It’s A Raymond Chandler Lifestyle

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Before we begin, let us state for the record that we never even considered the possibility of a character who a) lives in Altadena, b) is a gardener, and c) is a sleuth. We can easily imagine any two of the three, but the triple whammy blows our little mind. If you’ve spent more than twelve seconds in Altadena, you understand. Given that it’s pretty much our stomping ground, we do a lot of twelve seconds there. Of course we’re fully supportive of this character, and will be checking out books by Naomi Hirahara. We love a hometown girl making […]

Books/Mags/Blogs

Public Service Announcement #23

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If you want to witness a real-live rant, give us a couple glasses of wine, ask us about Yahoogroups, then duck. Now we like Yahoo!, and use the My Yahoo! feature 24/7. We utilize the baseball Fantasy service (though we’d like more options on cap and jersey icons…our team is special). We adore the integration of RSS feeds (okay, we adore RSS feeds in general). But the mailing lists? Well, we’re not so thrilled. As we’ve long suspected, Google has finally seen the mailing list light. It was only a matter of time, especially after the launch of GMail (also

Square Pegs

Luckily, Carrie Wasn’t Set in Kentucky

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Our Separation of Truth and Fiction Department alerts us to what is potentially a case of the world gone mad (this is the world where Midol possession is punishable by suspension). We acknowledge the fine line authorities walk when it comes to identifying potential problems. Nobody wants to learn the truth via a hail of bullets. However. If this is true, Even so, police say the nature of the story makes it a felony. “Anytime you make any threat or possess matter involving a school or function it’s a felony in the state of Kentucky,” . . . and not

Square Pegs

It’s Not A Waste of Time, It’s Research

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Oh sure, we meant to post this information earlier today. And, yes, we believe we have sufficient will to overcome the strongest lure of of the Web. This does not count active procrastination — that is more of a vocation, not an avoidance technique. We have met our match in the venerable New York Public Library. This is not the first time we have been vanquished by this particular foe, and we suspect it will not be the last. Hey, it beats losing face to, oh, Page Six. The NYPL has opened up its archives and placed, give or take,

Tools and Craft

File Under: Anonymous Tip

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We received a tip this morning of interest to those who write historical romance (leaving us so far out, we could be in). Word on the street is that Avon is desperately seeking historical romance in 90,000 to 100,000 word range. Apparently, they’re simply not getting quality submissions. Nothing in the Western vein, though Native American stories will be considered (we will, in the interest of keeping this post focused, refrain from offering our thoughts on this particular sub-genre of the romance world). Study current USA Today bestsellers for an idea of what they’re seeking. Yes, we find this tough

Publishers and Editors

Agent Speak: Boutique Agency

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Today’s conundrum: what makes an agency a “boutique” versus an ordinary agency? And, if you’re not a boutique, does that spell disaster? Or, if everyone’s a boutique agency, except those agencies that aren’t, is there an even hotter buzzword to describe a small, selective, hands-on agency? Just curious. Of course, this has nothing to do with the topic at hand. In this case, boutique means an agency filled with agents looking for just about every type of project out there. David Gernert, Erin Hosier, Tracy Howell, Karen Rudnicki, and Matt Williams represent a wide range of fiction and non-fiction. So

Agents

And So We See The Future

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Richard Curtis concludes (we believe) his series on Publishing in the 21st Century with a look at how computers have transformed the industry. Yes, children, it’s not just the fact that editors and agents are accepting submissions via email (and we do so appreciate those who do — though we may be less appreciative of those who reject via email). Curtis spends a lot of time focusing on blogs as the writers’ platform, and suggests that a good blog is an increasingly critical component of the publication process. He goes so far as to say: When traditional publishers talk about

Tools and Craft

Yet More Excitement

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We continue to work our way through On Writing (this means we should go to the gym more; or workout longer. Ha!), and we’re finding it fascinating (though, in some areas, fantastical — perhaps that is how life really is). Maybe it’s our intimacy with the subject that leads us to think writing for noir (can one write noir without a fontical flair?) publisher Hard Case is a logical fit for Stephen King. Yeah, definitely intimacy. He strikes us as the kind of guy we’d actually be able to talk to at a party. And, yeah, you, the one we’ve

Books/Mags/Blogs

Interesting Ruling, Trust Us

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Private Ryan is not indecent. You’re, like, all, why do I care? You write. You’re trying to capture a character. Sure, that character says and acts in ways that some don’t like. You could change things, sure, but is that true to the character? We were in an airport recently, and a woman, barely, sitting next to us was on the phone. She made about fifteen phone calls. It was like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle, but we got the gist: she as going home to study, but forgot her books at school. Yeah, well, we’ll leave our assessment of

Square Pegs

Yesterday’s News (Literally and Figuratively)

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Count us among the relieved. All this crazy technology is actually…wait…building writing skills. Some users of Instant Messenger go so far as to correct spelling. Avoid contractions (why, we don’t know; we love contractions). Some even form complete sentences. Again, we cannot explain the folly of youth. The Web Not the Death of Language

Square Pegs
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