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Experiencing a New Year's Revolution by Christa Allan

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2013 was not the year I expected it to be.

That January, I retired after 25 years of teaching high school English, anticipating days not determined by bells ringing every 53 minutes, expanding my writing projects, visiting my children and grandchildren.

But no.

Five months later, I'm wearing scrubs, working twelve hour days as receptionist, mopper, kennel cleaner at my husband's new veterinary clinic. A situation arose that left me feeling blindsided by my agent and resulted in my terminating our relationship. Contracted with my publishing house for two more novels, I requested and generously received cancellations for both. I didn't feel like a writer, and I wondered if I ever would again. Every morning,  I donned resentment, anger and exhaustion like a lead x-ray apron.

By the end of 2013,  I decided even if I couldn't yet pull on my big girl panties, I could at least begin to search for them. After a come-to-Jesus meeting with myself, I found help, celebrated the engagements of my first-born and last-born sons, conspired with three writing friends to write one of the novellas in a connected series, and fell in love with a dog named Herman.

I didn't make a New Year's Resolution. Instead,as my granddaughters refer to them, I chose a New Year's Revolution for 2014. I've selected a word for the year, and for 2014 it's PRESENCE.  I couldn't express it better than my GF Malena Lott in her recent post:
"Now I relish the ordinary day and finding extraordinary moments within each one and I've tried to stop judging a day, a week, a year as "good" or "bad."  
For me, to be present is to celebrate the who, what when, where and how of the moment. To not allow myself to drown in what could be, but to pay attention to what is.

This weekend I have the extraordinary pleasure of being invited to my first Pulpwood Queens Book Clubs' 14th Annual Girlfriends Weekend where Jamie Ford and Melanie Benjamin will be keynote speakers. I'm looking forward to connecting with authors and readers and fun.

My fifth novel, Test of Faith, will release in March. I'll also be presenting at the Jambalaya Writer's Conference in March, and the keynote speaker will be Adriana Trigiani will keynote.

I'll host engagement parties in this spring, and play mother of the groom in October for my first-born.

So many opportunities for celebrating the ordinary...

And you?

Christa Allan's fifth and newest novel,  A Test of Faith, will release in March. You can track her down at www.christaallan.com (on its way!), Facebook, and Twitter. You can find her other novels here.




Something Old, New and Borrowed for 2014

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by Malena Lott

It's ordinary time. I used to loathe the "in between" — of holidays, life events. I always wanted something to look forward to 
Every woman needs her own power drill. 
- something BIG and bold and photo-worthy.

Now I relish the ordinary day and finding extraordinary moments within each one and I've tried to stop judging a day, a week, a year as "good" or "bad." Now to jumpstart this year, I give you something old, something new and something borrowed to make our writing year a big success.

Something Old:
I get the rights back on Dating da Vinci this summer sometime. I'm thrilled I'll get to give it a new cover, new pricing and control the marketing. And the cool thing about the Internet is even "old" things are new to someone. And my novel Fixer Upper was the first one I self-published in 2010 and it's my top seller now. Pause for a moment and be proud of your past achievements. 

Something New:
I do like to set my intentions for the year so it helps me to come up with a theme to keep me on track. I settled on Get Real, where I've (probably stupidly) committed myself to a weekly blog post and video about a new topic I (and we) can get real about. I started with time because I'm so tired of how much it slips away and am certain I'm the one to blame for any of it being "lost" or wasted. I want to take bolder action with my intentions this year and that means paying attention to what I do and where my mind goes.

I'm currently writing my second Messengers YA book, Genesis, and I know once I commit to daily work on it, I'll love the story again.) I'd like to finish a mystery I started but don't want to commit to that just yet. It might be 2015 and that's okay with me. I also get to edit and publish other writers' work and that's a fun challenge. The story and strategy are my favorite parts.

I think it's important for writers to be broad with their interests, too. We can feel like we live in a cave in a world of all imaginary people. That's why I started a new media site, Sooner Spaces, focusing on stories about stylish spaces and the people behind them in Oklahoma and it's been a blast. I'm getting out of the house, meeting people and getting to be creative in a new way.

Take a deep breath of gratitude that we get the opportunity for creating something new. 

Something Borrowed:
Well, it's not exactly borrowed, but I have set an intention to not buy anything new the rest of this year for me personally. After a closet cleanse, I realized I have loads of extra clothes and if I do need something, I'll try to shop thrift first or actually borrow a friend's. We'll see! I'm also borrowing lots of great advice from people I admire to include in my Get Real series.

Treasuring the things we have help us to feel we have and are"enough."

I'd love to hear your old/new/borrow for 2014 and I hope you'll get real with me this year. No time like the present.

Malena Lott is a storyteller and strategist from Oklahoma. She's written five novels and two novellas under her name, one young adult book under pen name Lena Brown and an advice book, Dance Mom Survival Guide, with co-author Jill Martin. 

A Bookless World? by Wendy Nelson Tokunaga

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A public library with no books? Librarians who look like Apple Store employees? Glistening iMacs and iPads awaiting patrons on sleek desks, with even more tablets ready to be checked out by anyone with a library card? If this is the library of the future, the future is already here. This is BiblioTech in Bexar County, San Antonio Texas, the country’s first and only bookless public library. The design makes sense in today’s shaky economic times and with the ever-present possibility of libraries having to shut down: BiblioTech buys its 10,000-title digital collection at the same cost as physical books, but millions were saved in architectural expenses because the library didn’t need to be structured to hold the weight of printed books and bookshelves.

Plans are underway for bookless libraries in other parts of the country. And with the continued popularity of e-books, tablets and dedicated e-readers, it seems that bookshelves in homes and apartments filled with printed books will become less and less common. Many who love to read when they travel have marveled at being able to “carry” scores of books on their iPads and Kindles to be read on the airplane and by the pool. And what about the ability to instantly purchase a book in seconds without stepping outside your home? That can be compellingly convenient in this time of instant gratification. No, you don’t need to trek anymore to your local record store to buy music and you don’t need to do that with books either.

But while we hear about the demise of brick-and-mortar bookstores and witness this happening in our own communities due to e-books and online sales, many still find it imperative (and fun!) to browse through a bookstore. And there’s also the curious phenomenon of new bookstores continuing to open despite the gloom and doom. In the San Francisco Bay Area where I live, just last year Diesel Books opened a new branch in Marin County and a new independent bookstore called Village House of Books debuted in Los Gatos. Many established independent bookstores (BooksInc., Book Passage, etc.) here are also still going strong. In the town that I call home, we have no fewer than five independent bookstores serving a population of about 15,000.

So what does the future hold? Will books and bookstores disappear like vinyl, cassettes, CDs and record stores? I’m not sure. I’d like to hope that print books and e-books, and online bookstores and neighborhood bookshops can co-exist in some way. Just the other day I was reading a novel on my iPad that I’m planning to teach in an upcoming course. But I also bought the paper copy and switched over to reading that version. I’ll probably mark it up with handwritten notes, which is easier to accomplish on the paper book. But another thing I found that I especially enjoyed was placing a bookmark in the book and monitoring my progress of how close I was to finishing. Somehow eyeballing that physical bookmark was much more satisfying than reading “43%, 161 out of 371 pages” at the bottom of the Kindle page.

Do you think that a bookless world is in our future?










TALKIN' 'BOUT MY RESOLUTIONS...

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See how determined I look?

I’m a New Year’s Resolution maker. I’ll admit it. And I stick with about 25% of them. Not a great number but that’s okay – I did manage to join a gym and lose 30 lbs this past year – so that’s something.

But this year I’m doing it differently. Instead of self-improvement resolutions (yup – gonna be the same old jerk I was last year) I’m making career resolutions. 2014 will be the year I work my butt off to get more stuff out.

That also means 2014 will be the year I don’t leave the house much or have a life – but that’s the way the Times Square crystal ball bounces.

Why the narrow focus?  A couple of reasons. First of all – my kids are teenagers now. They don’t need (or necessarily want) me to spend every moment with them. They no longer need me to make them snacks, play Clue or supervise every question in their homework. They’d rather immerse themselves in their sports and music activities, go to the movies with friends or spend hours doing whatever it is they do in their rooms. I get that. I think kids need alone time. And now, for once, in 15 years – I’ll get some.



Secondly – I’m in a good place with my writing. I produced 2 novellas and a short story since July. My mojo’s back and I know what I can do now – which is a LOT more. I have a new genre to work on for one publisher and a new series idea for another. And these are small, boutique publishers with better contracts than I got from New York and they handle the covers, editing, formatting and marketing so I don’t have to. I spent a great deal of time on that in the last few years. I’m happy to give that up.

And last but not least – I’m into writing again. I’ve got a timeline for the novels I want to write this year and I’m confident (for once) that I can achieve it. And I have new office supplies. Nothing makes my heart beat faster than shiny new office supplies!
So we shall see where this year takes me. I’m hoping to fatten up my bookshelf and lose myself in new things.

Oh, and I’ll keep working on the weight thing. Still have about 10 more lbs. to lose. I do have to have my priorities, after all.  

Evolution of a Title

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by Sara Rosett

When I wrote the synopsis for the eighth Ellie Avery mystery, I knew my publisher would want to keep to the same format that we’d been using for a while: M________, M_________, and Murder. The first two words in the pattern have been related to the setting (the South) and to mystery.

The title pattern is part of the branding of the books and hopefully makes the books memorable.

The problem was that I had gone through a lot of “m” words:

·     Magnolias, Mint Juleps, Mimosas, and Mistletoe (didn’t fit the Southern pattern, but it was a Christmas book, so it was okay)

Moonlight, Mischief, Mayhem, and Merriment (again, Merriment got the exception because it was the Christmas book)

Sooo…after several days of thinking, I was drawing a blank on more Southern and/or mysterious “m” words for the title.

I finally gave up and settled on Spanish Moss, Malice, and Murder. I didn’t think it was an amazing title, but it would do. I figured it might change.

It did. I got an email after a few months that the working title was now Milkshakes, Mud Pies, and Murder. I’d already turned in the manuscript, but I could work in some milkshakes and a few mud pies when I got the copy edits back. The story took place on a beach, after all.

But then I got another email that the title had changed again. Now it was called Milkshakes, Mermaids, and Murder. My editor suggested that Livvy (the main character’s daughter) might be interested in mermaids, which I thought was a great way to work them into the story—especially since I don’t write anything close to magical/fantasy/science fiction.

So that’s how the title evolved. Readers are often surprised that the title choice is more of a committee decision, but I have had books that were published with title I originally gave them. That happened with my first book, Moving is Murder. I think it must have been the multiple “m” words that made that title a keeper!

What are your favorite titles? Have you ever read a book because of the title alone?

~Sara  

A native Texan, Sara is the author of the Ellie Avery mystery series and the On The Run suspense series. As a military spouse, Sara has moved around the country (frequently!) and traveled internationally, which inspired her latest suspense novels. Publishers Weekly called Sara’s books, "satisfying," "well-executed," and "sparkling." 


Sara loves all things bookish, considers dark chocolate a daily requirement, and is on a quest for the best bruschetta. Connect with Sara at www.SaraRosett.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Goodreads.

Here's to new beginnings! by Brenda Janowitz

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I always get so motivated at the start of a new year.  New beginnings, a chance to start over, a chance to do new things.

And this year, I'm doing something I've never done before.  My fourth novel will be published this winter, but it won't be on the bookshelves at your local bookstore.  No, this time I'm doing something a bit different.

This novel will only be published as an e-book.

No pretty paperback to display on my bookshelf.  No book parties at my local indie and at Barnes and Noble where my friends can come hear me read and then buy my book.  No actual, physical books anywhere to be found.

No, this one will be ordered solely by a click of the mouse.

When the fabulous Jason Pinter contacted me about his new independent publishing house, Polis Books, I jumped at the chance to work with him.  Only, I was halfway into my two-book deal with St. Martin's.  I didn't know what I would do-- I was working on book two for St. Martin's, and that was taking all of my free time.  But, then it hit me:  I had a book proposal that I was completely in love with, but never sold due to changes in the publishing landscape.  I asked Jason if he wanted to take a peek.

The rest, as they say, his history.  Polis Books will be publishing THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB this winter.  I don't have an exact pub date yet, but isn't that the fun of e-publishing?  Immediacy.  The second Jason and I decide that the book's ready to go out in the world, a few clicks, and you will be able to find it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple, or anywhere you buy your e-books.

Jason's already designed a gorgeous cover for the book, so we're just about ready to launch.

Now, you may recognize this book as my "drawer" novel, the one book I wrote but never saw the light of day.  Well, light: here it comes!!  (You can still read the first chapter if you'd like by clicking here!)  I'm so very excited about trying something new.  It's fun, a bit scary, and totally liberating to just go for it.

To celebrate the impending publication of LONELY HEARTS, I'll be reading at Lady Jane's Salon this Monday.  I'd love to see you there!  That is, if the snow clears by then....


What new things will YOU be doing this new year?



I’m the author of SCOT ON THE ROCKS and JACK WITH A TWIST. My third novel, RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE, was published by St. Martin's on July 2, 2013. My fourth novel, THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB, will be published by Polis Books this winter.

My work’s also appeared in the New York Post and Publisher’s Weekly. You can find me at brendajanowitz.com or on Twitter at @BrendaJanowitz.

Mobiles, Stabiles and Books by Melissa Clark

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Happy 2014! 


The other night, I had the pleasure of seeing the Calder exhibit at LACMA with a friend. It is a beautifully curated show. We enjoyed reading about Calder's process and seeing the final products - the mobiles dancing in the air and the stabiles proudly standing their ground. At first glance, the mobiles look like simplistic childlike designs, but upon closer inspection the artistry really stands out. Geometric, colorful shapes are attached with delicate wire structures, allowing for balance and movement. The pieces are thoughtful, vibrant and even funny

Mobile
Stabile

The exhibit made me think of my own writing, or rather, writing in general. There is an illusion of simplicity and ease when reading a page-turner, when really the author most likely struggled with the same sense of balance, only with words instead of shapes.

I teach a class called "In Their Own Words: Artists Speak About Living a Creative Life" and in that class we talk a lot about process - the part of art that isn't really shown in museums, isn't necessarily talked about. To me, the process is the art - the art of discipline, of showing up every day to navigate some mysterious inner-compass, the art of failing, or missing your target, your vision not in line with what's coming out on the page or the canvas.

Book
As I aim to complete the upteenth draft of my fourth novel, years in the making, scenes written and then scrapped, characters born and then killed off, plot points determined and then eradicated, I'm counting on that ineffable feeling to let me know when it's 'done'. The final product - the mobile, the stabile, the book - well, that's just icing on the cake.


Melissa Clark is the author of Imperfect and Swimming Upstream, Slowly, and the creator of the animated television show, Braceface. She lives in Los Angeles and looks forward to 2014.
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