The Success Box

On the iPod, "If You're Feeling Sinister," Belle & Sebastian
In demand by the little ladies, "Here Comes Your Man," Pixies (I know!)
Movie rec: (500) Days of Summer (It's not a classic yet, but it might be one day. Got it for the Zooey D., and then it turned out to be so honest and heartbreaking and warm... good stuff.)

Now what's this Success Box? Well, I had this thought upon learning the Big News: Stephanie Meyers is releasing a new book in the Twilight saga on June 6.

It's actually a novella by her standards, and it's about one of the "newborns" from Eclipse, Bree.

I gotta tell ya, I don't remember Bree, and the newborns were my least favorite characters in her books. I'm also feeling a bit vamped out, but I'm sure I'll pick up a copy. I did like the first three books. Book 4 was ... a bit much. (But I bought/read it, didn't I?)

That's when I had my thought. Here it go:

So you all know I've worked up the nerve to try and share Debut Novel with the world. I'm actually in the process of finding an agent, and the idea that no one will like it is overwhelmingly fear-inspiring. (It's always pushed right back out of the brain the split second it sneaks in every few hours...)

But after reflecting on my reaction to the Big News, I thought "How bad would it be if everyone liked it?"

OK, I know. It wouldn't be bad, it would be wonderful. (!)

For Debut Novel.

But what does such enormous success do to your career as a writer? How do you live up to that? How do you get away from it when you want to get in there and do something different.

I once read where SM said that she didn't want to be known as "the vampire girl." ...

Well?

The pressure to create another Bella-Edward love story must be enormous. And everything that comes after it is going to be measured by how well she captured that ... whatever it was that millions of readers connected with. Success like that can really put you in a box.

Oh, who am I kidding, I'd be happy to find out how one gets out of that little box. I'll discuss it with Stephen King the day we're having coffee... Ha ha.

In conclusion, I'd like to remember my transplanted neighbor across the street, Nina Koors. She lost her battle with cancer Tuesday, and it's a sad day for her family. She was a good daughter who moved in across the street to live with her invalid dad after her mom died a few years back. Lots of love to those guys today.

And Happy Easter/Passover! Feeling Sinister? Click here; Prefer Pixies? You got it.