If you follow me on Twitter or GoodReads (and you should), you know by now that I am a huge fan of the Maisie Dobbs mystery series by Jacqueline Winspear. Although I don’t tend to read tons of mysteries, some friends recommended these to me and I got hooked but good. Maisie’s combination of determined practicality and occasional mysticism struck me as unusual and compelling, the cases she investigates are satisfyingly twisty, and her personal life is written with such an extreme level of restraint that it only makes me wilder to find out whether any of these guys stand a chance against Maisie’s fierce independence. Yet when I began looking for fellow fans of the books, whether in person or online, I kept running into an objection: “Oh, she’s just a Mary Sue.”
Category: livejournal entry
I might be taking a break from traveling right now – but it’s a very short break. Right now I’m still working on a lot of potential stuff for the fall, but I already have two big appearances I’m excited to share with you guys —
A very thoughtful reader sent an interesting email asking about the writer/editor relationship, and about the drafts you send in while writing a series. I suspected other aspiring writers would be interested in the answer too, so I’m answering it here. (I, uh, failed to ask permission first, so that’s why I am keeping the reader anonymous for now; however, if you are willing to be known, oh ingenious reader, say the word and I’ll edit this post to credit you!)
If you’ve already read SPELLCASTER, you know that one of the characters, Verlaine, absolutely loves vintage clothing and wears it virtually every day. (And if you haven’t read SPELLCASTER yet — what are you waiting on?)
Today, as I scroll through my Twitter, I see tons of my fellow authors talking about packing and departing for Book Expo America in NYC. When I lived in New York, I always got to go; now, I occasionally attend, but not always — and this year is one of the years off. Mostly this is because I only just returned home from the Feria del Libro in Buenos Aires a week ago, which involved about 12 hours of flying time on the way home, and if I got back in an airplane so soon I would probably lose it in some spectacular fashion that would regrettably but inevitably involve an air marshal. BEST AVOIDED.
First of all, I must apologize for being behind in posting the contest winners; my trip to Argentina was jam-packed with excitement, adventure and very good coffee — until I came down with some sort of Hell Virus, which is only now releasing its taloned claws. But I can now breathe (most of the time) and so announce that the winners of ARCLIGHT and FATEFUL are Jime and Kathy! Congrats to you both. Now, for some assorted fun stuff —
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Next stop – Buenos Aires!
As those of you who follow me on Twitter already know, I’m headed down to Argentina, specifically to Buenos Aires, for next week’s Feria Del Libro! Although I’ve traveled to Buenos Aires before, it was a very brief stay, and I’m excited to spend more time in the city and especially to meet readers there. I’ll be taking part in lots of appearances & interviews while I’m down there, but a few highlights:
So, like any other YA reader out there you are slavering to get your hands on Josin McQuein’s thrilling debut ARCLIGHT, right? I have not one but TWO copies to give away to the daring, the courageous and the bold. In addition, each of the two winners will also get a signed copy of my book FATEFUL, just because. What do you have to do to win? It’s easy: Just tweet a link to any of my blog posts during the past month (your pick) (not including this one b/c will form ever-repeating MOBIUS STRIP and we’ll be trapped in an Escher drawing forever) — that’s it! Both winners will be chosen at random next Thursday, May 2. Open to anyone; yes, I’ll ship internationally. You can obviously enter multiple times by tweeting multiple links – but if you also comment at the blog (in a vaguely on-topic fashion) with a link to your tweet, I’ll count that as an additional entry. SO MANY CHANCES TO WIN. Apparently I like all-caps today. Guess I just like contests. So on your marks, get set, go!
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Cool Things Roundup
1) Vampires are turning scary again … at least, if NBC has their way. Jonathan Rhys Meyers (“The Tudors,” “City of Bones,” “Velvet Goldmine”) is starring in a new TV series version of “Dracula.”
You know who Michigan J. Frog is, right? You do, even if you don’t know it. He’s the frog in the immortal Warner Brothers cartoon who, when he’s alone with the guy who found him, jumps up and starts singing, “Hello, mah baby, hello, mah honey, hello, mah ragtime gaaaaaal –” But whenever the guy tries to show the frog off to someone, Michigan J. Frog just sits there, motionless, and goes, “BRRRRRAAAAAP.” Eventually, of course, this drives his finder mad.
Now, we’re not supposed to think Michigan J. Frog is being malicious. There’s no evidence in the cartoon that the frog cares what people think of the man who found him; I’m not sure he even really notices that guy. Sometimes Michigan J. Frog wants to do a little ragtime number with his top hat and cane. Sometimes he doesn’t. It’s as simple as that.
Today was one of the days where, as a writer, I was Michigan J. Frog (observed.) I got up early, applied butt to chair, opened my file and — after many hours — had managed to produce about 250 words worth keeping. So I took a break, ran some errands and tried again. Still, nothing. Remember the part in the cartoon where the guy picks up Michigan J. Frog and tries to make his little legs kick in a dance? Yeah. I had that kind of day.
However, I do not have “writer’s block.”
As Dan Wells (author of PARTIALS and all-around good egg) says, “Writing is the only profession where we can claim we can’t do our job because we’re ‘blocked.’ Plumbers never say, ‘Oh, I have plumbers’ block! I can’t work on your sink!'” I completely agree. Writer’s block is an illusion our profession has created, and an entirely self-defeating one. It takes a temporary problem (“had an off day”) and turns it into something epic, something mysterious, something uncontrollable — and, most dangerously, something that lasts and lasts. People often ask how to deal with writer’s block; I always say that you deal with it by not believing in it. If you’re stuck right now, you have a problem with your story, or you’re writing the wrong story, or something else in your life is messing with your head. (In my case, I suspect it was the last one; I knew my accountant and I would be meeting to do my taxes this evening, and that bit of tension and distraction is probably what kept me from completely sinking into the world of the SPELLCASTER prequel novella I’m working on right now.)
So today, I’m not thinking of myself as having some mysterious, unsolvable burden — writer’s block — that’s keeping me back from being productive. I’m thinking of myself as Michigan J. Frog (observed.) No song. No dance. Too many worries were watching me. But tomorrow I’m going to be back at my keyboard, and I bet this time I’ll need my top hat and cane.
(See how I sneaked that announcement about the novella in there? More details to come soon!)