I am good at beginnings. Great even. I don’t hem and haw. I just dive right in, full speed ahead. This is true with just about every other project in my life and is especially obvious when it comes to my writing. And this is why I have the beginnings of nine books in my Word writing file right now. Nine. This does not count the “Book Ideas” folder in…
I thought I’d go off topic today, because what I’ve been obsessing about lately isn’t astrology, but titles. But perhaps my trouble with titles has something to do with me being a Gemini – with being moody and indecisive sometimes to the point of paralysis. See, I’ve got a list of possible new titles for my young adult book taped up on the wall above my desk. It’s been there for…
I am honored and pleased to introduce today’s guest blogger and fellow Hawaii resident, Patricia Wood. She also has a wonderful blog that’s attracting readers and writers from around the world. Her debut novel, LOTTERY (Putnam, August 2007), is a poignant and wise novel about a very rich underdog who shows everyone just how little his IQ says about his smarts. Read on and learn more about the book, Patricia…
When a friend or I suffer a writing or publishing set back, we tell each other “at least this will give you something to talk about with Oprah.” This usually makes us feel better because: a) the idea of chatting with Oprah gives us a warm fuzzy feeling b) the mere idea of appearing on Oprah, gives us dreams of vast book sales which makes the current rejection or set…
For me, it began in the third grade. I wrote my first story, called The Haunted Meatball. My teacher, Mrs. Brennan, told me it was wonderful. So wonderful, in fact, that she was going to send it off to have it published in a children’s magazine. So off went my first story, into the world. And we waited. We waited for weeks. Then months. Then one day, she took me…
It’s funny. Although I can think of — and regale you with — endless tales of the rejection I’ve endured, most of it hasn’t come in the form of letters. No, rejection for me has always come in the form of deafening, endless silence. No news is always bad news, in my experience. This, I think, is a good thing. From the jobs I’ve interviewed for (back before I managed…
When a literary agent for GOOD THINGS called to offer me literary representation, I was sitting in my car in the parking lot of Sears in Hilo, irritated beyond belief. For starters, I had made my husband and four-year old daughter drive all around the island in search of the right infant car seat (I was pregnant and on a mission). No luck. I was trying to save money by…
When I got the call from my agent telling me HarperCollins had made an offer on my novel, I was cleaning the toilet. It’s funny… you envision moments like this, fantasize about them for months and years, then when they happen, they never quite play out the way you had imagined. I was in my rattiest house cleaning clothes. I had the white plastic brush in my hand and was…
Good Things Debut Countdown! Larramie at Seize a Daisy is hosting Mia King’s Debut of Good Things tomorrow, please stop by! Authors Living the Dream! Amy MacKinnon of Writers Group Blog landed her dream agent! Congratulations from the Debs, Amy! New Links! Patricia Wood, debut author of LOTTERY coming from Putnam this August can be found blogging about writing on her sailboat in Hawaii! Holly Kennedy blogs at Author In The Trenches…about boxers (the underwear,…
Well, based upon my replies this week you’ve likely come to the conclusion that I’m a bit of an organizational freak (because you’ve all been so carefully following my replies, right?). But when I look around, frankly, I don’t have much to organize. When it comes to paraphernalia, I’m a bareback kind of gal. I have one laptop, one red pen, one spiral notebook, one cardboard box. That’s it. That’s…
