I have to start this post by saying I am NOT COMPLAINING. I am NOT WHINING. I am NOT BEGGING FOR INFORMATION. Well, maybe that last one isn't entirely accurate. But I know there is quite possibly nothing to know, and so... Publishing is full of long waits. To explain how this affects the writer, I need to use a navy analogy. "Dead Reckoning" is where you determine your position on a chart (map) based on your course and speed, such as, "I was here, I'm heading east at 10 nautical miles per hour, so now I should be right here." In reality, you are never going 090 at 10 knots; you are pushed and pulled by currents and winds and other factors, and that doesn't mean you won't get where you want t
The other day I spent a few hours clearing out my brain with one of my favorite books of all time, Cannery Row by John Steinbeck. I'm not saying this to show you I'm cultured because I love a book by someone like Steinbeck because, frankly, who actually likes Steinbeck? He's depressing as hell. Cannery Row is different in that it's depressing but also hilarious. As Valentine Michael Smith said, we laugh because it hurts not to. The book has no real plot (though I suppose the quest to have a party might count) or discernable character arcs (the sequel/companion Sweet Thursday does) and is essentially a collection of short stories held together by place and the progression of time. Intersperse
News of the week is that I will be teaching classes at The Muse this fall, which means my classes this summer couldn't have gone too badly, right? When and what are still TBD. In publishing progress, I've been asked to write letters to a few authors requesting blurbs for the cover of my book. A few weeks ago I provided a list of "dream authors" to give the editors a starting point for determining whom to approach. Well, they've made their decisions, and I'm left writing letters begging for said endorsement from legendary and/or best-selling authors. No pressure. And no hints either, because who knows whether they will or not. Suffice to say every author does this, and being rejected in the p
