Articles from May 2005

Not Lost in Translation

May 19th, 2005 · Comments Off on Not Lost in Translation

We believe that being a translator of fiction must be one of the hardest jobs ever. Oh sure, some would say brain surgeon, but they’ve never had to guide sarcasm from one language to the next. Fiction does not have the advantage of immediate and direct facial and vocal cues. It’s all in the words […]

File Under: Books/Mags/Blogs · Square Pegs

An Idea Whose Time Maybe Hasn’t Quite Come

May 19th, 2005 · 1 Comment

We’re confused. In our defense, it’s been like, oh, a day since that last happened. So we’re catching up on Publisher’s Lunch (or, in our case today, Publisher’s Afternoon Break Because Our Eyes Are Crossed) and we stumble across an item that seems, on the surface to be too strange for words. And not just […]

File Under: Publishers and Editors

We Guessed What the “A” In Agent A Meant

May 18th, 2005 · Comments Off on We Guessed What the “A” In Agent A Meant

We recently had the distinct pleasure of meeting Martha O’Connor, and are very excited about her book The Bitch Posse. She was very gracious when she gently noted that we were a bit behind on our reading…she’d gone ahead and done a Backstory while we were slaving away at the Evil Empire. We’re going to […]

File Under: Books/Mags/Blogs

In Which We Confess to Our Secret Life as a Lamb

May 18th, 2005 · 1 Comment

We don’t believe in much, but we do believe in the collective unconscious. It fascinates us how certain themes seem to resonate through the ether, settling here, touching down there, moving on, only to reappear in another form. This week, it is the notion that you must be something to write about it. Our very […]

File Under: Tools and Craft

The Duck Test

May 18th, 2005 · 3 Comments

The latest post over at BookAngst 101 (we hear Mad Max will be appearing at a blogging panel at BEA in a costume; we are so hoping for a giant white bunny, but we’ve had dreams crushed before) is like the duck test. It looks like a rant, feels like a rant, walks like a […]

File Under: Tools and Craft

Consider The Source

May 18th, 2005 · Comments Off on Consider The Source

Another expose, courtesy of the those hard-living, down-in-the-trenches journalists from the award-winning publication The Onion MONTREAL—Yann Martel, author of the Booker Prize-winning Life Of Pi, said he was distraught to see what other books Amazon.com customers bought in addition to his. “Customers who bought this book also bought The Five People You Meet In Heaven?!” […]

File Under: Square Pegs

We Pause For A Quick Game of Musical Chairs

May 18th, 2005 · 1 Comment

Laurence J. Kirshbaum is leaving Time Warner Books. This probably won’t affect many authors. David Young will succeed him. Ditto. Kirshbaum will take an appropriate period of time to reflect upon his success (his house is raking in the bucks!) before embarking on a more genteel career: literary agent. This will affect more than a […]

File Under: Agents · Publishers and Editors

If Only Analogies Weren’t So Tough to Understand

May 17th, 2005 · Comments Off on If Only Analogies Weren’t So Tough to Understand

Paperback Writer has, uh, written an extended and detailed fable about sheeps and PAN. As we understand it, sheep must sell fleece to appease the god. If high quality fleece is sold in sufficient quantity, the sheep will be allowed into a special pen. They will also receive a special pin. See how this stuff […]

File Under: Square Pegs

It Is, Apparently, Subtext Week

May 17th, 2005 · Comments Off on It Is, Apparently, Subtext Week

Last night, we attended a learned lecture where the importance of subtext was discussed, at length, with examples. Also Gloria Gaynor came up, though we’re still not sure why. Today we encounter yet another discussion on that very same subject. With examples. We do so love examples. Our notes from last night are written in […]

File Under: Tools and Craft

A Quick Quiz

May 17th, 2005 · Comments Off on A Quick Quiz

When you look for something to read, you want your characters to be: Vampires Aliens Shapeshifters Gods and/or Goddesses All of the Above While there is no right answer (though we do wonder about those who chose “e”, for obvious reasons), there is finally a blog especially for you. Though they seem normal* in real […]

File Under: Books/Mags/Blogs