Writer Tamago

It's a wet, cold May morning. Water spattered bags and boxes have made it inside Panera, and all of us are waiting for Dan and Lisa, so we can trek to Madison. I suspect the bags and boxes will be quiet on the trip. They're a studious lot. I will be coming back with less [...]

Work has just become chaotic and disillusioning. The mistakes that make more work for me are less problematic than a couple of moral issues I'm grappling with. I'm trying to decide whether the issue is deeper than my stubbornness, but I can't escape the feeling that someone is being allowed a special dispensation that is [...]

And here are some gems of wisdom from tonight's book group. The subject: Michael Chabon's Yiddish Policeman's Union. If you've read the book, join in the discussion! The group says: Recommended to mystery readers, but not to SF readers. Don't expect this to be SF, in spite of the Nebula. Striking a blow for Speculative [...]

I'm at home today working on a project or two for Convergence with friends, but I'm at the point where I've started sending out my queries. So far, I've sent out Rachel Dowen of Talcott Notch Jennifer Schober of Spencerhill Lucienne Diver of The Night Agency Laura Blake Peterson of Curtis Brown Alexia Paul of [...]

Azazello's Cream is done. Yes! I await a student's results 'ere I can leave the school, else I would go shopping. Since the Wiscon program mock up is partly done at home, I will start working on the Japan agenda while I wait. Meanwhile, for all you Master and Margarita groupies, here's the world's best [...]

Jane Dystel said no. Here's the beginning of what I'm working on currently. It will be out of my life, for better or worse, by next weekend. I'm also pulling together the last disparate bits for Wiscon. Gonna need an extension cord... *** The Master and Margarita has had a checkered reception. Originally banned in [...]

First draft is done! First draft is also an inchoate mass of notes. TIME for the power of rigorous outlining! Catherine

Finally, we come to it. What makes the successful break out novel? In order to get here, we've played with the concepts of literature and genre. Lines are often arbitrary drawn between the two. We've also talked about the issue of popularity and how sales don't necessarily mean a break out novel, although people do [...]

Noting that JABberwocky sent me my rejection yesterday afternoon. *** On our way to the break out novel so far, we've discussed the "good" book, what makes a book good for discussion, and what the heck literature is anyway. I try to keep this discussion very accessible to my college students. I'll admit, the genre [...]

Well, there's always got to be one. I received a rude return from an agent today. I made the mistake of sending out a query to an agent whose criteria fit my novel's when I added her to my list, but no longer do. Yup, I should have visited all the sites in regard to [...]