Joan Mora

Avalanche of books...

2012-01-22T10:19:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago I blogged over at What Women Write about my December cache of books. One of the perks of being a writer is that reading is in my job description. So even though the books are a mile high, I decided to add a few more...

The Lost Wife, by Alison Richman (thanks Kim for this killer review) Lately I can't get enough of WWII era stories.

Unto the Daughters, by Karen Tantori I read an excerpt of this online and ordered it immediately. Oh wow! From her website:
Unto the Daughters is the story of a secret guarded so fiercely for nine decades that members of Tintori’s family died without ever learning of it. Unto the Daughters began with an obliterated entry on a passport - discovered during a genealogical quest - and a reluctant revelation of an ancestor who was so systematically eradicated from her family tree that many relatives born since her murder still have no inkling that she ever existed.

The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons
Check out this blurb: "The House at Tyneford is a wonderful, old-fashioned novel that takes you back in time to the manor homes, aristocracy and domestic servants of England. In this setting, Natasha Solomons gives us a courageous heroine whose incredible love story will keep you in suspense until the final page." — Kathleen Grissom, author of The Kitchen House

A Secret Kept, by Tatiana de Rosney (of Sarah's Key fame) I'm in!

The Translation of the Bones, by Francesca Kay A church in Battersea, statues and secrets... Need I say more?

Incendiary by Chris Cleave. Little Bee was amazing and Susan says this one is, too.

Waiting for shipment of The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy.
Listen to this blurb from Tatiana de Rosnay:
“A beautiful, heart-breaking gem of a novel written just the way I like them, with the past coming back to haunt the present, endearing heroines and a sunny, hopeful ending. You’ll wolf it up in one delicious gulp.”

Seriously, the stacks on my desk and nightstand will soon form an avalanche. But I cannot think of a better way to go.

Another Great Retreat

2011-12-04T19:20:00.000-08:00

Yes, we What Women Write ladies know how to....

Write, edit, revise
Drink wine
Eat chocolate covered pomegranate seeds and salad and venison lasagna
Edit, write, read
Keep warm and dry, cheese it up for a photo, critique
Laugh, cry
And wrap up a scene without leaving Travis in the ball pit...

Wrapping up

2011-11-16T03:20:00.000-08:00

Is anyone still out there?

I've been MIA for a bit, wrapping up my latest manuscript. Working on a new title, the query letter and fine-tuning my agent list. The good news? I've got a great list of go-to agents, more than a few who have read my work in the past and who I believe will like my new tome. Exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time.

So, if you're still out there--thanks for sticking with me! I plan on posting more regularly.

What have you been up to?

What Would Satan Do?

2011-09-17T18:19:00.000-07:00

Looking for something outrageously funny to read? I was lucky enough to read this at Lesser North Texas Writers' critique group and here it is! Check out Anthony Miller's What Would Satan Do?

Agent Interview at What Women Write

2011-08-31T18:34:00.000-07:00

Pamela interviews agent Kristin Nelson over at What Women Write. Check out all the inside scoop!

Part I here

Part II here

A Long Short Story at What Women Write

2011-08-31T18:32:00.000-07:00

Want to hear how one of my critique partners found her agent?! Julie tells it all here.

Erika Robuck on What Women Write

2011-07-25T04:31:00.000-07:00

Erika Robuck is guest posting over at What Women Write. She's a new online friend and author of the upcoming Hemingway's Girl. Go say hello if you have a chance!

Good Intentions

2011-06-12T17:32:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my recent What Women Write blog post, I vowed to take a picture of Austin everyday of his senior year. This last school year I snapped roughly 180 photos, one each morning (aside from the few times I overslept and Austin took his own picture). I also intended to write a short snippet about each picture and perhaps blog about it during the year. I wasn't always as diligent about the snippets. But college commitment and graduation now memories, I plan to share some of the photos and thoughts here while we anticipate the soon-approaching college drop-off.

August 24, 2010
6:55am I see the blue shirt first. The reminder that Austin is, indeed, a senior. With senior privileges and a senior attitude. He rushes to leave, skipping breakfast, excited about meeting his girlfriend for coffee. I help him wrap his arm from a particularly nasty turf burn and he’s forgotten where he’d set down his keys. I poise the camera to my eye and say, “Wait!” He does, but his look is more, “Come on!” than, “Oh, cool you’re doing this amazing project.” I plead, “You can’t start with that face on your first day!” He concedes by tossing me a grin.

At 7:20pm
After a long day of classes, a few free periods, and football practice, Austin comes through the door with a smile on his face. I will miss that smile next year, along with a collage of other facial expressions and poses. At the end of the first day, I realize it’s dangerous to be thinking about the end of the year. Must cherish every day! Isn’t that why I am doing this? He tells me a few details about the day: teachers, classmates, a book he’s overlooked for a short story class. We’re off to a great year.

Dual Timelines

2011-05-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

Blogging about dual timelines over at What Women Write. Check out the family history...

Sarah Stonich's Shelter

2011-04-13T10:57:00.000-07:00

Have you seen my review of Sarah Stonich's Shelter? Stop by What Women Write for a chance to win a copy.

Check out the book trailer here...

Super, super moon

2011-03-20T17:23:00.000-07:00

Saturday night my husband and I packed up the trunk with 2 collapsible chairs, his camera and tripod, my notebook and two missions. His was to capture the super moon as a digital image, mine was to capture it on paper. I shined a flashlight on his nimble fingers as they changed the settings and twisted caps, then I sat down in a chair and tried to set to paper the ideas running rampant in my head.

My eyes blurred at the brightness yet I could think of nothing eloquent, nothing unusual to write. This moon, which I’m sure I’ve never seen, shows up only every eighteen years. Eighteen years ago I was cleaning closets, setting up a crib and bumpers, moaning about my aching back.

I’ve surely seen plenty of full moons, slivered moons, even harvest moons. But I don’t remember a moon as bright as the sun. There is plenty more I don’t remember of the last eighteen years.

On a walk yesterday, we passed a family: two parents, a toddler boy and two puppies. Not miniature schnauzers like our Mollie and Madison, but Westie puppies, also tiny, also brother and sister. Not too long after the last super moon appeared, my family of five was likely taking a similar walk. Perhaps an older couple stopped to say hello, to say with their eyes what they dare not say aloud: hold on tight to this little hand, look for the unusual in every day, don't dare wish away this time.

The next super moon will be here in a blink of an eye.

Countdown to Kate Morton - is over

2011-03-06T08:50:00.001-08:00

Today's the day!

I have long been a fan of the brilliant Kate Morton. Not only have I read each of her novels more than once, but I've dissected and studied them to learn more about the craft of writing.

On What Women Write, I have the glorious honor of sharing Kate Morton's words with our loyal readers...and hopefully many new ones.

Here again is my review of her latest, The Distant Hours, shown here on my bookshelf of favorites!

The perfect ending?

2011-02-20T20:28:00.000-08:00

Have you ever become engrossed in a novel, only to be disappointed in the end? A writer must deliver!

Lookout for Monday

2011-02-04T09:55:00.000-08:00

Head over to What Women Write on Monday, February 7 when Joanna Penn, author of the thriller, Pentecost, stops by on her blog tour.

From my beautiful sisters...

2010-12-14T03:55:00.000-08:00

Look what I found in the mail yesterday!

Ode to Joan, with apologies to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Listen my sisters and you shall hear
Of the 50th birthday of a sister dear
On the fourteenth of December, a long time ago
Driven to the hospital through ice and through snow
Went Sylvia in December that year.

It was nearly ten by the kitchen clock
When they sped away into the night
The sisters listened to the quiet tick-tock
And sat and waited as time passed.
And the living room lights, few and dim
Blinked off and on as if by whim
And the two girls wondered how long it would last
Until their father returned and things seemed right.

About half past six by the delivery room clock
The baby emerged into the world.
They heard her voice and took stock
Of black hair, tiny hands and blue eyes
A lovely girl of a pleasing size.
Around Dad’s finger her little hand curled
They saw the beauty in form and in face
And the crying in her soft, sweet tones
They brought her home to her own little place.

For, borne on the night-wind of the past
Through all our history, to the last
We still remember how happy we were
To behold the sweet baby, lovely and new
We loved and adored and cherished her
And realize today that this is still true.

(author, Ellen Korb)

Hard-won praise

2010-11-11T06:36:00.000-08:00

Today Julie wrote about our retreat critique sessions over at What Women Write. (Who knew I was the quiet one?!) She shared a hilarious and honest take on our critique and, like her, I value this special group we’ve found.

At one of our sessions, I learned that one of my characters is not fully drawn. It’s hard to hear criticism, especially from five writers I admire greatly, whose opinions I not only appreciate, but also seek as validation of my talents (such as they are).

My WIP is told from four main characters’ perspectives, one of which is a young architect in bid competition with the great-great grandson of his own ancestors’ rival. At an earlier session, I had already shared two other characters’ sections and received mostly good feedback on the story’s opening hook and level of intrigue in the first pages.

When I readied for my session, I was excited (shouldn’t I have known better!), thinking they would connect with this new character’s humble nature, love his big-hearted dog, and sympathize with his obvious pain at losing his wife so young. But they wondered where this storyline was going and why exactly the reader would continue with it. (And pointed out my over-fondness for simile!)

After we'd finished our critiques and glasses of wine, I wrapped myself in my now MIA snuggy (if anyone finds it, there’s a reward!), retreated to a comfy chair, and buried my nose in Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth (a sure impetus for any writer to attempt Julie’s self-inflicted fork to the head!). After sulking for a bit, I realized they were right. I was mostly disappointed in myself. Why couldn’t I see the flaws in my chapter? I felt duly discouraged and wondered if I should continue.

I’ve invested two years on this manuscript (in between “real” work), including hours and hours of research and plot development. I love the story, the setting and the characters. I knew I could not give up.

Yesterday, armed with Donald Maass’ Writing the Breakout Novel workbook, I set off to apply several of his exercises to my not-fully-drawn character. After several hours of work and reflection, I had not only dug deep into my character's psyche, but I'd also heightened the stakes for all my characters.

Some purists might wonder if studying how-to fiction isn’t teaching writers to create formulaic blueprints instead of growing organic tales. Perhaps the answer lies with the old argument of nature vs. nurture: Is one born with the gift or can it be learned?

I wasn’t born with inherent talent, but aided by honest critique, Donald Maass and a lot of hard work, I will create a story I hope not only readers will appreciate, but one worthy of my fellow What Women Writers' hard-won praise.

Pomegranates, Monroe and Halloween!

2010-11-01T03:58:00.000-07:00

Ever eaten a pomegranate?

Writerly Habits

2010-10-25T05:45:00.000-07:00

Short post in honor of Upstart Crow agent Danielle Chiotti's list: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Writers.

Here's the link...

2010-10-09T12:50:00.000-07:00

Here's the Janet Skeslien Charles interview, in case you missed it!

Wait for it: Monday's Q&A swap!

2010-10-01T06:24:00.000-07:00

Stay tuned for Monday's Q&A swap on What Women Write with author Janet Skeslien Charles! Meantime, enjoy Janet's lovely post at Writer Unboxed and Julie Kibler's craft talk on POV.

Waiting to launch...

2010-09-20T07:12:00.000-07:00

http://whatwomenwritetx.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-women-write-waiting-to-launch.html

Update! Q&A with Sarah Blake

2010-09-06T06:33:00.000-07:00

Sarah Blake was so kind to stop by What Women Write! Check it out here.

By the way, I just started her earlier novel, Grange House. Enjoying the eerie story very much!

The Postmistress - Loved it!

2010-08-12T19:17:00.000-07:00

I finished The Postmistress by Sarah Blake several weeks ago and I've had the beautiful book on my desk to remind me to tell you all about it.

From Publisher’s Weekly:

Weaving together the stories of three very different women loosely tied to each other, debut novelist Blake takes readers back and forth between small town America and war-torn Europe in 1940. Single, 40-year-old postmistress Iris James and young newlywed Emma Trask are both new arrivals to Franklin, Mass., on Cape Cod. While Iris and Emma go about their daily lives, they follow American reporter Frankie Bard on the radio as she delivers powerful and personal accounts from the London Blitz and elsewhere in Europe. While Trask waits for the return of her husband—a volunteer doctor stationed in England—James comes across a letter with valuable information that she chooses to hide. Blake captures two different worlds—a naïve nation in denial and, across the ocean, a continent wracked with terror—with a deft sense of character and plot, and a perfect willingness to take on big, complex questions, such as the merits of truth and truth-telling in wartime.

If a blurb from Kathryn Stockett graces the cover of a book, (and a gorgeous cover, at that!) there’s pretty much no chance it won’t live up to her praise. The Postmistress more than delivers. I first learned of the book when Pamela interviewed publisher Amy Einhorn.

I picked up the book in my local bookstore, the late Legacy Books, while on a field trip with some of my fellow WWW women. I’m a huge fan of stories that weave multiple narratives, whether in different time periods or locations, so the description of this one caught my attention.

With spot-on historical details, the story’s charm originates with its characters. Frankie is a tough woman with heart, wanting only to bring the hard truths of the war home to America. She records first-hand accounts from Jewish refugees and finds herself in the middle of a fateful train ride. Iris values rules and order, and above all views her role as an uninformed messenger of secrets. Both women are faced with difficult decisions, forcing them to go against everything they believe. The dialogue is snappy, the plot twists unexpected, and the prose efficient and honest.

Here are a few of my favorite passages:

“One could stand on a corner and see a long row of untouched houses, their white fronts perfectly sharp against the autumn sky—all England in a block—then turn the next corner to find nothing but flat waste and fire, the exhausted faces of the women carrying cheap cardboard suitcases and handing their children up into the refugee buses waiting at the square. Each night of the Blitz, the war passed over London like the Old Testament angel, block by block: touching here, turning from there, and Frankie followed, wanting to get it down, wanting to get at the heart of it.” p. 29

“This is how a war knocks down the regular, steady life we set up against the wolf at the door. Because the wolf is not hunger, it is accident—the horrid, fatal mistake of turning left to go to the nearer tube station, rather than right to take the long way around. There is the sense one gets walking around London at night, of a God grown sleepy, tired of holding the whole vast world in His gaze, tired of making sense—so that shards of glass dagger babies in their beds, boys come home to empty houses, and the woman and the man who had just lain down to sleep are crushed.” p. 67

If you’ve read this one, let me know if you loved it as much as I did. If you haven’t, head to the bookstore!

Tanya Egan Gibson at What Women Write

2010-08-09T02:36:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, I contacted Tanya Egan Gibson, (How To Buy a Love of Reading), through Absolute Write Water Cooler to ask about her agent. I’d received a full request and was anxious to know more about her, especially since Tanya was a debut author. Tanya praised her agent and encouraged me. I was very grateful, (even though her agent passed on my manuscript!), and over at What Women Write, we're featuring Tanya and chatting about her book in time for the paperback release.
Have you read this one?

Paperback Release - THE LAST WILL OF MOIRA LEAHY

2010-08-03T04:40:00.001-07:00

Last year Therese Walsh's debut, THE LAST WILL OF MOIRA LEAHY, came out to big fanfare and a contest.

In celebration of the paperback release, Therese Walsh is at it again, with a contest for free books. Check it out!

Victorian Pincushion

2010-07-26T06:19:00.000-07:00

Many a writer has been sidetracked by research. Dani Shapiro mentioned recently it was just another form of procrastination. She’s right, of course.

But sometimes you just have to go looking for those marvelous details that will pull the reader into your fictional world. In my mind, historical fiction would be flat on the page without them. Like the Italian mantle clock I found early on and which will play its own part in my story. (I wish I could show you a picture, but I’m pretty sure it’s copyrighted. Check it out here, though.)

I was looking for an antique tool, something a metal shop owner would have used. I found the iron rod fairly quickly, but soon became enamored by the other lovely objects on this site. I found a gold velvet pincushion, set in a brass bucket and topped with a brass poodle holding a thimble: just the thing my Jewish lady's maid would use while sewing my character's maternity clothes. Perfect, right? It gets better, and I swear I’m not making this up. As I looked at the various images of the pincushion, a closeup of the bottom of the thimble revealed a Star of David.

I'm happy with my little sidetrack for the morning...now back to writing!

Writers Write

2010-07-23T06:16:00.000-07:00

This one by JC Hutchins at Writer Unboxed spoke to me today. Enough on that, back to writing...

2010-07-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

Over at What Women Write, find out why your characters should go to the zoo.

Boxes of Stories

2010-07-03T14:16:00.000-07:00

I'm blogging about boxes of stories over at What Women Write today. Here are a few more pictures.

These are my maternal grandparents, Harry and Jenny Zimberg.

I think the lady with flowers adorning her hat is my father's aunt, Mary Levinson. The woman who chose a feathered hat? Who knows?!

My father and his father, Paul Levinson, owned Monroe Pharmacy from the early 50s through sometime in the 70s in Washington, D.C. Pauline worked for them for about 30 years.

Maybe my grandfather and a brother owned a confectionery before Grandpa Paul became a pharmacist, or maybe they just walked in for a piece of chocolate.

I might not know the facts, but each picture is a story waiting to be told.

Guest Blogger: Agent Jim McCarthy

2010-06-21T11:27:00.000-07:00

How many rejections have you amassed? More than 50? 100?

Stop by What Women Write to check out agent Jim McCarthy's (of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management) post on NEVER GIVING UP!

Don't Give Up, says Anna Elliott

2010-06-18T06:18:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of Writer Unboxed. They have many bloggers, but each one offers valuable insight and generally the right amount of push! (I mean, they've got the amazing agent and fiction how-to author Donald Maass over there!)

Here's today's gem from Anna Elliott on not giving up. Or, as Alicia Keys says, "There's Nothing You Can't Do."

Dara Horn's ALL OTHER NIGHTS

2010-06-13T17:46:00.000-07:00

Dara Horn’s spectacular book, All Other Nights, is rich with love, betrayal, loyalty and sorrow. I enjoyed her first two books, In the Image and The World to Come, which both weave historical fiction with present day narrative. But All Other Nights is strictly historical, a literary mystery set during the Civil War and reminiscent of Cold Mountain and March. After reading until 1:30am last night, I woke at 6:30am to finish it.

The cover reads:

How is tonight different from all other nights? For Jacob Rappaport, a Jewish soldier in the Union army during the Civil War, it is a question his commanders have already answered for him -- on Passover, 1862, he is ordered to murder his own uncle in New Orleans, who is plotting to assassinate President Lincoln. After this harrowing mission, Jacob is recruited to pursue another enemy agent, the daughter of a Virginia family friend. But this time, his assignment isn’t to murder the spy, but to marry her. Their marriage, with its riveting and horrifying consequences, reveals the deep divisions that still haunt American life today.

Based on real personalities like Judah Benjamin, the Confederacy’s Jewish Secretary of State and spymaster, and on historical facts and events ranging from an African-American spy network to the dramatic self-destruction of the city of Richmond, All Other Nights is a gripping and suspenseful story of men and women driven to the extreme limits of loyalty and betrayal. It is also a brilliant parable of the rift in America that lingers a century and a half later: between those who value family and tradition first, and those dedicated, at any cost, to social and racial justice for all.

In this eagerly-awaited third novel, award-winning author Dara Horn brings us page-turning storytelling at its best. Layered with meaning, All Other Nights presents the most American of subjects with originality and insight -- and the possibility of reconciliation that might yet await us.

I was most intrigued with her characterization of four sisters, each with their own unique quirks which not only brought them to life, but aided each in times of trouble. Her writing is intelligent and thoroughly researched, and although the plot was intricate, I never once felt it was contrived. The story, and characters, surprised me at every turn.

One of my favorites this year! Anyone else read it? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

It's Complicated

2010-06-11T10:54:00.000-07:00

I've long been a fan of novels spanning more than one time period. I love it when an author writes a character both from their adult and younger selves. One such novel is Days of Grace, which I'm really looking forward to reading. (You can see Kim's interview of Catherine Hall over at What Women Write.)

I've written in multiple time periods before, but for some reason, I'm struggling with my WIP, THE ARCHITECT AT HIGHGATE. Although I've researched heavily, I still find my self stopping mid-sentence to learn what Italian immigrants ate during the Victorian era or the name of a famous architect.

My HIGHTGATE computer folder is filled with word docs and spreadsheets to keep track of my plot and characters. I'm thinking of working in some historical figures, like Giuseppe Mazzini or even a famous author or two. I've set up a family tree, a detailed outline, lists of details about architecture and churches, nuns, music halls, restorations. Some of my charts are more complicated and haphazard (and blurry!) than my desk.

Most of you know my obsession with Kate Morton's novels, House of Riverton and The Forgotten Garden. Ms. Morton is a master of weaving a complicated plot, then tugging the reader along a journey where it all comes together seamlessly. How does she do that?! Does she use spreadsheets and timelines and family trees?

My current diversion is locating an historically accurate map. Many of the street names have changed and while I use the internet as much as I can, interactive maps of the past are not always available and most are not very legible. (I've previously blogged about VictorianLondon.org, which is the most complete website on the era I've found, created entirely by author Lee Jackson .)

I picked a street off Red Lion Square for the home of one of my characters. In the 1850s, the street was named Prince's Street, and was later renamed Princeton Street. But were there were single family homes on the street? If so, do they still stand? Are any still inhabited by families or have they converted to businesses and charities as did those on Red Lion Square? I want so much to get it right. I am pining away for a book called The History of London in Maps, but it's $75 and in light of my recent splurge on research books, I just can't justify buying it right now and the library doesn't have it. (Anyone in Dallas have a copy I can borrow?)

In my obsession with detail, am I somehow making this manuscript too complicated? For some reason, I'm struggling more than ever before. Advice anyone?

What does your book cover say about you?

2010-05-24T06:23:00.000-07:00

Today over at What Women Write, I'm blogging about book covers, crutches, and happy endings.

What's at Stake?

2010-05-15T09:41:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Elizabeth blogged about coincidence over at What Women Write. Kim often has information fall into her lap at precisely the right time.

Coincidence or not, I came across Donald Maass' Writer Unboxed blog post on point of view (POV) at exactly the right time. My current WIP is told in multiple POV--three in present day and two in the past. I've been struggling with whether or not to continue one of the present day character's POV. Maass suggests you figure out what's at stake for your POV character and how to make it worse. (If you haven't read his books on writing--you should!)

Maass also writes: "Three points of view aren’t that many. Three storylines—how hard is that? What’s hard is making those extra storylines compelling, whole and connected."

Not so easy to do! But I'm up for the task. Good thing I love the story!

What do you think? Do you like reading novels with multiple POV? What makes those stories work or not for you?

Literary Agent Mollie Glick

2010-05-10T03:12:00.000-07:00

Mollie Glick from Foundry Literary & Media visits What Women Write today. She's one of the sharpest agents out there. Find out what she wants to feel when she reads your manuscript.

Countdown

2010-05-03T09:13:00.001-07:00

Countdown to literary agent Mollie Glick's guest blog post over at What Women Write! Make sure to check your blog reader on Monday, May 10.

Mollie Glick is an agent at Foundry Literary + Media. She represents literary fiction, young adult fiction, narrative nonfiction and memoir. She can be reached via email at mglick@foundrymedia.com.

There's Nothing You Can't Do

2010-04-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

The other day, a song on the radio inspired me. I wrote about it here.

Caspian Rain

2010-04-22T03:54:00.001-07:00

I just read one of those books. You know the kind—one that stays with you and inspires you to read many lines more than once, just to savor the prose. One that forces you to question your writing ability. It’s Gina B. Nahai’s Caspian Rain, a novel which will haunt me forever.

From her Web site:
A young Iranian Jewish girl, faced with her own impending deafness, must also struggle to prevent the breakup of her family.
In the decade before the Islamic Revolution, Iran is a country at the brink of explosion. Twelve-year-old Yaas is born into an already divided family: Her father is the son of wealthy Iranian Jews who are integrated into the country’s upper-class, mostly Muslim, elite; her mother was raised in the slums of South Tehran, one street away from the old Jewish ghetto.
Yaas spends her childhood navigating the many layers of Iranian society. Her task, already difficult, becomes all the more critical when her father falls in love with a beautiful woman from a noble Muslim family. As her parents’ marriage begins to crumble and the country moves ever closer to revolution, Yaas is plagued by a terrifying genetic illness that is slowly robbing her of her hearing. Facing the prospect of complete deafness, Yaas learns that her father is about to abandon her and her mother, and so she undertakes a desperate, last-ditch effort to save herself and her family.

Chitra Divakaruni, author of Mistress of Spices and one of my other favorites, Sister of My Heart, has this to say:

“Gina Nahai’s beautifully written novel Caspian Rain is evocative and poetic, with striking images that remain in the mind long after they are read. It is also a heart-wrenching examination of the tragedies of women caught in the net of gender, history, family secrets and the unbending laws of high society. But ultimately it is a celebration of the human spirit — the moments of joy and courage and risk-taking that make all our lives worth living.”

Caspian Rain is filled with many brilliant, memorable lines, but the following words capture both Yaas’ desolate situation and her fierce spirit.

"It is true that I have tiny bones—thin ankles and wrists, a face and body that look more like a pencil sketch of a child than a complete picture—but I’m a girl, and this alone makes me indestructible: every woman I know, even the ones who refer to themselves as 'thinking people,' which means they understand more than most women but not as much as men, believes that girls are like weeds; they grow anywhere, survive any illness and misfortune, even if you don’t want them to."

“It’s strange, how a person carries around the shadow of those that matter most to her. You can always see it—that presence, or its absence—in the eyes, in the movements of the hands, in a person’s laugh. You can see it—if an old woman had a father who loved her when she was a child; if a middle-aged man lost his first love; if a teenage girl has a best friend she knows she can run to. You see it in the way people move and speak, in the subjects they choose and the things they avoid, in the way they appear solid or hollow, certain or plagued with doubt.”

I've often thought I'd one day go for an MFA in Creative Writing. Maybe even at USC where I can learn from Ms. Nahai. Meantime, I'll be reading her backlist of three books! No doubt I will find those equally memorable.

What novel remains in your mind?

Conquering Fear

2010-04-19T07:42:00.000-07:00

It’s no secret I’m not exactly the outdoorsy type. In fact, I’ve admitted it here and here.

We push our kids—stretch yourself, try new things, be brave, don't be afraid of change! There are things about me I’d like to change: I’d like to be more active, to connect with old friends. I’d like to be less judgmental, more charitable with my time, less frightened about potential intruders. But one thing I never thought I’d say is this: I’d like to be more outdoorsy.

This weekend, a dear friend invited me and another friend to an outdoor adventure in the woods, where we each had our own cabin, a view of the lake, and morning caffeine delivered by the coffee fairy.

I didn’t know what to expect, even when I followed the gravel driveway deep into the private woods. Our host warmly greeted us and made me feel instantly welcome. He mentioned no electricity, and I thought it was a joke, like the jackalope head mounted on the wall of one of the cabins. But no, the candles in my room weren’t decorative, nor were the neck flashlights he issued us later in the evening, with a warning to remember their precise location when removed.

Upon our arrival, our gracious host toured us around the property in an open jeep, past fields of blue bonnets and Indian paintbrush, with tales of armadillos, pigs, coyotes, and snakes. We climbed a three-story lookout and found a vulture feather I initially thought was fake, until one of the creatures soared overhead hoping to land on one of the dirty white wood posts where he’d obviously stood before.

We hunkered down from an evening storm under a wooden canopy and ate al fresco guacamole, campfire-cooked salmon and baked potatoes. I branded a coaster with a red-hot iron as the rain played tunes on metal tubs and the cows crept ever nearer, threatening to join us under cover.

Earlier we’d chosen our cabins, the others indulging my fears by offering the “Martha Stewart” cabin, centrally located and outfitted with the cushiest of rustic accommodations. Our gracious host even offered Lexi the guard dog as protection.

Later in the dark room, with Lexi sleeping on the floorboards by the unlocked door and a cool breeze wafting through the window screens, I marveled at my lack of fear. Even at 2 a.m. when I saw a little girl appear at the top of my stairs, only to be gone a moment later, I closed my eyes and fell asleep, wondering if anyone would really believe I’d seen a ghost.

In the morning, while we ate tortilla-wrapped salmon, potatoes, and egg, I told them about my night. Our host, noticing me shivering, place a skillet with coals from the fire under my metal chair, a rustic version of heated seats, which was engineered after at a previous guest’s suggestion. If I’d been staying at Martha’s house, I wouldn’t have felt more welcome.

Earlier in the day, one of the other women chose the cabin over the garage away from the immediate cabin area. While I thought, glad it’s her and not me !, I had no idea I’d later escort her home, navigating by neck-light with the threat of killer cows and snakes at my heels.

I can’t lie and say I wasn’t frightened at all, like when I was certain a snake leered from a nearby branch over our hot tub, but I’m so thankful for the opportunity to stretch myself. In the morning I saw that the snake in the trees was really an outdoor shower head, but I’m not convinced our host wasn’t a figment of my imagination or a hospitable ghost, sent to help me conquer my fears.

(Blue bonnet picture provided by Barbara Johnson.)

Danielle Trussoni Visits What Women Write

2010-04-12T05:47:00.000-07:00

Since the launch of What Women Write, I've interviewed Jamie Ford, Adriana Trigiani, Dani Shapiro and Sarah Stonich. Between my blogging partners, add interviews or guest posts with editor Amy Einhorn, editorial ass Moonrat, and authors Melanie Benjamin, Jacqueline Mitchard, Aimee Molloy, Quinn Cummings, Therese Walsh, and Kristy Kiernan. Today I interview Danielle Trussoni, author of the hugely successful Angelology. Check out this fabulous cover!

Victorian London

2010-04-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

Last Monday on What Women Write, I blogged about taking a break to research. Over the last week, I’ve pored over numerous books, including some quirky long-out-of-print titles I nabbed at Half Price Books. In searching for an 1850s map, I came across this wonderful site: victorianlondon.org offering details of the period’s housing, clothing, slang, transportation, money, you name it.

On the site, I noticed an advertisement for a book, The Diary of a Murder by Lee Jackson and a note to click to read for free. Well, why not? I felt sure I’d learn more about the period and I love a dark murder mystery, particularly a Victorian one. Mr. Jackson had published six novels and two non-fiction titles before deciding to publish this online. All he asks is that if you feel compelled, as I have now, either buy another of his books or send a payment via PayPal for the pleasure of reading his book. Fair stipulations, to be sure. Especially since I later realized the very useful site is his own creation, clearly his passion and the work of many years.

For the second time in one week, I devoured a book in one day. The first, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, was decidedly shorter. (Diary is 497 pages!) But I reminded myself that I was also researching and pushed my guilt at taking a day where I could have written on my WIP.

Mr. Jackson cleverly weaves a tale by alternating diary entries and chapters in which a murder is being investigated. He finesses the Victorian details into the story, not by dumping information as in many historicals, but by painting a vast canvas of London during the period, its smells and sounds, its divergent classes and neighborhoods. He also leaves you never quite sure if the narrator is reliable or not. The ending twist unravels perfectly, completely unexpected yet totally believable. I highly recommend you check it out.

By the way, I heard from Mr. Jackson that a small publisher plans to publish his book in the fall. Good news!

Jim McCarthy Told Me What to Read

2010-04-05T14:59:00.000-07:00

So the other day I scrolled through my Google blog reader and opened agent Jim McCarthy’s post. Jim (of Dystel & Goderich) offered a book suggestion to those who commented with a list of their five most recent reads. Now, I know Jim is a nice guy, from my correspondence with him when he read three of my manuscripts. (So close!) So, I jumped right in.

Thanks to Elizabeth, who reads more than any of us, I have been on a mission to keep track of my reading. I’ve done this over the past few years, but I’d guess some titles never made the list—maybe they were forgettable books or maybe they truly slipped my mind. Anyway, I’ve read a lot so far this year and the last five books actually showed a good representation of my interests.

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
Paula Spencer by Roddy Doyle
Shannon by Frank Delaney
Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin
Angelology by Danielle Trussoni

Jim wrote: “Taking a cue from the wonderful spookiness of two of your books, Joan, might I suggest an oldie but a goodie: Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle.”

A few days later after reading it in one night, here's what I wrote to him:
I loved it from the first page: “Everyone else in my family is dead.” And the magic continued throughout the book where she’d drop in little bombs like that... To me it felt like a mix of two of my favorites, Diane Setterfield’s Thirteenth Tale and Sarah Waters’ Little Stranger. I’m sure you’ve read them, but if not, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. (I never miss an opportunity to tell others about those two titles!)

Jim gave me a mention in his blog today which was very exciting! (Here’s the post)

I told him I’d pulled out four more of his suggested titles I’m sure I’ll enjoy and others will likely do the same. He probably didn’t count on that one post taking his whole day! I think he was still responding with recommendations long after the end of the work day. It was a big hit though. Let's hope he does it again sometime!

Jim wrote on his blog today, “For me, reading is a great individual pleasure, and there’s something exceedingly exciting about finding a novel on your own that you just tumble head over heels for. But there is something equally invigorating about finding yourself in a community of readers.” I agree!

If anyone has any recommendations, feel free to send them in. And I’ll offer a title back to you.

Congrats Moonrat

2010-03-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

Moonrat, my favorite anonymous editorial ass, is celebrating her 500,000th hit. Congrats! And check out her fabulous blog...

I Want to Know

2010-03-29T05:21:00.000-07:00

Over at What Women Write, I'm looking for some advice on writing in accented dialogue. Resources for research? Ideas anyone?

The Bodleian Renovation

2010-03-18T09:21:00.000-07:00

News on the Bodleian renovation. Time to pull THE BODLEY GIRL and all her ghosts out of the drawer...

Angelology

2010-03-17T06:16:00.000-07:00

Monday night I went to an author reading. I showed up early because there's been lots of buzz about this book. Sometimes I wait until after the reading to buy the book, but the cover was so gorgeous and the reviews so positive, I bought the book and started it while I waited. I was slightly annoyed when the man announced the program was starting because I didn't want to put the book down. Until I remembered that the author, Danielle Trussoni, was about to speak!

Angelology is a fantastical thriller, not my normal genre of reading, but I was immediately drawn in. It's infused with historical fiction, a convent and a young nun (research for my Highgate/St. Peter's manuscript!), ancient secrets, the art world, World War II and elegant writing. From what I've read so far, it's the perfect combination of commercial and literary. Seven publishing houses fought over it. And Will Smith bought the film rights. This is going to be big.

I'll be back in a few days with a review. And watch over at What Women Write. You never know who might show up for an interview...

Multiple Narrators? Tame the Beast

2010-03-08T05:08:00.000-08:00

Writing from more than one POV? Here's some great advice from Kathy Crowley on STET!.

I spent the weekend with my WIP manuscript, a literary mystery told by many narrators in different eras. Timely...and an omen to keep going!

Middlemarch

2010-03-04T18:54:00.000-08:00

A dear friend sent this to me today. Isn't it lovely?

From George Eliot's Middlemarch.

"Her full nature, like that river of which Cyrus broke the strength, spent itself in channels which had no great name on the earth. But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs."

George Eliot is buried at Highgate Cemetery, the setting for my work in progress, The Architect at Highgate. The DFWWW Conference is coming up next month. I signed up for an agent pitch session. Incentive to finish!

Oscar Style

2010-03-01T04:10:00.000-08:00

Do you have style?

Erin Foxworthy - Guest author

2010-02-20T14:03:00.000-08:00

The following is a poem written by my incredibly talented niece, Erin Foxworthy. I loved this. Hope you do, too.

I AM FROM

I am from eagerly shredding wrapping paper and exclaiming “wow!”
From smacking Austin with a spoon, “bonk-a-head!”
From drenched Barbies and Kens and “snug as a bug in a rug!”
And from pretending to like soda.

I am from constructing a dog food trail for Penny and attempting to climb into Lala’s bed.
From an overflowing beanie-baby crib and green, striped wallpaper.
From flying the rocket, rowing the canoe and the Chocolate Vanilla and Strawberry Pharmacy.
And from sitting through too many bar mitzvahs.

I am from Sugarloaf Mountain and kissing captured fish.
From too many clementines and homemade matzo ball soup.
From illuminating menorahs and discarding Santa’s surplus milk.
And from being ravenous on the bus with Miranda after morning kindergarten.

I am from pinched cheeks, bitten hands and “shaineh maideleh”.
From singing solos and cradling Aunt Berta’s space shuttle tile.
From a kosher Thanksgiving and ham at Christmas.
And from fancying to walk Caity’s beagle, Daisy, and endeavoring for my own dog.

I am from horror movies with Victoria and the “octapedes”,
From “fishy crackers” and baking the “next batch”.
From feigning a run away from home.
And from the frigid shower in the cabin, snow tubing with some friends.

I am from “Erin turns” and “Emily stops” and plummeting off my horse.
From big, yellow safety glasses, “pull”, and bruises from the recoil.
From long-winded biking face-offs and neighborhood rivalry cook-offs.
And from recalling lines from movies, word for word.

I am from the summer block party and the winter progressive dinner.
From the convoy dog walks and adventures to Hershey Park.
From driving dad’s big, white pick-up and stalling mom’s manual Audi.
And from antiquing in downtown shops.

I am from an unorganized tea cabinet; sipping hot tea on the front porch.
From portraying a big sister for Ali and Andrew, striving to learn some Thai from Ann.
From strolling with Oliver, my white Westie, and cooking more than my parents.
And from a family of friends that I hope to always possess.

I am from these memories, and they are from me.
I am a time capsule, a documentary.
I am from the past, present and future
And from the ever repetitive rhythm of history.

Joan here. Thanks for reading. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more in the future from Erin. By the way, the Austin she refers to is my son.

Devotion

2010-02-14T19:45:00.000-08:00

Even though this is my personal blog (as opposed to the blog I share with five writing partners: What Women Write), I typically stick to literary topics and the occasional personal experience that I relate to my writing journey. In other words, I don’t discuss politics or religion. It’s a good rule to live by in general, especially when in unknown circles (or families with mixed beliefs, like mine!).

In early October when I invited Dani Shapiro to share some thoughts in conjunction with her upcoming memoir, Devotion, I knew nothing about the book’s subject. As the date got closer and I read the blurb, I realized it was a book about her search for an understanding of faith. She was on The Today Show recently and has been named one of "O" The Oprah Magazine's must-read picks for February.
From her publisher:

In her mid-forties and settled into the responsibilities and routines of adulthood, Dani Shapiro found herself with more questions than answers. Was this all life was-a hodgepodge of errands, dinner dates, e-mails, meetings, to-do lists? What did it all mean?

Having grown up in a deeply religious and traditional family, Shapiro had no personal sense of faith, despite repeated attempts to create a connection to something greater. Feeling as if she was plunging headlong into what Carl Jung termed "the afternoon of life," she wrestled with self-doubt and a searing disquietude that would awaken her in the middle of the night. Set adrift by loss-her father's early death; the life-threatening illness of her infant son; her troubled relationship with her mother-she had become edgy and uncertain. At the heart of this anxiety, she realized, was a challenge: What did she believe? Spurred on by the big questions her young son began to raise, Shapiro embarked upon a surprisingly joyful quest to find meaning in a constantly changing world. The result is Devotion: a literary excavation to the core of a life.

In this spiritual detective story, Shapiro explores the varieties of experience she has pursued-from the rituals of her black hat Orthodox Jewish relatives to yoga shalas and meditation retreats. A reckoning of the choices she has made and the knowledge she has gained, Devotion is the story of a woman whose search for meaning ultimately leads her home. Her journey is at once poignant and funny, intensely personal-and completely universal.

I have always struggled with my (lack of) faith, so I was really looking forward to reading this one. I savored Devotion over the course of a few days. As I normally do when reading Dani’s essays, I felt an immediate connection to her words. She and her husband have one boy, she wakes up nights worrying about potential catastrophes, she felt like an outsider in her own religion, she remembered tossing dirt on her father’s casket. And she hates scrapbooking!

Dani’s writing is, as usual, elegant. She concisely captures the essence of a particular issue and every word has a purpose. But what I loved most about this book was that, in the end, she didn’t stand on a mountain and shout down her beliefs, didn’t pronounce those beliefs as truth. She quotes Yogi Stephen Pope, Buddhist Sylvia Boorstein and Catholic monk Thomas Merton, among others, stresses that action replace worry and inaction, suggests we become mindful of the present moment, of rituals, of the truth that we are what we surround ourselves with, things and ideas. But mostly that the not knowing is enough. “Each of us human, full of longing, reaching out with our whole selves for something impossible to touch. Still we are reaching, reaching.”

Writers' Guild of Texas

2010-02-14T13:17:00.000-08:00

Presents

WORKSHOP
with Charlotte Lanham, multi published Chicken Soup author

If you're in the Dallas area, check out this workshop put on by the Writers' Guild of Texas:

• Saturday, March 27
• North Dallas Chamber of Commerce, 10707 Preston Road, Dallas
• 10:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
• $25.00 for non-members; $20.00 for members

Workshop attendees may send Charlotte a Current Needs Chicken Soup story within two weeks following the workshop. Charlotte will judge the stories, select a winner, critique the winning story for free and help the author get the story ready for submission. (She has helped more than one winner publish in CSS)

Topics covered during the workshop will include:
• Top 10 Reasons to Write for Chicken Soup
• The Recipe for a Good Story
• Current Needs
• Hot Tips from the Editor
• Hands on writing exercises throughout the day.

There will be a short lunch break, so you are advised to bring a brown bag lunch.

*Whether you write first person true stories and want to learn more about being published with Chicken Soup or wish to record true family stories for the next generation, you won’t want to miss this invaluable workshop.
Seating is limited. To reserve a place, please send your name, address, and contact number or email address, along with a check to: Writers' Guild of Texas, 6009 W. Parker Road, Suite 149-175, Plano, TX 75093.

Dani Shapiro stops in at What Women Write

2010-01-31T23:59:00.000-08:00

Dani Shapiro was kind enough to share some thoughts over at my other blog What Women Write.

Check out the interview and then the book trailer here.

I'll be back soon with my thoughts on her new book, Devotion. Can't wait to read it!

Amy Einhorn Stops by WWW

2010-01-25T04:26:00.000-08:00

Did you love The Help by NY Times bestselling author Kathryn Stockett? Pamela chats with Ms. Stockett's publisher, Amy Einhorn, at What Women Write today!

BBC TV

2010-01-14T07:40:00.000-08:00

I am hooked on BBC productions. Movies, television, you name it. I’ve been through many mini-series', period pieces like The Forsyte Saga, Berk eley Square and Cranford. I recently found a contemporary show on Netflix: William and Mary, starring Martin Clunes and Julie Graham. It aired for three seasons and when I finished the last episode, I went into mourning.

An undertaker and a midwife, both single parents to teenagers, meet through a dating service—a beautiful juxtaposition, especially since in olden times, as William later points out to Mary, midwives served both functions. From the first scene, conflict and misunderstanding are center stage.

At Mary’s first set up—not with William—her date’s wife shows up. Mary charges into the dating service’s office and demands her money back, but they convince her to go on one more date with William, who wanted to meet only her. Meanwhile, the owner has instructed William to say he’s in community service rather than divulge he’s an undertaker. After an intimate second date, Mary’s called to the home where her cancer-ridden postpartum client has died. Who comes to the house while Mary is with the grieving father? William. She’s furious at what she considers a lie, especially since it’s the second time she’s been deceived. William mails an apology, but her busybody live-in mother confiscates the letter. Just as one conflict is resolved, another appears.

I’ve read about upping the stakes for characters. When things seem as bad as they can get, heap some more on them. That’s what agent Donald Maass writes in both The Fire in Fiction and Writing the Breakout Novel and it’s done brilliantly here.

Since I loved William and Mary so much, I thought I’d try another with the excellent Martin Clunes. In Doc Martin, Clunes plays former London surgeon Martin Ellingham who leaves the big city to be local G.P. for Portwenn, a small fishing town on the gorgeous Cornwall coast, a place I’ve wanted to visit since reading about it in one of my favorite books, The Shell Seekers by Rosamund Pilcher. He’s cranky and arrogant, but he has a secret: The sight of blood makes him ill. The town’s quirky and endearing residents suffer more medical (physical and mental) problems than in any big city. He’s intrigued by the beautiful head teacher at the town’s school, but his arrogance and candid behavior (after an all night vigil at the hospital for one of the residents, they share a kiss and he asks her, "Are you aware you have halitosis?") infuriates her. The writing is spectacular, real and gritty. Conflict and dark humor, double check. Luckily, they’re still filming this one. The next season comes out on DVD at the beginning of February.

I don’t know what it is about BBC television, but I’m on the search for more. Anyone have suggestions?

Cat's Eye

2009-12-30T09:53:00.000-08:00

I just finished my first Margaret Atwood book. I know, years after I should have.

From Random House:
Considered to be her most autobiographical work, Cat's Eye, Margaret Atwood's critically acclaimed seventh novel, is the story of Elaine Risley, the daughter of a forest entomologist and controversial artist in her fifties who returns to Toronto for a retrospective of her work. In her moment of professional glory, she becomes consumed by vivid images of her past, especially those of Cordelia, her best friend and emotional counterpart who waged lavish cruelties on her as a girl. Atwood employs her wry humor, rich irony, and keen eye for detail in a brilliant exploration of the treacherous terrain of girlhood and the historical geography of Toronto from the 1940s to the 1980s.

"An eye for an eye only leads to more blindness." The novel is filled with gems like this, strong themes and imagery. It's a novel about the past, about time and space, about the evil and sly behavior of young girls. The child's perception of life is altered and spun as she grows to adulthood. I'm still deciphering the nuances, flipping back through the book for other insightful passages. Wow.

Which Atwood novel should I tackle next?

Book Heaven

2009-12-23T07:10:00.000-08:00

I'd like to go to Hay-on-Wye like Oxford's Stuck in a Book. Wouldn't you?

Diversion

2009-12-16T06:45:00.000-08:00

I'm writing about cemeteries again. Which means one thing to those who know me: I'm spending way too much time on my favorite diversion, FindaGrave.com.

Both my solo WIPs feature cemeteries, one is set near Highgate Cemetery in London, and the other along Route 40 from Arizona to South Carolina. Highgate's characters are set, and I've done most of my research. But my other WIP, currently titled "Greer," was formulated during NaNo and is truly a work in process. The plot is developing as Aunt Greer and her niece drive across the country and run into oddball characters as they go. Some of the cemeteries I've invented, but I'd like to include some actual gravesites of historical figures.

The problem with research is that when you find one interesting fact, you find ten others that draw you to places both exciting and time consuming. Did you know that D.H. Lawrence was buried at Koiwa Ranch in Taos, New Mexico? His body was cremated and his ashes were mixed in cement and used in construction of his memorial altar. As of yet, I don't see how this nugget would fit into Greer's story, but you never know. He died before Aunt Greer was born, but his wife Frieda, also buried in New Mexico, died in 1956.

When I wrote THE CEMETERY GARDEN, I got sidetracked many times locating the burial sites of Jewish mobsters. I even wrote a short story about Grandpa Izzie visiting the graves of New York. It never won any of the contests I entered, but it's a fun bit of nostalgia.

Enough sidetracking for one day, I'm off to write. What's your favorite research diversion?

Bookmarks

2009-12-05T09:23:00.000-08:00

For our What Women Write retreat, Pamela gave all of us personalized charm-bookmarks she’d devoted precious time to making. From mine dangles a pretty marbled stone, a silver and black heart, a Hope charm, and a 2009 marker, a little indication that this was the first of many retreats.

It got me thinking about bookmarks and the little things that, for me, make reading a book more special.

I’ve picked up bookmarks from libraries, conferences, bookstores, even from colleges my son hopes to attend. I’ve received bookmarks for gifts, whether alone or nestled inside one of my soon to be favorites. The ones I like best are from unique places or remind me of good friends.

I’ve got several from Politics and Prose, the Washington, D.C. bookstore one of my sisters frequents. I've collected treasures from other independents as well, such as the fantabulous Powell’s in Portland, where my husband had to drag me away from eight floors of books. From both the Poisoned Pen and Pages in Scottsdale, recent excursions with my cousin Gail. From Four Seasons Books in Shepherdstown, WV, where my friend Devon and I met to browse and reminisce about our time at Oxford. Some remind me that getting published is for real people too, like the publicity bookmarks I’ve accumulated over the years from writers I know, such as my friend and mentor Sophia Nash, award-winning author of seven historical novels; my critique partner Bill Lee, author of The Boys in Blue White Dress and who was recently featured in the Dallas Morning News; fellow board member Rachel DeFriez, author of The Rath Haven Chronicles; and writing acquaintances Candace Havens and Rosemary Clement Moore.

Truthfully, any slip of paper will do and often has. I’ve used an airline boarding pass, a grocery receipt, the empty lines on the bottom of a to-do list. Anything to avoid dog-earing pages, which for me is truly taboo for any true writer or reader.

How about you? What are your favorite and most memorable bookmarks?

Perspective

2009-12-01T04:28:00.000-08:00

Last week my husband, son and I set out in a loaded-up car for Scottsdale. We’re no amateurs when it comes to long driving trips, having successfully maneuvered roundtrip tours such as Maryland to Texas, Maryland to Toronto--circling back via Missouri, and Baltimore to northwest Massachusetts. We each have a different perspective on what makes a driving trip successful—photo ops (husband), paper and pen (me), and iTunes (son).

Originally we had planned on taking the fastest route, but as the trip got closer, it seemed a shame to miss out on the more scenic, albeit longer, drive. On the way there, we took the northern route up through Oklahoma City and across Route 40 (Historic Route 66). Several pit stops had us lunching in a real Texas landmark, The Big Texan steakhouse, and hiking (yes, me!) through the Badlands of the Petrified Forest.

It just so happens that my current WIP follows Aunt Greer, a vivacious has-been actress on the run from the law, and her recently widowed niece, also named Greer, on a cross-country cemetery trek along Route 40 as well. Pamela recently blogged about the importance of setting. Before I’d seen Route 40, I had only Google Maps to lead the way. Young Greer was getting bored with the view and asked her aunt to detour through Colorado. I’d seen the Garden of the Gods, a stunning backdrop for any novel. But now that I’ve seen the far-from-boring cakey mesas and painted deserts of New Mexico and Arizona, I have fuel to write the scenes in the Greer ladies’ driving trip.

As we left Scottsdale at 5 a.m. and traveled south on Route 10, a glorious view appeared over the Mexican border. Craggy mountains under a rose and turquoise swirl of sky had me trying to write the scene in my head. I was driving, so I couldn’t reach for paper and pen, but I was doing my best to remember it. (I haven’t done it justice.) The photographer in my husband reached for his camera (not perfect, but hey, we were in a moving car) and that’s when it hit me: we’re just artists trying to capture the world in our own way.

So it is with characters. Aunt Greer the actress drags her niece to theaters she’d performed in, while young Greer, grieving mother, is focused on the ages of the cemetery inhabitants. Not only do we need to capture the setting, but we need to show it from the character's perspective.

Side note: Sarah Laurence combines two talents, writer and photographer. You should check out her work.

What's your perspective?

Neil Gaiman's Pep Talk, Sort Of

2009-11-23T04:00:00.000-08:00

This week I'm blogging over at What Women Write about NaNo
and Neil Gaiman. He's posted a great Pep Talk at NaNoWriMo's Web site.

It turns out, keeping up with this blog as well as the other is taking a toll on my blog writing. Don't give up on me, though, I hope to be back to blogging regularly soon. In the meantime, enjoy Neil's inspiring message for writers.

Struggling

2009-11-09T08:19:00.000-08:00

This essay by John Dalton inspired me today. It reminded me that there's no shame in being a struggling writer, or a writer struggling to get the words right. He wrote and rewrote his first novel, Heaven Lake, over eight years and received starred reviews when it debuted. He's now writing his second.

WOAO

2009-11-02T18:44:00.000-08:00

I'm doing a version of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) with my writing partners at What Women Write. We've all committed to various output (or not) and we've renamed it accordingly. NaNo participants write a 50,000 word draft novel.

I know that figure is unrealistic for the November I have planned this year. And I also don't want to start a new novel since I'm 30,000 words into my WIP. I'm not actually going to officially sign up, but I'll say it here so I can be accountable: My goal is 30,000 words on my WIP. So, that will get me to 60,000, I'll write the rest (about 20,000) in December and then take January, February and March to revise. That's my plan.

It's November 2 and I've written 1,276 words. 724 to go for tonight to be on track. Wish me luck.

Any of you also doing NaNo? Or joining our WWW group for WOAO?

Ghost Reader

2009-10-26T02:00:00.000-07:00

The following is an excerpt from my manuscript The Cemetery Garden, my first brush with a ghost. One day, I plan on revising and sending it out on submission, because for some reason, the story won't let me go. Ghosts are like that.

I huddled between my mother and sister on a cold metal folding chair lining the grave’s edge. A billowy and familiar form drifted toward the mound of earth that would soon blanket my father's casket. Aunt Florence was draped in a flowery, tent-like shift she’d typically reserved for Friday night dinners. Certain I’d imagined her, I blinked, hoping the puffy shape was a circle of leaves blown up from the ground. But her red curls gave her away. She caught my eye and tapped two fingers to her heart, our private signal of affection.

My dead aunt.

I gulped and covered my shock with a cough. Then I inhaled cool air and slowly blinked again. Still there. Aunt Florence had been dead for over twenty years and, until that moment, had never appeared.

She showed up frequently after that. But why? Oh, I asked, but she never answered. Sometimes when I tossed questions at her, she’d fade away, as though my words were a strong wind and she, a pile of leaves.

Aunt Florence had a heart attack and died the summer I was at sleep-away camp. When I returned, tanned and over-s'mored, I stared at my father as he cautiously told me. I ignored his words, and ran to the cemetery near our house. They'd buried her at a cemetery across town, but I didn’t want to ask him to drive me there. So I pretended St. Patrick’s was her cemetery and zigzagged through the myriad tombstones searching for a lady named Florence. I found Florence Fitzgerald, picked up some dirt, and spread it across the last name. Now she was my Florence.

When I do revise, I'll likely use my new favorite self-editing tool, GhostReader. Read more about a ghost reader named Rachel on What Women Write.

Not Giving Up

2009-10-14T06:40:00.000-07:00

I needed to read Ann Aguirre's Writer Unboxed blog post today. Did you?

Mass Blog--WOW and Family Relationships

2009-10-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

Today I’m participating in a mass blogging! WOW! Women on Writing has gathered a group of blogging buddies to write about family relationships. Why family relationships? We’re celebrating the release of Therese Walsh’s debut novel today. The Last Will of Moira Leahy (Random House, October 13, 2009) is about a mysterious journey that helps a woman learn more about herself and her twin, whom she lost they were teenagers. Visit the Muffin (on the 13th) to read what Therese has to say about family relationships and view the list of all my blogging buddies. And make sure you visit www.theresewalsh.com to find out more about the author.

I can’t wait to read Therese's novel. Mostly because my favorite books evoke haunting feelings, narratives in which characters unravel family secrets, where the present is woven inextricably from the past, where adversity is mirrored through generations of women. Novels don’t need happy endings or big fat bows, in fact, I prefer tragic family tales with unrequited or forbidden love stories and endings that satisfy but are never expected. Not only do I like to read about these themes, but also they inhabit my writing.

I grew up in a middle-class household with middle-class values, which translated to me as unremarkable. I often imagined I’d find out I was adopted or that my mother was descended from royalty, like the Russian duchess Anastasia. Or, perhaps my father had a Swiss bank account hidden away. But sadly, no, just four girls going to public school in a suburb of Washington, D.C.

We’re all so different, yet I connect with each one in a different way. My oldest sister is a book-a-holic and, while we don’t always share the same favorites, we have a few elements on which we’ll always agree: Anglophilia, nuns, and anything written by Adriana Trigiani or Maeve Binchy. While those two authors write very different books, they have some similar qualities: humor, charm, and family relationships. We also share an aversion to butter and mayonnaise (ick, she’d say) and both adore coffee and chocolate.

My next sister is a bit of a rebel, needs a GPS to navigate a city in which she’s lived all her life, but she never misses a birthday or anniversary, and thoughtfully sends me author readings from Politics and Prose. She makes the best pizza south of New York and would happily live in that big city to give them some competition.

My younger sister is a travel goddess, knows all the best hotels and restaurants in the United States. She tells it like it is (remind you of someone?) and has a caustic wit. Her house and kitchen are always open, and we delivered our only children the same year, ensuring we'd always have plenty of experiences to share.

For years we all agreed on one thing: we led a vanilla life. It wasn’t until later that we learned of a well-buried family secret, a great uncle who was found in his bathtub murdered, rumored to be by a business associate in the Jewish mafia. But since most of the people who might have known the story are either dead or unknown to me, and my mother’s memory is slipping fast, it’s not likely I’ll ever find out. (Truthfully, there are one or two people I could ask, but I’m a little afraid of the repercussions.)

This is the seed I used for my first manuscript, The Cemetery Garden, in which a woman learns her grandfather had mafia connections, affecting her mother irrevocably in a fate worthy of a Greek tragedy. My second manuscript has similar themes, a woman haunted by her grandmother's past in the Bodleian Library.

Where families dwell, secrets follow, and plenty of people to read about them. Here's hoping Therese has a spectacular debut.

What Women Write

2009-10-12T05:26:00.000-07:00

I am a loner. Or was, before I joined my own little writing village at What Women Write.

Query Letter Perfection

2009-10-07T09:31:00.000-07:00

This is how you write a query letter.

As you know from my interview, Jamie Ford is as nice as he is talented.

Global Faces

2009-09-28T07:34:00.000-07:00

Inspired by a jaunt around the world.

Where do your characters come from?

TBR

2009-09-24T10:43:00.000-07:00

As Pamela mentioned, watching movies is part of our job. There are plenty of movies I return to, like comfort food, whether for plot or character, but now I will look at them with a new eye.

In addition, part of my job is reading. My TBR list is ever-expanding and I find myself lately poring over blog posts, jotting down names of books I desperately want to read, buying or borrowing them, and then longingly staring at them on my shelf or counter or nightstand, as though they are chocolate bars; I always want to devour another, no matter how many I've just eaten.

I just finished The Sister, by Poppy Adams (psychological and haunting, reminiscent of Sarah Waters) and I'm currently reading: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (I'm not getting it, but I don't think I'm his reader), The Underpainter, by Jane Urquhart (I'm definitely her reader, thanks Kim!), and Noah Lukeman's The Plot Thickens (taking notes on this one).

I thought it would be fun to list a few of the books on my TBR list. Many I don't remember from who or why they were referred. Thanks to Stuck-in-a-Book, I've now got all the Bloomsbury books on my list (as one category: Bloomsbury).

I'd love to hear from you all (especially if I've got a title or name wrong!): Which ones should I tackle next, safely drop (in a nice way), read only when I want a good cry, read for a side-splitting laugh, study for craft, you get the idea. Some books haven't made it to my list yet and are still floating around on my desk or in my purse on slips of paper.

Here they are (over 100!), in no particular order, and unfortunately, not politely linked, because I've just run out of time.

Bloomsbury
Miss Hargraeves, Frank Baker
The Mathematics of Love, Emma Darwin
Saint Rimberg (The Miracle Letters of T. Rimberg), Geoff Herbach
Ghostwritten, David Mitchell
Forever, Pete Hamill
Midnight at the Dragon Café, Judy Fong Bates
Shadow of the Wind, Ramoz
The Blood of Flowers, Amirrezvani
Away: A Novel, Amy Bloom
Open Me, Sunshine O'Donnell
Julia's Chocolates, Cathy Lamb
A Good Distance, Sarah Willis
Things Unspoken, Anitra Sheen
Shadow Baby, Alison McGhee
Mina Samuer, Sara Miller
Tarts & Sinners, Carrie Kabak
The Kommandant's Daughter, Bronte Villette
Goodbye I love you, Carol Lynn Pearson
The Long Walk Home, Will North
Out of Sheer Rage, Geoff Dyer
Achilles, Elizabeth Cook
Oh Pure & Radiant Heart, Lydia Millet
The Accidental, Ali Smith
On the Way to my father's funeral, Jonathan Baumsach
Last Night, James Salter
Unless, Carol Shields
The Welsh Girl, Peter Ho Davies
At War with Wind, David Sears
The Oracles of Delphi, V.A. Laurie
A Certain Slant of Light, Margaret Bonanno
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See
A Saffron Kitchen, Yasmin Crowther
Number to Count, Chris Reich
The Light Ages, Ian MacLeod
Literacy and Longing in L.A., Jennifer Kaufman/Karen Mack
Reduced Shakespeare, Read Martin/Austin Tichemor
Away, Jane Urquhart
Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton
The Ghost at the Table, Suzanne Berne
Athena, John Banville
Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl
In the Country of Men, Hisham Matar
The Secret River, Kate Grenville
Carry Me Down, M.J. Hyland
Mother's Milk, Edward St. Aubyn
Seminary Boy, John Corwell
My Enemy the Queen, Victoria Holt
Tin Box, Holly Kennedy
Pastries, Bharti Kirchner
My Mother's Island, Marnie Mueller
Sister Mine, Tawni O'Dell
Candy, Jodi Thomas
Red Leather Diary, Lily Koppel
Those Who Save Us, Jenna Blum
The Rule of Four, Ian Caldwell
Anatomy of a deception Lawrence Goldstone
The Lace Reader, Brunonia Barry
Housekeeping, Marilyn Robinson
Gilead, Marilyn Robinson
The Bronte Project, Jennifer Vandever
A Pidgeon and a Boy, Meir Shalev
Overture, Yael Goldstein
Matrimony, Joshua Henkin
Inheritance, Natalie Danford
The Septembers of Shiraz, Dalia Safer
All Whom I Have Loved, Aharon Appelfield
Perfect Happiness, Penelope Lively
Passing On, Penelope Lively
Cheating at Canasta, William Trevor
Lessons in Heartbreak, Cathy Kelly
Love Lies Bleeding, Kate Thompson
The Likeness, Tara French
Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourbain
Dresden Files, Jim Butcher
Eye of the World, Robert Jordan
Charlotte Sometimes, Penelope Farmer
Blind Assasin, Atwood
The Chatham School Affair, Thomas Cook
A Dark Adapted Eye, Barbara Vine
A Manuscript of Ashes, Antonio Munoz Molina
The Clothes on Their Backs, Linda Grant
The Northern Clemency, Philip Hensher
Dear Stephanie, Dear Paul Stephanie and Paul Duke
Machine Dreams, Jayne Ann Philips
London Nights, Stephen Graham
Tom Jones, Fielding
The Sealed Letter, Emma Donohue
The September Society, Charles Finch
The Middle Place, Kelly Corrigan
The Aviary Gate, Katie Hickman
A Man of No Moon, Jenny McPhee
The Morville Hours, Katherine Swift
This Secret Garden, Cartwright
Shanghai Girls, Lisa See
Something by: Bryce Courtenay
The Forgotten Garden, Kate Morton
War on the Margins, Libby Cone
Her Fearful Symmetry, Audrey Niffeneger
The Fiction Class, Susan Breen
The Echo Maker, Richard Powers
The Rose of Sebastopol, ????
The Pursuit of Love, Nancy Mitford
Love in a Cold Climate, Nancy Mitford
The Sea Between Us, Amos Oz
The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, Carhart
Dreams of My Russian Summer, Adnrei Makine
The Keeper of Absalom's Island, Tom Nestor
The Secret River, Kate Grenville
Beyond Black, Hilary Mantel
How to Buy a Love of Reading, Tanya Egan Gibson
Lake in the Clouds, Sara Donati
Maiden Bride, Linda Needham
The Day the Falls Stood Still, Cathy Marie Buchanon
The Sugar Queen, Sarah Addison Allen
Garden Spells, Sarah Addison Allen
Julia’s Chocolates, Cathy Lamb
Everything else from Sarah Waters
Clarity of Night, Jason Evans
Kisses from a Postcard, Terence Frisby
The Laws of ??, Judith Ryan Hendricks
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larrson
?? Susan Henderson
The Ghost Writer, John Harwood
The Bolter, Frances Osborne
The Last September – Elizabeth Bowen Elizabeth Bowen
Miss Brill, Catherine Mansfield
The Crying of Lot 49, Thomas Pynchon

The Little Stranger

2009-09-17T06:53:00.000-07:00

Have you read The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters?

Just shortlisted for the 2009 Man Booker Prize, it's a cross between two of my favorites, House at Riverton and The Thirteenth Tale. The Little Stranger started a bit slow, but soon I was caught in its grips, and I realized, that was the point. The story creeps slowly, luring the reader into a crumbling house and introducing an equally crumbling family. At the end, my unanswered questions drew me back to the beginning, and I tried to piece it together. Were my conclusions right? I won't spoil it here, but if anyone wants a good chat about it, let me know!

I'm not sure why I haven't read Sarah Waters before, but now I'm on a mission to catch up with her previous titles. Just started The Night Watch.

Q&A with Author Sarah Stonich

2009-09-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

Sarah Stonich’s first novel, These Granite Islands , became a Barnes & Noble “Discover Great New Writers” selection, a Book Sense 76 Top Ten Pick, and a “2001 Friends of American Writers” Best Novel. Her second book, The Ice Chorus, is one of my favorites. Maybe it’s the alternating backdrop of a scorching Mexican beach and the cool, stony cliffs of Ireland. Perhaps it’s the tragic love story shot through a lens shrouded in misinterpretation and family secrets. More likely it’s the tightly-woven plot and multi-layered characters.

Head over to my other blog, What Women Write, to read the Q&A. Thanks!

Living on the Lake

2009-09-08T10:02:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we enjoyed Labor Day at a friend’s lake house in northeast Texas. I’ve been accused of not being an outdoorsy type, but for three days under a sky puffy with animal clouds, I swam, boated, tubed, jetskiid, sunned myself, watched others play volleyball (let’s not go crazy, after all), read on a porch swing, cheered great friends over wine on an evening cruise, devoured s’mores over a crackling fire, and screamed while bouncing through the woods on an ATV (outdoorsy okay, woodsy definitely not.)

Soaring across the water, my hands clutched to the tube's grips, I didn’t have time to think about writing, blogging, querying, or focusing on the piles of revision notes on my desk at home. Instead I saw smiling faces egging me on from the boat, smelled fresh lake and a hint of fuel exhaust, felt sprays of water and the rush of the breeze over my face. So afraid of spring boarding off the tube, it took gallons of nerve to pry my hand for a thumbs down signal. Slow down.

Afterward, as I floated on a giant water trampoline and the sun toasted me like the marshmallows we stuffed in our s’mores, I watched my son tubing and wanted to give the thumbs down to slow his life’s pace a bit. In two years, he’ll go away to college. He’ll start his own tubing adventure, fraught with bumps and fears, tugging him ever so quickly into his future. I’m excited to see in which direction he’ll go—writer, philosopher, artist, entrepreneur—but do not want to wish away his now. I got such joy from watching him and his friends tube, ride jet skis, take on the adults in a volleyball tournament, and play chess and Catch Phrase. Living is the now.

And just as in life, as I navigate the road to publication, I can’t forget, writing is the now. It’s spending time with my family and friends, each one a different character with charming qualities. It’s floating on the raft, weaving in whatever direction the story will take me, getting lost in the flow of the words, toasting the plot to golden perfection.

At day’s end, dusky light dappled the water with glittery silhouettes, little ghosts of all who’d enjoyed their time on the lake, of those who slowed down to enjoy the now.

Photos courtesy of my talented husband, Rick.

Synchronicity

2009-08-31T05:24:00.000-07:00

Recently I've noticed that when I see a word or concept that I haven't thought about in a while (or ever), suddenly the word or concept appears everywhere I look. A few months ago, I read Ghostwalk by Rebecca Stott. She used the word palimpsest (of course I had to look it up: writing material that has been scraped clean and used again or something with aspects beneath the surface).

This morning I blogged about perseverance at What Women Write, and now I read a Boston Globe article, (thanks to author Karen MacInerney for the link) about grit. Wish I'd thought to use the word--it's a great one.

Now to take the odd a bit further, the Globe article mentions Isaac Newton and his apple and, yes, you guessed it (or maybe not) Ghostwalk is a story about a woman who digs into a Cambridge professor's murder and learns the victim, while writing a controversial biography of Isaac Newton, uncovered some 17th century ghosts.

I love when odd coincidences like this happen. Especially where ghosts are involved. Has this ever happened to you?

Further synchronicity! After I posted the above, I received an email from Borders; Rebecca Stott's new book, The Choral Thief, is available for preorder.

Wake Up Call

2009-08-22T03:24:00.000-07:00

Often I wake around 4am and stumble into my office to catch up on blogs or write a few words before the rest of the house wakes up. As my blog reader list expands, so does my knowledge of publishing and the writing craft. I found this morning's gem at Edittorrent.

Now I'm off to question every sentence in my WIP. Again.

Q&A with Adriana Trigiani

2009-08-17T04:30:00.000-07:00

Recently, I had the privilege of interviewing New York Times bestselling author Adriana Trigiani. She's not only a fabulous writer, she's a warm and charming person. See for yourself (and get a chance to win her new book) here: What Women Write

When fourteen-year-old Viola is sent from her beloved Brooklyn to boarding school in Indiana for ninth grade, she overcomes her initial reservations as she makes friends with her roommates, goes on a real date, and uses the unsettling ghost she keeps seeing as the subject of a short film—her first.

With Pain, My Gain

2009-08-10T06:03:00.000-07:00

When I twisted my back into a spasm yesterday, I spent the day in the only chair not causing more pain and started reading Andrew Davidson's The Gargoyle. And reading. (Thanks to my cousin Carole for the recommendation!)

If someone would have told me I’d be so into a book about a drug-addict porn star who drives off a cliff and suffers burns on 90% of his body, I’d have told them to check my coffee for hallucinogens. I'm on page 285 (out of 465), so I'm still not sure where it's going, but that's the beauty. The writing is so good, I don't care.

It was not unlike the feeling I had while reading Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants. Why should I want to read about a Cornell vet school dropout joining the circus and meeting up with gritty nutjobs? So different from anything I normally read. But every word was incredible. And then, on the back of The Gargoyle, I found a blurb from Sara Gruen: "I was blown away by Andrew Davidson's The Gargoyle. It reminded me of Life of Pi, with its unanswered (and unanswerable) contradictions. A hypnotic, horrifying, astonishing novel that manages, against all odds, to be redemptive." Now that she mentions it--of course. Life of Pi was another of those deeply affecting, unforgettable stories. There you go, a trifecta of oddly wonderful novels.

The kind that has me wondering how on earth I can call myself a writer, while at the same time, making me work that much harder to hone my craft. I'd never have spent the whole day reading (well, never isn't entirely accurate) if I hadn't hurt my back, but I'm glad I did. My gain. And my chiropractor's.

Q&A with Jamie Ford

2009-08-03T07:17:00.000-07:00

I had the good fortune of interviewing bestselling author, Jamie Ford.

Jamie's an engaging guy and his debut novel Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is one of the best books I've read this year.

Stop by What Women Write to win an autographed copy of his novel.

From his publisher:
In the opening pages of Jamie Ford’s stunning debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle’s Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II. As Henry looks on, the owner opens a Japanese parasol.

This simple act takes old Henry Lee back to the 1940s, at the height of the war, when young Henry’s world is a jumble of confusion and excitement, and to his father, who is obsessed with the war in China and having Henry grow up American. While “scholarshipping” at the exclusive Rainier Elementary, where the white kids ignore him, Henry meets Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese American student. Amid the chaos of blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids, Henry and Keiko forge a bond of friendship–and innocent love–that transcends the long-standing prejudices of their Old World ancestors. And after Keiko and her family are swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps, she and Henry are left only with the hope that the war will end, and that their promise to each other will be kept.

Forty years later, Henry Lee is certain that the parasol belonged to Keiko. In the hotel’s dark dusty basement he begins looking for signs of the Okabe family’s belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot begin to measure. Now a widower, Henry is still trying to find his voice–words that might explain the actions of his nationalistic father; words that might bridge the gap between him and his modern, Chinese American son; words that might help him confront the choices he made many years ago.

Set during one of the most conflicted and volatile times in American history, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an extraordinary story of commitment and enduring hope. In Henry and Keiko, Jamie Ford has created an unforgettable duo whose story teaches us of the power of forgiveness and the human heart.

Falling In Love With Reading

2009-07-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

Check out Pamela's blog about her daughter falling in love with reading. Beautiful!

What book did you fall in love with as a kid? Or an adult? I don't remember being a kid, so I'll just share the book that affected me most: The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.

Frank McCourt

2009-07-20T07:34:00.000-07:00

Sad news that Frank McCourt has died. Dani Shapiro's post today is a lovely tribute to the gifted author and his generosity of spirit.

Dani's a beautiful writer. Check out her books and her blog when you get a chance.

Time

2009-07-08T14:46:00.000-07:00

We all complain about not having enough time. Time to write, time to read, time to sleep, time to slice the summer peaches, time to watch another BBC DVD. I wonder how much time I waste worrying about how much time I don't have.

Both manuscripts safely under submission, I realized it's about time to get back to my new projects. Five Days to Kill Bob is on hold until Pamela frees up her time, so I finally opened my other WIP file, working title The Architect at Highgate. After breaking from it, I was happy to find I still like the premise and the characters, although I did change a few names. And I was pleased to see I had already written 28,000 words, 1/3 of the way to a first draft. I've no excuse now--I will write 1,500 words a day, a goal I committed to earlier this year. It turns out, it won't take me as much time to finish as I thought.

A few years ago, when I was still writing The Cemetery Garden, I worried that I wouldn't have any further ideas to write about. Now, I worry about not having enough time to write the ideas I have. A much better place to be, if you ask me.

But instead of worrying about time, I'm going to manage and appreciate the time I have.

The Meaning of Rejection

2009-07-01T10:38:00.000-07:00

I finally had a few minutes to catch up on blog reading. Today I ran across two great posts on rejection. (No, I'm not gearing up--I'm actually feeling quite positive since submitting my full manuscript last night at 1:00am, despite my late change, but that's another post). The QueryTracker.net blog led me to Simon Haynes blog (a.k.a. Space Jock).

Now I know why blue is my favorite color. But that little yellow triangle at the top of the pyramid is looking pretty good!

What Women Write

2009-06-10T11:12:00.000-07:00

I'm joining forces with five fabulous women writers for a new adventure in blogging. Beginning July 1, Pamela Hammonds, Elizabeth Lynd, Kim Bullock, Julie Kibler, Susan Ishmael-Poulos and I will be blogging at: whatwomenwritetx.blogspot.com, featuring topics such as our writing experiences, helpful information we want to pass on, and interviews with industry folks.

Check us out! If you're an author, editor, agent, bookseller, or librarian (hint to Steven F.) and would like to be interviewed, let me know!

I'll still blog here, too, as long as I have something noteworthy to pass on.

BEA: MORE AND LESS

2009-05-30T10:33:00.000-07:00

The Book Expo America/Writer’s Digest conference and Pitch Slam was more than I’d hoped for, and less.

More laughs from the workshops. Janet Reid and Barbara Poelle shared tips on a panel of agents. If they ever give up agenting, I think Comedy Central would find a slot for them. Chuck Sambuchino snagged a surprise guest for his workshop: Janet Reid listened to pitches from brave souls in a room full of onlookers. She was as ruthless as she is in her Query Shark blog, but somehow she managed to dig out the nugget of a hook some writers didn’t know they had. There was an odd moment when a man pitched his memoir about starting a commune in the ’70s and the woman who later tried to kill him (story enough!) but it got odder still when he added that he’d once been part of a four-person marriage. Yikes! Ick. More information than I needed. But who doesn’t think this guy is getting a book deal? (If I’m breaking some code of ethics by repeating his story here, someone please tell me!)

Less attendance than prior years, which means I had the good fortune to meet with 10 agents instead of the 3-6 the conference folks estimated. Pamela was on my shoulder the whole time and as soon as I got weary, she yelled, “look alive” in my ear. That’s what good writing partners do.

More requests than I anticipated: 5 for Bodley and 4 for CCS = 9. No, the accountant in me has not checked out. The one remaining was a sit-down with the agent who’d suggested revisions on Bodley. It was so great to meet her in person and to talk about how my revisions are going. She’s still excited about seeing the manuscript.

More kindness from all. The agents happily listened to my pitch and my nervousness disappeared as I talked about my projects. I even met with an agent from another conference, who previously said he couldn’t get past my answer to “why now?” He was right; I didn’t have a good enough answer. I brainstormed and ran a few ideas past my brilliant critique partners and realized I had a solution. It was a fairly significant change to the beginning, but the story remained intact. When I told him my solution at BEA, he gave me an A for persistence and asked for a partial.

Throughout the day, I was fortified with emails from Pamela, Elizabeth, Julie, Susan and my fellow board members at Writers’ Guild of Texas. More support and good karma than one person deserves!

Agent Pitch Slam

2009-05-14T05:52:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, (because I can't stop talking about it) on May 27 I'll be attending the Book Expo America/Writer's Digest writers' conference in New York. It's a one day event, just prior to the Book Expo America conference May 28-31. You should know this if you're going to register, so you don't end up registering as an exhibitor for the BEA event instead of the BEA/WD event and have to call technical support to clear up the confusion. Not that anyone I know would do such a thing.

My main reason to attend is the Agent Pitch Slam, or, speed dating with agents. Three minutes to pitch an agent, as many agents as you can visit in the 2-hour window. There are over sixty agents attending, but apparently because of long lines (think Janet Reid, Stephany Evans or Donald Maass), I should plan on pitching 3-6 only. I'm splitting my time between The Bodley Boys and Center Court Seats and a Pair of Jimmy Choos and researching the best choices for each. I wish I could pack Pamela in my suitcase to give me a boost of confidence (and to double up on the pitches). I hope they allow texting in the pitch slam room.

Two weeks ago before I met with an agent at the DFW Conference, I paced the lobby, reciting my pitch under my breath. More than one person asked if I needed any assistance. Like maybe a ride to the psych hospital. I'm trying to stay calm, agents are only people as they like to say.

Anyone been? Want to share some tips with me?

Conference Highlights

2009-05-06T04:05:00.000-07:00

This weekend I attended the DFW Writers’ Conference put on by DFWWW. It’s their second year and I thought it was a success.

Bob Mayer delivered the keynote speech at Saturday’s lunch and then hung around to present five workshops. Five! He’s a master of a no-nonsense, sensible approach to writing and the publishing business. Know what you’re up against and conquer it.

I got to hang out with my writing partner, Pamela, and a few critique partners, (Elizabeth, if you had a blog, I’d link you!), meet some new writers and enjoy what I love most—learning more about the writing process and talking about books.

Two agents had unfortunate emergencies that kept them away, but the remaining agents did double duty trying to make sure everyone got a chance to pitch. And they did so pleasantly.

Even though the agent to whom I pitched The Bodley Boys didn’t ask to see it now, he asked thoughtful questions which have prompted me to spend the last few days slightly tweaking the plot. He said if I could figure it out, he’d like to take a look. His suggestions were in line with my current revisions, so even though it set me back a bit, the book will be better in the end.

Tidbits I learned at the conference (many from Bob Mayer—sign up for his Dallas workshop at the end of May if you missed seeing him this weekend), or tidbits I knew but just had to hear again:

1. Can you state the original idea for your book in 25 words or less? If your pitch is a mess, chances are your book is too.
2. You don’t have to write what you know—write what you are passionate about. I knew this, but it’s always nice to hear again.
3. Write complex characters. Every character thinks the story is about them.
4. Book dissection—study the books and movies that work. I recently pulled apart The Thirteenth Tale and Ghostwalk and refer to my notes often.
5. The plot has to be logical. Even in a ghost story.
6. Don’t get caught up in the query/submission process and forget to keep writing. Write the next book, and be thinking about the one after that.
7. Keep your blog current. ☺
8. Keep the boot you wore when you broke your toe. You never know when you're writing partner's dog might slash her foot and leave her with stitches and a sore foot.

Animal Magnetism

2009-05-01T06:58:00.000-07:00

Three separate, but related incidents, have me wondering: Was there was a full moon last night?

1. My husband went out the back door to the garage and a squirrel jumped from the fence and scratched his arm.

Here’s his account:

Day 1 at home - while opening the door to the backyard from garage, I am accosted by a rogue squirrel. My arm is scratched as the giant squirrel invades the garage. I leave the battlefield to apply medicine to my bloody arm (ok, maybe a couple of drops, there were at least two, I'm sure). I steel myself for the return to the scene of the surprise attack and to confront the mad invader. I bang and shake the masses of boxes and bags in the garage hoping to flush my foe from its hiding place. Finally! I spy the invader crouched in a dark corner waiting to spring. Approaching slowly, I seal off all but one of its escape routes, leaving only the door to the outside in its view. Thrusting into the corner with my trusty sword, um, broom handle, I prod the giant creature into the open! A mad scramble ensues! The beast is valiantly driven back into the Plano wilds. Peace and tranquility returns to the kingdom (and all before 9:00am).

Except that pesky part about the tetanus shot.

2. Pamela called me this morning to tell me she had a mishap with her dog’s nails and has a gash in her foot, possibly needing stitches.

3. Critique partner Elizabeth has a dead possum in her back yard.

Anyone else have an animal adventure today? I don’t know about you, but I’m looking out for wolverines. And lizards. (see previous lizard post!)

Appreciation

2009-04-03T07:49:00.000-07:00

If you’ve been reading any agent blogs over the last few days, you’ll see that hundreds of writers came out to rant about their bad experiences with agents. After her agentfail post, Jessica at Bookends suggested we take a day to show appreciation for the positive experiences we’ve had.

Recently, after trading emails with one super agent, she asked me to call her for suggestions about revisions for The Bodley Boys. So excited by her offer, I’m sure I was hardly coherent on the phone. But I did take notes and am now reworking my manuscript. She might not agree to take me on when I’m done, but my manuscript is better because of her. (I’d mention her name, but I don’t want to jinx it.)

Sure, I’m frustrated because several agents never responded to partials and fulls (YES!), but I’ve received hand-written responses to queries and a personalized no-thank-you from an agent who was not even looking for clients. Class act.

Plenty of agents and editors blog (Janet Reid, Nathan Bransford, Moonrat to name a few). Sure they could spend more time reading our queries or partials, but with every one of their posts, I learn something new.

Kristin Nelson blogged today about Writer Beware and Preditors and Editors, both Websites that provide information on scam agents. Both sites are valuable research tools, and my final stop before sending a query.

I also visit Absolute Write, Newbie’s Guide to Publishing, Query Tracker, Writers Market and Agent Query (see sidebar for links helpful to writers searching for an agent or seeking general information about the publishing process).

So, a big thank you to the many industry people who spend their valuable time trying to help writers.

Have you had an especially positive writing experience you’d like to share?

Revisions

2009-03-18T17:54:00.000-07:00

I've been revising The Bodley Boys to resubmit to an agent. Last night, fueled by ideas that wanted out, I worked from 1:30-5:30am. I felt possessed, as if I were just a go-between to get the words written.

Today, my son and I were going through my father's WWII letters for a school history project. We haven't gotten very far, but I just found this bit in one of his letters:

July 16, 1945

“I wrote a short story today. After I edit it I think I’ll send it to a magazine just for the hell of it. Most of the guys think it is pretty good—but it really isn’t too hot. Maybe I can rework it.”

How timely, as I'm doing my own revisions to find this gem from the past. And to see a bit of my father's personality as well.

The Market Looks Good for Ghosts

2009-03-12T06:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday from Publishers Weekly:

“A weeklong, three-round auction culminated yesterday with Scribner editor-in-chief Nan Graham taking U.S. rights to Audrey Niffenegger’s second novel, Her Fearful Symmetry, for a figure reported to be just shy of $5 million…”

“Her Fearful Symmetry, is described as a 21st-century ghost story and centers on two American teenagers, identical twins, whose lives change when an aunt whom they didn’t know dies and leaves them a flat overlooking Highgate Cemetery in London. Feeling that their lives can finally begin, the twins have no idea that they’ve been summoned into a tangle of fraying lives, including that of their dead aunt herself, who never got over her estrangement from the twins’ mother, and in fact can’t seem to leave the flat.”

I have so many thoughts on this. First, WOW. Publishing is not dead. Of course the advance has something to do with her brilliant writing and The Time Traveler’s Wife selling a bajillion copies. However, it means publisher’s still believe books sell.

I was both elated and crushed at the plot details of Her Fearful Symmetry. You see, in my WIP, one of the characters lives across from Highgate Cemetery. Another shares a flat with a ghost. Yes, I started writing it ages before I learned about her book. In THE ARCHITECT AT HIGHGATE CEMETERY, an art restoration specialist uncovers objects hidden by a wronged nineteenth century architect, including design plans and a letter incriminating the architect of record of stealing more than ideas.

Several books have taken place in Highgate, Tracy Chevalier’s Falling Angels to name one. Interesting tidbit: While researching her book, Niffenegger ran into Chevalier, who was volunteering at the cemetery. Visit the cemetery’s official website here to learn why it’s such an intriguing setting.

Thanks to agent Nathan Bransford's “Negativity Week (which is actually short for How To Remain Positive in the Face of Negativity But That's Too Long of a Blog Title Week, or HTRPITFONBTTLOABTW for short)” I choose to look at it positively.

Yesterday, I got another agent request to read THE BODLEY BOYS. Indeed, the market looks good for ghosts!

Dreaming of Oxford

2009-03-05T04:57:00.000-08:00

If I seem depressed in April, it's because in addition to not attending the London Book Fair, I'm also missing the Oxford Literary Festival.

Thanks to Stuck in a Book, (Masters student at Oxford and former Bodleian employee!) I just read about the event on his blog. Since completing THE BODLEY BOYS, I haven't done as much research on Oxford. I've even stopped listening to the Oxford podcasts, because I've been trolling London's Clerkenwell, Hampstead, and the incredible Highgate Cemetery via internet, all places the characters of my next book will inhabit. But now I'm dreaming of Oxford again.

In my fantasy, one of the agents now reading THE BODLEY BOYS falls in love with it, sells it to a publisher, and next year I'm packing for a literary trip to the UK.

As Gigi Dottie says, "Got our dreams, haven’t we?"

Success

2009-03-03T05:06:00.000-08:00

I'm fortunate enough to have a core group of writer friends, a critique group, and Sophia Nash as a mentor. Her third book in The Widow's Club series, Love With the Perfect Scoundrel , just hit the shelves. Her books are intelligent, witty and sexy. I’m waiting for my copy to arrive in a brown box on my doorstep any day. Sophia’s clear focus on the business of writing inspires me and she’s always willing to share valuable insider tidbits. I know she’ll be thrilled when I’m published, she’s told me so.

Many of my writer friends are on the cusp of being published. When they are, I will push any jealous thoughts away (I’d be lying if I said I won’t have any) and celebrate their launch. I’m pretty sure they’ll do the same for me. After all, I’m a better writer because of every one of them.

Jennifer Jackson of the Donald Maass agency links to one of her clients blogs. Jay Lake mentions a situation of professional jealousy that ruined a friendship. He writes, “As a result, someone whose name should be in the dedications of all my books is instead someone I have not seen or spoken to in years, and probably never will again.” That's just sad.

He offers some wise words: “My friends are my friends, and their successes only magnify our friendships.”

I agree!

Jamie Ford

2009-02-27T15:27:00.000-08:00

I met Jamie Ford last night. You might not know his name now, but you will. His novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, just made it to the NY Times Bestseller list. It’s about a man who is plunged into the past, yearning for a lost love, after meeting a hotel owner who’s just discovered the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were sent to internment camps during World War II. I haven’t read it yet (I just got it last night!) but I’m really looking forward to diving in. I’m putting it ahead of Maeve Binchy’s next, which is sitting on my desk. You know I must be intrigued!

The Crow Collection of Asian Art in Dallas hosted an author event for him. I’d just read about the novel in his agent’s blog. I read his query letter and understood why she offered him representation. When I heard he was coming to Dallas, I jumped at the chance to see him.

At first I thought it would be a large gathering (like the crowd for Jeannette Walls—yikes), but I was surprised and pleased to find less than 30 people there. He’s an unassuming guy, and spoke about his book, the writing process, and the research required to cover this complicated issue. He took the time to speak to us individually as he signed our books.

I was equally impressed with the publicity tour he’s on. Random House must be going all out. In this market! It’s encouraging for anyone trying to hire an agent (I’m waiting for THE call!) or sell a book.

I look forward to watching Jamie’s book climb the charts. I get to say I met him when…

Next!

2009-02-19T06:32:00.000-08:00

With Center Court Seats and a Pair of Jimmy Choos sitting on three agents' desks, Pamela and I are cautiously (eagerly!) optimistic about being offered representation. Knowing that the question, "What else ya got?" will be forthcoming, we've masterminded joint project #2. I'm psyched about the new book, it's chock full of dark humor, murder plots, betrayal, and sisterly love. There's even a sexy Brit. Pamela's come up with the fabulous working title: Five Days to Kill Bob. I've just finished writing the opening scene and can't wait to see what she's going to write.

May the cleverest murderer win!

Blogging Break

2009-01-30T06:36:00.000-08:00

I'm taking a short breather from blogging while I concentrate on my WIP. Thanks for reading! Hope to be back soon.

Podcasts - My New Favorite Diversion, er, Research Tool

2009-01-07T09:49:00.000-08:00

I'd heard of podcasts, even watched a few when forced (some lady tech guru on Sundays), but always decided they were a silly diversion and waste of writing/reading time. Not any more.

Lucky me, I’ve just discovered Maud Newton’s blog. I added it to my Google reader, and the last few months’ posts appeared. I scanned through the entries—so many fascinating topics!—and landed on gold. On November 17, there was a blurb on free Oxford Podcasts. Tolkien! Medieval English! Particle Physics! It also linked to a Bodleian video tour. My writing buddies (and family members) must be ready to lock me inside the Bodleian, I gab about it so much. But seeing a video, no matter how short, made my day. Heck, my year.

Bonus: the recent post links to an NPR story on Authors' voices. If you've ever wondered what Arthur Conan Doyle or Virginia Woolf sounded like, here's your chance.

Happy watching and listening!

I'm Not All That

2009-01-06T06:03:00.000-08:00

My name is Joan Mora. I am not a male sculptor from Spain. But if I were, I’d have an above average web presence.

Yesterday, J.A. Konrath blogged about becoming cyber-effective. Yes, I’ve still got to hire an agent and get a book deal, but when that happens, unless I’m featured on a talk show, selling lots of books will come down to publicity budget (hee hee) and word of mouth (or word of internet).

I’m slowly trying to build my presence, with my blog and Facebook. It’s fun reading others’ blogs and I learn all about publishing, writing, book deals, and cocktails. Sometimes I get the nerve to comment. And when my 2009 resolutions work (sending queries results in hiring an agent, entering contests results in snagging an editor’s attention, writing 1,500 words a day results in more books to sell), I’ll be ready for launch.

Konrath mentioned marketleap.com, a free site that allows you to check your search engine saturation, and how many other sites link to you. I already knew in a Google search, my name showed up 1st and 3rd. But I never suspected my search engine saturation would be 1,305 (whatever that means) and that in a link popularity check I’d have an above average presence (7,356).

I bragged to Pamela about it. When she did the test, her number was a lot lower than mine. But why? She’d been blogging longer and more frequently. I was feeling quite smug. Until she said, “When I put your name in, I only get 47.”
“Huh?” She must be doing it wrong, of course. After all, I’m an accountant. I know numbers.
“Joanmorawrites.blogspot.com, right?”
“Uh.” That’s when I realized. That sculptor had stolen my web presence. I’m not all that.

But with hard work and perseverance, one day, I will be. That Konrath guy sure fuels me.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-29T02:45:00.000-08:00

While getting ready to make those resolutions, I stumbled upon my favorite list. Each year J.A. Konrath, author of the Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels thrillers and blogger of the no-nonsense A Newbie's Guide to Publishing, adds to a list he started in 2006. As soon as you read it, you'll jump off the internet and get back to writing the book or story you put down before the holidays. I'm not the only one, right?

I've been reading like mad, at least keeping up with part of my job. Several books on London showed up under the tree because, alas, a research trip in 2009 is out of the question. London: A Biography by the masterful Peter Ackroyd is chockful of details, 772 pages worth to be exact, 12 of which are an essay on sources! A shorter read is Walking Haunted London by Richard Jones. London has more ghosts than any other city and reading about them fuels my imagination.

So I'll procrastinate no longer. As J.A. Konrath says, "Now quit reading blogs and get some writing done."

Happy New Year all!

Ghost Writer

2008-12-08T19:22:00.000-08:00

As someone who can't stop writing about ghosts, it was inevitable that I would eventually be visited by one of my own.

While writing my new manuscript a few nights ago, I frantically typed, trying to get my ideas on the page before I forgot them. I'd written a few pages when all of a sudden my cursor started dancing across the screen. I'd try to anchor the dang thing, but no go. Then letters appeared. But not letters I'd typed.

I debated telling my son, who was doing homework at his desk behind me. Nah, he'll just laugh and question my sanity. Again.

That's it, I thought. I've finally raised my own ghost. My skin tingled, a breeze blew by my neck, and I looked around for loose change. Then, a crash sounded behind me.

It was my son. He'd tossed his mouse on his desk in frustration because it wasn't working. "Look, nothing happens," he said, rolling his mouse on his desk. I turned around and saw a cursor looping across my screen. His mouse was controlling my computer. We called tech support (husband) for advice, and he'd never seen this problem before. Leave it to Joan, I'm sure he was thinking. But then he figured it out. He tossed aside my Bluetooth mouse and wired up the old one. The words I typed were my own.

I was kind of let down that it wasn't an apparition after all. I'd already made plans to bring her to critique with me on Thursday night. Ghost writer, indeed.