I have a love/hate relationship with the book store. I love snooping and seeing the latest and greatest. I also love perusing the shelves of classics and thinking,
Read that - loved it
Read that - hated it
I was supposed to read that for some class and watched the movie instead.
It's kind of like visiting old friends, and makes me feel warm and cozy inside. I can spend hours in Borders or Barnes and Noble.
But, then it starts. You see, I'm a list-maker, and I can't rest until everything on my list is crossed off. And by the time I left my most recent quickie-trip to Borders, I'd made a new list of books I simply must read:
The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown - Let's face it DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons were awesome before Tom Hanks starred in the movies, which were also awesome.
Smash Cut, Sandra Brown - Sandra Brown's last book, Ricochet, I just couldn't put down.
The Alchemist, Paulo Coeho - Never heard or it, never heard of the author, but oh, that cover...it just called to me.
Being Nikki, Meg Cabbot - I admire what Meg Cabbot has done for YA fiction, and I want to get my hands on her latest.
The Mysterious Benedict Society, Trenton Lee Stewart - I'm not recalling the cover, but that title...can't stay away from it.
A host of books by LJ Smith - These are YA vampire books. I'm not ashamed to admit I'm caught up in the vampire craze. Actually, I was a fan before it was cool. I remember the occassional afternoon black and white vampire movie from my childhood...oh, the chills.
The Coffin Club (and others,) Ellen Schrieber - Same comment as above....Come on, give me a goose bump.
Skinned, Robin Wasserman - Again, good cover.
Tantalize, Cynthia Leicht Smith - I read Eternal not too long ago, and wrote about it in this blog. It was great and I hope Tantalize is more of the same.
And this list doesn't include the newest installments from some of my favorite authors: John Grisham, Michael Connely, Patricia Cornwell, James Patterson (he writes so fast, I can't keep up.), Joseph Finder, Steve Martini, Lisa Scottoline and many more.
There isn't enough time to keep up on all the reading I have to do (like business stuff for work), YA stuff (like the kind of stuff I'm currently writing), and adult suspence mystery (like I've also written, and stuff I love reading).
Maybe I'll just stay out of the book store so I don't get myself all stressed out with another list.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
KELLY QUINN is getting a face lift
I've received the much anticipated comments from my editor from Aladdin (Simon and Schuster's Children's Publishing Division), and not surprisingly, I'll be making more changes to KELLY QUINN'S SECRET COOKING CLUB.
Recently, I've taken a break from KELLY to work on another project which isn't baked enough to tell you about. I'll just say that it's for an older audience than KELLY and takes place at a summer camp in the Poconos...that's it, I'm not saying anything else. And believe me, it's killing me because I'm excited about it. But, now I'm going to separate from the new project to attend to the KELLY comments. Some are quick fixes, while others are more significant and will take some time to figure out and rewrite.
I have a love/hate relationship with revising. Often being told you need to make changes to a project over which you've toiled for a very long time doesn't feel so good, although I have to say that I have an OUTSTANDING support network which makes this as painless as possible:
The WIPs: This is my very special critique group, the Works in Progress, that I'll talk about in more detail in another entry. They're feedback and ideas are always enlightening, and always gentle.
My agent: I'll admit that the first time Sarah told me to consider my manuscript a draft (after over a year of revising), I wasn't thrilled. But she was very specific with her guidance regarding what was needed for the plot to "work." She too was kind and gentle...and right, apparently because it caught the attention of the wonderful Alyson Heller.
Enter my new editor: Now a fresh set of eyes reviewed the piece from a slightly different perspective. Among other things, Alyson wants to ensure the commercial fit with Aladdin Mix. She knows the Mix audience well and wants to give them what they've come to expect from the imprint. When I didn't think there could be any room for improvement, Alyson has found the cracks that need mending.
So, it is with this newest set of insight that I'm determined to make KELLY even stronger. Working through edits can be time consuming, and tedious. BUT, it's also rewarding when you look at a chunk of pages and think, "By Golly, it's even better!"
Recently, I've taken a break from KELLY to work on another project which isn't baked enough to tell you about. I'll just say that it's for an older audience than KELLY and takes place at a summer camp in the Poconos...that's it, I'm not saying anything else. And believe me, it's killing me because I'm excited about it. But, now I'm going to separate from the new project to attend to the KELLY comments. Some are quick fixes, while others are more significant and will take some time to figure out and rewrite.
I have a love/hate relationship with revising. Often being told you need to make changes to a project over which you've toiled for a very long time doesn't feel so good, although I have to say that I have an OUTSTANDING support network which makes this as painless as possible:
The WIPs: This is my very special critique group, the Works in Progress, that I'll talk about in more detail in another entry. They're feedback and ideas are always enlightening, and always gentle.
My agent: I'll admit that the first time Sarah told me to consider my manuscript a draft (after over a year of revising), I wasn't thrilled. But she was very specific with her guidance regarding what was needed for the plot to "work." She too was kind and gentle...and right, apparently because it caught the attention of the wonderful Alyson Heller.
Enter my new editor: Now a fresh set of eyes reviewed the piece from a slightly different perspective. Among other things, Alyson wants to ensure the commercial fit with Aladdin Mix. She knows the Mix audience well and wants to give them what they've come to expect from the imprint. When I didn't think there could be any room for improvement, Alyson has found the cracks that need mending.
So, it is with this newest set of insight that I'm determined to make KELLY even stronger. Working through edits can be time consuming, and tedious. BUT, it's also rewarding when you look at a chunk of pages and think, "By Golly, it's even better!"
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Introducing The Sweet Life of Stella Madison and PARTY
Party info first: Reading/QA/Signing by YA author and fellow Delawarian Lara ZeisesSaturday, August 8th 2:00-3:30
Borders Books and Music by (not "in") Christiana Mall
This book is by an amazing local author (and friend, and writing coach Lara Zeises). You can't miss it. It's a MUST read this summer. Lara leads and amazing and mysterious life doubling as Lola Douglas, the genius behind Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet and More Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet, the former was a Lifetime TV movie last year starring JoJo and Valerie Bertinelli.
Here's a fab review of STELLA from Kirkus:
Seventeen-year-old Stella has multiple problems in this breezy adolescent dilemma story. She’s almost at the “I love you” stage with her boyfriend, Max, a sweetie, but she’s shamefully attracted to her mom’s new intern, Jeremy, a hottie. Zeises doesn’t just depend on teenage romance for the plot’s fizz, though; she introduces additional difficulties for her struggling heroine. Stella has the misfortune of being the only daughter of a famous French chef, and her mom’s also a “foodie,” running an upscale restaurant that features cooking demonstrations from a different chef each week. Stella rebels against gourmet food but lands a good summer job as a restaurant critic and has to depend on Jeremy, with awkward consequences, for advice. The author keeps the narrative moving along at a good clip with some well-developed, recognizable characters. The story never descends too deeply into actual angst but floats along merrily on the surface. That’s fine for this genre and makes this effort one that will appeal widely among teen girls. Good, chatty fun. (Fiction. YA)
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