Square Pegs

So the weather wasn’t perfect today, but it was nice. Not too hot, not too cool. The type of day where sitting outside is a true pleasure. Great lunch, crazy hummingbird dances, and the daily paper. And then we hit the sentence: It seems that under every mystery writer’s skin beats the heart of a novelist who yearns to transcend the genre. But it couldn’t stop there, oh no. There was another sentence: Writing about Richard Price and Dennis Lehane, who spin tales of crime in New York and Boston, respectively, New York Times critic Caryn James describes them as […]

Have we mentioned how important it is to understand this business of writing? Good, then we won’t waste anybody’s time with a short lecture on paying attention to the art and the business. You’re already doing that. At MoorishGirl, author Terri Brown-Davidson celebrates the release of her first, well, first published, novel (Marie, Marie, Hold on Tight) by looking at the journey she took to get there: This book has been issued as a “first novel.” What this means, actually, is that it’s my first novel published. Actually, I wrote five full-length novels before this one. All were my own

We’ve read several articles on the lawsuit filed against the U.S. Treasury Department on behalf of American publishers. What we have learned is that the law appears to be, in the words of a former boss, intentionally vague. Which is great if you want everyone to agree and pass it, but not so great when nobody can figure out what it means. Without getting too political, we want to note that countries under economic sanctions from the United States are often those countries where speech is particularly restricted. We would also like to note that storytelling — art — is

We can’t explain how it happened, but, when we were in Japan, we found ourself without anything to read. Clearly, someone miscalculated the number of books to pack — it is not a myth that you will find yourself awake in the middle of the night (and the Tsujiki Fish Market, while interesting, isn’t the tourist destination you’re lead to believe). We did make a vague stab at our traditional cure for reading withdrawal. Let’s just say the English-language selection at the bookstore-in-a-department-store wasn’t quite what we wanted. Something tells us we’d more successful now (not that we aren’t perfectly

We knew a woman who bragged that her editor didn’t edit her. No really — she thought this was a good thing; being the type to investigate on our own, we read her book. It was a bad thing. Editors may be doing less (and less) hardcore editing these days, but they do continue to serve as a reality check for writers. While the year has been filled with self-publishing success stories, we find that we’re growing increasingly wary of the concept. We still believe it’s a valid choice for some authors, but continue to worry about the lack of

We imagine there are first-time authors out there who sell their books, negotiate their contracts, undergo the editing process, build websites, acquire agents, and stare at their first covers without us. But not Jill. She has helpfully included us in every moment of her first book experience. Even when she knows full well that calling us at the crack of (our) dawn never works — we’re the oldest of seven…we’ve ignored louder, more irritating things than ringing phones. Jill has remained our friend despite our differences when it comes to the most basic beliefs. When confronted with a choice to

There is an interesting phenomenon: literacy leads to increased book consumption. Probably someone with advanced degrees can draw helpful charts to explain why this is so, but we don’t need that information right now. If there is a cause that authors should strongly support (in addition to health care, etc), it is literacy. Without eager readers, you cannot achieve what we believe to be your goals. Pitney Bowes is celebrating Literacy Month with a special eBay auction. From September 22 – 29, celebrity-decorated and designed envelopes will be auctioned. Proceeds go to four literacy charities, including ProLiteracy Worldwide. Pitney Bowes

Okay, fine, it’s mostly the allergies. Love, love, love fall in SoCal. It’s when our investment in certain brand name tissues pay off. Stephen Fry is our kind of guy: tone deaf. His failures mirror ours. His successes do not. But that’s another issue entirely. For your amusement (and that’s what makes us so giving), we offer a glimpse into our soul — as portrayed by another human’s failure to hit a note. Any note. Rock me Amadeus: At school, when it came to playing two or more notes in tune, he had problems. Which partly explains why Stephen Fry

Author Trish Jensen has been a friend of ours for many years — somehow (and we can’t say why) she gets our sense of humor. She has been unfailingly generous with her time and wisdom. She is also a victim of a circumstance facing many authors, musicians, painters, humans: no health insurance. When Trish was rushed to the hospital last week, nobody worried too much about the eventual cost; now that she’s recovering, it is inevitable that the hospital’s finance department becomes involved. Click on more to learn about a group of authors banding together to help Trish pay her

We admit we’re easily amused. We count ourself lucky to be part of a species that takes itself so seriously — yet is so ridiculous. It is as if there was some sort of plan to keep us laughing. Like when noted author Anne Rice chooses to take on her fans in a tirade. You know the type — you, you…readers…you don’t get it. You don’t understand. This is art. I am going to take my toys and go home. Okay, fine, we’re paraphrasing. If we give Rice the benefit of the doubt, she didn’t do herself any favors (unless