This is kind of a test post since I am sending it using email and my phone for the first time. I'm hoping to be able to post using my phone whilst we're in England. I wanted to share a picture of the lovely beaded bag I got in Diamond Springs, CA (which, incidentally, is where I grew up):
I love antique beaded bags, and this one is in great condition.
Well, let's hope this test post works!
This summer, I came to our Oregon house wanting to paint our kitchen cabinets white. I'd been threatening it for awhile, but could never gussy up the courage (or, frankly, the motivation) to do it. Once I got here this time, however, I decided I'd put the project off for another year.
I couldn't stop thinking about it though. Every day, I'd find myself wanting to do it, then I'd talk myself out of it. Finally, I told myself if I just work hard for two days, it would be done and I wouldn't have to think about it again. That's all it took. With Mick's help, I painted those cabinets and we're both loving the results.
As a reminder, here's a couple of pictures of our kitchen when we first bought the place in 2006:
As you can see by the paint on the counter top, I was rarin' to get this place fixed up as soon as I could. We put in laminate flooring, new appliances, replaced the countertops, and replaced the hardware almost as soon as we moved in. This was the result:
Certainly, a huge improvement, but I had chosen the appliances and the countertop with the plan to paint the cabinets white. But with only a six to eight weeks spent in the house every year, it's hard to get to every single project in a timely manner.
Now, the picture you've been waiting for:
Crisp, clean, and cool, my kitchen now looks like I always thought it should. The cabinets themselves have a nice country look, but the white paint keeps them from looking dated. Plus, they're in great condition and I could never have justified getting rid of them altogether.
Many thanks to Young House Love, whose great tutorial on painting cabinets I followed to the letter.
If you'd like to see the other before/after pictures of our Oregon house, you can see them here and here.
Earlier in the year, I wrote this post about a site a friend told me about called "This Young House."
As of tonight, the name of the site has changed. From now on, TYH will be called "Young House Love." You can read the story about the change here.
Yes, it's highly irksome that a big, successful brand (that shall not be mentioned) took notice of "Young House Love" and its former name and decided to go after it. But rather than get pissed off, I agree with John & Sherry. This is a fantastic opportunity to expand their brand–their brand–without being tied, even subtly, to a brand name that is antiquated and has little relevance to what they do.
John and Sherry are a lot more polite than I am, so I'll say what they might not want to: Fuck 'em.
It seems like a big deal to change a name mid-stream, but it's really not. Sure, it requires a little work, but in the end it's worth it. I used to work for a little website called "The Mining Co." With this name, they saw some success, but let's face it, miningco.com was a bit cumbersome. They quickly realized they needed a name that could be easily recognized, branded, and marketed. In one huge marketing campaign, they change the name to About.com and no one has looked back since.
So here's to a new day, and a new love: "Young House Love."
About a month ago, I finished the first draft of my novel, Diary of Bedlam. It was definitely a milestone–I have about 65k words, a beginning, a middle, and an end, and most importantly, I know "whodunnit."
But although I refer to this draft as a "book," does it really qualify? No. There's too many disconnects, too many errors, and too much bad writing for me to justify calling it a book.
For me the answer to the question "when does a book become a book?" will probably be around the time I'm ready to start querying agents, or slightly before. It will then be a complete story with most of the kinks worked out, and it will be ready for the "general public" to read, at least in my estimation.
When do you think a book becomes a book?
Many of you know Mick and I have been staying at our house in Oregon for the past few weeks. It's been great, but we've both been feeling a bit cooped up. Today we decided to make a day trip to Crater Lake.
It's about a two hour drive through some really beautiful country. We passed over the Rogue River several times, and if you ever get a chance to take a rafting trip down it, I highly recommend it.
I knew Crater Lake was going to be spectacular, but wowza! It is amazing.
We knew it would be chillier up there then it is down here in the valley, but I wasn't prepared for how cold it actually was. My baseball cap and pigtails weren't cutting it. Mick and I went into the gift shope and bought extra clothes to keep us warm.
Our plan was to take a two-mile round trip hike to the top of Watchman overlook but it was closed. We drove back to the lodge area and chose a slightly longer hike to the top of a peak. Two months off of from running has taken its toll–a mile hike with a 1000 ft. rise was really tiring, but worth it.
Mick took a few more pictures and posted them on our Picasa page. He did some gorgeous panoramas.
It was a lovely day! I'm so glad we decided to take a break.
Last week I put out a request to friends and family to read the first two chapters of my novel and supply feedback. The response was great, but the feedback they sent me back was even better.
By better, I'm not saying all their comments were positive. What was great, and oh so appreciated, was the fact they took time to read the chapters and give their honest opinions.
I asked two questions when I sent out the chapters:
1) Does the beginning hook you?
2) Is there anything unclear or confusing?
The overwhelming response was that yes, readers were hooked and wanted to read more (yay!). The second most common response was that there was some confusion in chapter two with all of the information I tried to impart.
Other comments included problems with pacing and needing more character development earlier. There were also some inconsistencies in the text that I didn't catch. All easily fixable.
I don't know why I'm surprised at how valuable this feedback is in going forward. It's given me confidence, but it was also a much needed reality check. Thanks to all who have read the manuscript so far and sent me your thoughts!
Today, I got my first mention in the New York Times:
Kindle Joins a Literary Ritual: Authors can Autograph it
On Thursday, I got an email from a reporter asking about my experience with having my Kindle signed. I was happy to talk with him, especially since my perspective on this has changed since I started writing my own novel.
The reporter pretty much got my point right in his brief article. But I want to emphasize when I had my Kindle signed the first time, I hadn't given much thought to the bookstore/author relationship. I figured, hey, this is Barnes & Noble, a big chain store–I didn't think about whether I was taking money out of their pockets. My main concern was that the author would question whether or not I had actually bought her book since Kindles were relatively new in May 2008.
Since then, I have learned a lot more about book promotion and I would hesitate in most cases to have my Kindle signed rather than buying a book at the store the author is appearing at. As I wrote in an email to the reporter:
"As a consumer I might not feel guilty about using Barnes & Noble as a way to gain access to a particular author, but as the author, I might feel differently about that. Sure, I just want people to buy my books, and I don't really care where they do it (from a financial standpoint). However, the big chain stores are still an important part of an author's promotional strategy, and if readers are not buying books there (and are instead having authors sign Kindles), stores like B&N might not feel the need to host book signings at all."
In our conversation, I originally said that I felt differently about big chain bookstores than I did about independent booksellers (from whom I'd always buy the book at the book signing rather than having my Kindle signed). But after thinking about it, I felt the need to clarify that it's probably important to buy the book from wherever the author is appearing, regardless of whether it's a big chain or a small independent.
What do you think? Authors, readers–do you have any comments on this?
Only ten more days to go in the Spring Reading Challenge. Three months really does go by fast when you're barely paying attention.
I have achieved my goal of reading at least ten books, even if they weren't the ten books I said I was going to read.
1) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
2) The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
3) Dating Dead Men by Harley Jane Kozak
4) Murder in the Latin Quarter by Cara Black
5) Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson by Lyndsay Faye*
6) The Girls from Ames by Jeffrey Zaslow
7) Once Were Cops: A Novel
8) The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos*
9) Power Play by Joseph Finder
10) Long Lost by Harlan Coben
11) Life Sentences by Laura Lippman*
* Favorites
I've started the 12th book, The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz and I'm really enjoying it.
Looking back over the challenge, I've probably short changed myself a little because instead of challenging myself on genres, I pretty much stuck to mysteries, crime, and thrillers. What can I say? This is what I get the most enjoyment out of, and this challenge was mostly about having fun and reading more.
This is me, circa 1986:
When I look at this picture, there is really only one thing I wish for this girl. I wish she had more self-confidence.
Failing that, this is the advice I'd give her:
1) Learn how to manage your personal finances
2) Wear sunscreen
What advice would you give your 18 year-old self?
Next month, I'll be doing something I haven't done in a very long time: travel to a business conference. Specifically, the California Crime Writers Conference in Pasadena, June 13-14.
I'll be honest. It feels weird to call this a business trip. Writing is a hobby, not a business, right?
Nope. Writing is my business and almost since the beginning I've tried to treat it that way. Rather than take the "art" out of writing, this mentality keeps me on track and reminds me to take it seriously. Frankly, it's been an integral part of getting me this far.
How far is "this far?" Over the weekend I finished the first draft of the novel. Now I'm doing my first pass, which basically means I'm re-reading it and polishing it up so I can send it off to readers for a critique. That should give you an idea of how rough the first draft is–I won't let it out of my sight until I get it shaped up, at least a little.
With two weeks to go, I'm in the process of defining my goals for the conference. The main goal is to listen and learn. With this schedule of topics, there will be plenty to choose from. I'll probably be concentrating the most on the "Learning the Craft" and "Getting Published" tracks, but I might sneak into the NRA gun demonstration or "Confessions of a Mafia Insider."
My second goal is to meet people and make contacts. This will be a challenge for me since I am very shy with strangers. But challenges are good, aren't they? (Whimper whimper–not looking forward to the "I'm all by myself in the big city" aspect of this conference).
I also need to come up with a rock solid elevator pitch. My bio has an unofficial version of the pitch, but I need something snappier. Here's what I have now:
"Diary of Bedlam is a mystery based on the real-life unsolved murder of Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey. Set in 1678 London, it faithfully describes one of the darkest periods of political turmoil to occur during the reign of Charles II: the popish plot."
Any ideas? One thing that's missing is a reference to my heroine, Isabel Wilde.
My final goal is to polish enough of my first draft to take advantage of a paid 5-page manuscript critique. Although now I see it's limited to the first 30 registrants, so I might not be able to do that. Oh well, I still need to be polishing!
So that's the state of writing affairs. Finished first draft? I almost can't believe it myself.