Square Pegs

It seems that the fine people of Salinas, when faced with the reality of their libraries closing their doors, have realized the consequences of the situation (all except one who seems to think the problem is fiscal mismanagement…which is true, but not on the local level). Locals, and Bill Murray, have contributed to a fundraising effort called Rally Salinas. The goal is raise sufficient funds to provided limited library services. While many other libraries face this type of crisis, Salinas has received the most attention. Such is the lot of being a John Steinbeck kind of town. We are happy […]

Far be it for us to suggest that movie stars don’t matter (no, we’ll let Stephen King do it for us), but if one thing is clear, it’s that big names don’t necessarily pull in big audiences (this is why there is speculation that Vin Diesel should have avoided pulling a Schwarzenegger). Motion picture studios love, love, love to spend lots of money on really lousy films. This is not something to understand or analyze; it is sufficient to accept this as gospel. It is the story that matters, boffo opening weekends aside (it takes a lot to miss the

Yesterday, Robert McCrum, perhaps festivaled out, indulged in a maudlin piece about the state of writing today (at first we thought he was headed for Nostalgia, but then he took a sharp left). He asks “Who are you writing for?” He worries that far too many write to catch the eye of agents, neglecting to consider that agents are readers too. If you can reach out and touch even one agent, it’s possible you will reach out touch many “real” readers. McCrum mentions Charles Dickens as a writer who broke the mold by drawing adoring crowds wherever he went (wait,

Call us crazy, but we suspect we’ll be posting lots and lots of breathless “you can read a novel on your cell phone” stories in the coming year. Oh sure, there’s a chance we’ll get bored with the concept, but there’s also a chance we’ll get over our obsession with Lo Mein. Today, we learn that reading novels via cell phone is all the rage in Japan. Also that this bodes well for Random House’s investment in Vocel (which we previously applauded). Also that you can have your cell phone stories turned into a television series. There were other major

First we’d like to welcome Conner to the ranks of published authors. Conner, a young writer, recently experienced the heartbreak of rejection (subject matter deemed too “violent”) and the joy of seeing his work in print (first link below). If creativity must be contained within undefined boundaries, then today’s kids are losing out. Okay, perhaps we can buy into the notion that, by virtue of nationality, Agatha Christie is “un-American”. But Jack London? To say that we’re disheartened by the notion that an author’s personal beliefs would overshadow his contributions to the literary world would be an understatement. We do

It what can only be considered the best of good luck, author Seth Greenland (The Bones, guesting at The Elegant Variation) just happens to have a friend with a debut novel on the shelves right now. This is good luck because so does Greenland. This allows Greenland to explore the trials and associated tribulations of such a debut from a distance. He doesn’t need to explore his own behaviors or fears — clearly his friend provides sufficient fodder for examination. Or somethign like that; it strikes us that one may not necessarily wish to examine fodder. Remember, the author described

We have safely returned to the Center of the Universe (complete with a warm, if uniquely feline, welcome home). It is good be back in California — water is much cheaper and easier to find here. We left SXSW with a notebook full of items of interest to writers, and will hopefully dig deep into our lazy soul to share them. Until such time (our other welcome home gift is a trip to Culver City for fun and work. Not necessarily in that order), we continue to bring you the same high level of service you’ve come to expect. In

After our last rant, we thought we’d take a little break and contemplate life. No fun, that. We merely moved to the next item on our list (we are experimenting with the concept of getting things done — so far the things are winning). And read an article that made it all clear. It doesn’t matter how serious you are or what color your cover is; fiction is all about telling a story. I you can have a part in changing your world while doing it, that is it’s own reward. The writing reflects the rising discontent in the kingdom

In our ongoing effort to keep you occupied beyond your wildest dreams, we present some light reading. And a gentle reminder that query letters are hard to write. Really hard. Query Letters I Love

We are as susceptible to media overload as the next person. In our case, this resulted in an uninformed but rational decision to bypass Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink. Luckily, Gladwell personally sold us on his book (okay, us and like 3,000 other people, but it felt very one-on-one there in the standing room only crowd). The book suggests that many decisions are made without detailed information, even in situations where it appears a large amount of information is being gathered. In certain cases, the lack of information leads to better decision making. In his SXSW keynote speech, Gladwell recounted the story