I think it’s pretty clear from my author pic that we’re cat people here. When we first moved to Canada, we brought two with us, Sophie (in the pic) and Grinder. Six days in the car really pissed Grinder off and the second day we were here, my husband smoked up the house with the wood stove (we were new at it) and so he opened all the doors, forgetting the cats were under house arrest. The next time we did a head count, we were short this adorable mug.
Grinder had flown the coop.
He’d always been a wanderer, so at first we just hoped for the best, but after three weeks, our hearts were pretty much broken. Without going into a whole long story about the day we returned the moving van to the US (had to take it back across the border), I will say it was right up there with my top ten worst days of my life. However, when we got home, there was a message on the voicemail.
“Hi. We saw an orange cat down by the ferry and when we tried to go after him, he ran over the rocks and down to the water. If yours is still missing, you might want to check it out.”
It was ten o’clock at night, raining, and pitch black. Not to mention the ferry terminal was four kilometers away – a long ways for a cat to stray. My husband still had a tiny bit of common sense left after our horrific day (mine had been shredded) and refused to go down to the ferry with me saying that we’d never find him that night, but we’d go first thing. The next morning, in driving rain, we went down there and called and called Grinder, to no avail. Finally, we gave up and went to Village to hang more posters. Then the weather broke, so we went back down there and I stood on the rocky cliffs and did that kitty-kitty-kitty trill thing that women in my family seem born knowing how to make, and all of a sudden I heard a meow. And then another. It sounded exactly like MOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!
Luckily, Grinder’s head popped up just in time to save me from throwing myself over the cliff and trying scramble down the side. He was purring before I’d even lifted him off the ground.
I ran out into the street, and on one side, all the cars were lined up, waiting for the next ferry. My husband had gone who knows where. In spite of all the spectators, I stood in the road, clutching that scrawny orange body to my chest, screaming, “VICTOR! VICTOR! I FOUND HIM!” Tears streamed down my face.
One of my worst days ever, followed by one of my best. I seriously can think of very few days when I’ve had such a rush of emotions like that. Until last year when that knucklehead cat sideswiped us again.
Grinder left us last May. In typical fashion, he just let out a howl and died right there in front of us. That’s how he did things. It was horrible and heartbreaking but so much like him, it kind of makes me smile now. I miss that little guy. One of my most favourite essays that I’ve ever written was inspired by Grinder. So here it is:
Ten things I have learned from Grinder
1. Sleep in the sunshine whenever possible.
2. Drink lots of fresh water.
3. Go on at least one adventure every day – three or more is better.
4. Have lots of friends, but be your own self too.
5. Accept love, and give love, but don’t let anyone hold on to you too tightly.
6. Do a few things you know are “against the rules” every day.
7. Pay attention to wildlife.
8. Eat when you’re hungry, sleep when you’re tired.
9. If you want something, be patient and stay after it. If you feel frustrated or it gets away, move on to something else. You can always come back to it.
10. Every once in a while it’s natural to forget what you were doing. Who cares? That just means it’s time for another nap.
July 23rd, 2010
| Posted by Joelle Anthony | 2010 Debs
| 11 Comments
Since I am a famous author – I know this because every time my friend Kelly phones me and I answer, she says, “Hello Famous Author” – I am expecting a slew of requests to come in any day asking me to promote certain products. Any day. Especially since Tiger Woods is…well, not really available for this sort of thing anymore (except maybe #10).
I take the idea of promoting products with my valuable Famous Author name very seriously, which is why I have already made a list of ten people/places/things I am willing to endorse right off the bat. Don’t be offended if you don’t make the cut, I’ll consider all reasonable offers from others too.
1. England - yes, the whole country, but in particular, the apple cream cakes. My passport is up to date, so just let me know when you want to fly me over for promotional purposes.
2. Avocados - I prefer mine smashed, as in, guacamole, but I’ll pretty much support the good old avo any way it comes. Especially by FedEx.
3. Merrell shoes – Quest Moc Black, size 10 (I’ll take brown if you make them too)
4. Panda All Natural Raspberry licorice – I know some writers live off the “other” brand, but I like my candy free…not just from additives, but entirely free. The box I have now, my husband won in a bag of groceries, which is actually the only way I can afford this licorice unless the nice people at Panda mail me some more soon. Very soon.
5. The Cubs – box seats would be nice, but I’ll settle for a pair behind home plate (don’t tell MLB that I’m already a die-hard fan and promote the Cubs anyway).
6. Creme Caramel Tea from David’s Tea – yes, as totally fabulous as it sounds (see, I’m getting this endorsement thing down)
7. Moonstruck Chocolate – You can’t really be a Famous Author without a favourite chocolate. To the nice people at Moonstruck, don’t forget to send 15% of my chocolates to my agent. We like the caramels best.
8. Libraries - Duh. They already give me books for free, so we’re good there.
9. Hmmm…trying to think of something else I’d like someone to send me for free… Victoria’s Secret Tees- size Large, any colour. Totally live in these in spite of the nasty little tags that poke me in the side because they’re “tagless” up by the neck (?).
10. Canada’s National Sex Day – August 21st, Add it to your calendar. You know you want to.
(and yes, while they’re all real links, I’m betting most of you only click on #10)
July 16th, 2010
| Posted by Joelle Anthony | 2010 Debs
| 8 Comments
My husband is a self-proclaimed OCIT and proud of it. What does that mean? It stands for Old Codger In Training. When we lived in Tennessee, his goal was to be one of those old men that sat on porch in his overalls, polishing his shotgun, and yelling at kids to get off the lawn. Now we live in Canada, so he’s revised that idea a bit and his goal is to grow into an old man and sit on the porch in his fleece with his ukulele and yell at the deer not to eat the garden. Part of his training involves yelling at drivers as they speed by, “Slow down, this is a neighbourhood!”
I, on the other hand, am generally very smiley and congenial. However, every once in a while, I give the OCIT a run for his money. And one of the things that sets me off is fireworks. The simple truth is, I don’t like ‘em. I know it makes me unpopular, but aside from the pretty factor (and I admit, they often are pretty and I have been known to ooooh and aaaah with the best of them), they’re noisy, cost a lot of money that I think most communities could spend in a better fashion, and the home variety tends to leave a lot of debris in the streets. So, yeah, you could say fireworks turn me into an COW (Crabby Old Writer).
Last October I was appalled to see a big “FIREWORKS FOR SALE” sign here at our village hardware store. In October? Oh, mannnnnn…. And then, of course, things started blowing up. As soon as it got dark, which in October is around 4pm, boom! Boom! Boom! I couldn’t believe the hardware store guy was going to sell fireworks for forever and make my life a living hell.
Our newspaper has a section where you can write in nice or evil things that people have done and award them a Smile or a Snarl. I fully intended to write a scathing one, blasting the owner of the hardware store for ruining our lovely island peace just to make a loonie. Fortunately for me, Sunday came around before I got to it and a bunch of our friends were over for Sunday Soup. I don’t know how we got on the subject, but I said in my best COW voice, “I’m so mad the hardware store is selling fireworks just to make some money. It really pisses me off. I can’t stand it. They freak out the deer and the cats and all those stupid explosions keep waking me up (from my nap) interrupting my writing.”
Everyone (all Canadians) stared at me for a second like I was a total idiot, and then my friend, Nathan said, “Fireworks are a Canadian tradition at Halloween. They’ll stop selling them next week.”
I’m pretty sure my face turned red like the flag. “Oh…uh…umm…okay. Yeah, I didn’t know that.” Hey, sometimes it’s tough being an immigrant!
Anyway, while Canada Day (July 1st) and The Fourth of July go by silently here, if you don’t like fireworks, make sure you have your earplugs handy in October, eh?
July 9th, 2010
| Posted by Joelle Anthony | 2010 Debs
| 4 Comments
Deb Joelle is excited to announce that she has been asked to be a speaker at Portland’s (OR) literary festival Wordstock in October. She will read from her book and do a short presentation, followed by a signing and over the weekend, possibly teach a workshop and/or participate in a panel discussion.
If you applied to be one of the new members of The Debutante Ball, and you did not receive an email stating that your application was received, please resend it by Tuesday, July 6th. Send us an e-mail
July 4th, 2010
| Posted by Joelle Anthony | 2010 Debs
| One Comment
If you’re a regular reader of The Debutante Ball, you probably have noticed that by the time you wake up (unless you get up really, really early), the guest post on Saturday is already up. I suppose it’s too much to hope that all of you slept in today. I’m guessing you’re probably wondering what happened to our guest today. Well, I’m here to confess that I think I was supposed to be in charge of the guest post. Today, I am not Deb Joelle, but Slacker Deb.
However, all is not lost! Twitter is the saviour of slackers (that’s where we all are, after all). I just tweeted this question and in seconds, the answers will pour in.
Debut Authors, what one thing do you know now that you wish you knew before your book came out?
Okay…ten minutes later…no answers. Yeah. All the writers are either enjoying their long weekend or writing (which is technically what I’m supposed to be doing right this minute). So…ummm..can I take a raincheck? Am I fired? Do I have to give up my tiara?
I’ll tell you what I wish I knew before my book was released that I know now. Make sure that marketing doesn’t take over your life because once your book is out, there’s not really much to do. It can be a big letdown. Keep writing before your big debut, even if it’s just a little bit and for fun. It will be easier to pick it up again after the big release.
Since my Twitter buddies didn’t come through, why don’t you give us your best advice or the thing you learned after publication that you wish you knew before. And have a great weekend!
But wait! These tips just in from Twitter users:
vickidelany Aim for the top. There is no ladder in the pub. business, only a slide. You have only one first book.
LiseFalkenberg You’re only as good as your last book and you’re still on your own. That’s what I’ve learned after 12 books published 
LadyHawkins That it’s OKAY to check Goodreads 10 times a day, b/c once the book is out, that stops almost IMMEDIATELY!
LadyHawkins Oh, and that book blogs are fabulous and lovely, but maybe don’t stress out over them so much.
Thanks!
July 3rd, 2010
| Posted by Joelle Anthony | 2010 Debs
| 2 Comments
One might consider spelling a natural thing for a word person to be good at, and generally speaking, on the page, I’m fine. And when I’m not, well, spell-check has my back. Where I have a problem is with visual things. For example, if I go to an event and afterward someone says, “Oh, you were at Fish Farm Protest? How many people showed up?” Like newspaper reporters trying to downplay the numbers of protesters because the cause is unpopular with the owner of the paper, I really can’t count a crowd. Or even estimate numbers. Sixty? Four hundred? I’m not sure. Other people, I’ve noticed, are really good at this sort of thing. They say confidently, “Oh, there were about five-hundred-thirty-eight people there.” and it turns out, they’re about right.
My friend Nicole asked me before my first signing if I had been practicing my signature. I just laughed. I mean, I’ve been signing my name for quite a few years now. My whole life has been practice for signing books. I spent all of seventh grade writing my name in different fancy script on my Trapper Keeper (and yes, perhaps a boy’s name was attached to it with a plus sign and little hearts, and yes, possibly that’s why I’m not very good at math, but let’s not go there). When it comes to signing my name, I’ve got flair. I do occasionally get carried away and add an extra “l” or “e.” Something like: Joellle or Joellee. I can’t help it. I get all excited with all the loops. Luckily, I’ve found a way to combat that. I just start writing my last name over the top of the extra letters.
With bookstore events looming, it definitely wasn’t my name I was worried about writing. What scared the tar out of me about signing books was writing other people’s names! Luckily, back in the days when I used to read a lot of blogs, I read on the author, Cynthia Lord’s livejournal, about her little notebook. What she does is carry a notebook and she has each person write down their name (or whoever they want the book signed to) in it so she can actually see it written down. Not only does she have a very cool keepsake, but she didn’t end up buying a bunch of books inscribed Dear Brianna when it should’ve been Dear Breehanna either.
Because I am a lucky person, right before my tour, my lovely friend Alexa sent me a congratulatory gift on the occasion of being published. A little notebook! On the front is a fiddle and it says: Listen to your heart. Once you find the beat, you will always walk in tune. And now the inside is filled with the names of the people who I signed books for at my events.
July 2nd, 2010
| Posted by Joelle Anthony | 2010 Debs
| 3 Comments
Nova Ren Suma wrote the middle-grade novel Dani Noir, which came out from Simon & Schuster/Aladdin in 2009 and will be out in paperback this fall, and the upcoming YA novel Imaginary Girls, which is due out from Dutton in Summer 2011. She blogs about writing at novaren.wordpress.com. And Deb Joelle adores both Nova and her writing, so check out Dani Noir! Thanks for joining us, Nova.
On Fathers and Writing What’s Difficult
I’m excited to be a guest here at the Debutante Ball—thank you for having me! My debut middle-grade novel, Dani Noir, came out this past fall, and my debut YA novel, Imaginary Girls, will be out in 2011, so I often feel like a lucky author with two entirely different debuts. And here you’ve caught me sitting smack between them!
When I agreed to be a guest poster here and saw the topic of “Fathers,” my immediate reaction was that I couldn’t write about that, no way, no how. But sometimes the things you shy away from happen to be the things where you have something to say.
The truth is, I have a conflicted history with my father, and we haven’t spoken in years. I was raised more by my stepfather, but we, too, have a conflicted history and are no longer in touch. So how do these damaged relationships make their way into my writing and color my characters? How can I write a realistic father who is something else entirely from the ones I’ve known? I’ll admit that it can be a hurdle. And I don’t know if I succeed. But it’s something I strive for every time.
I reached a difficult place while writing Dani Noir. In the story, my narrator Dani’s dad has done something unforgivable—cheat on her mom and lie about it. And while this is in no way autobiographical, I think maybe my own experiences growing up came through in the story and peeked out in my narrator’s view of her dad. My struggle as a writer came especially at the end of the book, when I was facing the resolution. I couldn’t leave Dani hating her dad, even after all he did to make her so angry; I knew I needed to show a more positive ending, leave the door open for healing between them, especially since this was a middle-grade novel. And yet I couldn’t just tie everything up and have it be all happy-go-lucky “I love you, Dad!” / “I love you, Dani!” either—my hands refused to write that ending. If you’ve read the book, you know that the final note between Dani and her father isn’t fully tied together with a bow—I won’t say anything more in case you haven’t read the book yet and are planning to. I’ve heard from some readers that they found this ending to be realistic and they appreciated that. I’ve heard that others wanted it to be more resolved. To me, it did feel realistic, and it felt far more positive than I expected. In fact, the scenes between Dani and her dad were the hardest ones for me to write in the entire novel.
The dynamic between fathers and teenage girls is something I still haven’t worked through in my fiction. In my next novel, Imaginary Girls, there are fathers—but they’re obstacles in the story and stay on the periphery. Will I ever have a story with a kind, loving, physically-in-the-picture father who’s not a caricature but a real, fully developed guy? Yes, I sure hope so, when the story calls for it. Because not every character is me. And I may be the writer, and these hands may be doing the writing, but I hope my characters and their stories trump my own experience every time.
How about you? How do you keep your own personal dramas from revealing themselves on the page? Does it ever seep through—even when you aren’t consciously aware? Or are you always able to keep up the dividing wall between fiction and real life?
How do you write what’s difficult?
June 26th, 2010
| Posted by Joelle Anthony | 2010 Debs
| 9 Comments
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