Connecting

Now Jennifer Weiner is tweeting me!

You guys, it almost looks like I'm becoming friends with real writers. They say getting published is all who you know ...

The book in question in the above tweet, is Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue. It was released this year, and up until a few days ago when Jennifer Weiner started stalking about it, I'd never heard of the book or the author.

ROOM sounds like exactly the kind of book I'd be interested in: I mean, come on. Mysteriously trapped in a room by someone? Sounds a lot like what I just wrote about in Awake!

As selfish as this sounds, the more support we give our female writers now, the better luck I'm going to have in the future. So, good job, ladies!

Here's a short list of fiction written by women, which I've enjoyed:

Love pt. 2

As far as making contact with published authors is concerned, it's been a very good week or so.

The latest installment involved Kyra Davis' contest for a $100 gift card to Starbucks -- which I won!

I think my first order is going to have to be a Caramel Brownie Frappuccino in honor of Sophie Katz (a drink she mentions a few times in Sex, Murder and a Double Latte).


When I'm not on Twitter ...


I'm getting critiques on The Silent Treatment. So far, the new version of the first chapter is getting really good response, so I'm working on getting the rest of the novel finished and off to some more agents. I should get to work.

Nice!

Jonathan Franzen tweeted me.

Reading lots

From what follows in this post, one might assume I have loads of free time on my hands, which is not true. The majority of the "reading" I'm getting done lately is in the form of audiobooks, which I use to make my workday more palatable.

Let's begin.

First, I finished David Sedaris' When You Are Engulfed in Flames. I absolutely love his essays, but when he branches into fiction (as he does in one title), he exaggerates so much that the story becomes difficult to relate to (at least for me). But listening to him read his own work is half the pleasure - I'm not sure I can read one of his books to myself anymore because I've been so spoiled. In fact, have a listen here.

Second, I listened to Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth: Stories (Vintage Contemporaries). I've read her other books, The Namesake, and Interpreter of Maladies, and this collection was comparable with those. Nice descriptions of the emotions of everyday people, but sometimes those emotions run pretty dark; one story (Only Goodness) left me pretty drained and wanting to be out of that situation at the end. Luckily for me, it was just a story, not something I'd actually experienced, so I went about my day as though it never happened. That's the beauty of Lahiri's work, though -- she can really make you believe you've gotten your heart broken.

Still working on The Sleeping Dragon by Miyabe. It's entertaining, but it's old-fashioned words-on-paper reading, so I've got to find time during non-working hours.

Also in the "read it to me" vein, I attended an author reading at the Philadelphia Free Library last night, and saw Sloane Crosley. The first time I'd heard her was listening to her story "The Pony Problem" online, and ever since I've been a fan. Had a great time - didn't stay for autographs, though, because I've yet to buy one of her books. Bad, I know.

But it hasn't all been roses and tea-parties. I listened to about a third of Janet Evanovich's Fearless Fourteen, and decided I'd rather listen to ambient office noises than continue with the story. I borrowed the audiobook on the recommendation of a colleague of mine. She told me Evanovich was funny and interesting; I wanted to like it. The humor seemed forced, and the characters didn't seem real - almost like a cartoon or stereotypes. Anyway, the series is certainly popular, so she's hitting the right spot for someone -- just not me.

Author Reading

So this is new for me. I've been listening to a lot of author readings through podcasts (as an effort to make my work day not make me want to shoot myself in the face*), but I haven't taken advantage of the opportunities to see these very authors in person.

A few days ago, I went to see Jennifer Weiner at the Reading Terminal Market. She gave us all wine, cheese, and chocolate (really, what more can you want?). After talking to us as though we were all long-time friends, she read an excerpt from her upcoming book "Fly Away Home", and took our questions. Of course, I wanted to ask something thoughtful, helpful for myself and everyone else. Alas, my brain doesn't work that way, so I asked something that had pretty much already been answered. Everyone else thought well on their feet.

Well worth the experience, so I'll make more of an effort to see other authors too (especially with the library doing as many events as they do).

*added for dramatic effect.  come on, people!




Editing for myself has (unfortunately) been dragging. I've enlisted the help of a few fellow writers to read what I'm working on and give me the kick in the pants I need. Thanks everyone!!

I'll also be taking full advantage of Starbucks' Frappuccino Happy Hour this afternoon and work on my story in a comfortable, distraction-free place (and who can say no to a Frappuccino?).