True Story: our school librarian used to feed/water William S. Burroughs's cats. Yes, that William Burroughs. (Burroughs lived in Lawrence from 1981 until his death.) While she knew him, Burroughs's would often ask her for blurbs; publishers sent him books, he didn't read them, and his cat sitter wrote the recommendations that landed on the covers with his name attached.
True story.
With the latest cat fight in publishing (Stephen King vs. Stephenie Meyer), my attention has been brought to the almighty book blurb. We are so used to seeing big time authors' names attached to positive comments in order to sell books, the King/Meyer fiasco has raised eyebrows.
Consider this: as a high school teacher over the past ten years, I've written dozens of letters of recommendation for students seeking scholarships/college entrance/jobs. I feel like it is part of my job. Although I'm always positive (if I can't say anything positive, I let them know with a simple, "Do you think I'm the best person to write this letter?"), the letters usually straddle the line between fantasy and reality. The letter of recommendation is an art form in saying the positive and ignoring the rest.
Isn't a book blurb the same? Some blurbs come across as forceful, almost: "read this book or die" or "you will find true enlightenment if you read this book" or even threatening "you will never be happy again unless you read this book". I take them all with a healthy dose of skepticism, but they are the norm, the letter of recommendation of the publishing world.
How important are they? How serious do you take a book blurb when seeking new reading material?
Friday, February 6, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
But I Like Writing Short Stories...
The title of this post comes from Fred (my subconscious mind/muse/internal voice). He's whining again. He prefers to write short stories, but I'm making him help me with another novel.
The only problem is that ol' Fred only wants me to write YA novels. I'm okay with that. No one (apart from Stephenie Meyer or J.K., maybe a handful of others) makes a living on YA, but I'm not banking on making a living at this anyway (that would be, how you say, a pipe dream--although a very attractive one).
I started working on The House Eaters (which will, no doubt, receive a title change). I tried to work the whole adult horror angle (3rd person, the whole nine yards), but when I hear a narrator's voice, it's a seventeen year old boy. Maybe Freud could help me with that...
So, my narrator moves from the city to a rural farmhouse just before his senior year because his mom has lost her job. Their new place is 1/2 mile from a run down house (haunted? not really). He is suspended on his first day (always bullies, aren't there?), and hears the House (as he calls it) talking to him (no, it's not haunted...not in the conventional sense) while spending the day at home. I'm trying to blend some Native American spirituality with "old dark house" sensibilities with a healthy dose of teenage angst and dissolving family dynamics. Whew.
Oh, and The Black Garden is available for pre-order from Corpulent Insanity Press. The book has received a few interesting pre-release reviews.
The only problem is that ol' Fred only wants me to write YA novels. I'm okay with that. No one (apart from Stephenie Meyer or J.K., maybe a handful of others) makes a living on YA, but I'm not banking on making a living at this anyway (that would be, how you say, a pipe dream--although a very attractive one).
I started working on The House Eaters (which will, no doubt, receive a title change). I tried to work the whole adult horror angle (3rd person, the whole nine yards), but when I hear a narrator's voice, it's a seventeen year old boy. Maybe Freud could help me with that...
So, my narrator moves from the city to a rural farmhouse just before his senior year because his mom has lost her job. Their new place is 1/2 mile from a run down house (haunted? not really). He is suspended on his first day (always bullies, aren't there?), and hears the House (as he calls it) talking to him (no, it's not haunted...not in the conventional sense) while spending the day at home. I'm trying to blend some Native American spirituality with "old dark house" sensibilities with a healthy dose of teenage angst and dissolving family dynamics. Whew.
Oh, and The Black Garden is available for pre-order from Corpulent Insanity Press. The book has received a few interesting pre-release reviews.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
My Secret Life
Writing is my secret life, the one most people I see on a daily basis know nothing about, hence the title of my blog.
This post was inspired by Barry Napier's article about working as a freelance writer over at Freelance Writerville. I read the article, or at least the first 1/2 (the rest will be posted later), and thought about my secret life.
In the "real" world, I teach high school English. I try to explain the importance of revising to a room full of slobbering teenagers whose minds are more worried about ditching class, zits, where their next beer is coming from, and...other things.
In my other life, I'm milking this writing thing as much as I can. I know the importance of revising. I understand the value of syntax, grammar, and weaving a good story; if I don't do those things, rejection, rejection, rejection.
I'm worried about my "real" life and my "secret" life colliding. Part of this is a sense of humility; anyone who has had anything published by a legit source knows the struggle involved, and a sense of that struggle really tempers my ego. Part of this worry stems from an understanding that most people in my "real" life don't know how cool it is that "A Plague from the Mud" is reprinted in this month's edition of Apex Magazine. (this was a contractual hook-up with Permuted Press, part of the "Permuted Press Presents" series--a sort of ad for the anthology) Most people in my "real" life would say, "huh? Oh, yeah. Cool," and shuffle away.
I haven't figured out the balancing act. If anybody has, please let me know. Even if you haven't, please let me know.
(And thanks to Jamie Eyberg for pointing out the Apex pub. I didn't know it would be in there this month.)
This post was inspired by Barry Napier's article about working as a freelance writer over at Freelance Writerville. I read the article, or at least the first 1/2 (the rest will be posted later), and thought about my secret life.
In the "real" world, I teach high school English. I try to explain the importance of revising to a room full of slobbering teenagers whose minds are more worried about ditching class, zits, where their next beer is coming from, and...other things.
In my other life, I'm milking this writing thing as much as I can. I know the importance of revising. I understand the value of syntax, grammar, and weaving a good story; if I don't do those things, rejection, rejection, rejection.
I'm worried about my "real" life and my "secret" life colliding. Part of this is a sense of humility; anyone who has had anything published by a legit source knows the struggle involved, and a sense of that struggle really tempers my ego. Part of this worry stems from an understanding that most people in my "real" life don't know how cool it is that "A Plague from the Mud" is reprinted in this month's edition of Apex Magazine. (this was a contractual hook-up with Permuted Press, part of the "Permuted Press Presents" series--a sort of ad for the anthology) Most people in my "real" life would say, "huh? Oh, yeah. Cool," and shuffle away.
I haven't figured out the balancing act. If anybody has, please let me know. Even if you haven't, please let me know.
(And thanks to Jamie Eyberg for pointing out the Apex pub. I didn't know it would be in there this month.)
Tech Tools in School, or Cheating the iPod with Video
I love tech toys (errr...tools), and one of my favorites is the iPod. I occasionally show videos from the thing, and found a nifty trick to avoid the ridiculous cost of the iPod video cable.
It's simple. Buy any ol' cheap 1/8" plug to RCA (Red, White, Yellow) cable. Plug the 1/8" plug into your iPod (just like the headphones) then connect the RCA plugs into the TV/projector...ah, but here's the trick: the yellow plug from your cable must go in the white connector, the white in the red, and the red in the yellow. Apple is sooo tricky.
(this works up through 5th generation...)
Yeah, this post wasn't really about dark fiction or horror, but the cost of Apple's proprietary add-ons for the iPod is very scary.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Some of Your Blood
I finished reading Some of Your Blood by Theodore Sturgeon yesterday.Wow.
The book is written in fragments, semi-epistolary. I struggled through the first third because it was a narrative written by a semi-literate man. (the grammar was atrocious)
I'm glad I did. Since I've started writing, I've scared myself with what my mind was able to conceive, but only on rare occasions. Horror fiction doesn't scare me as it did when I was a child--it doesn't make me look around and put the book down and hope everything is going to be okay.
I felt that way again in a couple of places while reading Some of Your Blood. Without setting off too many spoilers, let me just say the end of the book struck me like no other since I Am Legend; it was just that good.
Some of Your Blood isn't for the casual horror fan. I understand why it isn't more widely read. I'm not even sure some would consider it horror in the popular sense of the term. But if you like to think--if you like a book that makes you go back and reread some passages because of their sheer power, go for it. Be patient. This one avoids cheep scares for deeper, longer lasting discomfort. I promise that you'll think about it after you're done reading.
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