Last night we went out to Libba Bray's kick-off event for her tour in support of The Diviners (out now in all fine locations) at Joseph-Beth Booksellers (*blows kisses*). (Rest of schedule here, and definitely catch her if you can. I'll be at the final event in December at Oblong Books with Libba and Maureen …
This weekend was a catch-up weekend, coming off the first week without travel (or a book party) for a while. The office got cleaned, I read the (brilliant) novel of an old friend in manuscript, mountains of laundry monsters were slain, and we went out for a little light bookstalking, as you do. (Honestly, restraint …
We set out late-ish Friday on the open road, or at least the interstate, armed with more books than we'd need and a big bag of snacks from the coop (dried mango, sesame sticks, trail mixy stuff, granola bars–you never know when you might have to trade organic food for gas or your life, so …
Whirlwinded (AKA, The Official Research-A-Palooza And BEA Report) Read More »
I already tumbled this fabulous quote from Terri Windling's blog, but I'm putting it up here too (not least because, um, cleanliness wasn't meant to stay at the top of ye old Shaken & Stirred for a whole week–oops): "What you need to know about [your next piece of art] is contained in the last …
Done! And my longest first draft ever* at 82K, although this feels less like a first draft than my usual, too… since I have been working on it for ages, and did some revision during. Which I hardly ever do. Now to watch a lot of Fringe, finish Sarah MacLean's delicious new romance, and then …
Michael Cunningham has a fabulous essay at the NYT about the ways in which all acts of writing and reading are translations: Here’s a secret. Many novelists, if they are pressed and if they are being honest, will admit that the finished book is a rather rough translation of the book they’d intended to write. It’s one …
I've posted here before about the importance of playlists in my writing process. And I always love reading other people's playlist posts–it's one of the reasons I like largehearted boy's Book Notes feature so much. It's a particular look through another writer's window, slightly and enjoyably voyeuristic, even though limited to the book in question. …
This is one of my favorite Dorothy Parker quotes, because it feels so true: "If you're going to write, don't pretend to write down. It's going to be the best you can do, and it's the fact that it's the best you can do that kills you." But I'd never read the long interview in …
As a reader, there are few better moments than the first time you discover the work of a writer you immediately love and know you'll follow for years to come. Reading the first story in the short story collection Black Juice, "Singing My Sister Down," was that moment for me with Margo Lanagan (and I …
Junot Diaz has an excellent short essay in Oprah Magazine about the trials and tribulations of writing The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao for ten years: That's my tale in a nutshell. Not the tale of how I came to write my novel but rather of how I became a writer. Because, in truth, …