafting? beta-reading? writing queries? plotting? character creation? etc.) -- and what's your kryptonite?

Immediately, I envision the Bugaloos. I have NO IDEA why:

The Bugaloo in pink is "Joy"

Are they even superheroes? Probably not. But I was addicted to this show when I was little, and I was in love with Joy, that pink Bugaloo, and with the Blond Bugaloo, too. So I'm choosing her, folks. Here's a justifiable reason: my writer's ego can get squashed from time to time, but when it comes down to it, that joy of writing runs deep. Joy irons her wings, and pretty soon, she's flying again.

I think mortality is my nemisis:

pics from here

Uh-huh. If you're old enough, you know what I'm talking about: What if I die before someone discovers that my manuscript rocks? But heck, it's just death folks, not kryptonite.

And I'm a wonder when it comes to finishing manuscripts. So, for my wondrous ability to git 'er done, here's a proper superhero for you:

from here

Be Yourself

2011-11-08T15:40:00.001-06:00

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” ~ Oscar Wilde

This was the status update on October 31st (Halloween, get it?) by the amazing Dinty W. Moore. Dinty Moore wasn't the first editor to select one of my short stories for publication, but he was the first one who was totally, utterly, completely unconnected to me and still chose to include my story in his anthology, Sudden Stories: A Mammoth Anthology of Miniscule Fiction. My creative writing students at the time giggled at both the title of the book and Dinty's familiar name. ("Are you sure it isn't one of those scam presses?" one of my students asked, genuinely concerned for me.)

It wasn't a scam. Dinty is a well-respected teacher and writer, but it is his status updates on Facebook that consistently keep me in awe. And his keen eye for beautiful photographs.

So, Dinty posted this quote by Oscar Wilde, and it was like a dose of medicine. Not the bitter-pill kind of medicine, but the warm Theraflu-kind on a cold winter's night. I'm juggling a LOT of things these days. I've got 2 fiction manuscripts (one adult and one YA) and 1 novel (Song) out to agents right now, and since talking publicly about submissions is not something we writers do, I won't say anything more. I have another (4th) completed manuscript that I've still got in the drawer simmering a while.

In the meantime, I'm reading YA novels voraciously, reading multiple blogs on writing and the publishing biz, and oh yeah, teaching English at the university. Sometimes I get swept away by all the advice from writers and agents on the web. I get bluesy in this big world of publishing with the jillions of fishies (with completed manuscripts tucked under their fins) in the sea. My story's a cross between so-and-so and sew-and-sew; I must pitch my story as such-and-such genre to even have a chance of being read; write BIG, write BIG! All this advice can make a serious writer feel very small.

Of late, I've had many a heart-to-heart conversation with my partner. These scenes consist mostly of my asking Hervé why and how and what questions about my manuscript revisions, and he offering advice that I largely ignore. Then I realize he's right about practically everything, even though he's a brilliant scientist and doesn't read fiction.

Yesterday as I drove my partner to the airport, he gave me earnest advice and sounded a lot like Oscar Wilde: Trust yourself. Be yourself. Great writers don't write like other people. You write best when you're not trying to please everyone. Pay attention to your craft.

Yes, we had the ensuing debate that begins, "But what about my audience?! I'm writing for an audience that I must please! Who must buy the book! And for the agents, who must give their blessings!" Yada yada yada. But I know there is truth to what he told me. I've been focusing on popular formula and trends at the expense of my craft. They are two entirely different things. I've also been obsessively comparing my characters, plots, and themes to other novels, as though they are the measure of my story's success.

So I'm refocusing this week. Craft. Voice. Intuition.

And I am, once again, grateful to have such a marvel for a partner.

On Writing Coaches

2011-11-02T07:59:00.001-05:00

"Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic."

It's Wednesday, and you know what that means: I have to stop procrastinating and get a post written before heading off to university. YA Highway wants to know "What kind of writing coach do you need? When you have to coach friends, what kind of coach are you?" Me?

I really wish I had some previous students pipe in here. Was I a pain in the rear? So stickly that I ruined creative writing for you and now instead of living the tortured life of a literary novelist, you're living the tortured life of an accountant? As a graduate student, I tried to model my own creative writing teachers: tough as nails, but dedicated to anyone truly interested in the craft. I was the kind of "coach" who handed back short stories with my comments inked in blood all over the margins. Garsh, I was so serious.

I'm finding that now that I've ventured into YA territory, I'm in need of some young whipersnappers (Garsh, I sound so old!) to give me some tough love. Slay me with your worst "This part is so boring" so I can figure out how to balance the exposition, character development (aka, "telling"), and all the rest ("showing"). Criticism you can use to improve your novel is like a gift, after all.

I'm in the "query dumps" right now. It's too early in the process to be feeling down, but to me, this is the worst part about being a writer. (Not the querying; the waiting. Okay, and the rejections.) Is there a coach for that?

from here

Shockingly Good

2011-10-26T09:08:00.000-05:00

Another Wednesday, another Road Trip.
This week, YA Highway wants to know what you loved reading in October.
I took a wee break from YA this month to read some books that have been on my To-Read list for ages. (And I still haven't finished them. Why? Because they're on my fake-Kindle, and I realize now that I have a terrible time getting through books on my "laptop version" of Kindle. I guess I need a REAL Kindle for Christmas.)

But holy canoli, what I did read blew my heart right out of my chest. This is the innocuous cover:


from here

Lamb is about an 11-year-old girl named Tommie who meets a middle-aged man named David Lamb. Bonnie Nadzam is a gorgeous writer. Every line is crafted, but not with the kind of pen that makes you stumble over clunky or outrageous metaphors; her writing is so fluid, you slip down into her deep, dark well of a story and you are lost. Your soul gets a little lost while you're reading Lamb because this storyworld will encompass you from the moment you meet Tommie. It is rich and disturbing and necessary reading, as difficult as it may be, for everyone.

Highly recommended.

Sure Thing

2011-10-24T22:03:00.000-05:00

This week, I read Jane Dystel's blog post lamenting the somewhat new trend with the top 6 publishers, and it wasn't very encouraging, dear writers.

Seems that this is what they want:


from here

No, they don't want John Cusack. (Although at one point in my life, I did.) Heck, maybe they do want John Cusack. But they really want that bathing beauty in the bikini, the "sure thing," and the Big 6 are not so interested in building a strong backlist inventory, which is a pity. I like to read the bust-out NYT bestsellers like most book junkies do, but I also love curling up with a great book that might be considered merely great literature, not based on the millions of copies sold, but on the quality of the writing. On the soul of the novel.

Does this mean that writers who are really desperate to be published had better be more like circus shows? A "sure thing" Barnum & Bailey act that will draw in the spectators in droves? (sigh) Sure seems like it. I'm submitting a YA manuscript to agents this month, and it seems that I'm getting the message: talented writing, but not "big enough," not a "sure thing" for this "tough marketplace."

Maybe I should put a circus scene in the novel. Hmm. Nope. I can't do it.

I just finished reading Lamb, by Bonnie Nadzam, today. It jolted me awake and made me go "gah!" for a good hour afterwards. Same with C.W. Smith's new novel, Steplings. Both are examples of great literature that make you feel more human in some way.

I hope the publishing industry catches up with the rapidly changing demands in the market. Many authors are still believers in the sound and valuable judgment of the traditional gatekeepers. Don't let us down.

Numero Uno

2011-10-19T10:49:00.000-05:00

YA Highway is beckoning me again:

What's your numero-uno reason for writing?

I'll bet there's some sort of high-minded, acceptable list of answers to this sweet little, seemingly innocuous question. I'll bet there are plenty of creative writing teachers who'd cluck their tongues at the answers we give. But that's why I like YA Highway. No high-falutin' rigid readers who laugh with derision at our perplexing answers. Here's mine:

Numero-Uno: Because I need to write.

That's it. I need to. I feel cranky when I go to long without writing. My bones ache with jealousy when someone tells me all about her week of writing in a French castle (yes, Amy, I'm talking about you). Or that weekend at the Writers' Conference in D.C. or Chicago, or the Writers' Retreat for a blissful week in the woods. I nod and cheer and say, "You go, Girl!" but they can't hear the envy in my bones go "creak!"

Writing or rewriting a page, and then another page, or even merely a paragraph--it's like a drug, folks. Like an anti-depression regimen. Like caffeine. Sometimes it gives me the jitters in a bad sort of way, but most of the time, I leave my writing desk and my heart feels two sizes bigger in a very good--I'm-ready-for-the-world--kind of way.

I think many writers feel this way. It's a bond we share. We nod our heads sympathetically when our fundamental needs aren't being met. Writing-time needs. Thank God my partner understands this.

Right now, he's off to Canada for a week to work on three writing projects. I'm happy at home writing on mine. But I'm thinking I'm due soon for a trip myself, sequestered in an internet-free cabin, surrounded by nature? It's for my mental health after all, right?

Road Trip Wednesday's 100th birthday!

2011-10-12T09:26:00.000-05:00

100 weeks, that is.

This week's topic is What has your writing road trip looked like so far? Excitement? Traffic Jams and detours? Where are you going next?

Now that is a timely question, as I finally, this week, laid out my exhilarating, confusing, maddening, gleeful, heartbreaking journey to publication with a traditional small publisher over the past three years. I put it off and I put it off because I did not want to write anything negative about the good woman who selected my book out of the slush pile and declared it the Chosen One.

But the whole point of creating this blog was to share with other writers what it's like to get your book published, and I knew--I knew--I wasn't being completely honest. I hope others can learn something, no matter how small, about the challenges of publishing.

Even today, I wonder if putting it on the internet will come back to haunt me. If you want to take a peek at the story, scroll back a few days in the blog archive to read about my "perilous journey."

Was it exciting? Yes! Am I still over the moon to be published? Yes!

I've finished two more manuscripts--one adult novel and one YA novel--and those babies are visiting agents. My fingers and legs and toes are crossed. In the meantime, it helps to read the success stories of other authors. They help keep hope alive. Thanks, blogging authors!

99 Cents

2011-10-11T08:46:00.002-05:00

The digital version for Song of the Orange Moons (thanks, ASD Publishing!) is now on sale for 99 cents!

from here

If you haven't bought the hard copy (or just want to stock your ebook library shelves), now's the time to shop. Kindlegraph allows me to "sign" your digital book, too, if you're interested in that cool gizmo.

If you don't have a handheld Kindle, no problem! You know that there's a free app for Macs and PCs, right? You can download books (and a lot of free one's, too) right to your laptop. I adore my hard copy books--couldn't live without them--but the Kindle is pure fun.

Please help me spread the news.

(Go Rangers!)

Can't Put this Book Down

2011-10-10T11:43:00.000-05:00

Literally, I've been carrying this book around with me so I can sneak in a few pages wherever I go. (I just got back from a lovely barium swallowing test at Baylor Medical Center, and I toted this book along with me.) What book is this that I can't put down, you say?

Steplings, the new novel by C.W. Smith.

It's not YA, but it is literary fiction about two kids (18 and 11 yrs) who run away from home and the Amber Alert that follows. It's about a family that was already unraveling paradoxically twining together and falling apart at the same time. I'm engrossed with Jason and Emily. I'm 3/4 finished and, as soon as I'm finished with this post, you know what I'm going to do? The book's right here to the right of my laptop.

Thanks, C.W., for a great story. I hope lots and lots of people buy this book.
Here's the rather fantastic book trailer. Many of you know how hard it is to create (or find) a book trailer that isn't cheesy. This one rocks.

The Perilous Journey to Publication: I Come Clean

2011-10-09T19:07:00.000-05:00

I've been putting off and putting off this post, even though I need to writeit, if only to shed some light on the risks of publishing with small presses.So, let me preface this rather epic post by saying that I'm not publishing thisas "payback" or out of malice or spite. In fact, the only feelings Ihave now are bewilderment, a vague sense of loss, gratitude, and plain oldsadness. Does that qualify as "ambivalence"? Read, andyou'll understand.

This is the journey of Song of the Orange Moons, my debut novel fromNovember of 2010.

If you've done any research online about the publishing industry (and I'msure most writers have), you know that publishing with the traditional bighouses is almost impossible without an agent, and far from guaranteed withone. Many years ago, circa 2005, I had an agent for my manuscript of Orange Moons. No contract, just severallunches over which he encouraged me to write two more chapters (I did), and wechatted about his family, his own manuscript-in-progress, and where he'd sendmy novel. He eventually sent it to three or four of the big presses, whoin general liked the manuscript, but thought it wouldn't move (sell) in thebookstores. He suggested that I "turn it into a Young Adultnovel." At that time, I knew nothing about Young Adult novels andsaid I didn't think that would be possible. Not with this book. That was ourlast lunch. Dead end. Amicable parting of ways.

I made a meager attempt at finding another agent, but the process seemed solong and exhausting that I wondered if sending it directly to the publisherswould be more efficient. (And I felt jaded by my first relationship with anagent.) I researched the small and large presses that received submissions (notmany, folks!) and carefully packed and stamped 20 envelopes with thepersonalized query letters and partials or full ms, according to the publisher’spolicies.

This. Was. Exhausting.

And expensive.

Six months later, after a few requests for full manuscripts and a fewletters telling me that the press had gone out of business, I had responsesfrom all 20 places. One press had seriously considered the book, but eventuallydeclined, sending me detailed, multi-page, single-space rejection letters fromtheir three readers. Heartbroken, Iliterally shelved my manuscript in the living room bookshelf on the tip-topshelf. Out of sight.

When my devoted partner figured out that I’d given up on writing, he insistedthat I slap some postage on my manuscript and send it out to 20 morepublishers. Ugh. I did it, this timeignoring the SASE for return, and scouring the Internet and books forpublishers who were actively and currently accepting unsolicited manuscripts. I barely found 20 and sent my submission envelopes out in the world again. My partner was right: I did feel a littlebetter. I felt the glimmer of hope that my manuscript would find a home.

A few months later, I had 20 more rejection letters in my binder. At least,I thought I did. While I was on campus one morning, my phone rang, and therewas this woman named M who was telling me how much she loved my beautifulbook and asking me if she could publish it. I was ecstatic. All I could think of was, “I’m inheaven! And heaven is a place calledBTP!”

I’ve told this story before, way back in the early days of this blog. What I didn’t tell is the experience after Isent my signed contract for the novel. It has been, in a word, frustrating. Sometimes maddening. BTP was an established publisher ofChildren’s and YA books. My novel was tobe the debut of their Adult line of books. M had big dreams: she said she wanted to publicize this book asthough it weren’t from a small press, but from one of the big ones. Except, of course, I would need to cover allmy travel expenses. I got that. I understand that even authors with bigpresses must often create and finance their own book tours. But after two yearsof waiting for the book to finally go to press, and another year of the bookbeing “in press,” I was so utterly in the dark about everything—what I wassupposed to be doing and when and where—that I was lost and nervous and growingpositively irked. I did what I thought Ineeded to do: create an author website, join Facebook, create an author page onFacebook. Tweet.

How well a debut novel sells is vital to the success of a novelist. My second novel might never get a glance froma publisher based on the sales record of my first novel. Some writers are completely shut out from allthe publishers. Such are the tales Iheard from other authors. So I knew thatthis novel needed reviews, and lots of them, and sales, and lots of them, if Iwere to ever hope to publish the second novel I was working on.

I called and emailed BTP, trying to figure out some solid datesabout the Advanced Reader Copies, about the official publication date, abouthow to get reviewed by Publisher’s Weekly and Kirkus and the others. M wasbusy, no doubt, with other authors, and what I thought was a small publishingfirm became startlingly clear that M was it. M was the only one doingeverything. That was why I so rarelycould get hold of her.

It was clear though our few conversations that her original plans to make abig splash with the book were no longer possible. It was too expensive for her to advertise thebook in the NY Review of Books andother outlets, and she didn’t have the time. So I did it. All.

I hired an outside publicist to help organize a blog tour. One month of publicity cost half my monthlypaycheck. I sent copies of my ARCs to 25 different reviewers and a fewcontests. I wrote emails to bookreviewers and asked if they’d be interested in reviewing my debut novel. I looked up the submission policies to Publisher’s Weekly and Kirkus, and pretended I was some lackeyat BTP suggesting that they review book. Because my ARCs were mailedto me about two weeks before the release date of the book, three months toolate according to the big reviewers’ policies, I was up a creek called shit.

All of this took lots and lots of postage. That was only a small part of theinvestment. I set up a tour to Chicago,paid my ticket and arranged a few readings and stayed with a dear friend, onlyto find out the ARCs had not even been printed (although they were “beingprinted as we speak” weeks before). I set up my big book launch, only to findout that the hardbacks wouldn’t make it to Barnes & Noble for the partybecause they were still being printed (another snafu by the publisher). The book distributors had to overnight theboxes to the store, and they arrived on the afternoonof the party. I was a nervous wreck.

Amid all the hubbub during the month prior to publication, I had very littlecontact with M. I had almost noneafter the publication. I emailed her thelink to my Publisher’s Weekly review,something I was astounded by. And she emailed me her congratulations, butdidn’t answer any of my questions, like how did she like my second novelmanuscript I sent her. (She hadexclusive first rights to my second novel.) To be honest, I hoped she didn’t want it. I was so frustrated with the lack ofcommunication that I was truly ready to move on to another publisher. With an agent this time.

Over the past year and a half, I went through a range of emotions. Anger at her lack of commitment to this book,gratefulness that she published it when no one else would, hysteria when my hugeinvestments to publicize the book were slammed by the reality that the bookwasn’t really “in press” yet or anywhere near it. I stored this bubble ofresentment at being deceived, until I’d run into someone who’d congratulate meon getting published, considering how very difficult traditional publishing isthese days, at which point I’m weakly smile and feel humbled.

During the six months post-pub date, I left messages and emails about someimportant details, one of which was my payment, which was to be sent upon thepublication of my novel, but that I never received. She responded only two or three times, makingpromises to look into matters.

And then, this summer, M finally called me back. I had emailed her to ask about digital rightsand film rights to the book—to see if she was doing anything, anything, had any plans with this book. She finally, finally called me back withterrible news.

This news she’d needed to share for a long time, and was finally calling totell me. In fact, she’d been makingcalls to her authors, two or three a week, because the news she had to sharewas too difficult to tell too many times in one week. I won’t go into specificshere, because this concerns her private life. But she has been very ill, and her disease has progressed to a statethat she has to close her business. She wants to spend her remaining time withher family, etc.
I listened to her tell me that all the rights to the book revert back to me,that I can purchase as many of the remainders as I want, that I can release aneBook immediately, that she is not renewing her 2-year dues to the nationwidedistributor because she doesn’t know if she’ll be around then, so no one willbe able to order from Amazon or Barnes & Noble because there will be nodistributor for the books, and all I kept thinking was, “F*cking unfair for herand f*cking unfair for me and this whole unfair scenario is just crap.” I couldn’t be mad at her anymore. You can’t be mad a person who is terminallyill. I felt horrible for her and for her family. And I thought, “What a sad, short life forthis little novel, too.”

I understood why the entire publishing experience had been so chaotic. My publisher’s life had been spinning out ofcontrol, and she was trying to balance her health with a one-woman publishingcompany.

I don’t know if this is a cautionary tale. I feel mainly sad about her situation. Sad that my book never really had a chance to sell copies. I'm proud to have learned how to request reviews and how to set up a book tour; I'm incredibly thankful to the online community of writers who have shared their stories and wisdom as I trolled the internet for hope. I don’t know what “lesson” I’ve learned otherthan I’m determined to get an agent for my next novel. An agent who will know the field infinitely betterthan I and has access to more and larger publishers. I still believe that smaller presses are doing a wonderful, admirable service for authors, and they are doing hard work to keep literature alive and available in traditional publishing. I fully support little presses! I'm suggesting that hopeful authors painstakingly research the press to which they submit before signing contracts. Make calls and send emails to currently published authors with the press and ask about their honest appraisal of their experience. This past year has been alearning experience. I am still gratefulthat M published my book. It’sbeautiful, and I’m still hopeful that she’ll send me the remainders I orderedfrom her over a month ago.

But I’m not counting on it. It willbe a year next month, and I still have not received a check for thepublication, a royalty statement, or any paperwork of sales figures. I am inthe dark about the future of Orange Moons.

The digital book is now out, and I’m glad that it has been getting somebeautiful reviews.

And I have two completed novel manuscripts out to agents who have requestedfull manuscripts. So there’s light inother places, and I’ve moved into it. I suppose I wanted to finally tell the completestory that this blog promised to tell: the real journey this author took withthe little press that loved her novel.

*This post has been updated to remove M's full name and to emphasize that I still admire and appreciate the invaluable work of small and independent presses.

Road Trip Wednesday

2011-09-21T09:09:00.003-05:00

(Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.)

This week: What are your all-time favorite book covers?

How about this beauty?

And something about this one (although not YA) always makes me laugh:

Could have something to do with the author...

I absolutely adore Imaginary Girls, but someone on RTW beat me to it:

I'm not the average consumer, apparently. Because I read almost solely on personal recommendations, I tend to ignore the covers and focus only on what's inside. And when you've read a phenomenal book, it's hard to divorce the cover from the the story inside that moves us. (Which is why I still love the old Pride & Prejudice and Emma novel covers with the painted portraits.)

But I do appreciate the fact that book covers are no longer mere advertisement; they've become original art in their own right.

Déjà vu

2011-09-19T12:45:00.000-05:00

After watching this, I'm struck: maybe I didn't just write a YA novel manuscript...
(Fantastic work, YA Highway Channel.)

On the Winner and on Pledging

2011-09-18T12:58:00.003-05:00

On the Winner:

Congrats to the winner of the Goodreads Book Giveaway, Julie Donald of Missouri!

Your copy of Song of the Orange Moons is on its way to you in a pretty Priority Mail envelope. Enjoy!
Thanks to all 491 people who entered the contest. I hope you're still inspired to read the book and review it on Goodreads or Amazon.

And on Pledging (not the Greek persuasion):
My author friend, Amy Plum, shared a link this morning that I'm passing on to you. What a great idea: read the book before you see the film. You sign your name and pledge to read the book whenever humanly possible.

Another author friend, Matt Bondurant, will see his novel come to life via Hollywood in the 2012 film adaptation of The Wettest County in the World, starring Shia LaBeouf. But do you see Bondurant's name credited on sites like this or this? Breaks the heart. It seems like a decent gesture to give the novelist credit for creating the story to begin with, because I'll bet the novelists aren't receiving the kind of grand gestures that they can deposit in the bank so they can quit their day job and write.

I'm excited about the movie, too, but I'm reading the book, which I suspect will be very different from the adaptation.

Sign the pledge. Read the book. You'll get smarter.

Thanks, Peeps at Goodreads!

2011-09-14T18:14:00.002-05:00

Today is the last day of the Goodreads Giveaway. As of now, 422 people have entered the contest for a single copy of Song of the Orange Moons. Good luck all of you, and I hope the winner enjoys the book and reviews honestly!

Another little girl and her goat

2011-09-14T10:26:00.000-05:00

Another Road Trip Wednesday, folks

(From the website: RTW is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway 's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered.)

This week's topic asks us what themes, settings, motifs, scenes, or other elements do we find recurring in our work?

1. Hordes of unhappy little girls and unhappy mothers (à la Betty and Sally Draper)

2. Blanket metaphors that keep creeping into my drafts (the fog like a blanket, his silence like a blanket, the humidity like a blanket, oppression like a blanket, etc.) Thanks to my beta reader, I recognize and kill those darlings as soon as they descend on me like a blanke--

3. Fathers who try really hard but just don't get their daughters

4. Goats. Yes, goats.

from here.

5. Pride and prejudice, usually in the main character, which (I hope) gets sorted out by the last chapter

6. Fingers and acute sensitivity to touching in general

Readers, what have I missed? If you recently read Song of the Orange Moons (or are reading it now), what motifs skulk around the pages?

2011-08-31T07:21:00.003-05:00

Road Trip Wednesday

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

This Week's Topic:

What's the best book you've read in August?

I know, I know. I'm sooo late to this game (pun intended), but I finished The Hunger Games early in August. I'm a relatively new YA reader. A newbie. A preemie. I only started reading YA with a lusty appetite in May, but I think I've read some great ones.

But everyone knows that The Huger Games is the cat's pajamas, so I'll offer one more that made me feel very uncomfortable in a good way: Please Ignore Vera Deitz. This novel is about an almost 18-year-old whose best friend's ghost is haunting her, begging her to clear his name. She also happens to be in love with him. She also happens to keep a stash of liquor under the driver's seat while she delivers pizza to deal with her crappy life. I was shocked, I laughed, and then I was horrified again. It's a YA book on the edge, like so many are now, and it works. It stays with you.

BONUS: I'm pitching in my own Road Trip Song of the Week because Jessica Love introduced me to this greatness. It will stick to your brain. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UVNT4wvIGY&feature=player_embedded

Good Enough to Eat

2011-08-30T13:34:00.001-05:00

Summer vacation is officially over and my teaching cap is getting more wear than my writer's beret. But, I still have time to post some goodies.

First, I've been honored to receive the Liebster Blog Award, bestowed upon me by Jillian from Writing on a Limb. Thanks, Jillian!

Liebster means dear or favorite or apparently a bazillion other positive things in German (thank you Google), and the official rules are as follows:

Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.
Reveal your top 5 picks [blogs with fewer than 200 followers] and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
Copy and paste the award on your blog.
Have faith that your followers will spread the love to other bloggers.
And most of all - have bloggity-blog fun!

Here are my picks:
1. I love reading Stars Like Rain, a blog by a YA writer who is repped by Michelle Andelman of Regal Literary.
She. Is. Cool.
2. It Ain't Over Til the Fat Guy is Skinny is another fav blog written by my friend in New Jersey. He's had a long history as a director, a playwright, an actor, and now, a novelist. His blog has personal and professional reflections on life, and is a little breath of fresh air for me.
3. Jessica Love Writes, because she is a high school teacher (to whom the rest of civilization should bow and pay respect), and because she "kills her darlings," too.
4. Sarah Enni's blog, again, because her blog on YA writing rocks. Very entertaining.
and
5. Awkward Girl, who I met via YA Highway's Road Trip Wednesday, and whose writing is not awkward at all!

Congrats, bloggers! Share the love, and may your blog grow plentiful and ever more exciting this year.

Second, the recipe for the mouthwatering, fantasmagoric orange cake that was baked especially in honor of the orange tree in Song of the Orange Moons and served at the reading club in my previous post. Thanks, Dixie!

FRESH ORANGE CAKE
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
2 orange rinds, grated

SYRUP:
Juice of 2 oranges
1 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream SUGAR and BUTTER, add EGGS. Combine FLOUR, BAKING POWDER, BAKING SODA, and SALT, and add alternately withSOUR CREAM. Add VANILLA, NUTS, and ORANGE RIND.
Bake in greased, floured tube pan for 1 hour, or until toothpick comes outclean.
Combine ingredients for the "SYRUP" and boil 5 minutes. Pour syrupover hot cake and let cool in the pan. When cake is cool, turn out of panonto cake plate.

****For and impressive touch: Slice Fresh Orange Cake horizontally into 3layers. Fill and top with 2 cups WHIPPING CREAM, whipped with 1/4 cupCONFECTIONER'S SUGAR and 3 Tablespoons of ORANGE LIQUEUR. Add 1 pint ofsliced fresh STRAWBERRIES between the layers, saving some gorgeous ones for thetop.

2011-08-27T10:54:00.001-05:00

I woke up this morning to an unexpected and delightful creative writing contest on Janet Reid's website.
Here are the directions:

"Sounds like PANIC to me" Writing Contest!

There are two kinds of people in NYC today: those who are panicking about the incoming storm, and those of us annoyed by the hysteria. To give everyone something else to think about for a couple days, let's have a writing contest! The prize is a good one: THE CUT by George Pelecanos. (It's f/ing AMAZING!!) Rules for the contest are a little different this time.
Write a story using 150 words or fewer (note the word count change from the usual 100). Use at least three sets of homonyms (words that sound the same) from the list below...

Out of respect for Mother Nature and Irene, as she approaches, I wrote this micro-story:

from here

She stood on the pier and faced thesea that whipped its fury against her cheeks. She would not budge, whetherhurricane or whale lunge for her, or the indignant weather leave its waleacross her flesh. She wailed. Thrust her fist in the air and cried “Whore!”to the sea that had devoured him.

Her fisher, who three days ago had leftthis pier and his hook in her heart, and was swallowed by his bride-sea.

A fissure in her heart widened, butshe reined the two halves together. The sea would not reign her, would not strikean oar across her shaking calves and send her tumbling into the violent, black-oredepths.

“You have his flesh,” she shouted intothe deafening rain. “But I have his soul. It was me he gazed at when you pulledhim down to your cold bed. Behind his eyelids, it was me.”

150 words exactly. That was a fun and challenging exercise. Visit Janet's blog to read more of the entries in the comment boxes and to add your own. Contest ends tomorrow (Sunday)!
Leave a comment here for me if you enter the contest so I can go read your story, too!

Block? What block?

2011-08-24T12:02:00.001-05:00

(Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.)

This week's topic is How do you beat writer's block?

I've been told by writing teachers of yore that writer's block doesn't exist. That's right. It's a figment of my imagination, this four-sided, five-letter word that is the worst four-letter word a writer can imagine. But I don't really buy it.

Not to fear. I've found the answer to my imaginary foe.

It's not the local Starbucks for me. I get sidetracked by all the wonderful commotion and the real estate agents trying to close a deal at the tables to my right and left.

It's not the perfect desk sitting all alone in the middle of an empty room. Stephen King tried it and warned me it wouldn't work, but I didn't listen and had to try for myself. I've got a cute little black desk in the middle of my office, but am I sitting at it? Nope.

To get my writing juices flowing, I sit in the dining room on cushioned chairs or on the armchair next to the dining room table. Comfy, but just formal enough to keep me from falling asleep. Then I email my friend and say, "Hey, I'm going to send you an entire chapter sometime tonight."

Then I go get this:

from here

Then this:

Then I open my laptop, close my internet browser, and write.

So, optimistic promises + chocolate + wine + familiar chair to place my butt = a few darn good pages.

Oh, and before 4 PM, I have coffee instead of wine. That's one cure for the malady of writers, and I endorse this message.

Maiden Voyage on Road Trip Wednesday

2011-08-10T14:45:00.004-05:00

"Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway'scontributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer iton our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and geteverybody's unique take on the topic."

Today I'm answering for my first RTW topic, and it is a perfect maiden voyage topic for me, folks.

This week's topic is: What time do you prefer to do your writing? Early Worm? Night Owl ? Any five seconds you can grab?

I used to be:

from here

Only I wasn't this blue and cool and lovely.

No. My eyes were redder and droopier because I'd already played a few Wii games with my young son or helped him with his homework or made him something to eat, and I was on my third glass of Malbec.

Sometimes fourth...but they're tiny bistro glasses.

And still, I could churn out several pages before falling asleep on my keyboard with a little chocolatey drool easing its way out of the corner of my mouth.

Chocolate drool because that's what I eat when I write.

Note to writers: Eating bowlfuls of dark chocolate with red wine is not a sound diet.

After ten pounds inexplicably found their way to my waist, I am now...

from here

Is 7:30 considered early? If not, maybe I'm just a "worm" and not an "early worm," inching my way though my manuscript.

It happened on vacation, of all places. My family was visiting a good friend in Michigan, and we were staying in a cabin on his little spread of land. We took literally a few steps out the cabin, and there was our private lake with our devoted loons and baby frogs hopping on wee legs.

Before the kids woke up (10:30? 11?), I sat with my laptop in front of the lake view window and wrote for at least two hours every morning. I traded wine for coffee and chocolate for almonds, and somehow wrote more than half a YA novel manuscript in just a few weeks.

Note to writers: I (highly) do not recommend abandoning wine for extended periods of time.

Now that the school semester is almost upon me, I've traded early morning sessions for evening again, and I have to admit that I was much more productive writing in the morning. It takes me a solid hour of deleting and pulling my hair before my muse kicks in at night. Coffee seems to kick-start the muse faster. It's a conundrum when you write best when you're supposed to be teaching writing elsewhere.

I wonder how many other writers need wine and/or coffee to settle down and focus on the first few productive paragraphs.

Seven Wonders

2011-08-08T18:20:00.004-05:00

Updates!

So many fun things to share this week, I hope to cram them all in here.

1. I finally got the nerve to officially Follow YA Highway, a Young Adult Fiction Writers blog. It's going to be fun haunting this amazing site as a regular visitor. My writer-friend, Samantha Mabry, introduced me to it. If you love YA books (openly or as a closeted 30-something reader), you might love this site, too.

2. Some advice for other writers who have novels recently released or forthcoming. (I love that word "forthcoming"--it's so full of possibilities and optimism.)

3. Pics from The Hunger Games film are out. Squeee! Very happy about this, having recently read it.

4. Almost finished (yep, you read that right) with my summer YA novel manuscript. I heart my Beta Reader, who keeps me energized. I'll have to think of a special thank you for her.

5. I discovered a great little site called Inkubate that provides a platform for established agents and publishers to contact writers with manuscripts. It sounds very forward-thinking and exciting.

6. If you LOVE to read (and I know some of you do), consider joining the September Read-A-Thon. You know you want to. Brag a little. Serve a microwave dinner to the fam and enjoy an extra chapter or two.

7. Finally, here are some pics of a cozy reader's group, who read my novel last month. Note the beautiful orange juice cake, in honor of the book. The sweet host, Dixie, served three different dishes that reflect the three main characters' cultural backgrounds. That seriously rocks, people. I felt special, indeed.

2011-08-01T09:15:00.001-05:00

I have a "beta reader" for my YA manuscript in progress. It forces me to write a chapter a day so I can email it to her and keep my writing mojo strong. I just finished Chapter 15.

I woke up this morning to find this email from my beta reader:

"Oh my goodness! This book is great!! A page-turner, read in one day kinda great!!!! Can't wait to read what happens next :)!!"

This is not a fifteen-year-old girl. This is a woman with three children. That fact alone makes this email perfect. But let's not neglect the other reason why it made its way into my blog: I love the gratuitous exclamation points (probably because I've been trained not to use them in writing fiction), the fine use of the aptly placed fragment, and the cheerful if not redundant smiley face, just in case she thought she might have understated her enthusiasm.
I. Love. This. Email.

Thank you, Beta Reader. I'm sending you Chapter 15 today.

Song has been Kindlefied

2011-07-29T22:52:00.000-05:00

Up for some summer reading on your iPhone, your laptop, your Kindle?
It's finally up and available. Hip Hip! Go on, download it and share it with a friend!

I know a few of you are waiting for the iPad version, which should be available in a few more days. Or the Nook version. Or the Sony Reader version. They're a'coming!

That's the publishing news of the day. I do have some different publishing news, which basically fills people in on my strange and tense journey through publishing this book (as a hard back) with a very small publishing house. You'll notice that Amazon only has one more copy available for sale? But that's for another blog entry. It will be a difficult one to write, but I think will be very instructive to authors who are looking for a traditional publisher.

As for writing: I'm deeper than ever into my YA novel, and now I'm at that delicate stage called "I've Just Read a Fantastic Book and How Can I Ever Compete with That Piece of Brilliance?" Also called, "Don't Read The Hunger Games and Think You Can Keep Your Writer's Ego Intact." Wonderful read, my friends. And it will scare the heck out of you if you're in the middle of your manuscript and thinking about how well your plot pacing holds up.

Still, I'm have a helluva fun time writing this manuscript, and I sense the end drawing near.

It had better! I only have one week left until I have to take off my author cap and put on my scholar cap. The fall semester is soon upon us.

This. Is. Hot.

2011-07-14T16:22:00.001-05:00

Bread, as weird metaphor of me.

Dallas, Texas. I walk outside and I feel like a bun in the oven. Not pregnant, no.

Really like a bun. Baking. In. An. Oven. Ugh, it's so hot. Our pool is like a giant cup of tepid tea. The only way to enjoy it is to sit on the steps with the water hose turned on, perched right over my head.

Have I whined enough? Because now I'm going to gloat: I'm ditching this hot popstand and heading to Michigan tomorrow. Whoop!

This morning, I realized I hadn't written any posts for a while, and felt I really needed to post before I hit the road, Jack, and don't come back until I'm good and ready. But I have been a good girl. I have been writing.

Actually, when it occurs to me that I haven't posted in my blog for a while, that's a good sign that I'm being productive in the fiction world. I'm in the middle of my next novel manuscript, a Young Adult novel, and I'm SO EXCITED. I get all jittery inside when I'm sitting in front of the computer. It does take a while to crank out the pages (they don't write themselves, you know), but a lot of the scenes are flowing pretty easily, and my Beta Reader keeps me up to speed: I send her a chapter every evening, and she is also SO EXCITED. (Can you hear my voice getting all thrill-y and eager?)

Thanks to the wonderful folks at Back of the Book Reviews, who held a Read-a-Thon over the Independence weekend and a contest tied to my manuscript, I now have several characters named after real people. The names are perfect. Perfecto. Couldn't have imagined better names!

Is it bad luck to get so excited about a manuscript? I don't care! I feel like I'm nesting on this fantastic mysterious egg, and I can't wait to see it crack open.

I hope you all find a way to escape the heat that has descended on the U.S. I'd invite you to our little cabin by the lake if I could. Cheers!

Celebrate Books!

2011-06-27T20:23:00.001-05:00

Dearest Bibliophiles:

Take a skip over to Back of the Book Reviews and join the Independence Read-a-Thon. Fun fun fun!

Then look here, to find out what more fun awaits! Yes, I am on the hunt for some good character names for this summer's project, YA novel manuscript called INVISIBLE. You know you want in on the fun. Or maybe you want your daughter's or friend's or frienemy's name to bless the pages of this exciting novel? Read the instructions are Back of the Book Reviews, and have fun reading.

Not long ago, I was invited to a book club dinner that blew my socks off. Actually, I wasn't wearing socks, but no matter: This. Dinner. Was. Phenomenal. The food was divine, and carefully selected and prepared to represent each character's cultural background in Song of the Orange Moons. But the ladies were the true gems. I was humbled to be in the presence of these women who truly enjoy books. To Dixie Baum, I salute you, and thank you. I'm still waiting for those pictures!

Tomorrow, I have the good fortune of meeting with an old high school friend who selected Song of the Orange Moons for her book club. I'm looking forward to a good evening at the bistro with more book lovers.

Immersing Myself in YA Fiction

2011-06-16T09:39:00.071-05:00

Another quick post before I dive back into my newest project.

I'm sitting here with my Green Tea with Mint, wondering how long I'll be able to enjoy such pleasures with the heat wave going on here in Dallas. Ugh.

I did escape to Austin for a weekend of fun. I was going there to attend the Agent Conference hosted by the Writers' League of Texas, but plans changed. I ended up helping a friend move the first few loads of boxes into his new, high-tech, greener-than-your house, after which we indulged in a few good glasses of wine.

I also stopped by Book People in Austin and watched fondly as pre-teen and teenaged girls fawned over the 5 authors of the Young Adult Fiction Dark Days tour. After over a year of corresponding through Facebook and blogging, I finally met Amy Plum, YA author. I snapped a few pics of her adoring fans:

Left to Right: Aprilynne Pike, Ellen Schreiber, and Amy Plum (Veronica Roth and Tara Hudson are signing books at another table)

Aren't these glowing fans cute?

Then Amy, my friend Samantha, and I met for drinks at the Omni, and wouldn't you know, I'm suddenly surrounded by all these famous writers--all the authors on the tour showed up. New York Times Bestsellers. Very nice people, too. Need I even mention that they exuded coolness? Thanks, ladies, for a great evening.

I'm now waiting on comments for the last two chapters of my current novel manuscript, but I'm not sitting around stewing. I've jumped into the genre of Young Adult Fiction. Teens and pre-teens are probably the harshest critics of all. They take no prisoners. They whisper their book critiques at the book signing event, on the front row, no less, but go all weak-kneed and gushy when it's time to stand in line and get their books signed. This is a tough audience I'm going to try to please.

I remember reading Judy Blume's Forever, staying up all night reading Gone with the Wind and Summer of my German Soldier. I want to tap into that girl inside me and give her another story to love.

I'm really looking forward to two book club appearances this month. One is tonight in Dallas, and they're cooking up (literally) a surprise meal. Should be an exciting evening!

a review that made me a little teary-eyed

2011-06-01T14:30:00.000-05:00

I received an email today that said my book, Song of the Orange Moons, was reviewed in Rain Taxi Review. I actually teared up a bit, reading those words. I am still amazed when someone says something nice about my stories. I tend to fall foolishly in love with my characters. But I'm in awe that someone else would, too, actually.

Thanks, Rain Taxi.

The good and the bad (but no ugly)

2011-05-13T17:25:00.000-05:00

I feel remiss for not posting in so long. That's the bad (not too bad). I had semester research papers to grade (done) and revisions on my second novel manuscript (doing)--so all in all, not a terrible excuse for staying away half of April and May.

The good: I'm headed to Paris tomorrow to scope out a cafe and do some writing on my nifty new laptop.

I just finished Chapter 8 revisions, and I have to confess, I haven't felt this jazzed about writing in a long time. This manuscript (I'll call it A) was finished about a year and a half ago. I started on another manuscript (B) before really fixing some of the kinks in A. I finished B at the end of last November, and now I'm back to A, thick in the revision process.

It seems that I've always got another novel project hot on the brain when I'm writing. It can be distracting at times. I'm writing a summary of a Young Adult novel that gets me so excited I want to do a little "I got the muse" dance. I read Twilight last week (I nearly choked on all of Stephenie Meyer's adverbs, but I get it), reading Die For Me this week (by my friend Amy Plum!), and have two more YA novels packed for France. BUT, my priority for the next two weeks is revising manuscript A so I can start my agent search in earnest.

I have to pack my 7-year-old's things and mine, and a few items mon mari needs me to bring to him. I'm going to have that dream again in which I wake up late and miss the plane. Or that other dream in which my college-aged son burns the house down in my absence.

Nightmare, schmitemare. I'm going to Paris, and this time, I won't be wearing a coat!

Writing Partnerships

2011-04-15T15:32:00.000-05:00

Today I spoke on the phone for 2 hours with my new reader, a friend who now lives on the opposite border of the US, but remains close to my heart. I trust his opinions, and am thrilled that he has the time and inclination to read my manuscript and help me identify and shake loose the kinks in the plot and characterization.

Choosing a reader is not something to be taken lightly.

I took a long time considering whom to ask for this really important stage of revision. I wanted to find someone who was an avid reader, who had dabbled in writing (or had published already), who knew the mechanics of story writing--structure, arc, dialogue, so many other aspects. Someone who had the patience to read through my entire novel manuscript slowly and thoughtfully, and the stamina to respond to it each week. Someone who would make a suggestion on one page that would blow me away with its dead-on appropriateness, and who also would not get offended if I disagreed with the suggestion on the next page. Someone I trusted. (And yes, I think most writers need a reader in addition to their husbands/wives.)

It's funny that I hadn't thought of Fred as a potential reader until I'd already taken up his invitation to bring the family on up to his lakeside home for the family vacation this summer. So, when the idea that it was he, He, HE who was the reader I'd been looking for all along, I felt a bit slow in the brain.

But I'm so happy now. I have the first 60 pages revised in only two long sittings, and I can't wait to get back to the draft this afternoon.

This is really good news. Now. I must confess that I promised my younger son that, as soon as I finished remodeling the kitchen, I'd build him a "tree house" in the back garden. We have no tree to build it in, so it will be more like an elevated fort. I was going to start this weekend, but I'm going to postpone, delay, make excuses so I can spend more time surfing this writing wave.

More news:
The reading at the Dallas Museum of Art was so fantasmic, I can't even describe in words (which is bad for a writer, huh?) how thrilled I was to be part of the Texas Bound Series. It's an incredible feeling to be sitting in an auditorium filled with people who are laughing, hooting, wiping their eyes at your story. The actress who read my story, "The Epidural," was Lydia Mackay. Her reading was perfect. The reading, the dinner afterward, the good company of writers and actors--just amazing all around. Thank you, Katie Hutton, Lydia, DMA, everyone who made it happen.

Even more news:
If you live in Plano, in two weeks, open up that Plano Profile Magazine and flip to the Author Author interview in May. I'm still afraid that my picture will be scary--I just don't do well with posed studio photographs--and it won't really look like me at all. But the interview, which I got to pre-read yesterday, is so fun. Thanks, Brit!

Arts & Letters Live: Texas Bound

2011-04-09T09:35:00.000-05:00

On Monday evening, April 11, I'll be sitting in Horchow Auditorium listening to four great actors reading four great stories. (Am I allowed to call mine great?)

It will be strange but fun to hear someone else interpret the story. I'd forgotten that the art students at Booker T. Washington (Arts Magnet) have created original works of art, all of which will be displayed at the Dallas Museum of Art reading event, based on the four stories being read. My story is called "The Epidural." I can't wait to see what they did with that!

Here's the link. I'll try to post pics of the event soon.

The Final Reveal (and now I can get back to writing)

2011-04-03T17:00:00.002-05:00

I finally have the Before & After pictures of the kitchen. What an adventure. Maybe I'm jumping the gun here, because although the pics don't reveal it, I do have a few paint touch-ups here and a little glue there. I'll have to squeeze in some time next week to take care of that.

My friend Ashley told me at one point earlier in my remodeling frenzy that I should do something with the blog--publicize it somehow to DIY bloggers. I probably blushed and waved away her flattery. Besides, when you're the one doing the remodeling, you're just too tuckered out to do anything else in the evening except take a shower and pour a huge glass of wine.

So, here is the final installment of my DIY kitchen remodel. Now I can turn my attention back to remodeling those manuscripts waiting patiently for me. Please feel free to leave comments here in the blog (which looks like a ghost town these days) instead of the usual Facebook.

A final note for the curious: the new countertops are Silestone. The floor is porcelain that looks like slate, and the backsplash and base tiles are real slate, all combined for a hint of European flair.

A final, final note: a talented, professional, and authentically nice handyman named Rob Knight (of Knight Residential Services) hung my range hood and fixed one of my electrical outlets for me. He was amazing, friends. And his rates were so ridiculously reasonable, I had to tip him $45 bucks so I didn't feel guilty about my bill. I highly recommend him if you need anything repaired or remodeled--just contact me and I'll give you his number.

BEFORE: view from dining room

AFTER: view from dining room

BEFORE: Our sad, sad, cooking area

AFTER: our much happier cooking and prep area

BEFORE: the horror

BEFORE: the oven and dishwasher with doors that hated each other

AFTER: Appliances separated, citing irreconcilable differences. They are on amicable terms now

BEFORE: Storage on the countertops

AFTER: le chef can never have too many knives at his fingertips

AFTER: My "Martha Stewart" attempt at stylish organization

AFTER: our drop-in sink made of granite composite

AFTER: possibly one of my favorite things about this remodel--the handy place for foil and plastic wrap. I'm in love.

BEFORE: table--cute, but too big for the space

AFTER: bar table and open storage


table

An interesting post on why we should buy directly from small presses

2011-04-01T07:12:00.000-05:00

For one, Barrett's small press "nets more revenue from 100 direct sales than 1,000 copies sold through conventional distribution. That’s right: A factor of 10." Wow. This is what bookstore lovers mean when they sneer at Amazon and B&N. (Sigh.) I sympathize with the presses, the independent book stores, and with those who bargain shop for books. To read the rest of the article, click here.

on Inspiration, Distractions, and Hometown Interviews

2011-03-28T16:50:00.000-05:00

I need a picture for this post, so I'm going to pick my favorite picture from my cruise with Mother a little over a week ago. In the middle of a 600 ft waterfall in Jamaica, on our ascent:

My head is swimming, in a good way. I got an email this morning from the associate editor of the Plano Profile, Plano's glossy magazine (with a circulation of 50,000 a month). They'd like to feature me with some other "women in business" with my author hat on. I'm to meet for the photograph session on Wednesday, followed by a brief interview. I'm flattered and excited, but also hoping I don't wake up on a fat, bad hair day. I'm inspired to go jogging this cold, damp afternoon.

With me, writing and inspiration move in waves. I finished my second unpublished complete fiction manuscript around December 1st of last year. I knew it needed major revisions, but it needed some time to breathe and I needed some time to get perspective before I returned to it to hack it to bits. A few months ago, I sent out my other manuscript, which also needs major revisions, and now I have some feedback from an agent, who made some suggestions and offered to look at it again. So I've had two manuscripts in my computer just waiting for me to open them and get revising. I didn't know which one to begin with, so there they stayed, untouched for months.

But this week, I felt the first flutterings of urgency to rewrite, so now I just have to choose which manuscript to revise. Or....

I had a dream last night. A dream about a YA story for a novel. And another dream about a young boy who, "Magic Treehouse"-like, has adventures with great scientists of the past. No treehouse, though. Two more stories, almost bursting out of me. I had to jot down notes in my journal beside my bed. I spoke to my partner about these vague ideas yesterday, but the vividness of the dreams was, well, distracting.

I'm supposed to be revising one of those other two manuscripts, not starting two more in two completely different genres.

What to do. What to do...

Houston Rocks the Book Club

2011-03-10T18:37:00.000-06:00

On Saturday, I'm donning my author cap and headed to Houston with my mother.
We're on a two-stop, double-the-fun road trip.

First, we'll head to my dear old friend Jaclyn's sweet town, Pearland, to attend her Spring Break Book Club party. I must say, my excitement about indulging in her famous guacamole is approaching weirdness. What can I say? I love guac.

It's curious to attend a book club. Normally, a book club meeting is the appropriate time and place to 1) gush over the author's technique, the intriguing plot, and the original characters, AND 2) slam the writer for the author's cliched language, predictable plot, and tired characterization. I think there's a healthy dose of disagreement at these meetings. One person's brie de France is another person's cheeseball.
Will my presence make some of the readers feel they have to clam up about their reservations, force them to smile and nod and hold back the little ball of throw up in the back of their throat? I certainly hope so. I'm exaggerating a little here, but really, I hope my presence is a good thing for everyone.

(Sub-you-lim-will-inal-like-Mes-my-sage-book)

And thank you, thank you, for selecting my novel for your book club!

Second, Mother and I are headed to Galveston on Sunday to go on our first cruise. We both need this vacation. We're both excited and giggly about being on a big boat for an entire week. Bon voyage on your own break festivities!

Getting my kitchen-groove back

2011-03-02T16:15:00.000-06:00

After I published my last post on this blog, I thought I'd wait a few days and let you all build up the anticipation of "the big reveal." You know, placing the "before" and "after" pics of the kitchen so you could go ooh and ahh at the perfection of everything. But the days turned into weeks, and suddenly I'm looking at my blog saying Bloody Mary, it's been that long since I've written?!

There were illnesses. There were complications. There were papers to grade. All that is behind me now (well, I'll always have more papers to grade, but I've managed the flow). So here are some updated pics. I'll show the before and after pictures in all their glory in the next post. Cross your fingers it will be this month.

I'll start out with the backsplash tiles. These little slate beauties called out to me at The Home Depot: buy us! they sang out to me, we're so lovely! we look so European! So I did. But between the time I laid the floor tiles and the backsplash tiles, we had a few days that we Texans call Sent By The Grace Of God, otherwise known as Snow Days. And on one of these particularly icy days, the garage door decided to open back up and witness the entire frigid night itself. As if it didn't quite believe what all the fuss was about. I discovered too late 1) that everything in the garage was "nigh to freezing" and 2) what a good, hard freeze does to premixed grout: it stinks to high heaven and dries like a witch's broomstick.

So what if the grout stinks, I thought. So what if there's a milky white layer on top of the gray mud. What harm can it do? So I used that post-freeze grout between the tiles. The next day, all my pretty slate tiles morphed into some god-awful concrete-y sight:

After some advice from my long-suffering partner (he suggested vinegar, I scoffed at him, then had to apologize when I discovered vinegar worked like a charm), the cleaned tiles looked like this:

And here's the rest of the kitchen so far:

one wall cabinet up....

two islands are better than one

mood lights beneath the cabinets. must paint the cord covers. both cabinets up!

the maiden voyage post electrical hookup

our view from our breakfast table

A VentaHood is still in the delivery process, and we have a few more things to do to yet, but you can see where we're headed.

I'm looking forward to a Girl's Night Out in my new kitchen. Lovely ladies, I'll be contacting you soon.

A few random things, i.e., pressure

2011-01-26T10:44:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow night is the last publicly scheduled reading of Song of the Orange Moons. It takes place in the Jonsson auditorium at the University of Texas at Dallas at 7:30PM, and I'm very excited about seeing old and new friends there. But I'm also nervous because I haven't decided on the excerpts to read. I want to read different excerpts than the ones I read at the Barnes & Noble at Mockingbird in November, but I don't want to give any key plot points away either. And it has to have some humor in it. AND I should begin with some little talk about writing before I plow right into the reading part. Pressure!

There is also a new interview published by Brittany Roshelle in her blog, The Write Stuff. It was a fun one. Brittany is giving away a free copy of Song of the Orange Moons if you leave a comment after the interview. Go check it out--if you already own a copy, you can gift it to a friend. How's that for a nice freebie? Thanks, Brittany!

For those of you interested in my brave new world, the kitchen remodel: I'm at a pause, waiting for the counter tops to be delivered. No, I will not attempt to install the Silestone counters myself. I'm not that daring. I did, however, finish creating the kitchen island out of two narrow and weirdly sized cabinets, some leftover Shaker crown molding (referred to "Shakey Crap Molding" in a previous post), a few strips of wood, funky iron angle brackets, and my handy drill and hardware. You'll see that soon, dears. In the meantime, I'm cleaning my living room, in which the contents of the kitchen have avalanched. For a while there, the room looked like a tool shed/campground cook site/cemetery for disembodied appliances with a television and sofa awkwardly in the midst of it all. I spent a therapeutic hour cleaning it out last night, and now my soul feels a little cleaner, too.

But...now, I have papers to grade that I can no longer put off. I love those student papers, I really do. So looking forward to sitting down with them and a cup of tea.

See you tomorrow night, I hope! I'll do my best to entertain.

Book Signing at Barnes & Noble

2011-01-23T14:34:00.000-06:00

Thanks to friends near and far for coming by! Please send more pics my way if you have them.

Four Hats and a Funeral

2011-01-21T19:47:00.000-06:00

Not all weeks can be lovely, even if they are productive.

DIY Girl Hat: This week was tough. On Tuesday evening, I went to bed with a headache that was creeping its way to a migraine. I'd run out of prescrips, and decided to wait it out until the doctor could refill the prescription. On Wednesday morning, the migraine bloomed in all its striking, breathless glory, and I made a mad dash to the emergency room before I was completely blind. After 3 hours in the emergency room and completely needless CT scan, I lied to the doctor, who'd given me a horrible cocktail of Benedryl and something that started with a "T," that yes, I feel much better--now can I go home? My dear friend drove me home and I "slept" for another 28 hours to shake it off. It finally went away, but only yesterday, after I got my prescription refilled and took twice the dosage that should have killed the migraine.

Professor Hat: Apologies to my brand new students, some of whom missed me on the second day of class because of the dastardly migraine. I always love the new semester, with all its possibilities and fresh faces. I hope to be on my game next week.

Mom Hat: And today, my seven-year-old's hamster-- named first "Joey" and then "Ra," because my son thought it needed a more regal-sounding name ("Ra, after the Egyptian sun god, Maman," he'd said)--that dear little hamster curled up and died in his half-chewed paper towel roll. I really liked that guy. I had to break the news to Julien tonight. It's never a good day when you have to tell your son that his pet died. So, I'm not feeling too chipper.

I won't even go into the minor-by-comparison-but-infuriating incident today with a screw, a drill bit, and the elegant Shaker crown molding, which will now be referred to as Shakey crap molding. So, because I should update the blog, at the bottom of this post are more pics. I'll take clearer ones with a pretty camera when the kitchen is all cleaned up and decorated. No more pics until the big reveal, with the "before" and "after" pics.

Author Hat: One thing that's keeping my spirits up is the book signing at Barnes & Noble tomorrow at 1 PM. I'm looking forward to seeing new and old friends.

This coming Thursday is the reading at UTD. If you're up for hearing me read some selections and a little Q&A, please come! There are LOTS of seats to fill.

The pics:

new stainless steel double oven: 30 glorious inches

The narrow island on wheels (foreground), and the permanent island that I'm building behind it. I'm loving the new open shelves on the wall.

Found this lovely, chunky bookshelf at Ikea. Turned it on its side, and now it will hold all our pretty white dishes.


Someone at a wonderful appliance resale shop here in Plano found us a 36" vent. We're waiting to see how it will look here above the range.

That's it. Now, I'm off to open a bottle of Malbec and drink a toast to that cuddly little guy who, though humble and rodent-y, added a bit of sunshine to our house and would have made the real Egyptian sun god proud.

Writer's Lesson: on not seeing the forest for the tree

2011-01-13T10:23:00.000-06:00

Two days ago, I had a mini-meltdown. I said to myself, "I give up!" and then fumed a few more hours. Here's why: I spent 5 hours, without pause for a break, trying to make my lazy susan and oven cabinet level and plumb. My floor is almost level, and my walls are almost at a 90 degree angle, but almost doesn't cut it for the precision of cabinetry. At least not for this missy.

I shimmed here and placed the level for depth, and shimmed there, and leveled. Here's a shim, for those of who need a visual:

Then I trimmed the shims with the saw, applied glue, re-inserted the shims, and suddenly the whole shebang wasn't level again. And I haven't even mentioned "plumb." Once I finally got the lazy susan level with the oven cabinet, I screwed them together and fastened the adjacent cabinet to the lazy susan, and I thought I was getting somewhere. Mind you, the additional fastening of cabinet #3 was post-5-hour-epic shimming fiasco.

I started to lose it when I noticed that the cabinets were getting farther and farther from the wall as I fastened them together, a consequence of that right angle in the lazy susan that wasn't quite plumb.

My college-student son wandered in from wherever college students hang out on break, patted me on the back, and said "Hey Mom, I think you just need to take a break."

"Take a break? I can't take a break! I'm on a schedule here, and I have to be done with this before the semester begins! That's what you would do--just take a break when things get hard. But I can't do that!"

Ahem. Not one of my finer moments of parenthood.

But, sweet son that he is, he just smiled, patted me on the back again, kissed my cheek, and moseyed quietly to his room to finished packing for college.

I'll tell you, I was pretty maniacal come dinnertime. I about wanted to chop Miss Lazy Susan and feed her to the fireplace. But then my sweet compagnon came home and poured me a glass of wine, and I stood back and surveyed the damage. With a glass of wine and a different perspective, I finally appreciated the scary trend that all four corners of practically all the cabinets had two shims. Not a steady foundation for a granite counter top. This joint was the one of contention:

I slept on it, and kept waking up with nightmares about the shims sliding out or the granite installers looking at me like I'm insane to want to place the counter top on such a rigged foundation. But when I woke up, I had the little epiphany that I was so focused on making the lazy susan exactly level with the oven cabinet in my very first step, that everything else suffered from it. After a cup of hot morning tea, I got to work unscrewing and unshimming everything. Five plus hours of work undone in less than ten minutes. I let the lazy susan fall naturally a half inch lower than the bottom of the oven cabinet, and miraculously, every other cabinet fell into place, level and plumb. I had all the cabinets fastened in about an hour. Here are the results:

Yesterday I worked on the floors, and today, I hope, to finish them.

I immediately saw a lesson in that whole cabinet leveling trauma. I've done this sort of thing in my writing. In the editing process, I get so wrapped up in the trappings of revising one character that I miss all the other obvious ways to make the scene work better. I miss the big picture sometimes when I'm so focused on one "thing" that needs to be changed. I think all of us do this.

Speaking of tunnel-vision, I'm signing out now, so I can play a little Wii with my 7-year-old, who reminded me of my promise to play games with him. Everything in balance today, as it should be.

Laundry and Half-Bath (Almost) Done

2011-01-08T20:16:00.000-06:00

I'm happy to report that the tiles are all mortared and grouted, and the baseboards and shoe molding are mitered and (mostly) in place. The man in Flooring at The Home Depot knows me by face now, if not by name. Still, I give a little harrumph when I have to go back to the store because I don't have the right tool or don't have enough materials (shoe molding, for instance.)

The gory details really are disgusting today! After a nice evening with friends (and too many delicious margaritas) I awoke at 6:30 AM (it's Saturday, folks) and drove to HD yet again for more materials. I painted the kitchen ceiling; measured, mitered, nailed and glued the baseboards and shoe molding; painted the baseboards, moved the washer and dryer back into the laundry room and hooked them back up; unpacked the cabinets that were delivered today (hooray!); and then faced the most vile job of all: the toilet.

Have any of you readers ever moved a toilet before? It's disgusting all the way around. I won't gross you out with the little surprises you find on the underside of the bowl. Or maybe I will. I don't have a maid, and I rarely get to have the 360 degree perspective of a toilet. But I'm solo in a house of boys. I was horrified at residue left there. It looks like Jackson Pollock peed in that bowl for 7 years. (Shudder.) Nuff said about that. Suffice it to say that my younger son has a new weekly chore that he's not too happy about.

Cleaning the toilet is easy. But underneath is a wax ring that you have to replace, and that's the most disgusting thing I've done yet in this remodel. Or maybe in the last ten years. When I asked Trevor (older son) to help me move the toilet back on the bolts, gosh darn it, it suddenly felt 50 pounds heavier, and getting it to land square on the bolts was like--oh, I'm boring you. I'm still glad I did it instead of paying someone else to. But gross.

Your patience has paid off. Here are the newest pics from the last couple of days:

Grouting the tiles and making a mess

Trevor "assists" by taking pictures. Cheese!

Laundry room grouted and messy looking, but I like it like this. Looks European...

Finally, the Laundry room is tiled, and the straight lines will go straight through the kitchen. Ignore the ugly door to the garage. It's really scratched and ugly when you get a closer look at it. (Sigh. Another thing to replace.)

The tiled bathroom. I suppose I'll need to put the door frame back on tomorrow. First I'll have to cut off a centimeter or two to clear the tile floor.

My fancy threshold. Smaller cut slate tiles between the porcelain tiles.


And voila! Here are the new folks in town. They are mingling, getting familiar with each other before I do minor surgery in the backsides for plumbing and such.

The floor is a touch slanted, so I'll have some shimming here and there to make everything plumb. I'm hoping to get these guys all cut, shimmed, and attached to the wall joists on Sunday. I just haven't decided yet what tool to use to cut holes in the rear for the plumbing and electricity. My hand saw is to big and raggedy. And I just don't have the heart or wallet to buy yet another tool. This will take some thought. I'll sleep on it. I sleep very well these days.

I have a week and a half to get the cabinets secured, and the countertops, the sink, and the stove in place. Then I have to consider decorating the walls with open shelving. Think I can do it?

Feeling like a children's book plot

2011-01-04T21:14:00.001-06:00

You know those children's books that are built on a causal relationship: if you give a mouse a cookie...?
Well, that's sort of the way home remodeling works. If you want to spiff up the kitchen, you have to spiff up the adjacent laundry and half-bath. If you want to re-tile the kitchen, you have to retile the laundry/half-bath to get rid of that awful white and gray linoleum. If you re-tile the half-bath, you have to remove the toilet and the somewhat rotty molding around the door frame... and the door frame itself. And all the other appliances related to cleaning.

It was a long day of unplugging appliances and praying I don't flood the house.

I did fine. My friend's son has come over for the past couple of days to help me get friendly with the wet saw. I've finally made friends, and whipped out 14 beautifully cut tiles a few hours ago.

Here's the vanity that was previously topped with a white formica countertop. I put in small, brown glass tiles and white porcelain border, et voila:

And crap. The sink doesn't fit anymore. My compagnon says in his French accent, "She looks like she was meant to be that way, custom made." Okay. It did make me feel a little better. But I will have to replace that old cheap faucet with my next paycheck, because I haven't a dime to spare these days.

The tiles are cut and numbered so I can remove them and mortar tomorrow without losing track of their placement.

The laundry room. Not too exciting, but don't those tiles look expertly cut? That's my Wet-saw Magic Fingers.

The next photo was taken with my special night-vision camera. I took it at night and in secret, to avoid disturbing the natural habitat of appliances. I title this one, The Mating Ritual of Washers and Dryers. You'll notice the toilet also flirting with the dishwasher, a cross-species relationship that we have only recently discovered. This is the first time humans have captured this activity on camera.

And lastly, back to the kitchen, I realized none too soon that I needed to cut yet another portion off the soffit to accommodate the incoming oven cabinet. Better late than never. The crown molding will go up last.

I'm tired. But not too tired to write today.

I promised something on the writing process along with the remodel process. I did write a query letter to an agent today, and she requested the full manuscript. I have a knack with query letters. It makes me wonder why people pay loads of money to attend workshops to learn how to write one. Crossing my fingers that this will be another productive year in publishing!

Next post: I'm flabbergasted by the warm, detailed feedback on my novel, Song of the Orange Moons.

A new ending and a new beginning

2010-12-27T12:03:00.000-06:00

Of course, there's the end of the year, fast approaching, and the upcoming new year, full of promise and hope. The end of the old kitchen as it morphs into the new one. And the end of my manuscript, which had two endings until last night. I finally figured out how to morph the two endings into one suitable, and I hope compelling, closure.

I'm still typing up the hard copy version. (Yes, I wrote the last 30 pages longhand, and that nostalgic and weird exercise jogged my creative pathways in just the right way.) I've decided that I work best on the novel manuscript revisions at the end of the day, when I'm dog tired and my hands are useless for anything but resting on the keyboard of my laptop. I suppose my sudden onset of muscular mutiny has two causes: painting/texturizing the kitchen, and playing Wii, the Christmas gift for the whole family. Every time I lift my arms today, I cringe a little.

I now have the greatest respect for home remodel skilled laborers.

And now for pics:


We started somewhere around here...this was taken right after I peeled off the classy adhesive stained glass plastic.

Post painting the first coat in Behr's "Patina." I thought it would be more sage-y, but it's growing on me.

Notice the ceiling: we ran out of material, so we'll have to finish it later tonight. The ceiling will have the same texture as the walls.

notice the floors are stripped to the cement....

the newly constructed soffit (and removed old one)


The east wall. Imagine a grand steel vent hood hanging from that duct.

I'm still trying to figure out how to install a ducted vent range hood. More research is needed.

Happy holidays! Please, please send me some open shelving pics you find on the internet. Cool storage and organization ideas are welcome. (I'm think a blend of French countryside meets gourmet cook meets World Market and Pier One. Without the Pier One price tag.) Link them here or through my Facebook. Thanks!

New Pics

2010-12-24T00:03:00.000-06:00

So tired, I can't even write something interesting. So here are the new pics:


Knocked down the soffit, finally, and discovered there was no ceiling above it. Ugh. So back to Lowes to buy sheetrock for a new ceiling.

Getting that sucker down was hard work. Lots of hammering and a sudden deluge of 30-year-old fiberglass insulation on top of my head and down the front of my shirt. After a quick shower and a trip to Lowe's, did this:

It's drying overnight. Will need a second coat. Have decided to texturize the entire ceiling rather than deal with ceiling panels and stud-finding. Talking like Tarzan is a sign of exhaustion.

Tomorrow, I paint the walls before my love comes home from Paris.

I'm wiped out tonight. Sleep well, and may sugar plums dance in your heads tonight.

Remodel: fin de Week One

2010-12-20T21:05:00.001-06:00

That's French for "I made a mess and cleaned it up by the end of week one." Sort of.
I've been promising photos and updates on my kitchen odyssey, so here we are.

I'm going to spice this post up with a list of "things I've discovered" from this project (and perhaps life in general.)

To the right here, you can see that we took off the cabinets. See the brown dripping things in the photo? Discovery #1: The backs of the cabinets were actually painted sheet rock. I had no idea. I hope the new ones I ordered don't have this fancy tromp d'oeil. I want real cabinet backs.

I decided to pull the appliances to the center of the kitchen so they can have cozy conversations while staying out of my way. It's not every day that appliances can have tête à têtes. I hope they enjoy this special occasion.

<-- The left cabinets came down yesterday evening. We had an interesting time with that oven vent, which was non-functioning. Discovery #2: we had a ventless hood. It was rather disgusting, full of grease, and probably a fire hazard. I'm glad the previous owners kept the vent and just stuffed it with insulation because it will make installing the new hood immensely easier. When we buy the new hood, that is...

Call me weird, but I kept sweeping the floor, even though it will be ripped up imminently. I even mopped it this morning. The dust was killing me.

The next two pics are what I accomplished today, exactly one week after the remodel began. I got rid of the refrigerator cabinet and the oven cabinet (the last one!). I texturized the walls and began to imagine the color splashed on it: Patina.

The jury is still out on the soffits. My remodel calendar says that I was supposed to texturize on Wednesday and take down the soffits today. But I'll see tomorrow if I have the energy and will power to tackle that chore. I need cheerleaders.

Discovery #3: Like old people, old letters seek warm climates to spend their years in retirement. When Trevor and I pulled out the stove cabinet, we found two letters. One, dated September 3, 1989, was a packet of three offering envelopes for weekly tithing. They were all empty, and I'm kind of glad they were, or I'd have a real ethical quandary on my hands. It would be too tempting to keep money at this stage of remodeling--even somebody's wayward tithes.

Discovery #4: Stamps cost a quarter in 1990. I'd forgotten that they were ever this low, and I was probably griping about how high stamps were that Christmas. Do you like the little USPS stamp that kindly asks the postal worker to "please mail early for Christmas"? Makes me smile.

Discovery #5: I'm not superwoman. Or, I'm only superwoman until 6 PM. After that, I'm tired and start fantasizing about hiring workers to pull up the vinyl flooring. We'll see how those fantasies play out tomorrow... I also need to make friends fast with someone who knows how to wire recessed lighting in the soffit against the windowed wall.

That's it for tonight.
I'll sleep well tonight. I hope you do, too.

On losing track of days

2010-12-18T20:02:00.001-06:00

I've been terrible at keeping up with my writing. But look at what I've accomplished so far in the kitchen.

I put on my handy apron and red crocs...

...and started with the door frame from the kitchen to the laundry room. I'd hung the door a few months ago, with all the other interior doors with the help of my older son, and this one wasn't level on the floor. The latch didn't catch. So on Thursday, I took off the molding, straightened the frame (thanks, Sam, for helping me nail that sucker straight), and then bought some pretty new molding with plinth blocks. I still have to fill in the small gaps and paint, but I'm waiting until all the baseboards and molding are up.

Today was day one of the Big Cabinet Removal Project. My older brother was going to come help, but he forgot that he had to work until 5AM, and he had skin surgery on his shoulder a few days ago, so he couldn't come. Wimp! (All right, I forgive him. They are good excuses...)

So my son Trevor, who just came home from college, was so nice to agree to help me. Wow, has college changed him. He's suddenly very talented at this home improvement stuff. Usually I'm doing everything and begging him to hold this or do that, but today he and I worked like old pros together. It was actually fun. We turned off the water and electricity, dismantled the plumbing and moved the sink to the floor, comme ca:

By the way, if you've never done this, let me just tell you it stinks to high heaven when that plumbing pvc is removed. Uck. We had to open the windows. Anyone want a stainless steel sink? (Now that I'm looking at this picture, I'm wondering if I should be allowing the disposal to lean on its side. I hope I haven't ruined it. I need that little guy.)

Then we got to work with the cabinets. Removed the formica counter tops piece by piece (some were really small pieces, since we had to chop it up in places), which stirred up much dust (yes, that's dust in the sunbeam):

You see all those wall cabinets and the rest of the base cabinets? They're all gone! Tomorrow, we remove the oven cabinet and the stove cabinet, and the last wall cabinets on the wall facing this photo.

I have to say that this is an incredible adventure. Except for the wee accident during the door re-hang (I hit my skull with the hammer while trying to extract a high nail; frozen edamame helped immensely, and the gross scab I discovered 2 days later is healing nicely), there have been no unpleasant surprises. I'm discovering the original 1970 formica beneath the paneling, and the original hideous vinyl that puts our existing ugly vinyl to shame. I'm still a little afraid to knock down the soffit (that wall above the cabinets), but we'll see how that goes on Monday...

I'll post more pics after all the cabinets are down. I've posted the double oven on Craigslist for $300, but no inquiries yet. Is that too much to ask for an oven that works fine?

A Song for the Holidays?

2010-12-14T11:58:00.000-06:00

I've been getting some very nice emails from readers after the SMU Holiday Book recommendation here. And I'm looking forward to January 22nd's book signing at Barnes & Noble on 15th Street near 75 and to the reading at UTD on the 27th. If you're stumped on a gift for someone, consider this little book, no?

I'll be happy to mail a signed bookmark to your favorite someone as an extra hoo-hah (ho ho ho?). Just let me know!

In the meantime, here's what I've demo'd in the kitchen: cheap wood paneling, baseboards, and chair rail, gone.

The door molding also now gone. I couldn't stand that little uneven space above the door. I'll level the door and re-affix the molding to the frame.

I have an estimate coming for replacement windows today. We'll see if it fits my shoestring budget.

Lastly, I suppose I should put something in this blog about my revisions to my novel manuscript #2: I was a bad (and tired) girl yesterday. I didn't even open the file. But I will tonight, since this blog is now my public motivation.

Onward creative odyssey!

My New Project

2010-12-13T09:14:00.000-06:00

This month, I'm focused on two things: remodeling my sad little kitchen on a shoestring budget, and re-reading/revising my novel manuscript that was completed last month. It might be a little too soon to be revising the manuscript, so hot on the heels of first-draft completion, but home improvement chores have a way of clearing my head and allowing creativity to germinate.

So, here's a link to some book reviews on Goodreads:
http://m.www.goodreads.com/book/show/7255179-song-of-the-orange-moons

(Please feel free to add your review on Goodreads, too.)

And here are some pics of my sad little kitchen (decked out for a chef, but falling apart at the seams):


Yes, there are no cabinet doors, and yes, that's roux (and other souls of sauces) splashed on the wall

The double oven will be on Craigslist soon. Replacing with stainless steel. Anyone want a cheap oven? And yes, that's a piece of wood propping up the sinking counter top above the dishwasher.

Picture taken yesterday. You won't believe how much cooking stuff we've packed into the shelves.

Cute little distressed white table/chairs from World Market that I'll also have to sell to make room for an island table. Any takers?

How about that classy light bulb? And the adhesive stained glass? High class stuff there.

View from the dining room. I already replaced all the interior doors in the house, which is why there's some artsy white wall joint leftovers to the right of the door. I'm thinking a light sage-y green for the kitchen. The new floor will be beautiful.

Now that the pics are up, it's time to get back to the kitchen. Today, I finish packing the pots and pans, and then I pull off all the chair molding and the cheap boarding below it. I hope I don't discover anything too scary.

Emerging from the Coma

2010-12-08T14:39:00.000-06:00

Yes, that's what it feels like. A food coma. I finished the last half of my third novel in November during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), and I haven't been able to write anything for a week. Not even a blog post. On December 1, I felt like I had ingested a twenty-pound turkey, and I've been at the mercy of a tryptophan overdose ever since. Until today.

The first draft of a novel always needs recovery time, much like we all do after gorging ourselves on Thanksgiving dinner. (And besides, I had college papers to grade all week; I still take pride in reading my students' essays carefully.) I haven't even looked once at that finished novel draft, and certainly didn't want to until just a few minutes ago. I'm beginning to get curious about what I actually wrote during my occasionally delusional writing mania. Moments of brilliance? Pages of utter failure? Tomorrow I will find out. Tomorrow, I will open that file and read. But first, I'll have a glass of Malbec in hand.

It took a blog post from a great YA writer on the cusp of real fame, people--Amy Plum--to spur me on to blog writing again. I've already pre-ordered her book, Die For Me (and you should, too). She was one of only two personal "writing buddies" for NaNo, and kept me on my toes with the daily word count. Once you've been writing a while, you get to that place (an illusion, really) where you think I don't need writing buddies! I've taught fiction-writing classes! I'm not a grad student anymore!

But, whoa Nelly, I've made a delightful discovery that merely maintaining an online network--small or large--of "writerly relationships" can truly influence one's creative muse.

December for Amy will be a month of immersing herself into her YA field. December mornings for me will be revision time for the novel, and during the rest of the day...kitchen remodeling. That's right. I'm tearing up my kitchen and remodeling it myself. My companion is the love of my life, but he ain't no home-fixer. He is my everything-else. I will post pictures of disasters and successes. I understand the chaos my life (and my family's lives) will be under during these next two months, but I can't help but feel the excitement of having cabinet doors that stay on the hinges and counter tops that are actually still attached to the walls! I feel like superwoman in an orange apron. Wish me luck!

Oh, and the jury is still out on Spellweger. (See the previous posts, if you need the whole story again.) We may know something in January.

Obsessive Compulsive "Refresh" Disorder

2010-11-16T21:50:00.000-06:00

Today, I got a little taste of what OCD feels like.

I knew that on November 16th, news was supposed to be announced on the DMA's Arts & Letters Live site. In particular, the 2011 Texas Bound calendar of events, a series that brings Texas-connected authors and actors together for an evening of audible storytelling. So as soon as I hopped out of bed this morning, I haunted the Arts & Letters Live website, which said this morning, bright and early, to come visit again on November 16th to see the line-up for the next season. It WAS November 16th, people! How long was I to wait? Refresh. 6:18 AM, 6:19, 6:22… Refresh. Refresh. Nothing. I was giddy, you see. Giddy because I got an email last week from someone with Texas Bound who announced that my little old story had been selected for next April's reading, and would be read by a wonderful actress.

Don't get your hopes up, she wrote, and it's a very big long shot, but we've asked [insert actress whose name rhymes with Zenée Spellweger; I’m trying not to jinx myself, here], who's expressed interest in reading for us. Zenée Spellweger? I love Zenée Spellweger! I did a little dance in my office and tried not to tell too many of my friends that these people were actually asking Zenée Spellweger to read my story.

Whether this amazing actress-who-shall-not-be-rightfully-named has time in her filming schedule or not—whether she accepts the offer to read or gracefully declines this year—I’m delighted to be part of the series this year. I’ll be delighted with whomever the organizers eventually select to read the story. Refresh. Refresh, I kept clicking at 5:08, 5:10, 5:12, etc., with my second glass of Malbec.

I’ve been writing half-heartedly on my current manuscript this evening. It was like pulling teeth. Refresh. Refresh. Somehow I kept finding myself on that darn website, my manuscript buried beneath the Firefox browser. It was exhausting, this OCD.

Tonight, right before I decided to crawl into bed, feeling a wee feverish and achy, I decided to Refresh the Arts & Letters Live website once more, and LOOK: the line-up is finally up! And there’s still a mystery spot (TBA) on the actress who will read my story. The jury is still out. And I am tuckered out. So please, everyone… before you tuck in, will you say a little prayer for Zenée Spellweger?

Book Review!

2010-11-14T18:55:00.000-06:00

Check out Rundpinne's latest book review.
No, I don't know her! And yes, it's a good one! Thank you, Jennifer Rundpinne, for rating Song with four cups of coffee:

and for recommending my book as a nice book club book! (Three exclamation marks means pure joy.)

Now, off to write the next 2000 words. This month has been the word-count-from-hell medicine I needed to get the last part of this manuscript done. Rewrites will be heavenly.

Dictum

2010-11-12T09:13:00.000-06:00

I've got to get this novel put to bed, under the covers, in the hole, finished. I've got to stop browsing my friends' pics on Facebook, refrain from checking Statcounter, my Yahoo mail/gmail/Office mail, and I suppose, blogging about the writing I should be doing. So I'm disappearing for a while. To write.

I'll pop in on the 16th to announce the good news about Arts & Letters Live, but I'll let them announce it first.

For now, goodbye. I'm sneaking off to my fiction-cove.

Dallas Book Launch Party, Part II (a.k.a "boy is my hair blonde!")

2010-11-07T14:13:00.000-06:00

Part II of the book launch was at Trinity Hall, a wonderful restaurant /pub across the street from B&N. Our cake was waiting there, along with some appetizers and free drinks galore.

Some photos of friends and family, in black and white to minimize the red-eye that plagued all my photos...

lovely girlfriends

...with Stephanie

... the two most beautiful Martas in Dallas (and beyond)


...with my son, the artist, Trevor

The most nerve-wracking part of the big day: having the books delivered by FedEx two hours before the reading.
The second most nerve-wracking: so afraid I'd spell people's names wrong as I signed that I even asked people I knew well how to spell their names (like Stephanie and Lauren. Is there any other way to spell those names?)

Once we moved over to Trinity Hall, though, my nerves melted, and I just enjoyed the good company. Thanks, everyone, for coming to the reading and/or to the party. I was so grateful to feel your supportive presence there. (There are still some books at B&N if you want to stop by to get one. Otherwise, your online orders should be delivered by about November 22nd.)

Now, it's off to pack and mail some other pre-orders from Chicago and get back to writing the current novel. I'm determined to get it done this month.

Oh, yes: the title. As soon as I saw these pics, I ran to my salon and cried, "Less blonde! Less blonde!" We're working on "caramel" to prevent blindness at future readings...

Dallas Book Launch Party, Part I

2010-11-07T09:58:00.002-06:00

I'm a little late on news about the Dallas Book Launch reading and signing party, but it's National Novel Writing Month. What do you expect? I'm cranking out pages, and behind on my quota because of the Chicago trip, so this first part will include photos, as proof that it actually happened.
Highlights of the night: seeing old friends (Derek! from high school, no less) and colleagues (so grateful for their attendance) and girlfriends and family all in one place showing the love.
At the Barnes & Noble:
(Thanks, DiDi, for managing this event)

There I am. I forgot to save the poster.

reading

The babies

SMU folks--you rock my book

the most comfortable seat in the house

No one wanted to sit in the front row. A crowd of people were standing behind the last row.


Where do I sign? I had to ask another author (CW Smith) where to sign the book.

the beautiful cake from Society Bakery was unsurpassed...


but their editing skills...not so much. (should be "Moons")


More pics soon!...

I heart Chicago

2010-11-04T22:41:00.000-05:00

I got back from Chicago last night, and didn't have time to post pics before the book launch party tonight. So, tonight I'll post some pics of my stay with my generous friend, Andrea, and the two events in Chicago.

First, Andrea hosted a Salon reading at her house. She had about 12 guests, and we had so much fun reading and drinking and eating that we forgot to take pictures. So here are the "afterward pics."

You'll have to imagine the cool people in this great sitting room (they were cool):

and drinking great wine. (I know, I should have remembered to takes the pics with people actually in them.)

The second day was the Hopleaf reading in town. So we stopped at the Hancock...

and I click this view from our seat (sorry it's blurry, but imagine the view):

...and this one. From the bathroom, of all places:

I've never had such a magnificent view from a privy. The whole wall was plate glass.

Later, here's me at the Hopleaf with some friends:


with Bill Shunn


Paul D'Jock (thanks for the Malbec!)

and an old high school friend transplanted to Chicago...

...and writer Maggie Kast--such a great supporter!

The audience at Hopleaf was attentive (even with beer on the table) and laughed at the funny parts (thank goodness). I heart Chicago!

Tomorrow is Chicago. T-4 for book launch!

2010-10-31T17:01:00.000-05:00

Here's an article called "Wrangling with Characters." The lovely editors of Glimmer Train Stories asked me to write a short article on the creative writing process, so I chose something immediate and, I hope, potentially helpful to people participating in NaNoWriMo this next month.

I have to say, I'm indebted to Susan and Linda at Glimmer Train. They have a gorgeous magazine, filled with beautiful stories, and it is, aesthetically, a beautiful magazine. In addition, they pay their writers. And if you don't understand the unusual and extraordinary nature of this fact, then...well, you're probably not a writer. It's rare, I'll just say. So, whether you're a reader or a writer, it's worth subscribing to this magazine. It's great bedside reading.

Tomorrow, I'm off to Chicago, and I haven't packed yet. I'm excited and nervous. A little sad that my hardbacks didn't arrive by UPS yesterday so I could take them with me, but I'm unruffled. How can a writer not be optimistic at this point in the game? I'm looking forward to seeing my fellow writers at the Hopleaf on Tuesday, too.

I still have trick-or-treating to do with my son tonight, so I'd best get a move on....

Five Ways a Writer's Husband/Partner Becomes a Saint

2010-10-29T12:32:00.004-05:00

You're probably thinking, "Anyone who's married to a writer-- the code word for insecure, egotistical, mood-swinging, impulsive artist-- on a daily basis must be a saint, de facto," right? True enough. Writers and artists have somewhat of a reputation for being histrionic and, well, in other ways "difficult" in their private lives. This past week, I've been struck at how fortunate I am to have a lifelong partner who puts up with me and loves me in equal proportions.

I wonder how many of you out there have significant others who have found a way to live with you, "a writer," (published or not) without being transformed to ash by your bright fiery genius. Meaning you've both avoided divorce, flying saucepans, and passed-out-in-the-yard-alcoholism. Although, that last one is one way of coping with living with a writer. Today, I'll tell you 5 ways my partner has transcended the sphere of mere mortal partner to French Patron Saint of Writers (in particular, Lori).

St. Francis de Sales: the other Patron Saint of Writers

For the past two years, I've volunteered to cook something for the Teacher Appreciation lunch at my son's elementary school. This is not a problem for parents who aren't date-challenged. Calendars hate me, even the computer ones that are supposed to remind me of events. Both years, I brought a display of goodies one week BEFORE the event, potentially ruining the surprise lunch for the teachers and creating double-duty for me the following week. This year, I placed the lunch date on the refrigerator AND on my computer calendar. I got the date right (happy me), but I was too exhausted from all the writing and marketing and Internet research to make that Homemade Vegetarian Chili I volunteered to make on the Second Grade email list.

I resorted to something shameful: I went to the soup aisle at Tom Thumb grocery. But dag-nabit if they didn't have anything remotely Vegetarian Chili-like. When I returned home, I printed a random online Veg-Chili recipe that looked suspiciously like ordinary vegetable soup with a dash of chili. My French Partner (FP) offers me a glass of wine and says, "Why don't I make it?"

"Are you sure?" I ask. After all, he's the one who cooks our gourmet dinners almost every evening (1).

I didn't want FP to feel abused for his talents, but he says, "Sure," and just like that, my role is reduced to chopping a few cloves of garlic while brainstorming my next novel idea aloud (2). Saints always listen to our problems, and my FP is no different, except that he actually answers back within mere seconds.

Because Papa (when he's not traveling) takes our son to school in the mornings and Maman picks him up after school, my FP delivered both son and soup to school (indeed, Ms. Principal herself was there to take the crock pot of soup) for the special day, allowing me to take care of writing and related business (3). When I picked up the bag with the empty crock pot and a sealed card, I was darn proud of myself. It wasn't until we opened a very special "thank you for thinking of me" card from the principal that I realized, to my horror, that I had once again screwed up the date.

Today, is the REAL Teacher Appreciation lunch. My FP made another vegetarian chili, this one even more scrumptious than the last (c'est possible?), and this time, I delivered it, lest Ms. Principal think my FP was flirting with her. He is a saint, for being my personal chef, my sounding board and supporter of my writing, a true partner in raising our son. Oh, and for taking this writer to Paris next month, when I most need a small getaway (4).

I wonder how many other writers are as lucky as I am...
(And now that I'm about to start NaNoWriMo for the first time, I'm feeling grateful that this Saint will put up with this shenanigan (5).)

Guest Blogging today

2010-10-26T15:10:00.000-05:00

I'm a Guest Blogger at The Parking Lot Confessional. I'm writing about "writing circles." Yeah.

On the Madness of Schedules

2010-10-23T16:47:00.000-05:00

I've been telling myself lately that I need to blog about what life is like in the penultimate month before publication with a small press. After all, that is one of the main goals of this blog. But I also didn't want to jinx myself by making a public announcement that I'll have to renounce a week later. So, a little serving of my week:

An email from a friend that begins, "I don't want to send you in a panic, but..." followed by some startling information that Barnes & Noble (due to a delay in the publication date) was canceling her book order for Song of the Orange Moons, unless she clicked a link within 24 hrs that stated, "I still want this book." (I'm glad she still wanted my book.)
Another email later in the day from another friend, referring to the same B&N email, followed by, "I hope all your readers don't have this much trouble getting their copies."
A brief freak-out session in which I envision half the pre-orders through B&N are eliminated because of the pub date delay.
Panicked emails and messages to my publisher. She has the presence of mind to ignore my calls.
An evening with my dear friend, Malbec, and her sister, Merlot.
To my long-suffering partner: pleas to take me to Paris for the weekend. Must get away from the stress. He actually consider this: "If this is what you need..." (This is one of the innumerable things about him that make him my angel.)
An email from my publisher that says the books are printed and will be put in the mail to me, to her, and to the National Book Distributor early next week. (i.e., calm down, Lori) A breath of relief, a few jumps up and down, and many kisses for the family.

Fellow Author-dears, don't even try to call the printers yourself to get updates. You're just the author, and you cannot get information about your book no matter how anxious you are. Unless, perhaps, you are J.K. Rowling. So, for those who are interested in the process behind the scenes: Once the book is printed, it is shipped to the national distributors, who, aptly named, distribute the books to the commercial buyers. Then the commercial buyers, such a Barnes & Noble and Amazon, send the books to the folks who pre-ordered the book and to the physical bookstores. (I think this is right. I'm trying to wrap my mind around this as I go.) All this delivery takes time. But, I hope, not so much time that you won't get your books until December 16th, which is the delivery date that B&N states.

(important side-note: go check your online pre-order to be sure yours hasn't been canceled.)

I'll be visiting a class of graduate writing students next week. Then off to Chicago the following week to read at The Hopleaf Bar. (Come see me, Chicago dancers!) And back to Dallas on the 4th of November for the book launch party. Please visit the Song of the Orange Moons Page for updates on time and location. In the world of publication, you never know what will happen to the schedule!

Signing in the Waldenbooks by Parnell Hall

2010-10-17T13:59:00.000-05:00

I have had fear, great fear, about scheduling a book signing where "nobody's there." This video will ease the pain should our destinies align on a parallel path.

The thing about backaches is...

2010-10-15T12:09:00.000-05:00

They are powerful enough to re-route your day, your week, your first appearance at the Texas Book Festival.

I'm going to make this quick, because #1, I'm on medication and I don't trust myself, and #2, this new comfortable office chair is killing my back.

I sent a quick email to Jan, asking her to transform my misfortune to some other Texas Writer's League member's good luck. I offered up my coveted book-signing table to another writer.

Good luck, writers! And if you're close to Austin, stop by the festival with a wad of bills in your pocketbook. Authors, books, book lovers galore! I'll live vicariously through you this year.

Mailing like a Wild Woman

2010-10-13T12:19:00.000-05:00

I'm unpacking the arcs still and mailing them to appropriate places, which requires letter-writing and address-finding and repackaging and standing in long lines at the United States Post Office only to find my place at the counter in front of grumpy postal workers.

"Wish me luck," I say cheerfully to the blue-uniformed woman across me. She stares at me blankly.   "These are for book reviews," I add, sweeping my hands proudly over the thirty packed envelopes.
“How much extra for a blessing?”

More blank staring. “Book rate or first class?” she says deadpan, as though I’m a first class idiot.

The US post office in Plano can take the joy out Christmas puppies.

At this stage, I'm really glad I hired my outside publicist, Crystal. I made a good dent in the submission list, but I'll rely on her for making widespread online contacts.

I really should be off this computer and get some more work done, so I’ll end here. In the meantime, check out this interview posted online today. Make a comment and win a book! Fingers crossed for you.

The Eagle has Landed

2010-10-11T11:03:00.000-05:00

I'm all a flutter. Galleys galore! Thank goodness I've already addressed the envelopes to the reviewers and printed my cover letters. Wish me luck. And email me if you want to hook me up with a book reviewer from a newspaper!

Ten Things to Do While Waiting for the ARCs

2010-10-09T10:56:00.000-05:00

1. Mow the lawn. It desperately needs your attention, especially if you procrastinate pulling the lawn mower from the garage as vigorously as you do pulling up the novel-in-progress. Feel bad for your Garden-of-the-Month neighbor, who'll have to stare at the rows of cut grass piles because you don't have the will or stamina to bag it all.

2. Surf the web for the prognosis for throat cancer, which you are sure you have because you (and the rest of the Dallas metroplex) seem to have 80% of the symptoms. It happens to be our second spring and flu season, but let's ignore that for a few days of histrionic self-diagnosis.

3. Wash all the laundry in the house, which comes out to eight loads, before "hubby" comes home from Toronto. I'm half done, and it's 10:15 on a Saturday morning. Not bad.

4. Get back to the manuscript that's been waiting patiently since last weekend. Spend ten minutes searching for the most recent version, then two hours revising the first two chapters for major changes in the main character (from mother to barren wife). This is, by far, the best way to wait for the UPS man to delivery your first baby. But we can't be 100% good all the time.

5. Read other people's blogs and feel woefully inadequate and what's-the-opposite-of-prolific. Spend ten minutes feeling bad for not blogging for more than a week.

6. Blog. 'Nuff said.

7. Take out the trash and recycling that's been stinking up the garage for the past week. Realize afterward that one can walk to the car without jumping over anything.

8. Write a query letter to a magazine who may or may not publish an excerpt from your forthcoming novel. Throw away a dollar in postage stamps (i.e., mail it).

9. Pour a cup of green tea with Agave syrup and walk outside to watch the construction guys in hard hats pour the foundation for a neighbor's house.

10. Remember that you have a real child who hasn't had breakfast yet and may be permanently rewiring his brain from too much GameCube Pac Man.

All this on one gorgeous Saturday morning in October. Not bad. Not bad. Now, on to those 40 essays that need fair grades and earnest, helpful comments. Maybe I'll mop the floors first.

11-4 has a certain "je ne sais quoi" to it

2010-09-30T16:34:00.000-05:00

It's the day Mozart's Symphony No. 38 was performed for the first time in Austria.
It's the day King Tut's tomb was discovered in Egypt.
It's P. Diddy's birthday. (Don't blame me. This last one, apparently, is ubiquitous web-worthy trivia.)

Now, it also happens to be the new date for the book launch party for Song of the Orange Moons! I spoke to both the bookstore manager and Marius at Trinity Hall, and things are squared away.

So, the new date for the signing/reading at Barnes & Noble at 5 PM, and the party across the street at Trinity Hall with cake and drinks and appetizers at 7 PM, is November 4, 2010.

Please change your dates, and if you couldn't make the old date, maybe you can make the new one. I'd love to see you there, sign a book, serve you cake, and share a toast to book lovers in Dallas!

A Difficult Birth

2010-09-29T13:21:00.000-05:00

This morning I had labor pains. Writers often compare the act of writing to giving birth one painful line at a time, but I’m done writing that book. This is after the book has been written. This is time to sit back and relax, epidural-style, while my novel is gliding its way through the printing process.

I am intrigued by how often I’ve been wrong about things in the whole publication process. It’s been a good education to be sure.

Early this morning, I received a call from my publisher. (When your publisher calls before 8:30 AM, it can’t be terrific news. That’s another thing I learned today.) The printers have informed her that the hard bound books will not be ready before the 25^th of October. My book launch party is on the 21^st. (Heavy sigh here.)

My eternal optimism awakens. This could be a good thing. It will give reviewers more time to review the book. For those who are curious, most of the big reviewers like Publishers Weekly and Kirkus only review books pre-publication.

But now I must reschedule the book launch party. I’m thinking November 4^th, but I have to get that date confirmed by the venues. I sent out all those snazzy invitations (now snazzily misleading), and I need to track down all the people I invited via email. This is the painful part, the anxious part, where I fret and wring my hands and wonder if anyone will show up on the new date. (Or worse, if anyone will show up on the old date.)

So here is my suggestion for those who are planning book launch parties soon:

Don’t plan the party until one month before the pub date.
Don’t mail the special order invitations until 3 weeks before the event, just in case the pub date does change.
Keep careful track of everyone you have invited, including emails and phone numbers. This I have done, thank goodness, so the rest of my day will be sending emails.

This is what my publisher calls “a difficult birth.” But she also assures me that the baby will be beautiful, and we’ll all go gaga over it soon enough. Yes, but I’d still like that epidural, please.

The plate, I like it

2010-09-18T09:25:00.000-05:00

Suddenly, my plate is looking a little less Oliver Twisty and more Golden Corral All-You-Can-Eat Sunday Buffet.

Last week, in order to stop obsessing over when the galleys would appear in my empty mailbox, I immersed myself into my novel manuscript-in-progress. I tried a daring change, eliminating two characters in order to place the main character in a bit more jeopardy, to pick up the pace and raise the stakes, so to speak. And I like it. I'd find myself startled by how quickly three or four hours passed, and that I'd actually written more than a couple of pages in one sitting. And when I wasn't looking, a few pdfs arrived in my email.

So now I'm reading through page after page of honest-to-goodness book-looking print. Suddenly, my plate is very full. I don't want to lose the revived energy and momentum on the manuscript-in-progress, so when my concentration on proofreading gets thin, I'll spend a bit of time here and there breathing life into that project, too.

And then there's grading, my other interesting and fulfilling life teaching writing at SMU: I have a fresh batch of papers, full of possibilities, waiting to be graded. My plate overfloweth, and I like it.

Other good news: my dear friend Samantha Mabry called with screaming-good news. Her YA novel is "sub" status, or ready for submission, according to her agent. After months of revision and polish, her novel (and it's a fun ride--I read it) will soon be snatched by one very lucky publishing house. May she bask in the praise of YA readers and enjoy an outrageously generous advance (also well-deserved).

Thar she blows!

2010-09-14T06:46:00.005-05:00

She's out there now. Public. Miss Book Trailer, that is:

sit a spell; it's a good 3 minutes.

If you like it, or know someone who might, please forward the link!

And now I'll go hide among university students and hope no one posts a reply that says,
"Now, that's not how one does a trailer a 'tall! Not a 'tall!"

on the adventure called "the book trailer"

2010-09-13T10:56:00.000-05:00

The book trailer is almost done. Please be kind. Because my more artistic and talented son is off at art college, I put together this trailer myself.

If you don't know what a book trailer is, I'll give the abbreviated version:

it's supposed to introduce the public to your book and cause them to immediately order it online (or create enough of an impression that you remember it the next time you're browsing through the bookstore)
most of them that I've seen so far are cheesy
(mine is now probably one more for the cheese barrel)
authors can make the book trailer themselves (i.e., low budget), but larger publishers often have some hand (financially or creatively) in the book trailers
a how-to blog post on the omnipresent N.B. website, which you can read here if you're interested, but which I did not discover until after I finished my trailer

I've been waiting an hour for the video to render, a process that's going at a snail's pace on my pc laptop. Before I post it to youtube and as a mobile-friendly video, I need to run the finished product by the mothers of the kiddos in the video, just to get a final go.

Stay tuned. Constructive criticism is welcome, as long as it is swaddled in a few layers of love.

on discovering already famous websites and omnipotent agents

2010-09-11T12:12:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I come across a website that is so evidently established that I wonder, "How do I not know about this website already?" And sometimes is occurring more frequently these days.

Today I discovered Beyond the Margins. It's a great website hosted by a compilation of successful writers in the biz, and its articles offer a range of advice for writers. Go visit it. If you're not a writer, you'll want to be!

I also came to the conclusion that this guy named Nathan Bransford is omnipotent. I mean omnipresent. Because he is linked to every other writer's page on the internet. See? He's even linked to mine. His is another helpful little site for writers. Heck, I want to query him, and I'm not even a YA writer. But I have always had this one book for teens simmering in my head...

Back to the current manuscript. On page 182, and the main characters are about to have their first epiphanies...

on Insomnia and its benefits for writers

2010-09-10T12:40:00.000-05:00

I woke up wide awake at midnight two nights ago. To be fair, I did crawl into bed at 7:30--it was a rough day.

By 12:20 AM, I decided that I wasn't headed anywhere near unconsciousness, so I got up and tiptoed toward my laptop that was "sleeping" on the living room couch. I jotted down some notes for my composition class in the morning, updated some assignments, then spied the little blue W at the bottom of my screen.

My novel-in-progress. In order to avoid procrastination, I've taken to minimizing my novel manuscript instead of closing it completely. That way, no matter what thrilling things I'm doing on the computer-- grading, paying bills, shuffling through emails--I have this constant reminder that I could be adding a page or two to the sleeping universe hiding within that little blue W.

All I have to do is click on it, and I'm instantly inside this parallel world. No searching for the latest version of the manuscript, no scrolling down to the last page or getting side-tracked by a detail on page 142 that could be rewritten for the fourth time. As long as I remember to save in multiple places before I minimize the screen again, this plan is working for me. I magnify and write.

I have to say that I was delighted with the benefits of my insomnia: I wrote until 4 AM before tiptoeing back to bed and catching two more hours of sleep. I've read about other writers' designs to nip procrastination--regimented writing times, majestic oak desks, locking the kids out of the room, and (gasp!) writing at the local coffee shop--but the little blue W is working for me.