Deb News
Deb Gail received her first review in Publishers Weekly!! In part it says: “In this heartfelt memoir, Baker proves to be both humorous… and compassionate.” For the full review go here!
Deb Danielle has also received a review for Falling Under this week, from Romantic Times. “”[A] dark, complex tale of an artist’s agoraphobia, lust and personal demons . . . a very real character readers will care for.”
Friends of Deb News
The Oppressor, aka Deb Danielle’s husband, Michael Wacholtz, received great reviews for Kalvin the Great, the show he wrote and directed at the Toronto Fringe Festival which opened this week. Now Magazine gives Kalvin 3 Ns (equivalent of stars) and Eye Magazine gives it 4 stars and says it “breathes new life into the dubious concept of edutainment.” The Oppressor also directed Elyne Quan’s Trust at the Toronto Fringe which Eye Magazine called “intriguingly tight and twisting.” Congratulations, Oppressor!
Debs are Reading
Deb Jenny is loving Julie Buxbaum’s The Opposite of Love.
Deb Gail is reading the arc of Kris Riggle’s debut novel Happy Families… wow!
July 6th, 2008
| Posted by Jenny Gardiner | Gail Konop-Baker, Jenny Gardiner, Julie Buxbaum, Publisher's Weekly, Sleeping With Ward Cleaver, The Opposite of Love
I spent many summers as a kid at my grandmother’s home on Lake Michigan. I used to feel bad for my poor parents who I assumed must be missing me on a near hourly basis. It never occurred to me at the time that perhaps they considered having me gone part of their vacation. My grandmother would house, feed, and corral me and all of my cousins (I think we’re over a dozen in total, but it’s possible I’m forgetting someone) during the summer. She had a perfect place for it, a long winding driveway flanked with fruit trees (which she would send us out to pick like the free labor we were) and a rickety stair case down to the beach. We slept in sleeping bags on every available flat surface.
My grandmother would wake us up at dawn and we had the choice of going with her to church or going outside. She was a big fan of fresh air and the Almighty; she was not fond of TV or laying around. So rain or shine we would head outside and run wild like animals.
It’s possible that kids were more hearty at this time or maybe we just didn’t know the risks. This was a time before we worried about pedophiles, too much sun exposure, food parasites, having Neosporin on every cut, or drowning. I learned to swim when my older male cousins would drag me out into the water toss me in and then yell out helpful suggestions as I sank like a stone. “Use your arms!” If you cut your foot on a piece of glass hidden in the sand one of the other cousins would spit on it to clean the wound and determine that you were fine.
We would gather up firewood and other random trash and build huge fire pits and when it grew dark we would roast hot dogs. For reasons I never understood the buns always ended up falling into the sand so when you bit into a dog it always had a gritty undertone. Then as the night wore on someone would break open the bag of marshmallows and the debate would rage as to the preferred cooking method (slow even toasting to a uniform tan shade versus the flaming black napalm approach.)
Fourth of July meant someone would have fireworks. Nothing says freedom like the ability to blow stuff up. The parents often came to visit on the 4th and everyone was busy either showing off their latest skill acquisition (look I can do a handstand!) or desperately hoping that Grandma wouldn’t mention whatever moronic thing we had been caught doing the week before. You would sit on the beach, the sand growing cool in the night air and peel sheets of burned skin off your arm while the fireworks went off. You would write dirty words in the air with a sparkler and let others try and guess what they were.
I don’t think we gave a lot of consideration to what the holiday meant. It was less about being patriotic and more about who could set off the biggest firework- but when I think back on those summer it is the feeling of freedom that sticks out. Everything smelled like fresh air blowing through beach grass and we were free to imagine that anything would be possible.
Happy 4th of July!
July 4th, 2008
| Posted by Eileen | Deb Eileen, Eileen Cook, Family, family recipes, sun
| 11 Comments
I came of age in the turbulent 60’s and early 70’s. There were lots of reasons to hate America – or at least its government. In fact, let’s set the record straight right away: it was great to live in America in that decade and to feel a part of the movement that hated the government. We created a remarkable community of Americans banded together with a mighty purpose – how American is that? It just happened to be that our purpose was to overturn the establishment which included the government, our parents, the rules of society as we knew them.
I remember my first taste that the era had ended. I was a big basketball fan and took a boyfriend to see a 76ers game in Philly. We had great seats, a couple of rows from the floor, center stage. The national anthem played and I wouldn’t stand up. The boyfriend was horrified. So was everyone else around me. Hey, wait a second. Where were all my comrades then? Had they already exchanged their tie-dyed shirts for business suits?
Patriotism came back into style. Even I got on-board for awhile. I lived in Paris for five years, from 1988 – 1993 and realized, as ex-pats often do, that I was, in fact, very much American, and for many good reasons, pretty damn proud of the fact. I loved Paris and still dream of living there again someday. But I became an American amongst all those foreigners.
And then came W. It’s fashionable to be anti-American again, though again, what we’re really talking about is anti-war and anti-government policies and anti-domination by the religious right. Obama is bumping up against this – and so is Michelle who had to get really really clear about when she’s proud to be an American and when she’s not so proud.
July 4th – a time to celebrate? I’ve never celebrated this holiday. I’ve always felt squeamish about paper plates with flag designs and folks dressed in red white and blue. But this year, on Independence Day, with Obama running for president, I do feel proud to be American and hopeful about real change in our country.
I titled this blog: Patriotism – is it a dirty word? I’ve just finished a phenomenal three week book tour for my new book, DIRTY WORDS: A LITERARY ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SEX. In the book I challenge the notion that sexual terminology is “dirty” – and I (with the help of 94 amazing contributors) encourage the reader to celebrate the so-called dirty words. (Though we’re still up against a lot of barriers – many of our country’s book stores won’t put the book on the shelves!)
What about patriotism? I love the America that gave me the experiences of my rebellious youth – and I love the America that is responding to Obama’s call for unity and hope. Happy July Fourth to all of you.
ELLEN SUSSMAN’s Dirty Words: A Literary Encyclopedia Of Sex, was published by Bloomsbury in 2008. Her anthology, Bad Girls: 26 Writers Misbehave, was published by W.W. Norton in 2007 and became a New York Times Editors Choice and a San Francisco Chronicle Best Seller. She is the author of the novel, On a Night Like This, (Warner Books, 2004) also a San Francisco Chronicle Bestseller. It has been translated into six languages. Her website is www.ellensussman.com
July 3rd, 2008
| Posted by Danielle | 2008 Debutante Ball, 2008 Debutantes, Writers, Writing
| 13 Comments
When I grew up, we went water skiing every Fourth of July with the Curtis family, and then we’d lie exhausted on the beach, eating cold fried chicken and my mother’s fabulous top secret potato salad. (It’s the ingredients that are top secret, not the salad itself) — this paper plate will self destruct in five seconds…
When we got home, we’d get cleaned up, eat some more and then, we’d all head over to the local elementary school to watch fireworks. I don’t remember anyone doing anything particularly stupid, except for the time my brother and his teen-aged friends almost set the fence on fire. A contraband bottle rocket gone awry.
Now, we head down to Siesta Key every year to watch fireworks on the beach. We sit on the sand, snuggled on our blankets, listening to the waves and watching the grand show over the Gulf of Mexico.
Which is lovely. Except for the fire-retardant (and not in a good way) folks who frequently express their love of country by shooting off illegal fireworks into the dry grasses and sea oats, and occasionally, the crowd.
Last year, one such reveler shot a firework into the grass and started a small fire. He scrambled over to put out the fire, accidentally setting his shoes on fire. When he finally extinguished the grass and his footwear with the help of a dad/ impromptu fireman, he wandered right back over to his laughing clan and shot off another one. Which landed in the same spot. And set the remaining uncharred grass aflame.
FireDad came to the rescue again, informing the amateur arsonist that he was on his own if the field caught fire again.
The Fourth of July is the busiest day of the year for ERs across the country.
The National Fire Protection Agency says that “nearly half the people injured by fireworks were younger than 15.” Sparklers, fountains and other “safe” fireworks accounted for 26% of the ER fireworks injuries.
Which doesn’t account for the thousands who just slap on a band-aid and guzzle another beer.
I think fireworks should be left to the professionals. But hey, that’s me.
Deb Lisa
July 2nd, 2008
| Posted by Lisa Daily | 2008 Debutante Ball, Authors, Books, Debut, Debut Novel, Debutante Ball, Debutante Lisa, Fifteen Minutes of Shame, Lisa Daily, Stop Getting Dumped!, Writing
| 13 Comments
Joining us today will be guest author Amy Wallen, whose debut novel, LA Times bestseller MoonPies and Movie Stars,
was just released in paperback.
Reviews have been fabulous for her novel:
“With a pitch perfect ear for comic dialogue and fine sense of the absurd, Amy Wallen writes herself a place on the porch swing of great Southern writing, as she follows the misadventures of three determined Texas ladies sworn to find a runaway daughter…”
–Janet Fitch, author of White Oleander
“[S]pirited and honest… Wallen capably illustrates that it is not only possible but also compelling to be funny, captivating, and compassionate, all in the same book.”
-Los Angeles Times
“A delightful and exhilarating journey, kind of like being on a tour bus
guided by Eudora Welty on speed.” –Mary Gordon, author of Pearl
“Wallen launches a funny, touching, and bittersweet ride in search of family, but what her characters find is bigger than Texas and better than MoonPies.” –Booklist
DB: Tell me a little about your book.
AW: MoonPies and Movie Stars is the story of Ruby Kincaid, the owner of a six-lane bowling alley in Devine, TX. When Ruby spots her runaway daughter on a ButterMaid commercial, she sets off for Hollywood to find her and make her own up to her responsibilities.
DB: What got you writing in the genre in which you write.
AW: I just started writing a story. I didn’t know it was anything until I was done. But then I write just plain ole fiction, so I don’t think there’s a prescription for how it comes about other than putting pen to paper and turn on the right parts of the brain and turn off the stuff you shouldn’t listen to—like my Self the editor.
DB: Favorite thing about being a writer?
AW: I get to make up worlds and people and make things happen. It’s like playing Barbie for grown ups.
DB: Least favorite thing about being a writer?
AW: It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It zaps every bit of my energy. I hike on a regular basis, large high difficult mountains, and yet they are never as exhausting as a day of writing.
DB: What is the most interesting thing that’s happened to you since becoming a published author?
AW: I’ve been asked to work on a new national public radio show called DimeStories based on a reading series I host once a month where the readers can only read 3-minute stories.
DB: What’s your favorite type of pie?
AW: Pot Pie. I’m fanatical about them. And now it can no longer be the frozen kind. I make my own. All kinds. My favorite one to serve at dinner parties is Salmon and Portobello pot pies. Yum.
Thanks so much, Amy, for visiting the Debutante Ball!
Amy Wallen has studied with a number of acclaimed writers, including Janet Fitch (White Oleander). She has taken those talents cultivated in the workshops of these great writers and brought them to her own creative writing classes at UC San Diego Extension. Amy also hosts an open mic night in San Diego, Los Angeles and New York called Dime Stories Live, in collaboration with the national public radio show airing this summer. This is her first novel. Visit her on the web at AmyWallen.com.
July 1st, 2008
| Posted by Jenny Gardiner | Amy Wallen, Jenny Gardiner, LA Times, MoonPies and Movie Stars, Sleeping With Ward Cleaver
| 8 Comments
I’m not a huge fan of the Fourth of July. I don’t like fireworks or char-grilled meat or planned activities and having grown up with leftist parents and having attended an even more leftist liberal arts college, the whole forced patriotic thing still brings out the rebel in me.
This is not to say that I don’t participate in the ENORMOUS celebration my neighborhood has every year. A celebration so big that there are several pages in the “Village” handbook dedicated to the festivities starting with the annual third of July firemen’s dance where the kids play flashlight tag without flashlights in the field across from the firehouse, while the grown-ups drink too much and flirt shamelessly. There’s always a group dance starting with the outdated Macarena and ending with a sing-a-long to “Bye-bye Miss American Pie.”
The morning of the Fourth starts with a bake sale and challenge baseball game between the older and younger men (notice no women) and a parade of decorated bikes and floats that follow the fire trucks and “Village” officials around and around and around the school. And then a whole day of organized activities including egg tosses and pie-eating contests and a big macho water hose fight between the firefighters and whoever chooses to challenge them. There are women who participate in that now and one year my best friend and I organized a team with our husbands and a couple of other couples and we dressed the men dressed as women in pink push-up bras and the women as men in “David” (from the sculpture) boxer shorts. The firemen didn’t know what to make of that! And then later there’s a big cookout on the lawn of the elementary school where we sprawl on blankets eating and drinking with our friends and discussing who won the water fight and how somebody cheated (every year we say that!) and after that there’s the trek up the hill for fireworks…
And writing all this down is choking me up a bit, making me realize that maybe I kind of like all stuff we do on the Fourth of July. And maybe… just maybe, I don’t dislike traditions as much as I think I do…
Gail
June 30th, 2008
| Posted by Gail | Gail Konop-Baker, Writing, tradition
| 9 Comments
Deb News:
Deb Jess is thrilled to announce that Driving Sideways is going back to press for a second printing!
Also, Jess would like to thank Julie Peterson at Booking Mama for a terrific review and interview this week.
Deb Danielle received three stars for her upcoming August debut of FALLING UNDER from Romantic Times.
Deb Jenny would like to thank Kim Alexander for the fun interview on Fiction Nation on XM Radio. Unfortunately Deb Jen was out of the country when it aired so didn’t get a chance to give heads-up on it! It might air again—we’ll see!
Founders News:
Founder Kristy Kiernan has received two fabulous early reviews for her August release, MATTERS OF FAITH. Publishers Weekly says:
“In this tense, well-paced novel about belief, Kiernan explores what happens when faith and love test the limits of family fealty. In southwest Florida, college student Marshall Tobias is in search of something to believe in. He thinks he’s found God and the woman he’s always dreamed of when he falls in love with fundamentalist believer Ada Sparks. But Ada’s against medical intervention for illness, and tragedy results when she sets out to “help” Marshall’s 12-year-old sister, Meghan, overcome her life-threatening allergies.
Switching points-of-view between Marshall and his mother, Chloe, Kiernan (Catching Genius) movingly portrays a 20-year-old marriage gone flat and torn apart by crisis, a troubled son, a daughter hovering between life and death, and the hard-to-discern boundaries between true faith and unhealthy fanaticism. She handles her difficult material respectfully.
Most interesting is her portrayal of the well-meaning traps parents fall into when encouraging open-ended exploration of faith without context, or choosing to remain silent. The thoughtful themes, interesting characters and page-turning drama of this novel will likely make it a book club favorite.”
And Romantic Times gave MATTERS OF FAITH 4-1/2 stars:
“The fluent prose and authentic characters will leave the reader wanting more from Kiernan.”
Deb Friends:
Deb friend Kristy Barrett has just launched a new book-review blog! Welcome to the blogosphere, Kristy!
Debs are Reading (and listening to):
Deb Jenny is just back from vacation and can’t rave enough about Anthony Capella’s THE WEDDING OFFICER. If you don’t come armed with an appetite, expect an unnatural need to get to your nearest Italian restaurant 
.
She also thoroughly enjoyed Joanna Bourne’s much-buzzed about debut novel, THE SPYMASTER’S LADY–the author has a true gift for dialogue, characterization, and an uncanny ability to write in french-accented English.
Fun beach read: Julia London’s AMERICAN DIVA.
And lastly, while on vacation with a few families of very dear friends, Deb Jenny was thoroughly impressed with the talented Low Hendley’s music, which was playing on someone’s iPod. Low, who’d come along on the trip with our friend’s son, Bryce Johnson, played a few songs for which he not only wrote the music and lyrics, but also performed all instruments and sang. All done on his Mac. Here’s a link if you want to hear (some songs include Bryce on guitar), and a couple of the songs are available for purchase on iTunes listed under his real name, Owen Hendley. Low’s heading off to college and I hope we’ll all get a chance to hear more music from him in the future.
June 29th, 2008
| Posted by Jess | American Diva, Anthony Capella, Deb Danielle, Debutante Jenny, Falling Under, Fiction Nation, Founder Kristy, Italy, Joanna Bourne, Julia London, Kim Alexander, Low Hendley, Matters of Faith, Sleeping With Ward Cleaver, The Spymasters Lady, The Wedding Officer, Writing, XM Radio, iPod, mac
| 2 Comments
