Jane of Austin Cover!

Isn't it loverly? I'm thrilled to pieces over it - love the silhouette and Austin cityscape so much! It's available for pre-order, and you can read a summary on the book's page here.

Why Cookbooks Matter in a Pinterest World

Funny story - I received a bunch of gift cards for Christmas, for both Amazon and Powell's Books.

For a while I've been circling various craft books, whether it's paper craft, needle felting, what have you. But the thing is, new hobbies take time.

And - I've got books to write. Food books, not needle-felting books. So after hemming and hawing over using the gift cards to get started on something new, I decided to take what is, likely, the wiser path.

Getting Started

Totally loving this line from Meg Cabot's blog:

"If you want a long-lasting publishing career, I think the best way to spend your tweens and teens and early twenties isn’t worrying about getting published, but figuring out who you are and what you’re good at, experimenting with your style, and developing your own voice—in other words, just live your life."

(full post here)

I love that. I love it because I think it's so true and so right.

I talk to a lot of people about getting started in writing, or the writing business. And yes, it's *totally* a business. But it's also the business of selling a (hopefully) really great product. I get frustrated when people talk to me about agents and proposals and the desire to go from concept to contract.

It doesn't work that way. And it shouldn't work that way - not if you're about telling the best story. Telling the story, telling it well - that comes first. Then you can worry about agents and marketing and publicists and paperwork. It will be there when you're done.

Some people start writing early - I did. Other people start writing later. When that's the case, I really think the wisest tack is to let yourself have a second adolescence from a creative standpoint. Figure out your identity as a writer. Identify your writing heroes. Settle into your voice. Learn the building blocks of story. Create compelling characters. Figure out what makes a compelling concept. Try different styles on for size and see what fits comfortably. Don't focus on achievement - focus on growth. Write drafts. Do the work for work's sake. Challenge yourself to be sharper, more edited, more precise, more thoughtful.

Like any other skill, writing well is something you learn how to do, and something you can get better at. Respect the craft.

If you respect the craft, then the agent/editor/sales/marketing/contract/query/subsidiary rights stuff will work itself out. Promise.

And in the meantime, you've lived life. You've observed humanity. You've been places - and that, my friends, is worth writing about.

Absolutely Official, Very Important Publishing News!

Coming in May, 2014, I'll be releasing the first book of a brand new series, A Table By the Window from WaterBrook Publishing!

I seriously could not be more excited. My agent and I have been working toward this for a long, long time. The beginnings of the story popped into my head almost five years ago, shortly after I married Danny. As time passed, the story grew and changed, becoming richer and more complex.

Like cheese.

And after all of these years, the story has found the perfect home at WaterBrook.

Anne with an "e" knew what she was talking about: What to Consider as You Name your Characters

I renamed a character this week.

I have a thing about names. Some authors are pretty relaxed about them. I think that's great - it's just not me. When I create a character, the name is one of the first things I have to nail down. Otherwise, it's like making a friend whose name you don't know - who does that?

(Actually, I do sometimes. I'm not always great with remembering names. But when it happens, it's VERY uncomfortable and certainly not ideal. Not in real life, and not with made-up people).

With the book I'm working on now, it really became necessary to change several names of central characters. For a couple people, that was fine and downright easy.

But the others? Not so much. You see, these people are half French and half Italian. They're practically a super-species, if by "super" you mean "super stubborn, super strong-willed, super opinionated." And you know what?  They did not appreciate the name change. Not. One Bit. One character even flat-out refused.

Sundry (mostly about the dog. A little about writing, but mostly about the dog).

Things are pretty quiet around here. It's nice. After SO much travel and change, getting into a boring home routine is kinda great.

We've got family coming up next week - so the quiet part will change - and a wee bit of travel to Bellingham in the near future, but until then it's nice to enjoy the house and the less-wigged-out dog.

Speaking of, Tesla is loving life right now. When she's not spending time in elegant repose (and bear with me as ALL of these photos were taken with my phone)...

Updates

A few things...

1. )You can read the first chapter of Plain Jayne here.

2.) Amazon has PJ back in stock, so order away without the 2-3 week wait.

3.) Borders (with luck) will stock this Friday.

4.) Wal-Mart (as far as I can tell) is either stocking nationally or only in Oregon and Florida (those are the only ones that have been reported to me). I'm guessing it's the former.

5.) If you've read the book, or if you'll read it soon, and you like it, please post a review on Amazon, CBD, or wherever (hint: you can post the same review on each site. Just sayin'). And no, you don't have to have ordered the book from that source to post a review and rate the book. Positive reviews are very, very helpful when it comes to sales - I really appreciate the help!

In other news...

1.) I watched the "Sectionals" episode of Glee on hulu again. Happiness. There are people who say they just can't get into Glee. My theory is that these are the same people who make unkind remarks about the Twilight books (which is mean, you know, because picking on the writing is like shooting fish in a barrel, and obviously she did something right to get thousands of teens reading books), and claim to have gotten through H1N1 by drinking ginger tea. We must pray for such people.

Anyway, here's a bit of Glee joy to help you live 'till April.

2.) My new method for getting through the winter with a smile on my face is: soup.

3.) And oatmeal cookies.

4.) Watched Alexis Bledel in Post Grad. Not earth shattering, but cute.

5.) Will watch Hurt Locker soon.

Well, I've procrastinated writing my actually book for too long. On to the next writing project!

The Super-Secret Formula

I got to go to OCW's fall conference yesterday, and completely enjoyed myself. Since college, I didn't attend many of the day conferences (while I faithfully participated in the summer coaching conferences) because, after a week at class, attending another set of classes, starting at 9am on a Saturday, doesn't hold much appeal.

But now I'm out of school, working from home, living the writer's life...and in desperate need of community.

The way I see it, day conferences are like church for writers. It may not tell us anything we don't already know, but it's nice to be reminded. There are people in all stages of faith/publishing, but the fellowship is beautiful as we come alongside each other.

As a writer in Eugene, I'm an oddity. I'm not in close contact with anyone else who writes full time, struggles with plots, characters, inspiration, or figuring out marketing. It's delightful just talking with other people who have agents. When I'm with the writerly, I'm no longer the odd woman out.

Not the least of which is the fact that we're all a little odd. So I blend in well.

The book buying at a conference is great too - I got to pick up a copy of Linda Clare's The Fence My Father Built, Christina Berry's The Familiar Stranger, Karen Wells' The Miracle of You, and Keynoter Eva Marie Everson's Things Left Unspoken.

No room in any of the bookcases, really, but what else is new?

Eva Marie gave a great day's worth of keynoting. She answered graciously when beginning writers asked questions that were apropos of, well not much.

One in particular struck a chord with me. A conferee asked, "As a writer, how do you get yourself to sit down and write, even when life is busy?"

I wish there were a super-secret formula to easy, breezy writing that the literary world's upper echelon writers guard closely. I really do.

But here's the thing - writing is a job like any other. It's work. No book was ever finished without a great deal of personal discipline. Funny thing - writers aren't the most disciplined bunch. We tend to procrastinate. We tend to eat a lot of chocolate (there aren't a lot of svelte writers out there). Our homes are often cluttered. We work in our pajamas. But God, being gracious, enabled us to be disciplined in the one area that matters, and that's writing.

Anyone considering writing as a career needs to go in with his or her eyes open. Writing is hard work. After you write your first book, you will need to write a second, better book while editing and marketing the first. You can't go into publishing as a lark and expect to succeed.

That said, as a writer, I'm always looking for tricks to help me keep going while I'm sitting and writing. Writing a synopsis, or storyboarding is one - it's like giving yourself a map before you drive off. While big-concept synopses are helpful, so are small ones. My latest technique (because seriously, I'm desperate), makes me think of Winnie the Pooh...

At the start of a new chapter document, I start off with the chapter number (helps keep things straight), followed by what's going to happen in a nutshell. Example:

Chapter 6 - In which Sara gets a tattoo, reads Nick Hornby, and does laundry.

(Note: none of these things happens in chapter 6. Can't give away all my secrets...)

Anyway, I'm hopeful. What I love about this idea is that I have a point of reference for the chapter at all times if I get lost. The chapter innards won't go into the final copy, or even to my reader copies. They're just for me. And if I find that I spend the whole chapter in the tattoo parlor, the Nick Hornby reading and laundry can go into the next chapter without a whole lot of disruption.

Like I said, I'm hopeful. Also hungry. I'm going to move on to lunch, during which I will try Martha Stewart's grilled Ham, Cheddar, and Apple sandwich...

Plain Jayne Around the Web

This is what happens when you don't pay attention. I've been so wrapped up in the busyness of the summer, I didn't notice when my book popped up on Amazon.

Or CBD.

Or Borders.

It is not, however, on the Barnes and Noble site yet. However, this is. Glad I spelled the title a bit differently!

I did know that Plain Jayne was chatted about here, and that my friend Michelle included the trailer in a post here (Thanks, Michelle!). And, of course, it's posted on my publishers' site as well as AmishReader.com.

Crazy crazy stuff. Amazon? Seriously??

Catching up (again)

Wow, really bad about blogging lately, and that's a problem because there's a book trailer for Plain Jayne floating around YouTube that lists this site as my site (because my actual site isn't up yet), and I haven't posted here for a while.

In my defense, I went to Canada. For my brother's wedding, and I was in the wedding. Afterwards we drove to Banff national park. By the time we got back? I couldn't remember my PIN or what side to pull up on when putting gas in the car. BUT, the laundry's pretty much done, we have food in the house and we're halfway unpacked.

Here are the really exciting things:

1. The book trailer:



2. We fixed our vacuum. So our Christmas tree last year? Gave me fits then, and a few weeks ago we realized the reason - the vacuum was clogged with dried pine needles in TWO places. After turning the thing upside down and poking through the main tube with a straightened coat hanger, we had to take the hose outside and do it all over again, with the nasty dust flying through the air....but now when we vacuum, it actually sucks things up. Happy stuff.

3. I'm reading The Time Traveler's Wife and really enjoying it. I also finished Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle.

4. We saw Julie & Julia last Friday and really enjoyed it. For one, it's a movie about married people. As a married person, I like movies about people with happy, successful marriages. There aren't a lot of them, but I appreciate the ones I see. It's also about two women negotiating the publishing world, in two different time periods. Bottom line? It's always been tricky.

5. My birthday is next week.

6. It's warm again.

7. Life is good.

July?

I know. I'm sorry. My blogs have been down lately, but in all fairness, let's recap the last month:

July 3-9: Out of town on Anniversary trip with Danny, both Silverton and Black Butte

July 11: Attended baby shower

July 11-12: In-laws visiting

July 12: Threw bridal shower

July 17: Picked up Plain Jayne galleys for edits

July 17-22: Finish electronic changes to manuscript

July 23: Make hard-copy changes to entire manuscript.

July 24: Finalize hard-copy changes, email edit inserts to editor, drive finished product to Harvest.

July 25: Pick up Brother-in-Law in Corvallis; photograph Geoff's bachelor party

July 26: Teach Sunday School. Drive BIL back to Corvy, assist in the purchase of mounting equipment for his new/our old window A/C unit.

July 27: Drive up to OCW at 7:20am; return home 9:30pm.

July 28-29: Prepare to leave for Canada/Geoff's Wedding

July 30: Depart for Calgary, then drive to Three Hills. Rejoice that it's much, MUCH cooler outside.

I really ought to be packing, but it's hot. Really hot. And yes, we have A/C, but only for the north side of the apartment. The south side is about 15 degrees warmer, and behind the office door, 25.

Trouble is, the things to pack are mainly over north; the suitcase is south. We've had some late nights lately, mainly because it's fairly late before the concept of moving around sounds like a good idea. Tonight may be another one of those nights.

Suddenly feeling better about not posting regularly. Time flies when you don't hold still.

P.S. Posted on http://burnsidewriterscollective.blogspot.com/. Yes, mine is the zombie one.

P.S.S. The basil is still alive, by the way. A little toasty from hanging in my car between errands (I was dropping to off at my grandma's not showing it the sights), but otherwise very healthy.

Etiquette for Writers

I've had this post brewing in my head for a while; it seems like a subject that needs to be explored but hasn't yet been.

Or maybe it has and I haven't seen it yet. Either way, I'm adding my two cents. Writers can get rather lax on the subject, especially considering that our business attire can include bunny slippers. But it will only ever help your writing career! And let's face it, writers can use all the help they can get.

In Critique Groups:

1. Be constructive. For some reason writers, who are some of the most articulate beings on earth, have a tendency to take a look at a piece of writing and say, "it's awful." Kind of a head scratcher, considering that we are unilaterally thin-skinned. If a piece of writing is truly bad, no amount of saying how bad it is will improve the writers' understanding of the craft. Do the verbs need to be more active? The writing more visual? The characters more concrete? Please try to say something nice about everyone's manuscript.

I was in a Fantasy Fiction class once at the U of O, and read some truly horrible short stories. I mean, so bad I saved them.

But in every case, I found something nice to say. When in doubt, "Vivid Characters" is a good standby.

2. Don't rewrite someone's work. You have a computer/typewriter/paper to write your own things. Give suggestions, give edits if invited, but imposing your voice over someone's work isn't helping anyone. Consider, selfishly, that your voice is your own. If you share your voice, you're competing with yourself.

In Written Communications with those in the Publishing Industry:

1. Be professional. Never use email abbreviations (ur instead of your, 4 instead of for, 2 instead of to/too. Frankly, I don't think they should be used ever, but that's just me.). Spell and punctuate things properly. Let the editor/agent initiate the use of smiley faces.

2. If you know the editor/agent personally, do use their first name as an address. If not, use Mr./Ms./Mrs.

3. Never, ever demand a response. Instead, write something along the lines of "many thanks for any assistance."

4. It should go without saying, but never tell an editor that God has said their publishing house will/should publish your book. If in fact God thinks such a thing, assume that God has not chosen you as the vessel of that message.

In Your Blogs

1. For pete's sake, spell check. Seriously. Nothing bothers me more than gross misspellings in a blog. Be aware that your blog is your internet face. Your internet face should be spelled and punctuated properly. If you can't manage to write a blog appropriately, why would anyone read your book? No one's expecting your posts to be professionally edited, but it's important to catch the basic stuff.

2. Be appropriate with content. Assume that the person you would like to rant against reads, or knows people who read your blog.

3. Be aware that prospective editors are likely to check out your blog. You've been warned.

At the Conference

1. Show up for Editor/Agent meetings clean and well-dressed. If you're meeting with Karen Ball, don't wear perfume or cologne OR scented hair product in your attempt to look groomed.

2. Have your proposal materials ready, with a cover letter addressed to the person whom you are meeting.

3. Make sure your materials are at their very best state - it's rude to show up with work that's riddled with stupid mistakes. Have a few people go through it first.

4. Be ready to talk articulately about the project (this is often the most difficult part). Practice in the mirror if you have to.

5. Be gracious and thank them for their time, no matter what.

6. Never write on someone's business card.

7. Try very hard not to lose the business card of editors/agents when they're given to you. The card is your golden ticket for further correspondence. Use it to follow-up with a short thank-you note after the conference.

8. Never approach an editor/agent/published writer for their assistance while they are in the restroom or in the middle of prayer. Back off FAST if they don't appear at all interested. Don't be that guy!

9. Don't pick your nose during a meeting. Just saying.

To come:

Etiquette notes for when you're publishing, and after you're published.

The thing about agents

I've had some conversations lately about writing and agents and when to get an agent for your writing. There are a lot of advice books out there, some of them excellent, some of them worthless.

I figured I'm only going to be asked this question more and more often, so I figured I'd post about it...and if I was really lucky, shorten the conversation by being able to direct people to my blog. Not to say I don't love to help. I do. A lot of people have helped me. There just seems to be a more efficient way to do things (the whole "being-married-to-an-engineer" thing is starting to show).

So here goes...

Question: When am I ready to find an agent?
Hillary's advice: When your project is completed, and really not before. As a beginning author, you want to show them that you're capable of finishing a project. You want to appear as professional as possible; having your manuscript ready is the first step.

Question: How do I find an agent?
Hillary's advice: Sure, you can go through a market guide (like this one), but if you have the opportunity to go to a writers' conference, meeting agents in person is worlds better. Agents are inundated with queries and proposals (more on these later). If they connect to you personally, they are MUCH more likely to respond to you, or tell you in five minutes if they're remotely interested. Also, you can get a feel for whether or not you actually like that agent. Once at a writers' conference, I had lunch at the table of a literary agent, thinking I'd get a feel for him and if I'd want to approach him with one of my proposals. Well, I didn't even have to talk to him to decide that I found him deeply irritating. Wouldn't have gotten that piece of info from a book.

Question: What if I don't want to go to a writers' conference? They're so expensive.
Hillary's advice: Yes, they are, and a good conference is worth every penny. I connected with both my publisher and my agent through Oregon Christian Writers. To cut costs, look at staying in a less-expensive motel, or bunking with a nearby friend/relative rather than staying on-site. The reason conferences can be pricey is because they're paying for flights and usually a paycheck for the agents and editors that you want to meet so much. Choosing a conference is where a market guide is handy - you can get a feel for what kind of agent/ publisher works with your kind of material, then look for the conference with those people. Most larger conferences will list the agents/ publishers attending on their website.

Question: What should I look for in an agent?
Hillary's advice: You want someone who's proactive. Some agents will sit on manuscripts until the end of time, even if you're a client. A proactive agent uses all of their contacts in the industry to find the best home for your project. Your agent should know the business well, or, if he/she is just starting out, be in a literary agency group with others who do. It's also helpful to like your agent, so look for someone you don't mind talking to for lengths of time.

Question: How much does an agent cost?
Hillary's advice: An agent's cut is 15% of your earnings. The upside is that she doesn't get paid until you get paid. Never, never, never, never, ever pay an agent anything upfront or any "fees" for looking at your work. Ever.

Question: Wow, 15%. What if I find a publisher willing to take my manuscript without an agent?
Hillary's advice: I found a publisher willing to take my manuscript without an agent. But the thing is, I don't know anything about the inner workings of literary contracts. They're still mysterious to me. There's a lot of legal jargon in there that's so specific that you could take it to a lawyer, and the lawyer wouldn't be about to sift through it. I signed on with Sandra so that I didn't have to worry about it. Part of her job is to negotiate points of my contract. A good agent will probably find things to negotiate about that you wouldn't ever think to quibble over. Also, it means that you get to keep a happy relationship with your editor and your house. Let your agent be the tough one. It's enough to argue with your editors as you go over drafts.

Question: What's the easiest way to get an agent to take you on?
Hillary's advice: Have an interested publisher. Preferably two. It's a good idea to be talking to both editors and agents simultaneously for this reason.

Question: Okay....what's the easiest way to get a publisher interested?
Hillary's advice: Write a really good book with subject matter that sells well for that house. Sorry, I know it's glib, but it's the truth. Most houses will be pretty straight-forward about what kind of material they're looking for. Read up on what the houses publish - take a look at their catalogs (usually online). Read about what's selling. Ask a bookseller what's selling. Right now, it's Amish and historical. A few years ago, it was chick lit. Few years before that, it was suspense.

Question: Right. So if I'm sending something to an agent/publisher I haven't made contact with before, what should I send?
Hillary's advice: A query letter. A query letter is like a first date: you give the pertinent information about your project in such a way as to be intriguing and a bit mysterious. Do not give your life story. Do not describe your entire book. Just enough information about the project for an agent to be able to gauge his interest. Include the fact that it's finished (it should be!), the word count, and from what perspective it's written (first-person past, third-person omniscient, etc.). Write a sentence about why you are uniquely qualified to write this book, unless of course there is no good reason. When in doubt, remain mysterious.

Your letter should be no longer than a printed page, four to five paragraphs tops. Oh, and don't compare your book to other books or movies that didn't sell well, or were box-office flops. Your publisher is just as interested in being solvent as you are.

A few more things about queries - always thank the agent/editor for any assistance. Always. Do not ask for that assistance within a certain timeframe; it is, however, appropriate to follow-up. It's permissible to follow-up twice, I think, in four week intervals (this is where queries and first dates diverge). After that, move on graciously.

Question: If I'm meeting with an agent or editor at a conference, what materials should I show?
Hillary's advice: When meeting with an agent or editor, or hoping to catch that person walking about, have a proposal at the ready. For the written materials, visit Jeff Gerke's site here for the best, most comprehensive description I've found.

Question: If I meet an agent/editor on a plane, should I pitch my project?
Hillary's advice: No. He's off-duty. The exception to this is if the conversation goes as follows:

You: So, what do you do?
Editor/Agent: I'm an editor/literary agent.
You: That's wonderful. I recently finished my first novel.

IF the editor/agent says, "oh really, describe it to me," then by all means, do so. If she says, "can you believe what they're charging for on-flight drinks these days?", drop it. Fast. You don't want to be that guy.

Now, if you're at a writers' conference, he's fair game UNLESS you're in the restroom. Seriously. And it has happened. DON'T BE THAT GUY.

Question: Your advice doesn't jive with what I read in my book.
Hillary's advice: While I'm certainly not the world's greatest living expert on the matter, I've also been around the Christian publishing industry for over ten years. I listen to experts talk about this stuff multiple times a year. Your book may be old. The publishing industry changes like the wind. The editor you're working with may leave that publisher tomorrow (it's happened). Trends come and go. What people are looking for changes.

Question: Fine, then. What books on publishing should I look at?
Hillary's advice: Sally Stuart's Guide to Getting Published and Ron Benrey's The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Christian Fiction. Sally's advice is always spot-on, and Ron, being an engineer as well as a writer, is very thorough. Randy Ingermanson and Jeff Gerke also have excellent resources for writers on their websites.

Question: Any other advice?
Hillary's advice: Have your verbal pitch ready at all times. Be able to say, "my book is about a woman in Alaska who leaves her family to become a travel-writer abroad" at a moment's notice. Practice in the mirror.

Aside from that, read constantly. Read older stuff, read newer stuff. Read the kind of stuff you write; read other genres. Watch movies. Watch good TV shows. Surround yourself with good writing. Then go out and experience things so you have something good to write about. Not only will this fill your creativity tank, BUT, you'll have something to talk about when you meet with people!

Hope this all helps - if you have other questions, post them at the bottom and I'll try to answer them as best I can!

Catching Up

I haven't been very good about blogging lately. At all. And that's really sad, because I had all these beautiful ideas about how I would do things differently this month and blog about the experiences, and now the month's a third over.

So.

First, and most importlantly, I turned in Plain Jayne. The bolt of fabric has been wound up and handed off.

Second, my editor likes it. She laughed. And she laughed at jokes I thought I might be asked to omit. So that's all very, very happy.

Third, without a book, I don't know what to do with myself, and throwing myself into tidying the apartment doesn't have the appeal you might think. Amazingly enough.

I have started strategizing about Simply Sara. Not quite writing yet, but I'm alright with that. I am enjoying not sharing my head with anyone else at the moment.

Here are some of the NEW and/or DIFFERENT things I've tried in the last month -

1. To celebrate the turning-in of the book, Danny and I went to Mazzi's on a date. It's kind of a Eugene classic, but I hadn't gone in my sentient adult life. We really enjoyed it, and especially our table next to the (fake) fireplace.

2. We've watched In Bruges, Rachel Getting Married, and Star Trek. We're also a disk and an episode away from watching all five seasons of House, M.D., which I'm quite addicted to. Sarcasm? Cynicism? Guitar kidnapping? So there.

3. I'm learning new piano music. I realized a few months ago I've been playing the same pieces since school, mainly because I haven't had time or piano access to learn anything new. Now I'm working on a few songs and really enjoying it.

4. While I haven't tried any new recipes (kinda ran out after last month), I did try a new technique. I knew the traditional Italian Ragu method called for cooking the meat with milk after it's browned. I tried it with sausage before I added the prepackaged sauce - wow! The milk tenderizes the meat, creating a really yummy sauce. I did get a really yummy-sounding new recipe from my friend Aimee today, so more on that later.

5. I'm drinking more water. Hydration is a happy thing.

So far, haven't found any fabric I've liked for throw pillows. But I'm hopeful that I'll find something in the coming months. With Sara (my character, not a real person) being a seamstress, I'm really looking forward to improving my almost-nonexistant sewing skills.

And let's hope I write another blog by the end of the month!

Book Brain

I have 3.2 chapters left. I know because I keep checking. Danny made me this fantastic Excel spreadsheet that calculates how many words I've written, how many are left, my average word count per chapter, and the percentage of done-ness I've attained.

So I've got 7,230 words to go and it's driving me crazy, because I can hardly deal with or think about anything else. Grocery shopping and meal planning and cleaning is spotty at best (which is why the whole gross dinner episode from the previous post was that much more upsetting).

The upside is that things moving fast, because I've had this ending in my head for eight months and it's finally happening.

I'll be meeting with my lovely editors tomorrow morning to discuss the next book. Why discuss the next book, you ask? Well, I can't name one of my characters in this book until the next title is finalized. And the powers that be need to sign off at on that title, or a virus will be unleashed upon the earth rendering certain death and destruction.

Or there will be awkward edits later on. One of those.

I am looking forward to the next book. While it is featuring a different character (who will not be named at this time because, well, she doesn't have an official name yet), but most of the characters in the current book will appear in the next. And that's fun - I hope someday I'll get a chance to write a follow-up to Divine Discontent because I loved the characters so much.

Fiction writing is so weird. I spend a lot of time worrying about people who don't exist.

May the Amish be with you.

So. I posted earlier today saying how I didn't post much.

Right.

To promote their line of Amish Fiction, Harvest House created AmishReader.com, a site dedicated to...yes...Amish Fiction. Being read by Amish Readers.

(Sorry, I'm a bit punchy. That's what comes of spending too much of your day in one chair and only cranking out 406 words. Urg. There will be more by the time I shut the laptop lid for the night, and judging by the current loopiness [sp?] they might not be half bad.)

Anyway. Check out the site. I'm on it. I look cute. My books aren't exactly on, seeing as they don't have covers yet, but they will be. If you like Amish fiction, take a look. If your mommy likes Amish fiction, tell her to take a look.

In all honesty, I am not going to make a career in writing Amish Fiction. This is not to say that I haven't spent ages in serious research, visited an Amish General Store and woodshop, bought the peach butter, photographed the Amish kittens, nearly cried when I realized I didn't have the memory card in my camera at the time...correctly photographed the buggy crossing sign. Been there, done that. Also watched the documentary about the Amish crack dealer kid.

I've enjoyed the chance to put my research skills (which I pay for every month in the form of a student loan) to good use, but my imagination is restless. Before publication, I tried my hand at writing historical fiction, suspense, YA fiction, children's stories, and chick-lit, before I settled into comedic-generation-next-fiction.

Writing Amish Fiction was my "in," and it's worked because of my imagination (granted, there are days I want to yank everyone's bonnets off and trot them around a Sephora counter). But later, who knows? Writing to the market is a challenge, but I like challenges.

I just wish this particular challenge would let me leave the house.

P.S. For more on my take on Amish Fiction, click here.
P.S.S. Forevermore, or at least in the forseeable future, the AmishReader link will also be posted in my "places to click" section. And do keep checking it - at some point, the book will be there!

M'embrasse, s'il vous plait

Writing kissing scenes is hard. Really hard. I'll amend that. Writing non-clichéd kissing scenes is hard.

Because it's all been done. If you consider how much of the publishing industry is dominated by the romance genre, then remember that there's at least one kiss in every book...that a lot of written kisses.

Every heroine has looked deeply into the hero's eyes. Been there, done that. The fluttering of the stomach, something between romance and gas, also been done.

And Christian publishing prefers a certain amount of *ahem* discretion, so it's not like you can write a play-by-play. You're left with the heroine's tingling toe sensations, and you're back in cliché-ville.

I am whining because I'm trying to write just such a scene. Trouble is, my female protagonist really ought not to be kissing my male protagonist at the moment, so setting up this scene is kinda tricky. Ultimately worth it, because the ensuing drama will give me material for the next chapter, but writing it believably is a lot harder than you'd think.

Maybe it's the culture we live in. We don't kiss spontaneously much anymore. My grandmother has a story where she was working at the newspaper, and found herself in the photo darkroom with a coworker (I think it was a darkroom. Something like that. Some sort of small, dark, confined space). He leaned over and kissed her. Just like that. Can you imagine?

And because the culture is so anti-spontaneous lip action, it's making my job that much harder.

Signed contracts and other items of note

On Monday, September 8, I signed a two-book contract deal with Harvest House Publishers. The first book, Plain Jayne, will be released in 2010. The second, most likely a spin-off follow-up, will be released in 2011.

Monday was great fun, if a bit overwhelming. I arrived at Harvest at noon for my tour of the building. Accompanied by my fantastic agent Sandra, we toured around and met a great many people. After lunch down the road, we returned and commenced the signing of the contracts.

Signing contracts is not unlike signing a will. It's legally binding and requires you to pratice your signature in a variety of locations. Frankly, it's been useful in keeping my wordcount up.

Granted, I did the month-count and found that, with the pace I've been working at, I'll land right where I wanted to be if I continue the death march (see http://www.despair.com/quality.html) without slowing until the end of March. While comforting, after last Christmas's craziness, I realize having some additional buffer time is kinder to my peace of mind, as well as my husbands. Madness is what we're hoping to avoid, but as a fiction writer, I an realistic (see http://www.despair.com/madness.html).

(Last Chistmas, I got the brilliant idea that we/I should make all of the Christmas gifts we gave. This led to five knitted hats of varying levels of complication, two scarves, two framed photos, and a lot of beaded earrings. My hope and goal for the upcoming yuletide is to avoid Christmas knitting altogether.)

So that's the book stuff. Very exciting stuff. In other news:

1. I cut off seven inches of hair.

2. I have finished 2 1/2 chapters since signing.

3. The little children in our complex have started school, and life is quieter.

4. I will be learning to ride a motorcycle in two weeks.

5. I will have to wear hiking boots for that event.

6. I don't know that I've ever worn hiking boots.

7. My home is still untidy, but with the landlord inspections occuring next week, that will have to change.

8. I finished (mostly, save the button) a sweater (more on the similarities between writing and knitting later.

9. I made a blueberry-raspberry grunt Wednesday. If you enjoy baking and don't have Mary Englebreit's Sweet Treats cookbook, then hie thyself to half.com. It's the best.

10. Both books (Plain Jayne and Untitled) have ISBNs. Which means that, at some point, the madness I see onscreen will turn into a real, live, paper-filled book.

Exciting stuff.

A Little Less Conversation, a Little More Amish Please

It’s day one at the Oregon Christian Writers’ conference, and we’re already worn out. I say “we,” because Danny’s here running around, running sound and pretty much anything with wires. It's great fun because we're equally tired, and equally loopy.

I love the conferences because it's like summer camp for writers. Most of us are slightly odd ducks, so you get a group of us together making bad writing-related puns and exchanging rejection stories.

There is much conversation over what editors are looking for. Most of us want to know what those elusive editors are looking for, even though I think, subconsciously, we just want them to be looking for us. We don't want to conform to what they're looking for.

The big topic this year is over the Amish: everyone wants Amish. Those of us who write contemporary fiction lament over the fact that what we write just isn't selling. It's hard to remember sometimes that even Christian publishing is a business. Publishers want to acquire books that will sell. Nobody wants unsold books to be recycled into toilet paper. Nobody wants to be responsible for producing a book that will run a deficit.

The publishing industry is not unlike Hollywood; if they find something that sells, they'll make a lot of us. And while that may irritate the creative at heart, we do have to realize it's good business practice.

The question creatives have to ask themselves is, "how creative am I?" Are we creative enough to write salable books? Are we capable of crafting stories that follow the trends, in order to avoid a toilet paper future?

Will the Amish trend blow over? You bet your buggy. Will it blow over before new Amish acquisitions are released? Yeah, probably. Which is why it's important to write stories that supercede trend. Stories that may involve quilting and buggies but also tell a solid story in an unexpected way.

I know for me, Plain Jane will not be the only book I write. There will be more. And it won't be all Amish all the time. Next year, there will be a new "Amish."

Aliens, probably. But we'll see.