It Takes a Crazy Person

Pop quiz: You have to be crazy to be truly artistic and/or creative. (T/F)

It's something I've been thinking about lately. When I was growing up back in the Stone Ages *cough* I mean, in the 80s, that was somewhat the prevailing view.

The truly creative, artistic people were all total nutjobs. Some writers even went so far as to cultivate a crazy persona to be taken more seriously. Remember this post?

Why am I thinking about this? Two reasons. First (and most importantly), I'm trying to rationalize my own nutty behavior as of late. It's all that latent creativity coming out. (Right?)

But also, thanks to Nathan Bransford, I watched Stephenie Meyer on Oprah, and she's just the most normal-seeming person on the planet. Jo Rowling, too.

These ladies don't seem crazy, but they've each created something that everyone loves. Perhaps you would argue that their books aren't particularly original or creative. Or artistic.

In the case of Twilight, I can see much borrowing from the classics. But in the case of Rowling the same can be said. She reimagined many old hero stories and myths--the Alchemist's stone? I think both ladies are great writers and demonstrate much creativity. Yet they're both just average, stay-at-home moms.

So what's the verdict? True or false?

I know, crazy is a charged term. I hesitate to describe anyone, myself included, that way. But there is something different.

Maybe it's more a matter of learning to let go. Losing a grip on self-discipline, schedule keeping, fitness regimines, keeping up with family events, the appearance of actually listening when someone's talking to you...

I guess the way most writers act when they're chasing down an idea does make them appear somewhat crazy. Or air-headed--fer sure--a bit like those absent-minded professors.

Artists can be the same way. Musicians just hum a lot and tap on everything.

I'm going to answer False, but I think the appearance would lead the uninitiated to say True. You?

Just some fun before I head back into the revisions cave--here I go again. Have a great week, reader- and writer-friends. Til Thursday~ <3

What's in a Name?

It's Monday! Time for some True Confessions: I stink at titles.

I'm also not so great at naming characters either, but that's a different post. I was able to name my two daughters, but that's where my naming abilities took a powder. I didn't even name the cat.

Some of you guys, however, are just the opposite. You pop out creative, snappy titles... just like that!

I'd share one a bloggy friend off-handedly told me over the weekend, but I don't know if she's keeping it a secret for now. But it's fantastic. I want to steal it and write my own book around it!

A writer-friend from way back who lived in New York and worked with Hollywood types told me how he'd written a screenplay about a pedophile stalking a kid using the Internet.

It was a thriller in which the villain set up a fake email account and was slowly closing in on his victim. The title? You've Got Mail. And he envisioned that old voice-greeting becoming the sound of intense, paralyzing, scream-smothering fear... 

He later sold it to Warner Bros. for something like $20,000 so they could use it for a Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan joint. Isn't that fun?

The point: Titles matter.

Some of you are so good, you even title all your chapters! That thought makes me shudder.

Remember the game about finding your stripper name? Take the name of your childhood pet and combine it with the street you grew up on...

Mine's Rusty Amerest.

And that's about how I feel about titles--Rusty.

Last year, when I was shopping my YA romcom, I can't tell you how many times I was told, "You should fix that title. It sounds paranormal."

What was it? Shadow Falls. (It was the town where the story occurred!)

I started going through titles of very popular books or stories. Romeo & Juliet is just the name of the two main characters. And Twilight? It's just a time of day. Even Carrie. Again, main character's name. Harry Potter?

OK, "The Deathly Hallows" is pretty good. Even "The Order of the Phoenix." But hey--those are just places in the story. (Like Shadow Falls!)

Can anybody help a sistah out? Any title games you play or exercises to get you in a titular kind of mood? Spill! I'm in need of assistance.

Have a great week, reader- and writer-friends! Til Thursday~ <3

Tag, Announcement, & Book Reviews - If I Stay/Where She Went

Happy Memorial Day!

First the book reviews. When I found the cover image for Gayle Forman's awesome debut If I Stay (link) I remembered why it took me so long to read the book.

I saw an ad for it in Entertainment Weekly that said, "Will appeal to fans of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight." And I thought, Yik!

The last thing I wanted to read was another poorly executed, paranormal, Stephenie-Meyer-Twilight-wannabe.

Let me say right now, If I Stay is not paranormal or poorly executed, and the only resemblance I see to Twilight (apart from being YA) is that both books are set in the Pacific Northwest--Twilight in Forks, Washington; If I Stay in Portland, Oregon.

Different places and vastly different stories.

I'm not kidding when I say this is the best book I've read since The Hunger Games trio, which would make it the best book I've read this year. Wait--then I read Where She Went, the sequel!

I read the second installment in one day, and I confess, it took me a few hours to recover once I finished. In a good way!

These books are intense and powerful. If I Stay starts out with broody, cello player and classical music lover Mia and her quirky family--ex-punk rocker parents and precocious little brother Teddy--all heading out for a visit to friends on a snowy morning.

Eleven pages later, her parents are dead and Mia's watching her body being transported to the ICU in a coma and on the brink of death.

The family is in a horrible car wreck that kills both parents instantly, and the remaining 200 pages follow the next 24 hours as Mia remembers her family, her friends, her boyfriend Adam, her feelings of never really belonging, and ultimately decides whether she wants to stay and continue living or let go and be with her family in the next life.

It's a moving, positive and ultimately hopeful story.

The sequel Where She Went (link) picks up three years later and is told from the point of view Mia's boyfriend Adam, whose life has fallen apart after the accident and Mia's subsequent choices. But at the same time, his music career has soared as he's poured all his heartbreak into his songwriting.

I didn't think I was going to enjoy the second book as much for those two reasons, but I was so wrong. Adam's story is just as captivating, and the ending is very satisfying...

Forman's descriptions of Mia's parents were so authentic. Her tough, protective mom, her father evolving from punk to bow-tie wearing "responsible" dad. I even dug her theory on coma victims.

And wow. The depiction of Mia as band girlfriend was unexpected. I spent Age 19-23 in almost that exact spot, and I never expected my feelings to be depicted ... well, anywhere. I felt like my response to that position was so goofy and hard to explain. And then Forman went and nailed it. How predictable am I? (OK, except for the licking Adam's sweaty face part. I never had that urge... ew. *snort*)

Good stuff.

Anyway, I'm afraid saying more will spoil the story, so I'll just say these books are amazing. I never laughed--too intense!--but I cried twice and was so touched. Super A+ to both, and hats off to Forman.

Heads up to moms, unlike Twilight, there are several F-bombs in both books, Mia and Adam have a sexual relationship that is only alluded to (no graphic details here), and there is substance use and abuse. Poor Adam's pretty messed up in Book 2.

So the books are adult at times, but still I highly recommend both for older teens and adults. They're fantastic and will stay with you for a while.

Now, for that Tag!

I was tagged by RaShelle (link) and then "Bambi" (*snort*) Johnson (link) and someone else (?) with this next bit, so I'm feeling the pressure to play. But I'll keep it short.

Do you think you're hot? It hit 92 degrees here yesterday and a zillion percent humidity. I know I'm hot.

Upload a picture or wall paper that you are using at the moment. This is my youngest enjoying some quiet time at my favorite place on earth, Seaside, Fla.

When was the last time you ate chicken? Hmm... Oh! Mom and Dad were visiting last week and we had chicken for dinner Tuesday.

The song/songs you listened to recently. My iPod is a musical mushpot of songs ranging from Broadway to pop, rap, classical, country, kids' stuff... Lately, I've been on a Ryan Adams kick, though. Very much diggin "Everybody Knows," "16 Days," "Dear John," "La Cienega Just Smiled" ...

What were you thinking while doing this? Who cares when I ate chicken last? (*snort*)

Do you have a nickname? What are they? I always despised nicknames. But my uncle went through a spell of calling me "Leigh-Roy" in high school until my mom made him stop. Then a coworker called me "Leighbert" for a while. (Leigh + Talbert). College boyfriend, who was 6'2" called me "sweet petite" and then "punkin," which unfortunately stuck for the duration of our five-year relationship... These days I'm just Mom.

I'm going to skip the tagging portion of the show, because I can't think of anyone who hasn't done this... And it's time for my Big Announcement.

I hate to do it... I've been resisting... but the truth is, I'm in over my head now. And I'm about to go off the radar for a bit, guys.

Most of you know we're moving 800 miles due north. Well, the time has come, our house has sold, and Zoikes! We have not found a house in our new location yet.

June is going to be the month to survive for me. New Owners take possession 6/23, so I'm going to be house-hunting, packing, moving, possibly homeless...

You guys are the one constant in my life right now, and I enjoy chatting with you all so much, but the truth is, I'm not going to be able to keep up the blog through all this.

So I'm on hiatus until July. My goal is to be back July 12. In the meatime, I'll be missing you guys! And I'll be trying to keep it together over here.

Have a great June, reader- and writer-friends! Til July~ <3

Delightful Smells & Dead Stuff

Most everyone's doing the A-Z challenge this month. I'm not, but my post today happens to coincide with the letter D... It's D-day in more ways than one around here, but more on that later.

I got many different reactions to my assertion that boys stink--on both sides. As always, I'm ready to be corrected. Heck on this matter, I want to be corrected. All my male characters smell delightful.

And when I read Crazy Writer Girl's (hilarious) post, I didn't realize I might be writing unrealistic contemporary fiction by asserting my male love interests were fresh as daffodils.

I'm a MOG (mother of girls), and JRM is thoughtful enough to hang his sweaty clothes on the side porch after exercising. So we're not subjected to stinky boys.

The good news, is I was not all wet! Here's what I've learned from my MOB (mother of boy) commenters:

• Not all boys smell! It's more a function of their age and level of physical activity.
• The boy stink seems to max out around late-elementary school (around eleven). And Truth: our little ladies can hold their own in the stink-department after a hard day's playing.
• Once the prospect of love enters the picture, our fellas (and girls) magically transform into frequent bathers who often drown themselves in perfumes and deodorants as well. (*cough*)

Now I'm thinking I need to get my sniffer to the store to expand my sensory vocabulary. So here's to heavenly scented teens (of the non-paranormal variety).

And my apologies for asserting they might smell otherwise. (I was misled!)

As for Dead Stuff, my good bleep Jen ("Unedited" link) sent her query letter through Matt's Q3E recently (link), and there was a mini-discussion in the comments over whether she should use the label Chick-lit, as that genre has been pronounced "dead."

Saying your book is a "rom-com" was also named the Kiss of Death.

I started thinking about other categories that were Dead until something new gave them the old Dr.-Frankenstein-electric-shock treatment.

Things like paranormal before Twilight, slasher films before Scream, even Westerns before the Cohen brothers remade True Grit.

So... 
-Should we just keep swimming in the face of assertions that our genre is DEAD? 
-Should we all start working on our YA dystopians immediately? 
-What if someone is starting a paranormal romance (which is on the verge of Death again)? ... irony.

Have a great week, reader-friends! Til Thursday~ <3

Entertainer or Artist?

My first editorial job was in my early 20s. I taught high school the year after I graduated from college, and the next year I managed the textbook department at the LSU Union bookstore. While at LSU, I also started writing little freelance articles for local publications, but I wanted to work in book publishing.

So I applied for a job with a small, local publishing company and was hired to be their Director of Editorial. (Say what?) I didn't know that stood for "whipping girl" for the editorial department. It wasn't a great job, but I didn't have a lot of options in my hometown.

I remember one day the owner of the company tore me to shreds (verbally) for using blue ink instead of black on the editorial schedule I gave him. We had not gone over the company's ink policy, but he wasn't really interested in that.

As I stood there listening to him insult me loudly, I did my little math problems in my head (that's a trick for killing the tears, girls). And when I was released, I held my breath all the way down the hall to the bathroom, which was blessedly empty, locked myself in a stall and bawled into a wad of toilet paper.

Man. I was so young.

Anyway, I didn't really know what I was doing when I started, but a few other employees--the senior editor and company VP in particular--were very kind to me. I was told later they all had bets on me not making it to the end of the month.

I learned fast as I usually do, and although there were times I didn't agree with what the owner wanted in our finished product, I knew who held the whip in that office.

A very young graphic designer was on my staff at one point, and one day I had to deliver the bad news to this person that the owner didn't care for how the pages looked, and s/he would have to change them all.

This designer proceeded to inform me that s/he was an artist and was hired for his/her artistic ability and had no intention of altering the pages in any way.

Needless to say, that person didn't last very long. But neither did I. Nine months later I'd landed a much happier job as an editor at LSU. But that's not the point of my post.

Before Christmas I had some posts about marketing and Twilight. I also reviewed a novel by Libba Bray. A few days later I read a review of a different Bray book, and the blogger made the note about how beautiful Bray's writing was, and how disappointed the blogger was that she didn't enjoy Bray's book more.

Currently I'm reading Shiver for the first time. I've noticed a few repetitive bits, there are several adverbs that probably could've been cut, and the dialogue at times tests the limits of believability... In other words, it's not perfectly written according to "The Rules" we hear constantly from the writing experts.

But I'm loving this book! Seriously. And unless it just completely falls apart, it's headed for my A pile.

Which brings me to my point. Is it more important to be an entertainer or an artist? Is it better to give the reader a great, difficult-to-put-down story or to follow The Rules of perfect writing?

I know. The answer is BOTH. But now I'm trying to think of who's done it--since I started paying attention, I mean. Is it possible to get so hung up on doing it "the right way" that you lose the Wow! in your storytelling?

My brain's just turning over these thoughts as I sit here watching it rain. Have a super weekend, reader friends. Til Monday~ <3

The Magic Formula

It might've been the drugs (for my sinus infection!), but my last post got me to thinking about what makes books ginormous hits.

We were talking about Twilight and Yo Gabba Gabba and marketing. A few bleeps brought up word-of-mouth as being so important. Talli demonstrated that, yes?

So I made up this formula:

Engaging story + Outstanding Word of Mouth = Smash Hit

And I'd go so far as to say Engaging Story trumps everything--even mastery of the craft, which you see isn't in my little formula up there.

Now just hold on a minute, I'm not throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Of course craft is important, and yes, we should only ever send our cleanest MSs off for consideration. Don't shoot yourself in the foot.

But I believe regardless of how unsophisticated your writing style is, if you've told a great story that grabs readers and doesn't let go, it's going to be a hit.

How can I say this? Well, because of Twilight. Seriously. And I'm not a hater!

I read Twilight before I ever thought about trying my hand at novel writing, so I was clueless about all the falderall over adverbs or showing versus tellling. All I knew was I picked up the first book and four days later I'd read all three and couldn't wait to get my mits on the last installment.

Sure, it's anti-feminist, sure it's not perfectly written (adverbs!), sure the dialogue is embarrassing, sure it's basically a not-so-thinly veiled abstinence sermon, but it's an engaging story that grabs readers and doesn't let go.

And that's the secret: It's the story, silly!

Let the discussions begin! Til Monday~ <3

Marketing & Yo Gabba Gabba

In view of Talli's enormous marketing success on Amazon, I thought this would be a fun repost. And I've got a raging sinus infection. So to the recycle bin!

Yo Gabba Gabba finally got an article in Entertainment Weekly. (link)

Now I've admitted I'm a techno-lover (I blame formative years spent in the late-1980s).

I recall the Kraftwerk-"Music Selector is the Soul Reflector"-turn on the strobe light and "Dance Your Love Away"-scene as the ultimate in Good Times.

So two years ago when the girls and I happened across this odd little show on Noggin starring a funny black guy in an orange jumpsuit, furry hat, and horn-rimmed glasses dancing around to the musical stylings of Mark Mothersbaugh, we were checkin' that out!

Muno did give me pause, but the girls assured me he was just a hot dog from outer space. (Me: OK!)

Yo Gabba Gabba songs are available on iTunes. I recommend the following: "Don't Bite Your Friends" (good message for kids and adults); Party in My Tummy" (see above); "Working Together" (again, good for parents and kids); The episode "Dance" (for obvious reasons).

What does all this have to do with marketing you ask? Well, I'll tell ya. Recently, I came across an online forum dedicated to why the Twilight series was so successful.

There were a lot of haters going on about how badly the books were written (e.g., adverbs overload!) and feminist yadda yadda yadda. Personally, I thought the books were a lot of fun. I read them all in less than two weeks with a Disney trip thrown in the mix. They were entertaining and escapist and had an engaging love story.

But seriously, why would those books do better than say, a Sarah Dessen novel? My response = Marketing!

My reasoning was I would never have been aware of the books if I hadn't seen a big feature about Stephenie Myer and "the Twilight phenomenon" in Entertainment Weekly.

On the other hand, I've known about YGG for two years, and EW's just now getting around to going ape over the show.

So Marketing isn't the answer.

I don't know that they did much marketing for YGG and it still became huge. Maybe because it's on TV? Maybe because there's a buncha fan-parents out there who can't stop singing the songs and giggling about it to their friends?

What is making these books/shows so successful?

From what I understand there were lots of Moms out there reading Twilight before it went viral as well. Maybe that's it? If you can find something the kids like that the parents find irresistable as well, Eureka! You've done it?

I think it's the stylish clothes myself. I mean, heck. You can't beat that orange hat. And if I ever get anywhere near famous, I'm begging DJ Lance to please please please let me be a guest... I could teach everyone my Coco the Bird Lady dance!

Til Monday--Have a great weekend~ <3

Book review - Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

You all know I started blogging in Feb. because Janet Reid said you weren't ready to start approaching agents if you didn't have a "web presence." And then she dismissed Facebook friends because you have to be a FB member and be approved to access me...

So I got to work posting *stuff* every day that I thought my friends and family might enjoy in the hopes of building a following.

(Umm... side note, if you're one of those still enjoying my blog and haven't clicked on that little grey "follow" button right down there > > >, please feel free to do so now. I promise you won't get spammed.)

OK, so I'm blogging along, then reality set in. I realized that if I'm going to be a freelance writer for two publications, write books, research agents, and pretend to be a good wife, mother and friend, there was no flippin' way I'd be able to post every day.

So I cut it down to twice a week--Mondays and Thursdays.

Then I noticed something... Unfamiliar faces among my followers. (!) So I scurried over and checked out their blogs and from there I found others. And ultimately, through comments and email exchanges, I "met" other writers who now feel like friends.

It's weird. I told JRM it reminds me of the pioneer days when people could only communicate with letters. But it's also better because now we get to see pictures, read profiles, get daily or weekly (as opposed to monthly or yearly) updates...

So not only have I gotten to know my dear friends and family better, which is wonderful, I'm meeting writers from around the world. Yay--blogging wins!

Problem is now I really do need to get back to WIP before I completely lose the spirit of the book.

But I don't wanna leave! I want to keep reading your comments here and commenting back and then visiting all the blogs I've commented on and going back and re-commenting on the comments made to my comments...

Whoa! Where'd Thursday go?

All this to say, I'm headed into the cave for a few days. Back soon--hopefully with good progress made on even newer brand new novel. (!)

Now for the promised book review + CONTEST!

One of my new blogging buddies recommended Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark side by Beth Fantaskey. And while I said a few posts back that I was feeling a little vamped out, I trusted her recommendation and picked it up.

Here's the cover image. I'm including it because I think it's so pretty. I would have totally picked this up in the store and read the back cover. Bonus: it actually portrays a real scene in the book. (!)

But the back cover blurb isn't really true to the spirit of the book, in my opinion. The main character (Jessica) is well-drawn and has a great arc, and the book has a definite mood that makes it not as high-schooley chicklit as it sounds.

To begin with, the opening scene is of Jessica alone, waiting for the bus when a mysterious fellow appears and calls her Anastasia. She's completely freaked out by it, and by the end of the day her mother's told her she's a long-lost princess (yes, the Romanovs called) and the strange guy now living above her parents' garage is her fiance by an arranged marriage.

It's actually a blood pact, and they're both vampire royalty. The conceit of this tale is that she doesn't fully become a vampire until he bites her, which he almost does a few times. (whee!)

At first, I was a little disappointed by the dialogue. Again, I felt like these were teenagers talking like grad-school students, and I was seriously getting Love at First Bite vibes every time the male lead (Lucius) spoke. But by page 60, that's all completely forgotten. (And he's Romanian royalty, so he gets a pass.)

Once the Jessica-Lucius relationship gets going, it's hard to put the book down. First you have him all insisting she embrace her identity. Then you have him all resolved to protect her by breaking the marriage pact. (She's too sheltered and sweet to rule a bunch of assasination-proned, power-hungry vampires.)

Of course by that time, she's determined that she's gotta be with her sexy vampire future husband. He gives her a toothache.

(That sounds funny, but it works.)

Fantaskey throws in some fun plot twists--for example, a competing female love interest for Lucius--which really heighten the tension, and she gives readers enough insight into the cruelty of Lucius's childhood to prove his point without being off-putting to her target audience.

I also liked the nod to Bram Stoker's Dracula provided by Lucius's letters to his uncle back home, and the ending has an element of ambiguity I think readers will dig.

Other than some very mild language (moms), it's a pretty clean read. So JGTDDS gets an A from me!

If you liked the Twilight books, it's possible you'll like this one even better. I've heard there's an epilogue floating around somewhere in cyberspace... must find that...

Now for the CONTEST!
Post a comment below, and on Tues. a.m. I'll use the random number generator to pick one lucky commentor to WIN either Caleb + Kate OR Perfect Chemistry!* (I reviewed these books in the June 24 post.)

What? You thought I was giving away my copy of JGTDDS?! I said I really liked this book.

RULES:
1-Comments have to be below this post to be counted.
2-Followers of this blog get bonus points, and are more likely to win. So click the little gray bar up there > > > to improve your odds!
3-Comments must be made by Monday, midnight to count. (OK, if you beat me up Tues. a.m., you'll be counted, but I have no idea what time that'll be.)

If you're having trouble commenting, shoot me an email, and I'll troubleshoot w/you. Google likes to make me enter my password twice sometimes when I leave comments. Like I hit "post comment" and then I have to enter my password again and hit "post comment" again. I'm sure this is to guarantee I really mean it.

*Those guys following for whom YA romance sinks your boat, we can work out an alternate prize. I'll email you and we can discuss. I have a set of ginsu knives I'm trying to unload... and the first three Charlaine Harris books... Oh, alright, and if you really want JGTDDS, we can chat. Especially if you're a good friend who lives near my house... ;o)

I'll announce the winner Tues a.m., so have fun, and thanks for playing. I won't be commenting back til after Tuesday so as not to skew the results.

Happy 4th of July!

Book Reviews - The Host; Cindy Ella

Time for book reviews!

In my ongoing self-assigned "homework" of reading current YA novels, I picked up Cindy Ella by Robin Palmer. I've read her other two books, Geek Charming and Little Miss Red, and I really liked them. So I was looking forward to her debut novel, C.E.

Well... let me just say I've had a lot of *stuff* going on around here lately, so it's possible I just wasn't in the right mood for C.E. It took me a whole week to read it, and I just never really got into the story or connected with the main characters... (Jeez, I sound like an agent.)

It was Palmer's usual lighthearted fare, however. Her books are like the Clueless of the literary world, but I just didn't think it was as strong as Geek Charming (my fave, despite the ending) or even as silly as LMR. So if I were to assign grades, I'd only give it a B.

It's not a bad read, though. It's very clean (Moms) and cute. I've passed it to a reader-friend, so I'll be interested to hear what she thinks about it. Like I said, I could've just been in the wrong mood.

So after wrapping C.E., I finally picked up The Host by Stephenie Meyer. I should say I heaved up The Host because it a whopping 700 pages long. (!)

And while it's billed as her "first book for adults," I don't see how this book is any more adult than her Twilight series.

OK, sure, the characters aren't in high school. But the setting is post-alien-invasion Arizona. Nobody's in HS. The main character is only 17, so c'mon, people. If Twilight is YA, The Host is totally YA.

Now let me get this out of the way--I am not a Stephenie Meyer-hater. I think she does a super job making you care about her characters and then putting them in situations that you really want to know how in the world they're going to get out of. But shew! The girl writes for ever!

It reminded me of two things: #1-Those personality tests we used to take in college. They always had a question along the lines of "Do you enjoy the journey or are you more interested in the destination?" S.M. is totally a "journey" girl. I'm more the destination type. (Tell me what happens!)

#2-It reminded me of a friend I had in college who always had these outrageous misadventure stories that were interesting and you wanted to know what happened, but as she was telling you, she'd get sidetracked describing the decorations of the room she was in or the foliage in the park where *whatever* happened, and 30 minutes later, you still hadn't gotten to the end of the story.

All that being said, it's possible The Host is my favorite S.M. book. The premise is fun--Earth is invaded by aliens that take over human bodies by fusing into their brains, right? Well, this one alien is assigned to a captured, "adult" (17 yr-old) female who's one of the "wild" humans (the resistance). Said alien is supposed to find out where the rest of the wild humans are hiding, but instead, the human starts fighting back for her identity.

Cool, right?

It really is a fun read. I caved to my other reader-friend who said I should try it because it was described as Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets Days of Our Lives. That's not entirely accurate. It's really more Star Trek meets Days, but I might not've read it if they said that. (I'm not the SciFi nerd in the family.)

It's also similar to imagining what's going on in the head of a paranoid schizophrenic--the whole, "nobody believes me, but I'm telling the truth."

So I give it a solid A.

Of course, when Richard looked over and saw me reading it, he came at me with Quicksilver again (Neal Stephenson). Or maybe it was The Confusion, from which I immediately recoiled...

JRM: I can't believe you'll read that and you won't read this.
LTM: I think the type is much smaller in those books...
JRM: You don't love me.
LTM: I do!

So happy reading, reader friends!

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.

Marketing and Yo Gabba Gabba

Yo Gabba Gabba finally got an article in Entertainment Weekly.

Now I've admitted I'm a techno-lover (I blame formative years spent in the late-1980s). I recall the Kraftwerk-"Music Selector is the Soul Reflector"-turn on the strobe light and "Dance Your Love Away" scene as the ultimate in Good Times.

So two years ago when the girls and I happened across this odd little show on Noggin starring a funny black guy in an orange jumpsuit, furry hat, and horn-rimmed glasses dancing around to the musical stylings of Mark Mothersbaugh, we were checkin' that out!

Muno did give me pause, but the girls assured me he was just a hot dog from outer space. (Me: OK!) And by Halloween 2008, my big ole buddy Patrick Johnson and I were rockin out with the kids to "Party in My Tummy" and lovin it.

Can I just say, I know "PIMT" is intended to persuade little ones to eat their green beans and carrots (who are crying because they want to go to the party in your tummy). But if you're anything like me (and Patrick), and you know there's nothing better in life than hoggin' out, then that is the song for you.

Yo Gabba Gabba songs are available on iTunes, btw. I recommend the following: "Don't Bite Your Friends" (good message for kids and adults); Party in My Tummy" (see above); "Working Together" (again, good for parents and kids); The episode "Dance" (for obvious reasons).

What does all this have to do with marketing you ask? Well, I'll tell ya. I mentioned in a previous post that I came across an online forum dedicated to why the Twilight series was so successful.

There were a lot of haters going on about how badly the books were written (e.g., adverbs overload!) and feminist yadda yadda yadda. Personally, I thought the books were a lot of fun. I read them all in less than two weeks with a Disney trip thrown in the mix. They were entertaining and escapist and had an engaging love story.

But seriously, why would those books do better than say, a Sarah Dessen novel? My response = Marketing!

My reasoning was I would never have been aware of the books if I hadn't seen a big feature about Stephanie Myers and "the Twilight phenomenon" in Entertainment Weekly.

Therein lies the bug. I've known about YGG for two years, and EW's just now getting around to going ape over it.

So why is it so successful? I don't know that they've done much marketing for it. Maybe because it's on TV? Maybe because there's a buncha fan-parents out there who can't stop singing the songs and giggling about it to their friends?

I know I sing "Let's Get the Sillies Out" at odd, random moments. (I also bust rhymes from "Forgot About Dre," so I'm not such a great example.)

But I do have this question buzzing around in my head. What is making these books/shows so successful?

From what I understand there were lots of Moms out there reading Twilight before it went viral as well. Maybe that's it? If you can find something the kids like that the parents find irresistable as well, Eureka! You've done it?

I think it's the stylish clothes myself. I mean, heck. You can't beat that orange hat. And if I ever get anywhere near famous, I'm begging DJ Lance to please please please let me be a guest... I could do my Coco the Bird Lady dance!

On Self-Publishing

For some reason I have "Blame Canada" in my head this morning.

Also, finished the Dessen novel, and I really liked it. She's got a nice style of writing that's very engaging. And she manages to sneak in good advice without sounding school-marmish.

I would've handled the scene where the primaries (finally) get their first kiss a little differently. I mean, in my opinion, it was a bit wordy. I would've done more, "warm embrace, the world melted away, and it was just... perfect."

Something like that, but a little more polished. You know, give them their moment to savor, and then pick up with the bit about forever and all.

But that's just me. Otherwise, good stuff! I can totally see me reading another of her books.

So to self-publishing! Some people are curious as to why I don't like that option. I've been an editor for years. I've sent back many a bleeding manuscript. I even know how the printing process works. What's the big deal?

Well, one set of reasons is practical, the other is more philosophical.

First, let me say, I'm strictly talking about publishing books. Novels. Not cookbooks or family geneologies or things like that, which are intended for a specific group of people for a specific purpose. I'm talking about self-publishing my work of YA commercial fiction. (I.e., vanity press.)

On the practical side, publishing's expensive. There's also the problem of editing your work. Yes, I'm an editor, and I've even edited the works of tenured Ph.D.s, and guess what? EVERYBODY needs a good editor.

You just need an outsider to read your stuff and make sure all the thoughts that were in your head made it successfully into the story.

It really does take a full six-week break to be able to go back to something you've written and see that "Oh! I thought I explained that better." Or "Wow, I could've expanded on that a little more."

Second, you need a good copy-editor. You just do. Somebody's got to un-split all those infinitives.

Finally, the most important thing, Marketing. I was just telling someone that if I hadn't seen an aritcle in Entertainment Weekly about the "Twilight phenomenon"--this was back when Breaking Dawn was dropped--I would never have picked up a copy and read it. Why would I? I have no tween children. We were still reading Madeline every night.

But I did see that article, and so did a lot of my peers. And Stephanie Meyers thanks us all.

Maybe you don't care to be that successful. (What?) But even to get a little publicity--to get the word-of-mouth wheels turning--takes a lot of effort and time. At least with an actual publisher you get some help with that. I know, the amount varies and is reportedly shrinking.

Coming from a marketing background, that is just so counterintuitive...

As for the philisophical, well, it's about the joy of reading.

Now you've all heard me complain about how long this finding an agent process takes and then how long it's going to take after that to get through publishing and yadda yadda yadda.

But that's just part of it. And the complaining's primarily for laughs because I know that's just the nature of the business. I've also decided to get back into yoga.

It can be discouraging that a big part of one's success seems to hinge on the ability to write a superstar sales pitch that sums up a 300- to 500-page work of fiction in one titilating paragraph. (Angela: "I hate being titilated.")

I can only imagine the mountain of super-great books that are just never going to be published because of this whole query-letter test.

But I do think moving the slush pile out of a few publishing houses and into hundreds of agency offices actually gives more people a shot at being considered--or at least actually read once.

That just brings us back to quality control. I know that a big part of my learning came from the books I read growing up. I learned to communicate effectively, to use language, even some mechanical tricks. (But I was nerdy like that.)

Philosophicaly, there's a certain authority to a printed book. I know, there's a lot of bound garbage out there, but there's also a lot of bound good stuff. Interesting stuff. Fun stuff. Deep and meaningful stuff.

I don't know, it's frustrating and rejections are depressing, but I think authors should resist self-publishing. If everybody's doing it, then where's the value in actually getting it done?

Finally, in conclusion, when you're sick of waiting and you see that icon promising to get your book published for a few hundred dollars, stop. Think: What would Brian Boitano do?

And then send a query to Nathan Bransford.