In the face of darkness, high stakes, and horrible odds, you can save yourself and the world
Besides the Q&A with Sarah Prineas, which you can find at a stellar site called Writer Tamago, around the internet today…
Yolanda treats us to Quotes from the Criminal Justice World at Las Habladoras.
Julie Rose gives us another interview, this one from Mandy Roth at Writers and Their Soundtracks.
I’ve updated the Fukuoka Gallery, the Hiroshima Gallery, and the Hikone Gallery.
Today’s travelogue features Tojinbo, the famous suicide cliffs of Japan.
Direct from Monday night!
Mindbridge Book Club Proudly Presents
Questions and Answers with Sarah Prineas
Mark: When is the second Magic Thief book coming out?
Sarah: The next hardback will come out next June, and the paper back of the first one will come out in early May next year.
Two L Michelle: Who is your favorite author, and is your writing style similar to theirs?
Sarah: It’s hard to choose one. Tolkien has strongly influenced me, as have Laura Ingalls Wilder and Jane Austen. Megan Whalen-Turner is my favorite children’s author. She’s a master at concealing information from reader and then revealing it. Her first book is called The Thief, and was published in 1996. Someone wrote a review that suggested the Magic Thief reminded me of the Thief, which I considered a great compliment.
Wanted to post our upcoming books for the rest of the year…
August Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman
September Valor’s Choice by Tanya Huff
October Happy Hour of the Damned by Mark Henry
November Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
December Goblin Quest by Jim Hines (Remind about Short Stories)
Tanya Huff is our guest at Icon, so we’re going to try to peg her for author discussion then.
If any of the rest of you authors lined up want to come for Monday night coffee, just let us know. 😉 We had a great time with Sarah.
Catherine
I can’t put Sarah Prineas’ Q&A up, until I’ve given her a chance to look over what I’ve said, so wait for it!
Instead, here are a couple of things:
First of all, Taga Taisho and Fukui.
Next, how do you know if you’re putting off writing, versus waiting for delicious writing gumbo from your subconscious? Here are a few ideas.
You’re procrastinating if:
1. You are doing household chores instead of writing. And you don’t have to. 🙂
2. You spend time blogging instead of writing. A lot more time blogging.
3. You find several small projects becomes more important than keeping up your word count. You know the drill. “Just as soon as I do … I’ll write my great American novel.”
4. You think about lots of other stories you could be writing, often romanticizing them as ones that will write themselves and won’t actually be difficult to write. I have several thousand of these in my head…
5. You take on tasks you might not care for much to avoid writing, because you need an excuse not to write. This leads to 5a.
5a. You blame time deficit for not writing. Really. This is my favorite one. You can make it impossible for yourself to write by choosing to fill up every moment of every day for everyone but you.
You’re percolating if:
1. Your thoughts return to your characters, even if you don’t know what’s going to happen with them yet.
2. You try several writing solutions to a stymied plot point.
3. You do research and reading to gain ideas to improve your story
4. You find that you come back to the story after a few days off, and you feel good about coming back to it, if not the actual writing.
5. You are rewarded with the eureka moment, and you get good gumbo.
See you tomorrow.
Short and sweet today.
Simple entry today! Tomorrow..sturm und drang. No. Probably the Q&A with Sarah Prineas. 😉
Catherine
Exhaustion and the sinus demons tackled me, and I took the day off work. So, you may say to yourself, what could she possibly have to share? Well, a few things.
Rejection from Jennifer Duvall from Schiavone
New stuff at Las Habladoras: Blood is Thicker than Water and a sketch of Maeve, Cat’s daughter.
Sarah Prineas kindly came to talk to our writer’s group last night. I’ll have a write up of our Q&A as soon as I can.
New look for the publisher of Sister Night, Sister Moon Drollerie Press. Check them out!
Also, Cats Curious is running a press release contest. Find out more in publisher Sonya Sipes’ journal!
Now, back to doing a post headache kind of thing. The right side of my face feels like a mudslide in California. Nice of it to hold off until after all the travelling.
Well, the Potter con was good. The YA reading series was small, but mighty, and I met some wonderful authors. Lee Hillman’s short story captivated and I am excited to go out and buy Beth Fehlbaum’s Courage in Patience, classic teen with a problem YA. I also can hardly wait to read Rosemary Clement-Moore’s Maggie Quinn, Girl vs Evil series, and have Prom Dates from Hell in queue.
Other things: Hung out with Sonya Sipes, Yolanda Joosten, and Jenn Racek. Neville paper was standing room only (yes, only at a Potter con), and the costuming presentation we did was well received. So, it was a good weekend.
Very quickly, as I work on catching up electronically from the weekend.
George M. Nicholson of Sterling Lord Literistic rejects me, but says, “…your work is obviously adept…” Groovy.
And, here’s the first part of our day in Hikone:
See you tomorrow.
First of all: Miyajima Pictures!
As I’ve been hopping literally all over the world, I begin to get a glimpse of how much work supporting those first novels and stories can be. I’m not traveling for my books yet, but boy, my heart really goes out to all of you in airports, longing to be home, because right now, that’s exactly the position I’m in. We academics have to tour too, to keep our hand in.
Take home message for later in the career: plan more down time. I mean it!
It goes without saying that I’m off to Dallas for reasons I’ve already mentioned earlier in the week. I should get a chance to see Sonya, as well as some good friends.
Ready to be home, writing for a while. Heck, even just sitting. 🙂
You guys have a great weekend.
Catherine
I just can’t justify an almost $900 ticket to Canada after our Japan extravaganza. On top of that, no one to share hotel with. The trip would be a huge amount out of pocket.
So, unless there’s some sort of Alberta miracle, it ain’t happening.
Which means I’ll hit our local Icon for a day, and run away before Bryon and Steve have their Hammer party.
Which also means I’ll take a close look at Potlatch in February. I have an international ed conference earlier that week, though, so it might not be the smartest idea I could have.
If this is the only place I have to start budgeting, I’m grateful I’m doing so well, given today’s trying economic times. My only regret is all the lovely people I’d meet. At this point in my career, it’s not a necessity, however, and I’ll be pragmatic.
Catherine
Translation: Internet next door.
Julie Rose: Writers and their Soundcasts highlighting Mark Teppo and Mandy Roth.
I would like to tell you that I am already for Portus, and I worked on writing and sewing last night, but let’s be honest here. Jet lag and convention living caught up with me. I went to bed at 8:30 pm and got up at 6:20 am. I even skipped the gym.
I do, however, feel somewhat less drained. Those time management vampires have, in fact, been fanging around my temporal arteries, so I got nothing.
Actually, over at the other journal, I got travelogue for Hiroshima.
Tomorrow, then, is full of possibility. So is today.
Catherine