One of my childhood hobbies was finding and saving pictures of ornate, heavy silver tea services like this one. I'd never actually seen one up close, but the ones described in stories about England dazzled me. My mom encouraged this, as it was less destructive than other hobbies of mine, like digging deep ditches in the backyard in hopes of striking oil or a vein of gold.
To the kid me, that silver tea service equaled the proverbial spoon. I knew I'd never have one; you had to be born to things like that, but I dreamed. In my fantasies, that tea service commanded almost mystical admiration and respect. You might live in a single-wide with a rusted-out Impala up on cinderblocks in the weed patch of your front yard, but if you used a silver pot to pour your Lipton, you still had Some Class.
My mother, knowing my secret daydreams, stunned me years later when she gave me a silver tea service as a wedding gift. I almost fainted when I opened the box. That first year, I used my silver tea service with the aplomb of a New Wife With Some Class. I invited my girlfriends over for an English high tea, complete with cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off and crumpets and real butter and cream. I poured for everyone, just like the wonderful English ladies in the books I'd read.
The girlfriends were a little mystified by the cucumber sandwiches ("You put butter on them?") and one compared crumpets to naked Egg McMuffins, but they seemed suitably impressed. They came for another tea or two, but then they made excuses not to. Tea was okay, but it was more their speed to go shoot pool and drink beer down at the local watering hole, and why didn't I come with them?
I resisted the dubious charms of the tavern and the cue, because I had Some Class. I started going to tea shops and tea rooms to ooooh over the expensive stuff, sit by myself and watch the lovely ladies of the silver tea service. I felt in awe of those finely dressed, elegant, obviously wealthy women, who demonstrated their exquisite manners, and engaged in small talk. Often they wore gloves -- real, white ones with pearl buttons at the wrist -- like little girls do at Easter for church. They never appeared agitated or angry or even mildly steamed. Their small gestures seemed as smooth and slow as if they were underwater.
I was never invited to join any of their teas (a few called me over now and then, thinking I was the waitress) but oh, how I wished I could. To be a part of those refined circles instead of eavesdropping on them. To have a reason to produce languid gestures and serene smiles. To know what they knew: the confidence only wealth, acceptance and respect bestows. So maybe eight-ball was a lot more fun; I told myself that was single-wide mentality. I could learn plenty from those tea room ladies. They had So Much Class, and it was all so pretty.
At home, I had to hand wash my silver service, naturally, and polish it weekly to prevent tarnish from marring it. Some Class required a lot of upkeep. Every person who came into my home had to be artfully guided by the hutch to see it. I never bragged, because the very presence of the silver service whispered for me: Hey, Baby, She's Got It.
The second year some odd little dark spots appeared on the bottom of my silver tea pot, spots that no amount of attention and care could remove. In fact, polishing made them bigger. Concerned, I mentioned this to the British lady who owned the most expensive tea room in town.
"If it's American made," she told me, "the silver plating is probably worn thin." She recommended a product that restored the look of silver to tarnished, cheap sets like mine.
I went home feeling a bit tarnished myself. Thin. Cheap. The look of silver. Silly that I hadn't ever realized my set wasn't the real deal, but I knew nothing about silver. That my mother couldn't have afforded to buy anything but silver plate had never registered.
Not Classy. Single-wide pitiful, really. And not my silver-plated service, either -- me. I'd assumed I had what I would likely never possess. I'd tried to go where I would never fit in. I'd been a tea room groupie, longing for acceptance and respect from women who mistook me for the help. I knew nothing about tea except what I'd read in books, and I'd probably gotten half of that wrong, too.
A very unpleasant lesson, served up on a silver-plated platter.
I might have saved up for a solid silver service (back then it would have only taken me seven or eight years) but the glitz was gone. After that I still used the service, but not to impress my friends. I used it for every day, ordinary teas. I stopped hanging out to silently gawk at the lovely ladies of the tea rooms. When I had tea, it was only for me, to be enjoyed while I read a good book, or listened to some music, or watched the rain fall.
The little teas I made for myself remained a habit. Over time I became more daring and, like an armchair voyager to unknown countries, I started trying out new teas. I sampled imported tea from England, and China, and India. I found real Irish black tea has ten times the wallop of Starbuck's coffee. I discovered delicate white teas, exotic flavored teas, and a few unhappy revelations, such as the Earl Grey tea so favored by Her Majesty tasted as if I were drinking perfume.
Despite my care (and I never stopped caring for it, even after the glitz had nearly worn away) the silver set slowly corroded over the years. Finally a weld broke on the teapot and it began to leak. I donated the usable pieces to a thrift shop and let my crafty neighbor turn the leaky pot into a "shabby chic" planter. I went out and bought a replacement service; an inexpensive but attractive set in stoneware to match my every day dishes. Dishwasher safe, durable, and not so much as a fleck of glitz. It kept my tea hot and looked nice on the table, which was all that mattered.
The girlfriends who dropped by my house weren't especially dazzled by my humble stoneware, but it didn't scare them off to the pool-hall, either. They giggled over my tales of Around the World in 80 Teas, and tested baking experiments, like my versions of Dundee cake, and tart cherry-vanilla scones, and Brazo de Gitano. We swapped stories and recipes and laughed a lot.
Tea is a daily part of my life now. This morning I drank my breakfast brew from a big mug with a Charles Wysocki cats-and-books design. Tonight I'm brewing a pot of green tea to drink from tiny cups like these before we go to bed. Both the mug and the tea cups are precious to me, not for their monetary value, but because they were gifts from friends.
As for the glitz, well, I no longer covet things that require endless polishing, or the wearing of white gloves, or the cutting off of crusts. Like so many things in my life, it's what I love that's important, not how impressive it looks, and the people who share it with me, not the ones who never will.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Monday, January 30, 2006
Perplexed
When a literary writer SPAMs me about the release of his new book (as so many do these days) why would he think the word "Ballsey" and a wry description of one of his testicles appearing on the cover art would entice me to buy it? Is this like some new shock-promo thing?
No sale here, pal, sorry. I am kind of curious to see* the cover art, though.
*Went and looked it: no testicle, only an accidental (or artfully-placed?) shadow on the inner thigh. I should probably embarrass the author and link to it, but I'm feeling too mellow. And dude, if you're reading this? Do the reading public a favor and stop posing for your covers. Fabio you're not.
No sale here, pal, sorry. I am kind of curious to see* the cover art, though.
*Went and looked it: no testicle, only an accidental (or artfully-placed?) shadow on the inner thigh. I should probably embarrass the author and link to it, but I'm feeling too mellow. And dude, if you're reading this? Do the reading public a favor and stop posing for your covers. Fabio you're not.
Not a Dime Ten
Ten More Things to Distract Bill Peschel from Writing
Freeware caution: always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive.
1. The Netter.com is giving away free downloads of The Big Book of Web Design Freebies, which promises "1000's of free webmaster resources, freeware and tools for web design."
2. eQit all-in-one freeware offers a clock, diary, notepad, program launcher and contact database; dockable, re-sizeable and configurable.
3. Freeware Arena is giving away an ebook about freeware sites here.
4. Manage your agendas, activities, notes, contacts, documents and so forth with Kplan Personal.
5. Paperless Printer is an ebook maker and document exchange utility.
6. Softboard.net has two freeware programs available: Photo2Web Publisher, a "useful program that allows you to easy publish photos on your website. It creates thumbnails, resize photos and generate HTML pages"; and PhotoView, "an easy and compact photo viewer for Windows. It allows you to view and organize your digital photos easily and comfortably."
7. Pindersoft.com has two freebies of interest to writers, PS Whiteboard and Floating Clock.
8. Send to Notepad is a neat little utility tool to cut down on the cut and paste time -- click on the StN task bar icon and your highlighted text is copied to notepad.
9. Time Sentry offers "a small, multi-purpose calendar and time application designed to make finding out date and time information easy and fast."
10. Xint is a freeware alternative to Windows notepad.
Freeware caution: always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive.
1. The Netter.com is giving away free downloads of The Big Book of Web Design Freebies, which promises "1000's of free webmaster resources, freeware and tools for web design."
2. eQit all-in-one freeware offers a clock, diary, notepad, program launcher and contact database; dockable, re-sizeable and configurable.
3. Freeware Arena is giving away an ebook about freeware sites here.
4. Manage your agendas, activities, notes, contacts, documents and so forth with Kplan Personal.
5. Paperless Printer is an ebook maker and document exchange utility.
6. Softboard.net has two freeware programs available: Photo2Web Publisher, a "useful program that allows you to easy publish photos on your website. It creates thumbnails, resize photos and generate HTML pages"; and PhotoView, "an easy and compact photo viewer for Windows. It allows you to view and organize your digital photos easily and comfortably."
7. Pindersoft.com has two freebies of interest to writers, PS Whiteboard and Floating Clock.
8. Send to Notepad is a neat little utility tool to cut down on the cut and paste time -- click on the StN task bar icon and your highlighted text is copied to notepad.
9. Time Sentry offers "a small, multi-purpose calendar and time application designed to make finding out date and time information easy and fast."
10. Xint is a freeware alternative to Windows notepad.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Oddities
I like to look around the internet for freeware. Writers are generally poor; we need free stuff. I think (when possible) it's also a good idea to test drive freeware, lite and trial downloads before you invest in expensive software.
On my searches I do find some oddities that I save in a junk file. Joke programs that actually do nothing, like the Penis Size-O-Matic, or fandom-type stuff, such as the Matrix Code Emulator screensaver program. I find virtual widgets annoying, so out of spite I'll trash links like Konfabulator. I also like freeware that is writer-specific versus general info programs such as Kwik Facts.
I'm becoming a little leery of freeware sites such as another virtual sticky notes program, SyncNotes, which require registration before the downloads can be accessed -- if they're giving it away, why do they need the registration? What are they doing with that info? Is it just another SPAM addy collector? I wonder.
Then there are the programs I'm simply not sure about, like SLang, which is meant for screenwriters but may or may not be useful to writers. I wish I had time to try them all out myself, but as I found out tonight with a freeware program from Europe, some are so complicated I'd have to reset ten thousand things on my system before they'll even run.
Tomorrow I'll put up another bunch of freeware links for the Monday ten, and eventually I hope to compile a master list of freeware for writers and stick it somewhere here where you all can explore it at your leisure. To help me with my future hunts, what type of freeware programs are you all most interested in finding?
On my searches I do find some oddities that I save in a junk file. Joke programs that actually do nothing, like the Penis Size-O-Matic, or fandom-type stuff, such as the Matrix Code Emulator screensaver program. I find virtual widgets annoying, so out of spite I'll trash links like Konfabulator. I also like freeware that is writer-specific versus general info programs such as Kwik Facts.
I'm becoming a little leery of freeware sites such as another virtual sticky notes program, SyncNotes, which require registration before the downloads can be accessed -- if they're giving it away, why do they need the registration? What are they doing with that info? Is it just another SPAM addy collector? I wonder.
Then there are the programs I'm simply not sure about, like SLang, which is meant for screenwriters but may or may not be useful to writers. I wish I had time to try them all out myself, but as I found out tonight with a freeware program from Europe, some are so complicated I'd have to reset ten thousand things on my system before they'll even run.
Tomorrow I'll put up another bunch of freeware links for the Monday ten, and eventually I hope to compile a master list of freeware for writers and stick it somewhere here where you all can explore it at your leisure. To help me with my future hunts, what type of freeware programs are you all most interested in finding?
Saturday, January 28, 2006
1
In keeping with the week's unofficial brevity theme: describe your novel, your body of work, or yourself in comments -- and use only a single word.
I'll start: insurgent.
I'll start: insurgent.
Sinclair
Now that James Frey has been fried, we have a long-lost letter surfacing which questions author Upton Sinclair's ethics. Is that timing, or what?
Is this the beginning of open season on nonfic and memoir authors? Hard to say. Frey's faux past has stirred his colleagues to offer so many righteous and indignant rants that finding a hooker in a convent would likely cause less pious fuss. I do think the truth is important, even if it only serves as a cautionary tale for future writers. But when the soapbox becomes an open mike night stage, and those who climb on it start sounding like the cast of A Chorus Line, then it may be time to move on.
At least Oprah won't be able to book Sinclair on the show. Not without a backhoe, anyway -- he's been dead for 38 years.
Is this the beginning of open season on nonfic and memoir authors? Hard to say. Frey's faux past has stirred his colleagues to offer so many righteous and indignant rants that finding a hooker in a convent would likely cause less pious fuss. I do think the truth is important, even if it only serves as a cautionary tale for future writers. But when the soapbox becomes an open mike night stage, and those who climb on it start sounding like the cast of A Chorus Line, then it may be time to move on.
At least Oprah won't be able to book Sinclair on the show. Not without a backhoe, anyway -- he's been dead for 38 years.
Friday, January 27, 2006
Brief Me
Brevity appeals to me. I fell in love with brevity code in the military. One-liners are my favorite type of joke. When I see a one-word title on a cover, I'm instantly drawn to the book. Ogden Nash is one of my personal heroes.
Storytellers are spinners, not tailors. It's difficult for us to be brief when we have so much story in our heads. Even on the internet, the kingdom of acronymous, we're often too wordy (and I am as guilty of this as any writer, especially when I feel passionately about something like, hey, brevity.)
Today while I was talking with a sales rep from a completely different industry, she related this observation: people remember advertising with images and single words and phrases more so than ads with blocks of text -- even if they're a captive audience and have nothing to do but look at the ad.
Makes sense to me. Attention spans are short these days. Both men and women are busier; we work long hours, have more responsibilities, and we're tired. Time is a precious commodity we don't want to waste.
Now and then I challenge writers to trim their pitches. I see it as a necessary skill, and you never know when you may need a quick pitch. Brevity with impact is even more important, because if you don't have significant wattage, you're not going to dazzle the editor.
Consider trimming down when you work on the following:
1. Title: Your title, like cover art, is a selling point. It doesn't have to be one word, but it should convey your story's power. Change titles as often as you like until you find one that works (I often wonder how well StarDoc would have done if I had stuck with its original title, Border FreeClinic.)
2. Query letter: My advice is keep it to three paragraphs and no more than one page. The shorter it is, the more likely the editor will read the entire letter.
3. Synopsis: Get out of the storyteller's mindset and into a more journalistic approach. Resist the urge to persuade or impress the editor, and discard the lyrical in favor of the concise and powerful. Don't worry; you'll have plenty of room to be pretty in the novel.
4. First three chapters: These make or break your pitch. If your first three chapters are a set-up, travelogue, droning narrative or some other form of writer security blanket, delete them and start your novel with chapters four, five and six.
More info:
Strunk's Elements of Composition; scroll down to #13. Omit needless words.
In Writer Trick #7 from the old weblog I showed how to condense the passage of time in a scene.
Columbia University's Writing Summaries.
Jonathan Treisman's Writing Loglines that Sell is geared toward screenwriters but will work for novelists, too.
The University of Pittsburgh's How to Summarize.
Storytellers are spinners, not tailors. It's difficult for us to be brief when we have so much story in our heads. Even on the internet, the kingdom of acronymous, we're often too wordy (and I am as guilty of this as any writer, especially when I feel passionately about something like, hey, brevity.)
Today while I was talking with a sales rep from a completely different industry, she related this observation: people remember advertising with images and single words and phrases more so than ads with blocks of text -- even if they're a captive audience and have nothing to do but look at the ad.
Makes sense to me. Attention spans are short these days. Both men and women are busier; we work long hours, have more responsibilities, and we're tired. Time is a precious commodity we don't want to waste.
Now and then I challenge writers to trim their pitches. I see it as a necessary skill, and you never know when you may need a quick pitch. Brevity with impact is even more important, because if you don't have significant wattage, you're not going to dazzle the editor.
Consider trimming down when you work on the following:
1. Title: Your title, like cover art, is a selling point. It doesn't have to be one word, but it should convey your story's power. Change titles as often as you like until you find one that works (I often wonder how well StarDoc would have done if I had stuck with its original title, Border FreeClinic.)
2. Query letter: My advice is keep it to three paragraphs and no more than one page. The shorter it is, the more likely the editor will read the entire letter.
3. Synopsis: Get out of the storyteller's mindset and into a more journalistic approach. Resist the urge to persuade or impress the editor, and discard the lyrical in favor of the concise and powerful. Don't worry; you'll have plenty of room to be pretty in the novel.
4. First three chapters: These make or break your pitch. If your first three chapters are a set-up, travelogue, droning narrative or some other form of writer security blanket, delete them and start your novel with chapters four, five and six.
More info:
Strunk's Elements of Composition; scroll down to #13. Omit needless words.
In Writer Trick #7 from the old weblog I showed how to condense the passage of time in a scene.
Columbia University's Writing Summaries.
Jonathan Treisman's Writing Loglines that Sell is geared toward screenwriters but will work for novelists, too.
The University of Pittsburgh's How to Summarize.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Four Score
Want to be a terribly hip writer but can't fathom how to write the pointless prose? Try out the Random H.P. Lovecraft Story Generator.
Not for depressed people: crack open a Misfortune Cookie.
If you don't know, chances are Mr. Smarty Pants does.
Marjorie will appreciate this one: the X-Men Random Story Generator.
Not for depressed people: crack open a Misfortune Cookie.
If you don't know, chances are Mr. Smarty Pants does.
Marjorie will appreciate this one: the X-Men Random Story Generator.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
UnMasked Man
For all those who have always wondered about the real identity of Mad Max Perkins from BookAngst 101, he's been unofficially unmasked.
Added: A few folks have e-mailed asking for my personal reaction. As Dan and I work for the same publisher, I think it's probably a good thing that I didn't call him a jerk in any of the e-mails we exchanged, even when I was tempted to. It also explains some remarks he made to me, and confirms some suspicions. It even made the Breast Cancer Foundation some money. Anyway, I wish him best of luck with pushing his evidently fabulous new author.
Added: A few folks have e-mailed asking for my personal reaction. As Dan and I work for the same publisher, I think it's probably a good thing that I didn't call him a jerk in any of the e-mails we exchanged, even when I was tempted to. It also explains some remarks he made to me, and confirms some suspicions. It even made the Breast Cancer Foundation some money. Anyway, I wish him best of luck with pushing his evidently fabulous new author.
Knee-Jerks
Ten Things That Instantly Bug Me, and (if I Know) Why
1. Artificial Tanning Products: Because they're dumb. Ladies, when you dye your hides with this glop, you don't look tan. You look orange. It fools no one. Stop it.
2. Balloons: PCBPGTSD (post childhood birthday party game traumatic stress disorder) induced dislike. It bugs me simply to hear them being inflated.
3. Being Fed: Have no idea why. Just let me eat my own food, thank you.
4. Grope-huggers: Dishonest. Either hug me, or cop a feel, don't try to do both.
5. Mouth-kissing Strangers: Fastidiousness. Besides, you don't know where my mouth has been.
6. Pantyhose: Discomfort. A man invented them as a torture device for big girls. And I would personally like five minutes alone with the genius who developed "Sheer Energy" pantyhose.
7. Pet Names for Grown Men like "Snookums": Please. I call the dog things like that.
8. Pointy-toed cowboy boots: Gratis Stephen King's The Stand. Since reading it, I've thought they were creepy-looking.
9. Talking or animated stuffed teddy bears: not a clue. I can't stand the damn things.
10. Underwire Bras: Distaste. They're horribly uncomfortable and too symbolic of what women used to do to their bodies. The corset died a long time ago; can we get rid of the last symbolic whalebone now?
What are some of the things that get a knee-jerk reaction out of you, and why?
1. Artificial Tanning Products: Because they're dumb. Ladies, when you dye your hides with this glop, you don't look tan. You look orange. It fools no one. Stop it.
2. Balloons: PCBPGTSD (post childhood birthday party game traumatic stress disorder) induced dislike. It bugs me simply to hear them being inflated.
3. Being Fed: Have no idea why. Just let me eat my own food, thank you.
4. Grope-huggers: Dishonest. Either hug me, or cop a feel, don't try to do both.
5. Mouth-kissing Strangers: Fastidiousness. Besides, you don't know where my mouth has been.
6. Pantyhose: Discomfort. A man invented them as a torture device for big girls. And I would personally like five minutes alone with the genius who developed "Sheer Energy" pantyhose.
7. Pet Names for Grown Men like "Snookums": Please. I call the dog things like that.
8. Pointy-toed cowboy boots: Gratis Stephen King's The Stand. Since reading it, I've thought they were creepy-looking.
9. Talking or animated stuffed teddy bears: not a clue. I can't stand the damn things.
10. Underwire Bras: Distaste. They're horribly uncomfortable and too symbolic of what women used to do to their bodies. The corset died a long time ago; can we get rid of the last symbolic whalebone now?
What are some of the things that get a knee-jerk reaction out of you, and why?
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Trends
Romantic suspense, chick-lit, and vampire fiction all have one thing in common: they're powerful trends that changed the course of many a career. Predicting trends in the industry is like playing a stock market on Thorazine; you have to think two years ahead before you invest.
Take the micro-trends in various types of historical fiction over the last couple of years. I think they're tremors, gradually building up to something bigger. I also think the reason that they haven't yet is because most historical fiction is not written to appeal to the mass market, or be accessible to the average reader. There are also some story elements missing. Think of how well Dan Brown has done simply by following the basic story line of Raiders of the Lost Ark in The Da Vinci Code (not that I'm accusing him of plagiarism. I know I'd have to stand in line.)
I don't think a writer should write for a trend, but they bear watching in the event you have something that will fit into a trend. It's also fun to try to predict what readers will want down the road (because you know if I'm right about historical fiction, I'm going to rub it in big time.)
What do you guys see as the potential trend-makers in the next couple of years?
Take the micro-trends in various types of historical fiction over the last couple of years. I think they're tremors, gradually building up to something bigger. I also think the reason that they haven't yet is because most historical fiction is not written to appeal to the mass market, or be accessible to the average reader. There are also some story elements missing. Think of how well Dan Brown has done simply by following the basic story line of Raiders of the Lost Ark in The Da Vinci Code (not that I'm accusing him of plagiarism. I know I'd have to stand in line.)
I don't think a writer should write for a trend, but they bear watching in the event you have something that will fit into a trend. It's also fun to try to predict what readers will want down the road (because you know if I'm right about historical fiction, I'm going to rub it in big time.)
What do you guys see as the potential trend-makers in the next couple of years?
Monday, January 23, 2006
Syn Ten
Ten Things about Synopses
1. Vivian Teresa Beck's Me Write a Synopsis?.
2. Mia Crews's Writing a Selling Synopsis.
3. Del Rey's How to Write a Synopsis: FAQ.
4. Fiction Writers Connection Writing a Novel Synopsis.
5. Lisa Gardener's .pdf file for her lecture on Conquering the Dreaded Synopsis is available here.
6. Dr. Vickie Hinze's Synopsis vs. Outline.
7. Sheila Kelly's Writing the Novel Synopsis (hey, that name looks familiar...)
8. Lee Masterson's Mastering the Dreaded Synopsis -- Condensing Your Novel.
9. Mary Rosenblum's The Novel Synopsis -- Just What Is It?.
10. Robbert J. Sawyer's Outlines and Synopses page has examples of both.
1. Vivian Teresa Beck's Me Write a Synopsis?.
2. Mia Crews's Writing a Selling Synopsis.
3. Del Rey's How to Write a Synopsis: FAQ.
4. Fiction Writers Connection Writing a Novel Synopsis.
5. Lisa Gardener's .pdf file for her lecture on Conquering the Dreaded Synopsis is available here.
6. Dr. Vickie Hinze's Synopsis vs. Outline.
7. Sheila Kelly's Writing the Novel Synopsis (hey, that name looks familiar...)
8. Lee Masterson's Mastering the Dreaded Synopsis -- Condensing Your Novel.
9. Mary Rosenblum's The Novel Synopsis -- Just What Is It?.
10. Robbert J. Sawyer's Outlines and Synopses page has examples of both.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Pup Moment
Conversation with my daughter about the puppy today:
"Mom, why did Daddy scold Buddy this morning for hugging me?"
"Buddy can hug you?"
"Well, not me, my leg."
"Um, honey, he wasn't hugging your leg."
"Then what was he doing?"
"Do you really want to know the answer to that?"
"But he wasn't . . . oh, euwww."
"Mom, why did Daddy scold Buddy this morning for hugging me?"
"Buddy can hug you?"
"Well, not me, my leg."
"Um, honey, he wasn't hugging your leg."
"Then what was he doing?"
"Do you really want to know the answer to that?"
"But he wasn't . . . oh, euwww."
Way of the Cheetah
Here's the announcement I promised last week:
My first book of 2006 is a brand-new venture for me: Way of the Cheetah, a how-to ebook. I got the idea last year after so many e-mails and comments came in about my WotC posts here at the weblog. When Holly Lisle told me she was setting up an e-book shop, I pitched her the idea and she kindly agreed to sell the ebook at the shop for me.
I've always wanted to write a book about writing, but I wanted mine to be about what I really do. Using actual writing experience rather than talking about theory seemed the best way to help someone else, and realistic ways to boost productivity is something I think every competitive writer needs.
Way of the Cheetah the ebook is about the methods and disciplines I've developed and use to be a productive writer. Along with detailing these, it's about the way I work, the reasons as to why I work the way I do, and the exercises I've used that can help other writers learn to be more productive.
While I was writing, I also tried to make it a quick, fun read. I don't know about you, but nothing puts me to sleep faster than a stodgy how-to text.
The ebook is done, and it's on sale right now at Holly Lisle's new web site shop, Shop.HollyLisle.com: Way of the Cheetah by Lynn Viehl. If you stop by, also check out Holly's terrific new ebook, Create a Character Clinic.
My first book of 2006 is a brand-new venture for me: Way of the Cheetah, a how-to ebook. I got the idea last year after so many e-mails and comments came in about my WotC posts here at the weblog. When Holly Lisle told me she was setting up an e-book shop, I pitched her the idea and she kindly agreed to sell the ebook at the shop for me.
I've always wanted to write a book about writing, but I wanted mine to be about what I really do. Using actual writing experience rather than talking about theory seemed the best way to help someone else, and realistic ways to boost productivity is something I think every competitive writer needs.
Way of the Cheetah the ebook is about the methods and disciplines I've developed and use to be a productive writer. Along with detailing these, it's about the way I work, the reasons as to why I work the way I do, and the exercises I've used that can help other writers learn to be more productive.
While I was writing, I also tried to make it a quick, fun read. I don't know about you, but nothing puts me to sleep faster than a stodgy how-to text.
The ebook is done, and it's on sale right now at Holly Lisle's new web site shop, Shop.HollyLisle.com: Way of the Cheetah by Lynn Viehl. If you stop by, also check out Holly's terrific new ebook, Create a Character Clinic.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
RIP PBW
Rumors about authors are funny things. We hear them from friends, colleagues, readers, booksellers and even our own agents and editors. We read about them in biz rags and on industry blogs. Like any gossip, rumors can spread like wildfire, especially if they have anything to do with an author's professional wrongdoings, as James Frey just found out.
One of the most enduring rumors I've heard surrounded the dismaying but apparently forgivable change of direction a popular author's work took that chased off many of her readers. While I was a bookseller, at least a dozen customers told me the exact same thing -- "Her writing is horrible, but I heard she's going through a divorce" -- and that rumor is still going around the biz four years later.
As a hobby I collect rumors about myself, which usually sound like something out of a Twilight Zone episode. I think it's because I write SF. Anyway, here are ten of my favorites, and in parentheses at the end, the source of the rumor:
1. I only published a science fiction novel in order to break into the romance genre (colleague.)
2. While serving in the AF, I met real alien life forms (slightly unbalanced booksigning attendee.)
3. Someone tried to kill me at a writer's conference (internet rumor.)
4. I am a man pretending to be a woman (discussion board.)
5. Author Holly Lisle and I are the same person (internet rumor.)
6. I don't make public appearances because I am disfigured (genre rag.)
7. Author S.L. Farrell and I are the same person (amateur expose web site.)
8. My StarDoc novels are semi-autobiographical (book club critic.)
9. None of my editors have ever met me (colleague.)
10. I'm deceased (colleague.)
Now for fun, guess which two of these rumors actually have a little truth to them.
One of the most enduring rumors I've heard surrounded the dismaying but apparently forgivable change of direction a popular author's work took that chased off many of her readers. While I was a bookseller, at least a dozen customers told me the exact same thing -- "Her writing is horrible, but I heard she's going through a divorce" -- and that rumor is still going around the biz four years later.
As a hobby I collect rumors about myself, which usually sound like something out of a Twilight Zone episode. I think it's because I write SF. Anyway, here are ten of my favorites, and in parentheses at the end, the source of the rumor:
1. I only published a science fiction novel in order to break into the romance genre (colleague.)
2. While serving in the AF, I met real alien life forms (slightly unbalanced booksigning attendee.)
3. Someone tried to kill me at a writer's conference (internet rumor.)
4. I am a man pretending to be a woman (discussion board.)
5. Author Holly Lisle and I are the same person (internet rumor.)
6. I don't make public appearances because I am disfigured (genre rag.)
7. Author S.L. Farrell and I are the same person (amateur expose web site.)
8. My StarDoc novels are semi-autobiographical (book club critic.)
9. None of my editors have ever met me (colleague.)
10. I'm deceased (colleague.)
Now for fun, guess which two of these rumors actually have a little truth to them.
Friday, January 20, 2006
Winners
You know how much I hate picking the winners of the giveaways, right? Because I want everyone to win. For me, it's torture not to be able to get the books into everyone's hands. I was really feeling the pain with the Ice Giveaway, because what you all wrote about your writing and life landmarks was so great.
Well, tonight I took a hard look at the promo budget for Rebel Ice, and there's just enough left in there to cover what I was thinking about doing. Plus I've always wanted to do this for one of my novels on the weblog, and we should celebrate all of our landmarks once.
So the winners for the Ice Giveaway are:
Everyone who participated.
Now, I need all 61 winners to e-mail me at LynnViehl@aol.com, and send your full name and the address where you want me to send the book. It will take me a few more days to get the extra books, sign, package and get them all out, but I figure you'll be okay with that.
Congratulations to everyone.
Well, tonight I took a hard look at the promo budget for Rebel Ice, and there's just enough left in there to cover what I was thinking about doing. Plus I've always wanted to do this for one of my novels on the weblog, and we should celebrate all of our landmarks once.
So the winners for the Ice Giveaway are:
Everyone who participated.
Now, I need all 61 winners to e-mail me at LynnViehl@aol.com, and send your full name and the address where you want me to send the book. It will take me a few more days to get the extra books, sign, package and get them all out, but I figure you'll be okay with that.
Congratulations to everyone.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Tres Cool
At first I thought this was some sort of beaded tornado sculpture, but it's actually a tower made of books. Thanks to Patricia for the heads-up on the exhibit.
Interesting
Author and Storytellers Unplugged Kahuna Joseph Nassise's novel Heretic, the first book in The Templar Chronicles dark fantasy series, will be the first novel from a New York publisher to be podcast in its entirety starting January 31st. More details about signing up for the podcast are at The Templar Chronicles website here.
I think I'm the only writer left in the U.S. who has never listened to a podcast or used an iPod. Yeah, 'tis true. I like my Walkman. Anyway, what do you guys think of this podcasting stuff? Effective marketing move, or yet another vanity perk?
I think I'm the only writer left in the U.S. who has never listened to a podcast or used an iPod. Yeah, 'tis true. I like my Walkman. Anyway, what do you guys think of this podcasting stuff? Effective marketing move, or yet another vanity perk?
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