Guest Blogger: KELLI STANLEY

I am delighted to present my guest blogger, Kelli Stanley. Kelli's first book, Nox Dormienda, just came out. Even though she spent the last week at ThrillerFest, Kelli still found the time to share a few thoughts...






You’ll Never Write Alone

Remember the lyrics?

Walk on through the wind,
Walk on through the rain,
Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone

You’ll Never Walk Alone is Rodgers and Hammerstein at their finest (from Carousel). And today, July 18th, my debut book’s official release, I’m here at my gracious and wonderful hostess’ blog to tell you how true the words are … particularly in the writing community.

In the past year and a half – since January 17, 2007, the date of my publishing news – I’ve discovered that you never write alone.

I’ve always recognized the fact that we take the people we meet, the things we experience, the places we imagine, and distill them into a story, a character. In that sense, we don’t write alone.

And then there are the people who enable us to create … the parents who encourage us, the teachers who praise us, the spouses and children that patiently wait while we’re shut up in a room with a “do not disturb” sign. And there, too, we’re not really alone with the keyboard. Their love and support are with us, keeping us going.

When the manuscript is finished, and you turn toward friends for critique … when your agent reads and re-reads it, making suggestions, helping to shape the direction … when an editor receives it and fights for its place among a stack of books eager for publication, and then lovingly cuts and trims and pommels it into something you’re both proud of … and when the copy editor finds a continuity error, or something you forgot to fully research … throughout this process, the struggle for creativity and entertainment and salability in a very tough market … you’re never alone.

And then the publisher steps in, and you receive support from an overworked publicist who loves the book, and wants it to succeed as much as you do. And the marketing department makes suggestions, and the advanced reading copies go out, ready for review … a symphony has joined you, making the music of your book a possibility, helping to shape everything about it … does the cover work? Is it exciting? What about reviewers? What about the all-important pre-release buzz? Questions you can’t answer alone.

And along the way, the most important ingredient – besides your family – is friendship. The wonderful, generous people you meet in the industry. Fellow writers who agree to read the book, and like it enough to give you blurbs. They want you to succeed, as they have. You’re not alone.

Reviewer and critics who make time to read it, even if they don’t like it as much as you do. There are more books out there than reviewers, so whether they like it or not, they’ve done you a favor. And you’re not alone.

Readers who bid on an advanced reading copy, fans who ask you to sign programs at conferences because you don’t have a book to sell … all of them are helping you write your next book, because they’re giving you confidence for this one.
You’re not alone.

And when you’re down, and you’re walking (and writing) through the storm … as we all do … your friends are beside you. Because they’ve done it before, and they know what it’s like. And they’ll tell you, again and again: you’ll get through this. Keep writing. You’re not alone.

Then the big day approaches, and you’re faced with publicity and getting the word out … and still, you’re not by yourself. Through the generosity of people like Stacy Alesi, who helps spread the word about so many writers, especially debuts, you get a chance to let people know about your book.

The fact is, no one gets published alone. And no one writes alone. And today, on the official release of NOX DORMIENDA, I want to thank the family and friends and industry colleagues who have made this date possible.

To celebrate, I ask you to think of someone who has helped you; someone who reached out when you thought you were by yourself. A parent, a friend, a teacher, a stranger. Think about them. Post a comment about them here. Thank them, if you can.

Because no matter what we do … we don’t do it alone.



Kelli Stanley lives in San Francisco and earned a Master’s Degree in Classics. When she’s not writing or wandering in the fog, she can usually be found at bookstores, speakeasies and classic movie theaters.

Kelli’s debut mystery-thriller, Nox Dormienda, is the first of a new series and a new genre of mystery fiction: Roman Noir. A Writer’s Digest Notable Debut (August, 2008), Nox Dormienda has been described by Ken Bruen as “Ellis Peters re-written by Elmore Leonard.” Kelli serves as the ITW News Editor for The Big Thrill website, and is currently working on a novel set in 1940 San Francisco. Visit her at http://www.kellistanley.com.

James O. Born

There was a nice writeup in the Palm Beach Post today about one of my favorite authors, James O. Born.

James O. Born a study in persistence and success
By Scott Eyman
Palm Beach Post Books Editor
Thursday, July 17, 2008

Jim Born likes action.

In the morning, he'll go to the gym, or maybe just jog for a couple of miles, and think about what he's going to write that night. Sometimes it's dialogue, sometimes it's plot.

He comes back home, showers, and then it's off to work as a special agent for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. During the day, if he gets a chance, he might make a couple of notes about what he planned in the morning.

"It beats daydreaming about Beyonce," he says.

At night, when he gets to his Lake Worth home, he's a man on a mission. He bangs out his usual ration of 1,000 words, give or take. On the weekends, he edits what he wrote during the week. On Monday, it begins all over again.

As he puts it, "I like being exhausted at night."

Read the rest of the article here.

Strand Critics Award for Best Mystery Novel

Laura Lippman and Marcus Sakey win the Strand Magazine’s Critics Award

New York, NY, July 14, 2008 -- The winners of the 2007 Strand Magazine Critics Award are Laura Lippman for best novel (What the Dead Know) and Marcus Sakey for best first mystery novel (The Blade Itself). The winners were announced at an invitation only cocktail party in Manhattan, by bestselling author Jonathan Santlofer.

Both of the winners and several of the nominees were in attendance at the Midtown Executive Club. Lippman and Sakey were gracious winners thanking the panel of book reviewers, congratulating their fellow nominees and acknowledging they were up against stiff competition.

- Down River by John Hart (Thomas Dunne Books/Minotaur)

- The Shotgun Rule by Charlie Huston (Ballantine Books)

- The Strangler by William Landay (Delacorte Press)

- The Watchman by Robert Crais (Simon and Schuster)

- What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman (William Morrow)


Best First Novel

- The Blade Itself by Marcus Sakey (St. Martin's Minotaur)

- In the Woods by Tana French (Viking)

- The Mark by Jason Pinter (Mira Books)

- Missing Witness by Gordon Campbell (William Morrow)

- When One Man Dies by Dave White (Crown Publishing)


Lippman a former journalist for The Baltimore Sun, is no stranger to winning many of the top crime fiction prizes, she has won the Edgar, The Anthony, The Shamus, and The Barry Awards. Her latest novel Another Thing to Fall was released this March by William Morrow.

In just two years, Marcus Sakey has blazed a trail as a new and talented mystery author with his two well written crime novels The Blade Itself and At The City’s Edge. A former St. Martin’s author, he has recently signed a deal with Dutton who will publish his next book Good People in August.

"This was such a great group of nominees, it must have been difficult to choose the winner," said Frank Simon, Associate Publisher of The Strand. "Laura and Marcus were worthy winners, in the past few years Laura has produced a fantastic body of work and Marcus is a new talent who I have no doubt in the future will be nominated for the best mystery novel award."

Nest year, the panel of judges will led by Otto Penzler and will feature critics from The Washington Post, the LA Times, The Associated Press, NPR, Time Magazine, Publishers Weekly and The New York Sun. For more information, please contact Christine Jones at 248 569 3702 or cjones@strandmag.com.

Author Interview: JULES ASNER

Jules Asner, former model and television reporter on the E! Entertainment Channel, sat down and answered a few questions for me. Her new book, WHACKED, was recently released and has Hollywood buzzing for sure. Read on to see why...

BookBitch: After modeling, then working on television, what made you decide to do something as solitary as writing a book? Did you enjoy the process?

Jules Asner: I always wrote for work...first as a producer at Hard Copy, Extra and at Reuters. I always hoped I would write a novel one day, but I was always too busy with work and traveling all over the place. I guess I was one of those people who 'thought I had it all in my head' and could just sit down and have it pour out of me but It was a tough process. I knew the beginning of the story, but I never knew the best way for it all to come together. When I finally figured that out, finishing was a blast.


BB: How long were you working on this book? What's your typical writing day like?

Asner: I would say I worked on the book for a couple of years...not consistently, and I sold the book to Harvey Weinstein three years ago. He was in the process of making the transition out of Miramax and he wanted to wait and release the book as part of the his new imprint, Weinstein Co. Books....so that took some time. I started off writing in coffee shops and hotels (I was traveling a lot with Steven at the time because he was shooting Ocean's 12) When I'm home in New York I work out of a writing space on 14th street called Paragraph, that's great.


BB: Who are some of your favorite authors? What are some of your favorite books, and why? How about favorite films?

Asner: I love reading all sorts of books...I love Jackie Collins (I think I've read everything she's ever written) and she's always been so great to me.

I also love Bruce Wagner, AM Homes and Walter Kirn. One of my favorite books I've read was given to me by my friend Walter Donohue, who's an editor at Faber in the UK. 'The Black Englishman' by Carolyn Slaughter. She decided to research the life of her grandmother, who traveled to India in search of love and ended up in an insane asylum. It has one of my favorite dedications, "For my Grandmother, no more sad endings"


BB: In these days of belt tightening, especially in the publishing industry, are you touring at all? If so, what's that experience been like?

Asner: We decided not to do a book tour...which I was fine with. I think a lot of authors really want to 'get up there' and have an audience to read to, but not me. I did a signing at the Book Expo in May and then did readings and signings in New York and Los Angeles.


BB: WHACKED is not your typical chick-lit read by any stretch of the imagination, yet it certainly starts out that way - until you redefined the "surprise ending!" Was it always your intention to veer off onto such a dark and twisted road?

Asner: As I mentioned a couple of questions back, I never really knew where it was going to go. When I finally figured it out I was like 'Of course!' knowing it was the right way to end it...and while unconventional, I think Dani does get her happy ending. I was watching a lot of 'The Sopranos' when I was on the second half of the book and I thought it was interesting that we all loved Tony Soprano on the show, even knowing who he was and the terrible things he did.


BB: Did you tell your husband [director Steven Soderbergh] that you were planning on using him in the book, or did you surprise him? Did he enjoy becoming a character?

Asner: Many parts of the book are based on a real life break up I had with a cheating ex....the story of him telling me about the actress working with two big named directors is a real conversation we had and I wanted to change the names because then anyone could just imdb her and figure out who it was.

I just slotted in Steven's name because the real director is someone who's very well regarded. Steven said to me that I should just leave the real guy, but I didn't want to...I find it funny that so many people have mentioned in interviews that I 'wrote about my real husband'...it's literally one or two sentences.


BB: Was the idea of making this book into a movie in the back of your head as you were writing? Are there any plans for a film in the works? You do have some connections in that industry...

Asner: I didn't really think about the book being made into a movie while I was writing. Some people have brought it up now that it's out and being read, but I don't know. I guess I always thought of it as a TV series more than a movie...I could see that being fun to watch.


BB: Speaking of connections, are you finding that friends are now offering you all sorts of story ideas? Telling you their crazy TV/film industry work-related stories?

Asner: Sadly, I'm one of those people that crazy stuff happens to. Sometimes people tell me crazy stories about working in Hollywood, but I haven't used any of them so far. I hear a lot of really terrible dating stories that are just so depressing.


BB: Was this a one shot deal or are you planning (or currently working) on another book? Is a sequel a possibility?

Asner: I've been working for the last year on my second novel. It's about a murder in Hollywood...and so far this process has been easier for me than 'Whacked.' People have been asking in the last month if I'm going to do a follow up novel to see what happens to Dani...It had never crossed my mind, but we'll see.


BB: Besides a great story, what do you want people to take away after reading your book about the real Hollywood landscape?

Asner: I think what I would most like people to take away from the book is an understanding of the main character, Dani. She's flawed and does bad things, but I hope the reader understands how she got to the place and is still rooting for her. I know I do.

Chinese review doesn't translate well

Review of Philippine Fever machine translated from Chinese

Found this at http://mysteries-thrillers.kittyarticles.cn/assess-bruce-cooks-philippine-fever.htm. It seems to be a review written in Chinese and machine translated into English. Cook is rendered as Grill, Roast, and boil.

Author: Bruce R. Grill (Bruce R. Cook)
Publisher: Assets Crime Twist (Capital Crime Press)

Bruce R. Roast’s debut fresh, Philippine Fever, is an engrossing with pleasurable prompt see, though occasionally alittle gory. Conundrum novels are usually corpse-driven, and this one and only is no elimination along furthermore its sleuth of suspects.

Pool in Manila in the Philippines, where the writer versed worked furthermore where he searched the material given that the essay, the anecdote centers on an American bask in Texas, Harvey Tucker, who is found out deadened in a dumpster at the back of a gender union. Apparently, he skilled been brutally beaten and taser prongs suffered been smitten to his testicles. Not an enjoyable sight!

Consequently, Sam Haine derive pleasure the Los Angeles portion of Homeland Protection (Agency of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms in addition to Explosives) is ascribed to the case to hit upon why along with who slaughter Tucker. Haine is not over the moon around on the move to Manila, but, given that he states, “it was enhanced to troth demanding in the part, in place of be fixed in the rear of an analyst’s desk.”

Read the rest here.

Thanks to Robert Fate and Jack Quick for finding & sharing this gem of a review!

POLITICAL-ISH SUMMER READING

Just in time for easy, breezy summer reading this July 4th weekend, here is a feature that aired on today's Huffington Post. It is comprised of interviews with some of the best political thriller writers out there, about their newest novels which are out in bookstores this summer! With Phillip Margolin, Steve Martini, James Rollins, Brad Thor, Dale Brown, and Ralph Reed . . . .political junkies who need a fix now that the primaries are over have a pre-made shopping list just for them.

I especially loved Phillip Margolin's interview, in particular this rather honest yet painful Q&A:

"Q: President Clinton, during his presidency, told the press he was reading Mark Rozell's non-fiction Executive Privilege. Do you think President Bush should read your book Executive Privilege? Why?

A: It would be great if President Bush read any book. Quite frankly, as a citizen, I would prefer that he read books on the Middle East and Global Warming, subjects he appears to know very little about."


Huffington Post

GUEST BLOGGER: MICHELLE GAGNON

I met Michelle at ThrillerFest when her first book, THE TUNNELS, was coming out. She's a sweetheart and I'm delighted that she was kind enough to not only provide ten copies of her latest, BONEYARD, for me to giveaway at BookBitch.com during the month of July, but that she volunteered to share some thoughts with my readers. Enjoy!

The New Beta Wars: Amazon Kindle vs. Sony Reader
By Michelle Gagnon

It’s a shame I’m not single anymore. Every time I use my Sony Reader, I get approached by numerous people (especially men) who want to hear all about it. On airplanes, in the gym, at the movies, I seriously have been shanghaied by an average of three people a day since purchasing it a few months ago. The main questions I always get asked: How does it work (very well), how do I like it (I love it), is it hard to use (yes and no, more on that later)…

The irony in all this is that I am the furthest thing from an early adopter. I didn’t get a cell phone until the late 90’s, and only upgrade computers when they expire after a long and storied life. Over the past decade I have been dragged kicking and screaming into the modern world. I come by it honestly: my mother is one of those people who thinks the lunar landing was filmed on a sound stage.
Yet here I am, at the forefront of new technology. Mind-boggling. Since there seem to be daily posts about e-readers on the lists I lurk on, I thought I’d sum up my experience here…

Let me start by saying that I never had any intention of using the darn thing. I bought it for my husband to use during a month-long motorcycle tour of Europe (am I the best wife ever or what?) I figured, what better way for him to not only have a dozen books on hand, but to carry travel guides for each country he was visiting, all in a device that tucked neatly into a saddle bag. Right?

Wrong. Turns out there were only a handful of European travel books available on the Sony site, most specific to cities. Worse yet, we had a hell of a time downloading the software to use the damn thing. And Sony customer service, in a word, sucks: there’s no live chat, no phone number to call, just an email that will reply to you within a day or so. But despite the very specific questions that you ask, the powers that be at Sony will only send you the same set of instructions from page one of their manual over and over again (until you start threatening their children, after which they stop responding at all). It literally took us four months of fits and starts to register the damn thing, get the store software on my computer, and transfer a single book to the Reader. Nightmarish. And mind you, my husband is much better at these things, and he was stymied as well. We were on the verge of making the Reader an extraordinarily expensive paperweight, or venting our frustration on it with a baseball bat (à la the fax machine scene in “Office Space”). And then one day, I had an epiphany. I clicked a tiny box in the upper left hand window and voilà: we were in business, no thanks to customer service.

So after finally figuring out the basics, I quickly became hooked. I didn’t expect to—I’m one of those people who wax eloquent over the feel of a book in my hands, the whisper of pages turning, blah blah blah…

But with a few months of intensive travel facing me as I braced for my next book tour, I decided to download some books. I was only going to use it for travel, I was still in control. I swear, I could stop any time I wanted. After taking it on a vacation to Mexico, I was hooked. I read a book a day, and never had to deliberate over the weight in my suitcase, or whether or not I should shed paperbacks en route like some strange molting creature. What I discovered is that this format suited my reading habits perfectly. I read voraciously during every snatched moment of free time (waiting in the Doctor’s office, in line at the bank) and my Reader fit into every purse, whether I was engrossed in a novella or a 700 page tome. Who knows, with this nifty device I might actually have finished War and Peace. Maybe.

All that being said, there are some downsides. I have to hook the reader up to my computer via a usb cable to transfer books (oh, the horror—it’s so 2004), and not every title is available. In that respect, the Kindle rules: wireless downloads of over a hundred-thousand titles, plus access to dailies like the New York Times, WSJ, and New York Post and magazines such as TIME, Atlantic Monthly, and Forbes (mind you, there’s still a dearth of the standard travel guides, which is bizarre to me. What could be a more perfect selling point for this tool, than marketing it to travelers?) Plus, the Amazon is slightly less compact and weighs more, largely thanks to the keyboard included for aforementioned wireless transfers.

And neither device comes with a backlight, so reading it in even a slightly darkened room can be tricky. Apparently you can use a booklight under those circumstances, but I’ve never owned one so I can’t say either way. Also, every once in awhile I’ve forgotten to bookmark my spot (electronically, of course), which can be problematic. The Reader automatically opens to the page you ended on, but God help you if your husband decides to start reading one of the three books he’s downloaded, so when you manage to seize the Reader back from him it’s necessary to click through a hundred pages to find where you left off, which can instill instant carpal tunnel syndrome and is generally bad for marriages. (I know, it was initially a gift for him. But possession is nine-tenths of the law, right?)

In other words, we’ll be buying another one soon. Probably the Kindle this time around, because I suspect that with Amazon’s access to titles and download features, my little Reader will go the way of eight track cassettes and BETA video players. Which in truth makes me sad, I’ve become very attached to it. I’m even considering giving it a name, maybe Ishmael…any suggestions?

On a related note: I’m giving away a Kindle this summer, along with other fabulous prizes. To sign up , go to www.michellegagnon.com and register for my newsletter (which goes out extremely sporadically, maybe six or seven times a year).


Michelle Gagnon is a former modern dancer, bartender, dog walker, model, personal trainer, and Russian supper club performer. Her debut thriller THE TUNNELS involves a series of ritualized murders in the abandoned tunnel system beneath a university. Published in the United States and Australia, it was an IMBA bestseller. Her next book, BONEYARD, depicts a cat and mouse game between dueling serial killers. In her spare time she wrestles her Sony Reader back from her husband.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: BARBARA PARKER

It was my privilege to be able to ask esteemed author Barbara Parker a few questions as her latest book, THE DARK OF DAY, hits the bookshelves. Barbara is a wonderful writer and a very strong supporter of up-and-coming writers as well. Here's what she had to say...

BookBitch: One of the first times I ever saw you was at a MWA [Mystery Writers of America] meeting. As I was walking through the lobby, I saw you sitting with a young woman, and you spent quite a bit of time with her. I later learned that she was an aspiring writer, and that you were encouraging and kind. Over the years I've heard from several writers that you give a great deal of your time to the writing community, helping new writers. What sort of questions are you asked most often?

Barbara Parker: So you saw me sitting in the lobby with an aspiring writer, huh? Were we near the bar? I've found that some people want to reach for a drink after hearing what I have to tell them. It's true I'm encouraging, but generally I say what I think. This is what works, and what doesn't, and this is how you can fix it. I give practical advice. Unfortunately, most new writers only want the "encouraging" part. They don't like to rewrite.

What questions do they ask? They don't. I wish they would, but usually I get the deer-in-the-headlights stare. Or I get an argument: But... But it's all explained later, in chapter three . . . . Or, Such-and-Such Author did it this way, why can't I?


BB: Tell me about your new book!

Parker: Did you ever glance at a supermarket tabloid and wonder why on earth those decadent people deserve so much press? I did, and it led to a novel. THE DARK OF DAY begins with a wild party on Miami Beach. A young model vanishes. The police think she was murdered. Add a suspect with a mysterious past and a lawyer who doubts he's telling her the truth.

Attorney C. J. Dunn is a terrific character. She's struggling to stay sober, she takes in strays, she's loyal to her friends, and she's tempted by the celebrity life herself. When reporters and paparazzi descend on the case, C.J. is caught in the media spotlight, a problem for a woman with secrets.


BB: A writers' time seems to be divided between the actual writing & editing process, and then promoting. How do you organize your time? What's a typical writing day like, and what's a typical book tour day like?

Parker: The writers I know agree that there's not enough time in the day. Just when you get rolling on a new book, you need to promote the one that's just coming out. I think we organize our time by triage, dividing our tasks among what can't be avoided, what is safe to ignore, and what we'll get to later.

For me, a typical day writing depends on how far along the book is. In the early stages, I stare into space a lot. I talk to my sources, and I take long walks with a notebook in my pocket, in case something worth writing occurs to me. Closer to deadline, I'm at my desk every day of the week for as long as I can stay awake. My fridge is full of frozen food, and sometimes I even have to board my dog, Max. But he forgives me.

What is a day like on book tour? What book tour? It's a sad fact that most publishers are cutting way back on touring, having realized that a presence on the internet gets as many or more readers for a fraction of the cost. There was a time when they gave me media escorts and a room at the Peabody Hotel or the Ritz Carlton in Atlanta. That day is over, folks. As a working writer, you'll be expected to work on your website.


BB: What sort of books do you read for pleasure? Who are some of your favorite authors? What are some of your favorite books and why?

Parker: A couple of years ago I served as a judge on MWA's Best First Novel committee. Great fun! New writers are so daring and creative. They haven't fallen into a pattern, and they aren't too worried about what people will think. I try to read a few debut authors, along with my friends' books and established authors whose most recent book has earned good reviews. Sorry, but I'd rather not list my faves because I'd surely leave somebody out, and the truth is, I just don't have time to read as much as I'd like. Books are expensive, so I rely on word of mouth and reviews. I rarely buy a book online. I want to hold it in my hands and read a few chapters, hoping I will love it. Books are expensive!



BB: Writers often say that it is a very lonely profession. I know you were a practicing attorney before you started writing full time. Do you ever miss the camaraderie of an office environment?

Parker: The letter carrier just delivered my dues statement from The Florida Bar, and like every year, I will open it and sigh and think back to those days when . . . . But then I remember the anxiety of preparing an argument you might lose, the clients who resent paying even if you win, and the mix of naked greed and aggression that fuels the legal profession. I've gone to inactive status and probably will never practice again. True, writing is lonely, but I'm in control. Sort of.


BB: I understand your daughter is an attorney. Has she, or your son for that matter, been bitten by the writing bug? Would you encourage your children in that direction?

Parker: My daughter, Andrea, works in a tax firm in Washington, D.C., specializing in employee benefits. She's an excellent writer, if you like to read legal journals. My son, James, works in the graphic design department of Showtime Networks in New York. He too writes very well. I hope neither of them gives up a steady salary. I want to be taken care of in my old age.


BB: Your books are set in south Florida. I've heard Carl Hiaasen say that he doesn't have to make up the zaniness in his books, he gets most of it from the local news. Do you also find Miami to be a hotbed of ideas?

Parker: Back in the 1980s, in the post-Miami Vice era, the public developed an appetite for Florida fiction, thanks to Carl Hiaasen, Randy Wayne White, Edna Buchanan, and many others. Twenty years on, Florida has become just another state, and Miami has lost much of its craziness. Oh, it still glitters, but a writer based in this area must do what every other writer does -- create unforgettable characters and a story that makes the reader wish it wouldn't end.


BB: You write a wonderful mystery series featuring lawyers Gail Connor and Anthony Quintana, and you have also written stand alone thrillers. Do you miss your series characters while writing stand alones? Which are easier for you to write?

Parker: My new book, THE DARK OF DAY, follows another stand-alone, THE PERFECT FAKE. I'm happy with both of these novels, but many of my readers keep saying they miss Gail Connor and Anthony Quintana. (Of course it's the steamy Anthony they really miss.) I sent the duo on vacation because after eight books in the series, I needed a break.

As for whether it's easier to write the series or a stand-alone, I'd have to say it depends on the book. How much research is involved? How complex are the characters and their relationships? Is the subject one that really interests me and pulls me along? When I care about the story, and can get emotionally involved, my fingers fly over the keyboard. Otherwise, it's a chore. The search for meaning takes up a lot of my time, both in the initial planning and as I work through the book. It helps to ask, What is the point of this scene? What am I getting at? Why should the reader care?


BB: Barbara, you are a breast cancer survivor and an inspiration to a lot of women. What advice do you have for others struggling with this disease?

Parker: I have always felt that a book must mean something to the writer before it means anything to the reader. I suppose that this has taken on particular urgency for me, as a result of my experience with cancer. The icy wind of mortality can tip you off balance, but it can also bring an awareness that life is so very brief, that none of it should be spent worrying about the small stuff. Easier said than done, I know.

My advice? Hang out more with your friends and family. Be patient because really, everyone's in the same boat. You might not be religious in the traditional sense, but it wouldn't hurt to start contemplating the larger truths in life. Here's one: Don't save all the fun for later.

ASSISTED LOVING: True Tales of Double Dating with My Dad

This weekend is Father's Day. Bob Morris helped his widowed father meet some funny and fiesty seniors, all of which he recounts in his hysterical and moving memoir, ASSISTED LOVING: True Tales of Double Dating with My Dad.

In ASSISTED LOVING, Bob Morris, a frequent contributor to the New York Times Sunday Styles section, where his "Age of Dissonance" column ran for eight years, shares the story of how he spent the last few years of his father's life bonding with him through their unusual dual search for love.

A few months after the death of his mother, Bob's father, an affable, eccentric, bridge-obsessed octogenarian, asked his son to help him on his quest for a new girlfriend. A reluctant Bob ended up getting closer to his father than he had ever been by trolling the personals, screening prospects, and chaperoning his needy father throughout his quest. It's a truly touching story about a father and a son who come to love each other by learning about each other.

Top writers feel heat from publishers' presses

Some resist call for a book each year

In an age when reading for pleasure is declining, book publishers increasingly are counting on their biggest moneymaking writers to crank out books at a rate of at least one a year, right on schedule, and sometimes faster than that.

Many top-selling writers, such as John Grisham and Mary Higgins Clark, have turned out at least one book annually for years. Now some writers are beginning to grumble about the pressure, and some are refusing to comply.

Top writers feel heat from publishers' presses

Summer Reading, L.A. Times style

Let the summer begin! The Los Angeles Times has come up with their list of the best of summer reading - including A Mysterious Plane Crash, a Landmark Supreme Court Case, and the Rise of State Secrets by Barry Siegel; The Garden of Last Days by Andre Dubus III; When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris; Chasing Darkness,
An Elvis Cole Novel by Robert Crais; The Last Embrace by Denise Hamilton; The Wrecking Crew, How Conservatives Rule by Thomas Frank and many more.

2008 summer reading list

Andre Dubus III

Andre Dubus III is the author of the Oprah's Book Club selection and National Book Award finalist "House of Sand and Fog." His critically applauded follow-up and first book in nine years is the band new "The Garden of Last Days". In this video, the author discusses his youth, his first attempts at writing, and the impact writing has had on his life. This video was filmed on May 31, 2008 at the Los Angeles Convention Center at BookExpo America.

Orange Prize for Fiction

Rose Tremain wins book prize for fiction by women

LONDON - English writer Rose Tremain won Britain's Orange Prize for fiction by women Wednesday with a novel about an Eastern European migrant in Britain.

"The Road Home" is Tremain's 10th novel and follows the character of Lev, who arrives in Britain with no English and little money.

Read this article in its entirety

GUEST BLOGGER: Toni McGee Causey

I am delighted to introduce Toni McGee Causey, author of two books with the best titles! Her latest is Bobbie Faye's (kinda, sorta, not-exactly) Family Jewels, which is the sequel to Bobbie Faye's Very (very, very, very) Bad Day. Toni wanted to share her Tipping Point...

the tipping point...
by Toni

Eleventy quibillion years ago, when I was in fourth grade, I wanted to be a writer. I wrote terrible poems, which I think only got worse as I got older and the teenage years descended like locusts, leaving only WOE and ANGST. By college, I had brief bouts of sanity, whereupon I attempted architecture (ohmyGod, they do not tell you about the math), business (my first accounting teacher gave me the final exam in advance, with the answers, if I would swear to her I would never, ever, take another accounting class again), and then journalism (where I learned they had the picky little annoying habit of wanting reporters to not make crap up)(this was before Fox News).

And in spite of a fine history of liking to eat and wanting a roof over my head, I still wanted to be a writer. If you asked a question, you would get a story instead of an answer. If I could sidetrack into a couple of tangents? You might as well park a while, because the stories? They would not stop.

All the while, I wrote. Much of it was bad.

I ran into a former high-school teacher, who'd also been our librarian, who asked me the tough question: why wasn't I submitting for publication? Have you ever run into one of your former teachers? THEY ARE SCARY. It's like they can retroactively fail you or their eyes shoot truth serum rays or something, and I did not want to stand there in front of my two-year-old and explain to this teacher I had respected so much that I hadn't submitted anything because I was a big honking chicken. So I took her advice and started writing and submitting to the local paper. (They were insane enough to buy the very first one. That's like feeding a stray puppy. They did not realize this, I think, until I was around so much, they added me to the regular staff AND the food staff, and this was a fairly prominent paper. One of my relatives realized that I was being assigned to write about how people COOK things. He asked, "Isn't that... fraud? You use the fire alarm as an oven timer." I look back on this as the beginning of my fiction career.)

Over the years, and we are not discussing how many, maybe more than two but less than a hundred, I wrote more articles than I can remember or count for newspapers and magazines. I started querying and submitting (and getting sales) at national magazines, but my real love was fiction. I tried my hand at a novel, but it was a spiraling mess, and my husband could see how frustrated I was. (And EVERY husband out there just substituted the words "complete raving loon" for "frustrated.") So, being a very wise man who liked to wake up breathing in the mornings, he encouraged me to go back to school for some writing classes.

For a while, I was lured to the dark side (screenwriting), and landed an agent, and did a lot of stuff that was almost-but-not-quite what I wanted to do, which was to sell something I made up. Hollywood, by the way, will kill you with encouragement, because when you meet the executives, you will be told you are the most brilliant writer they have read in forever and where the hell have you been all this time and they want to be in the "Toni Causey" business. (Well, they will put your name there, not mine. They are smart that way.) Swear to God, they will say it and you will believe it because they are that good at sincere. Until you're sitting in the Warner Brothers commissary waiting for the next meeting, furtively looking around to see the FRIENDS stars on their lunch break (yes, I am dating myself, hush), and the same executive walks by with his arm around someone else who is not you, telling them how utterly brilliant they were, the most brilliant person they'd ever read. That's when you look down at the script in your hand that is an action thriller that everyone absolutely loves but could you make the man a woman and the woman a duck and wouldn't it be great if the horse saved the day? and you think, "I'm crazy, but I'm not this crazy."

See, I had this idea. An idea for this funny, take-no-prisoners kind of southern woman, who loves deeply and means well, in spite of the chaos she causes, and I wanted to write that story and be true to that story. So I quit screenwriting. (I had had some offers if I'd move out there. I was not going to move the family.) I had a hard time convincing my former agent that yes, I was serious. I was quitting to write a novel. (I think she still thinks I am going to change my mind.) But I quit, and I started writing Bobbie Faye’s Very (very, very, very) Bad Day. I wrote a quick draft in script form, because I was used to that format, then a friend showed a friend, the lovely Rosemary Edghill, who said, "Send me some chapters." And I did. She gave me some notes (smart, smart woman), and taught me how to write the kind of synopsis an agent needs ("I did not think you could make this worse," she said of one draft of that synopsis, "but you did." That's because I am an overachiever. It took a lot of tries before I figured out that writing a marketing synopsis is a lot like writing a non-fiction article, and that I could do.) Next thing I know, I'd signed with an agent and Rosemary had pitched it to an editor, who made an offer, and St. Martin's Press bought that book and the next two based on three sample chapters and a synopsis. Almost twenty years from the point where I saw my former high-school English teacher / librarian and she'd said, "Why aren't you submitting for publication?" (Thank you, Mrs. Carol Ross.)

And now, the second book in that series is out today. Bobbie Faye’s (kinda, sorta, not exactly) Family Jewels. I am amazed at how much my life has changed because my favorite librarian paid attention, and took the time, to make one young woman overcome her fears.

Librarians rule.

There is a great big huge world of "no" out there. Sometimes, following the dream does not mean hoppity-skipping down the easy path. In fact, a lot of times, it means zig zagging past mortars and incoming and a lot of almosts-not-quites and despair and frustration what-the-hell-were-you-thinking? and ugh-this-sucks and occasionally wow-show-me-more. And in spite of how long it took, and how much hard work, I have been exceptionally lucky--there have been friends and mentors who've said, "keep going," and who've said, "send that in." They changed my life. They were the tipping point for me.

So how about you? Who encouraged you? Or what's something you tried that someone encouraged you to do and now you're glad you did?

Seeing double

Thanks to Cindy Orr for finding this in Entertainment Weekly and sharing.