Friday, December 21, 2007

Scholastics Next Big Thing?

Now that Harry Potter is officially over, Scholastic is looking for the next blockbuster. And they think they found it: Scholastic Plans to Put Its Branding Iron on a Successor to Harry Potter

Called “The 39 Clues,” this series will feature 10 books — the first of which is to go on sale next September — as well as related Web-based games, collectors’ cards and cash prizes. The project demonstrates Scholastic’s acknowledgment that as much as the publisher heralded the renewed interest in reading represented by the Harry Potter books, many children are now as transfixed by Internet and video games as they are by reading.

A part of me wishes them well. I really do. The rest of me, however, wants to smack them along side the head and say, "HP was awesome in part because of it's organic growth. You can't force it with another series. Just let it happen with good writing and captivating stories."

Ech, we'll see.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Meme of Months

Judy and PJ Gardner had a lovely meme that I wanted to copy.

Rules: Paste the first line of the first post for each month, starting with January 2007. That's it. I decided to link, also, in case anyone was feeling nostalgic.

January -- Summary: A young lady has been sent pearls. Sherlock and Watson investigate their origin, along with a cryptic letter that promises to explain all. (a bookreview for The Sign of the Four)

February -- Word of the Day calendars, emails, websites, etc. seem like a good idea to increase vocabulary, but are they?

March -- Even though we've been buried in snow, I haven't been curled up with good books.

April -- Lovely that Spring is peeking her head around the corners.

May -- I love waking up to thunder storms.

June -- My allergies have kicked into high gear.

July -- LA Weekly got the scoop on the most mis-understood novel of the last century.

August -- This was a banner month of reading for me.

September -- No posts

October -- No posts

November -- Time to catch-up and start posting again.

December -- It is so cold here, that I'll I want to do is hibernate.

Whew, that's a lotta first lines. But fun (for me, at least) to look back over it.

If you decide to do the same, leave me a comment and I'll link to yours, just like Average Jane did.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Last Minute Gifts

Need a last-minute, inexpensive gift? Daily Lit has the answer.

- To celebrate the holiday season, we have just added the ability to give a DailyLit book as a gift and add a personalized message to be included in each installment. You can send a classic book as a gift, including such holiday favorites as LITTLE WOMEN, with a personalized message -- all for free (our gift to you). DailyLit gifts can be sent at the last minute and received seconds later.

Thanks, Susan Danziger, for the email and the nice idea.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

I Love a Good Story

And so does Ira Glass. In fact, he has some great story telling tips at Redbook.

We live in a time when we're inundated with stories-- in ads, in songs, on the Internet-- and because they're all competing for our attention, they tend to have overbright characters and hyped-up plots; it's too much to take in, so it just sounds like noise. In the rare case when we do come across a story with human-scale characters that feel like you and me, and a way of unfolding that makes it possible to imagine what it would be like to be in that situation, we really notice it, and it speaks to our heart. In ways that news reports and debates can't, great stories help the world around us make sense to us.

You may recognize Ira from NPR's This American Life. Find out what else Ira has to say about good story telling at Redbook or hear it in practice at This American Life. Blog Icon

This, by-the-by, is one of my two favorite podcasts. There is alwasy an amazing story to listen to. It make me wishe I was starting over again as a broke college student. I'd persist until I was involved in some way.

Of course, I still could, I do realize. I just have more to consider now.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Christmas Generosity

I cannot get over Holly Lisle's generous pay-it-forward philosophy. If you are new to writing, you must run, immediately, over to her website. There's tons of content, all yours for the reading.

Then she does this:

396 Books & Other Resources Writers Recommend to Kickstart Your Writing, Stand Your Thinking On Its Head, and Vastly Increase Your Ability to WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW

Available for you to download in zip format here:

http://www.hollylisle.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/r/hollyupdates/h/20071208060303/hollylisle.com/pdf/396_books_writers_recommend.pdf/

Or in regular unzipped pdf format here:

http://www.hollylisle.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/r/hollyupdates/h/20071208060303/hollylisle.com/pdf/396_books_writers_recommend.pdf.zip/

You can do more than use this yourself. You can give this enormous checklist away on your website, burn it on disks and pass it around at writers' meetings, or sell it, if you're so inclined, alone or with other e-books and resources that permit bundled use.

Don't alter it in any way. Other than that, have fun.

It's a nice 50-page list with explanations and what have you. It's also a great example of the quality you get if you order any of Holly's ebooks from her shop.

Have fun and pay it forward to your writing friends.

Friday, December 14, 2007

The Editor Letter

Bob Mayer and Jennifer Crusie have an awesome online writing workshop that they have been contributing to all throughout 2007. They follow a "he said, she said" format that often, respectfully, disagrees with one another.

Jenny posted her rules for The Editoral Letter. While she means is THE EDITORIAL LETTER, I believe that they could apply to trusted Critique Partners as well.

  • Wait twenty-four hours after you read it.
  • Change everything that you don’t care about, that won’t impact the story as you need to tell it.
  • Know exactly why you can’t make the other changes and explain your reasoning clearly to your editor.

While your CPs might hot have the 1000s of titles under their belts like editors at publishing houses do, they still want you to write the best story possible.

If you don't view their suggestions this way, why bother having CPs?

What will you do when it is The Editorial Letter on the side of those corrections?

How do you reaction to critiques?

Cross-posted at Starting Write Now.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

My Favorite Day

When I was single, and had whole weekends to indulge in my own whims, instead of the whims of my family, I loved finding chocolate-covered cherries in the stores.

This Christmas favorite as signaled an afternoon of indulgence. BUy a box and a romance novel. Combine with some candles and whatever classic cd was my favorite. I'd lose myself in both the chocolates and the story.

Today, I couldn't imagine gonig more than 15, maybe 20, minutes without a problem to solve or a request to share the chocolates. And while I may miss the solitude, I won't miss the downside -- no bellies to tickle, no sticky hugs or kisses, no one to share with.

I find today, surrounded by memories and happenings, to be the best day.

***

Entered in Scribbit's Write-Away Contest for December 2007

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Fast and Light

I'm going to direct you to a series of hilarious covers today, over at SBAshton, instead of providing you with quality content of my own. She's making me laugh out loud, and I can't not share.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Q&A with LaConnie Taylor-Jones

LaConnie Taylor-Jones holds advanced degrees in community public health and business administration and has written several scientific research publications for the past fifteen years. When not writing, she’s involved with the Contra Costa Alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the African American Community Health Advisory Committee, and Black Women Organized for Political. An active member of the San Francisco Area and Black Diamonds chapters of RWA since 2003, Ms. Taylor-Jones has combined her writing skills with a twenty-five-year passion for reading romance in the completion of two full-length multicultural romance novels, When I’m With You and When A Man Loves A Woman.

What led you to the idea of writing this book, and then to the actual writing of it? The thing that got me from reader to author was my husband. In the spring of ’03, I was in bed reading a novel that was horrible. It was pass midnight and I think my husband was tired of hearing me whine about the book because he said, “Honey, if you can write a better book, do it, but baby, turn out the lights.” I took him up on the challenged and I’ve never looked back. The inspiration for both When I’m With You and When A Man Loves A Woman came from my experience as a health educator. For the last fifteen years, I’ve taught health education primarily to African American women in community-based settings. Oftentimes, before I can lecture on the risk factors associated with chronic diseases disproportionally impacting African Americans, I have to deal with the soci-economic deterrents women face. Unfortunately, abusive relationships top the list.

What have you learned throughout the process of writing, pitching - and now, promoting your book? The one thing I’ve learned as an author is that two fundamental elements exist between all three entities - tenacity and perseverance. If an author loses sight of the interchangeable connection between writing, pitching, and promoting, they will not be successful.

When you write a story and subsequently pitch it, the target audiences are publishers and agents. However, once that story has sold, you’ve got to promote it, thus the focus shifts to readers. So, as an author, I must use the same diligence to convince readers that my story is worth buying, as I did to convince publishers it was worth printing.

Any exciting things happening before or during the time period while the book is releasing? Absolutely!! For me a couple of things occur. One, I begin outlining the next story bouncing around in my head. Secondly, I work hard to balance writing that new story while promoting the story that’s already sold.

What aspect of writing do you love the best, and which do you hate the most? I absolutely love sitting down in front of a blank computer screen and begin the process of bringing my characters and story plot to life. I’m very meticulous with this process because it’s important for me to give my readers a quality product. I want them to not only enjoy the story but understand the characters and their plight the way I do. Believe it or not, I also enjoy working on the revisions from my editor. She’s fantastic and so far, we’ve been able to work in total sync to take my writing to the next level.

Perhaps the one thing that I can live without is the tight turn-around deadlines I face once my book enters the production process. Sometimes, my revision deadlines come at a not-so-convenient time!!!

What do you feel is the key to writing convincing characters? An author must know every aspect of their characters. I don’t simply mean know their external characteristics (i.e. physical make-up), but an author must be intimately familiar with their internal characteristics - their thoughts, their likes, dislikes, and what they would and would not do in certain situations. Once this happens, it’s very easy to translate this on to paper to the point the characters become so vivid, readers momentarily have a hard time figuring out what’s real and what’s Memorex.

How did it feel to hold your first book? Holding that book in my hands for the first time was awesome!!! It was then that I realized how much had gone into turning a dream into reality.

What inspired you to become a romance writer? I’ve been an avid romance reader since I was a junior in college. In fact, I flunked an organic chemistry mid-term because I stayed up all night to finish reading my first romance novel. So, let it go on the record that the genre chose me!!

How do you feel about critique groups? I feel critique groups can be extremely beneficial to an author, but authors must be willing to accept the feedback that’s given — good, bad, or indifferent. All too often, an author only wants to hear the positive feedback relative to their stories and sometimes become testy when the group offers suggestions or recommendations for improvement. Conversely, critique groups should provided unbiased feedback, regardless to how well they know the author.

What one thing about writing do you wish other non-writers would understand? When an author says their characters are talking to them, they aren’t crazy nor or they ready to be hauled off to the nearest mental institution!!

What was the last book to keep you up at night reading it? The Hunted by L.A. Banks. It’s an awesome read and one I highly recommend!!!

What's your secret to balancing career and family? Learning to prioritize. Oftentimes, this means saying N-O to requests at the bottom of my meat chain and not feeling guilty for doing so.

What do you do to make time for yourself? Weekly visits to the beauty salon and monthly appointments to get the nails and toes pretty. Sometimes, I manage to treat myself to a ninety-minute deep tissue massage.

How can readers get in contact with you? (mail, email, website) I always enjoy hearing from readers. My website address is: www.laconnietaylorjones.com. Also, readers can follow the link on my contact page and drop me a note via e-mail at: lovestories@comcast.net. Plus, there’s also my snail mail address, which is 3377 Deer Valley Road – Antioch, CA 94531

Book: When I’m With You

Publisher: Genesis Press

ISBN: ISBN-10: 1585712507; ISBN-13: 978-1585712502

When your life has been terrorized by violence, how do you manage to go forward, looking over your shoulder at every turn? This is the daily question that haunts Caitlyn Thompson. She has been in hiding from an ex-boyfriend for three years, always careful not to slip up and allow him to find her again. Working for a neighborhood youth center, she has found her niche. This is something she believes in, having grown up in inner-city New Jersey herself. Submitting a grant request to a wealthy philanthropist foundation, Caitlyn is soon to meet the man who will make her want to stop running, want to trust and love again; Marcel Baptiste. It will take a will of iron and a courage she didn’t know she possessed to battle her fears and open up to the wealthy entrepreneur. But when violence comes knocking again, will she have the courage to face her biggest nightmare?

http://www.laconnietaylorjones.com/

Check out the trailer: http://www.laconnietaylorjones.com/WIMW_trailer.php

DECEMBER 12
Chat With Connie
8-9 pm eastern
contact sormag@yahoo.com for telephone chat reservations

Monday, December 10, 2007

Two Minute Book Review

As you may have noticed, I don't blog as much as I'd like to. Meaning that I seldom have time to write the detailed reviews that I used to. Instead, I'm going to try a two minute book review. I'll post the list of books I've read and one or two sentences about what I did or didn't like about them.

  • Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher -- Totally love this series and how Butcher has raised the stakes through the nine titles.
  • Whistling in the Dark by Lesley Kagen -- Very clever. The protag is 10 years old. I love her innocence and pointed view on her life.
  • The Trail of the Jedi by Jude Watson -- For those who wondered how exactly that cute little boy becomes Darth Vadar, these novellas might fill in some of the blanks. Of course, they are geared to kids who are just starting to read chapter books. Great for for shared reading.
  • Bitten (Women of the Otherworld, Bk. I) by Kelley Armstrong -- I won't be continuing this series. After reading three or four werewolf books, I've decided that they just are the sort of supernatural creature that I enjoy reading aobut.
  • The Pardon by James Grippando -- Decent. A bit over the top at times but not a bad first effort. Promising enough that I've added the author to my list of books to continue following.
  • White Night by Jim Butcher -- See above.
  • Twilight by Stephanie Meyers -- Excellent writing, basic storyline. Word Nerd turned me on to this author and she really liked this one. It was good enough that I'll grab the next one, but not soon.
  • Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher -- the other series written by Butcher. Dresdyn files is better, but this is a completely different class. The POV jumped around too much for me. If I had read it in a couple of sittings, instead of over the course of the week, I would have followed it better.
  • Heartsick by Chelsea Cain -- Creepy. Women serial killers are much scarier than their male counterparts.
  • Drop Shot by Harlan Coben -- Again, decent for a first novel. I'll be grabbing the next one of these too.
  • Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult -- I love, love, love Jodi Picoult. Enough said.

Please, drop me a comment and let me know if the two minute book review format worked for you. Or if it didn't, what didn't work.

Friday, December 07, 2007

Sticking with the Series

After much soul-searching, er, reading, I decided to stick with the next set of trilogies for Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series. Basically, this interview series answered some of my objections and made me believe that the next book was worth the commitment.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

Thanks, Writer Unboxed, for posting this.

By the way, if that series wasn't enough to convince you to read WU, they have Donald Maass there this week. What are you still doing reading this? Get over there.
(By the by, his Breakout Novel Workshop is simply amazing. He really pushed my writing to a new level.)

Cross posted at Starting Write Now.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Fly Fusion Pentop Computer

I was watching television the other day when somewhat dramatic commercial came on: A hip college student is writing on "air" (which is probably really a glass wall) with a pen that converts handwritten text to computer generated text. The Fly Pen also can do math calculations, play MP3 files and a plethora of other options.

It was fabulously cool and something that I wished had been available to me in college.

Then the lightening bolt struck: Word Nerd is probably wishing she had one of these when she was writing her current WIP in composition notebooks. She has three or four books worth of typing. Just think, with the Fly Pen, she'd be done.

It's probably on her Christmas list.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

How Old Are You?

You Are 26 Years Old
20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

When I'm with You by La Connie Taylor-Jones

Book: When I’m With You

Publisher: Genesis Press

ISBN: ISBN-10: 1585712507; ISBN-13: 978-1585712502

When your life has been terrorized by violence, how do you manage to go forward, looking over your shoulder at every turn? This is the daily question that haunts Caitlyn Thompson. She has been in hiding from an ex-boyfriend for three years, always careful not to slip up and allow him to find her again. Working for a neighborhood youth center, she has found her niche. This is something she believes in, having grown up in inner-city New Jersey herself. Submitting a grant request to a wealthy philanthropist foundation, Caitlyn is soon to meet the man who will make her want to stop running, want to trust and love again: Marcel Baptiste. It will take a will of iron and a courage she didn’t know she possessed to battle her fears and open up to the wealthy entrepreneur. But when violence comes knocking again, will she have the courage to face her biggest nightmare?

I haven't read this book yet, but it sounds fabulous. Next week, I plan to have more information about this author and her work posted. Stay tuned!

Monday, December 03, 2007

Bookworm Report, November 2007

It is so cold here, that I'll I want to do is hibernate.

Bookworm Review
Year Pages Books
2001 5,139 19
2002 4,076 13
2003 2,448 7
2004 2,747 8
2005 3,410 10
2006 2,168 7
2007 3,931 11

  • Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher
  • Whistling in the Dark by Lesley Kagen
  • The Trail of the Jedi by Jude Watson
  • Bitten (Women of the Otherworld, Bk. I) by Kelley Armstrong
  • The Pardon by James Grippando
  • White Night by Jim Butcher
  • Twilight by Stephanie Meyers
  • Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher
  • Heartsick by Chelsea Cain
  • Drop Shot by Harlan Coben
  • Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult

For the year, I've read 162 books, or 59,395 pages, which averages to 15 books a month, or 5,400 pages per month, and an average book length of 367 pages.

I'm in the middle of about a dozen or so series. Keep the recommendations coming!