Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room

The Circle of the Book

Robin Agnew

On the book festival board I serve on, our board president is fond of talking about "the circle of the book."  The only other bookseller on our board, he is an antiquarian, something vastly different from a new bookseller.  The rest of our board consists of a newspaper editor; a student; an art gallery owner and teacher; the former (now retired) owenr of a book bindery; a professional publicist; a business owner; a Zingerman's employee; a librarian and artist; and a woman who is so busy serving on so many boards I am delighted she is a part of ours.  All of us have different ideas of the "circle" and what it might mean.

To me the circle begins with the author.  Without words, there would be no book, no circle, no community of book lovers.  They have to have something to love!  For some on the board, however, the book is a beloved object. They are experts in binding or letterpress printing or papermaking.  To them the circle starts with a piece of paper.

For others on the board, the words are important no matter when they were written.  Timeliness is not of the essence.  For someone who programs a book festival (me), timeliness is key.  How else to obtain the creator of these words if not that they are on a book tour?

If the circle begins (as I say it does) with the author, where does it go from there?  Well, the author has written a book, he or she has to sell it, so next I assume it would go to an agent, then to an editor at a publishing house, then it would be published.  What happens next?  A book is published, how does a reader discover that book?  The sales staff at the publishing house is part of the equation.  But it's not the whole equation.

Booksellers and reviewers are the next piece, and it explains publishers reaching out to booksellers with free copies and enthusiastic letters of recommendation. It also explains the need for book reviews. They want us, as booksellers on the front lines, to recommend the book.  I think booksellers and reviewers are a joint piece of the circle.

But since booksellers are quirky and opinionated and sometimes, apparently, wrong (the list of fellow booksellers who picked up an advance copy of The DaVinci Code and laid it back down as unreadable and unsellable is a long one), this is where the whole process can take a turn.  Say we take up the cause of a book we love.  We read it, we love it, we review it.  And more importanlty, we press it in someone's hand.  And there's no telling what we might love.  I loved John Hart's The Last Child but could get few people to buy it; another bookseller said it flew off the shelves.  Go figure.

The other day a woman came into the store who said "God told me to park in front of your store."  Well, thank you God, as she then proceeded to buy lots of books.  But I was able to recommend a couple favorite writers to her - Deborah Crombie and Erin Hart - and send her on her way, knowing she'd have a wonderful reading experience.  That's my part of the circle.  And of course this woman is the last part:  she's the reader, and that's what every writer, way back in the beginning of that circle, needs to have.  

Once I pressed a Ngaio Marsh book into someone's hands and said "I'm improving your life."  The thing is, I think that's true.  After that reader read Death of a Peer, I'm sure his life was improved.  I was having a disussion via e-mail recently about whether personality plays a part in bookselling - if a particular author is very likeable, does that mean they sell more books and win more awards?  I think the original product - the book itself - has to be a good one.  Personality helps, but it isn't everything.  Ngaio Marsh, of course, is long dead (and who knows what she was like) but she's still improving people's lives.  As is our bestselling author, Rex Stout.

So the circle, to me, goes like this: author; agent; editor; publisher; sales staff; reviewer; bokseller; reader.  We are all a part of it but none of us would be there without the words on the page.   

 

 

Ask The Publicist

By Dana Kaye

Last night, I spoke to a group of graduating Columbia College students (I’m always up for poisoning young minds). They had great questions, so I thought I’d share some of them with you:

How do you use what you learned in the Fiction Writing Department for your work as a publicist?

There are three specific skills I use every day:

1. The ability to write – whether it’s a press release, a pitch email, or a blog post – is a key skill that, unfortunately, many people lack.
2. Knowing my audience. Whenever I took classes, we were always told to think about the reader, know our audience, sometimes we even addressed our stories as a letter. In publicity, it’s necessary to know the audience. Who will buy this book? Where do they obtain information? How old are they? Etc.
3. The ability to bullshit. At Columbia, we did a lot of “on the spot” storytelling and most of our work began as an oral telling in class. The ability to make stuff up on the spot and spin a story are essential to publicity.

What do you think about book trailers?

I think without distribution, book trailers are a waste of time. First of all, I’ve never bought a book because it had a cool trailer. And second, most trailers are only posted on the author’s website and YouTube channel, so only a handful of people see them. I think if authors want to do a book trailer, they should find a way to increase their distribution. Either team up with a corporation that will post the video on their website or gather a group of bloggers/twitter followers/facebook friends to cross post and promote.

What does a typical day look like for you?

The thing I enjoy most about what I do is that every day is different. No day consists of the same tasks. But here’s an example of a typical day in the office:

7:30am Arrive, make coffee, answer all emails (30-50)

8:30am Spend some time on Twitter/FB, publishing news sites, and blogs.

9:00am Let the pitching begin! (this is usually spliced with some client phone calls)

12:00pm Walk the dog

12:30pm Eat lunch at the desk while answering more emails

1:00pm Phone calls with clients, librarians, etc. I try to save phone calls for the afternoon because it’ll keep me awake and alert.

4:00pm Business matters (pay bills, update website, clean office, etc.)

5:00pm On a good day, I usually leave. On bad days, I either stick around or go for a quick workout, then come back and work from home.

Now companies are hiring “social media experts” to assist with Twitter, FB etc. In the future, do you think knowledge of social media is going to be a required job skill or something that everyone has?

Not necessarily. I think these “social media experts” are simply people who pay attention to the trends and remain ten steps ahead of the corporations. Social media is forever morphing and changing, so I don’t think that knowing the ins and outs of Twitter and FB will ever be something everyone knows. I think we’ll always need these “experts” because by the time everyone learns how to tweet or post to facebook, there’s something new emerging.

***********

Any other questions for the publicist? I’m happy to answer them!

Point of View

 

by Alison Janssen

 

You guys, I read a blog last week that is *so exactly* everything I would want to say about point of view. Written by Toni McGee Causey over on the Murder She Writes blog, it's the best explanation of the importance of point of view not only in deciding the "I" or "she" of your manuscript, but also in informing every single word choice, your sentence construction, and really the entire narrative flow.

 

Go read it, you will not be disappointed!

 

I loved her post so much I immediately downloaded Toni's first book to my Kindle. Impulses! The internet facilitates them!

 

So rather than blather on at you about the only thing I seem able to keep on my mind lately (YOU GUYS I AM GETTING MARRIED IN 24 DAYS), I figured I'd point you to that incredible post.

 

Also, one of my favorite artists, Lykke Li, has a new video out today, and it's got a wedding theme! Um, only my wedding will be, you know, much happier. And won't have Stellan Skarsgård.

 

 

Have a great Thursday, everyone!

 

[And as for last week's contest, Helen Cassidy Page, you won! Email me at alison.BHB at gmail and I'll send along your ebook!]

 

So many books, so little time...

I like to think I have pretty eclectic tastes in reading, give or take the odd genre or two. I’m not at all keen on horror. Science fiction I’m very selective about. And the most self-important of lit fic I can take or leave, and mostly opt to leave. Crime fiction is numero uno, but I’ll give most things a try.

On my to-read pile at the moment are the last but one Stephen Booth (I read the previous two in quick succession a couple of weeks ago); Kate Atkinson’s fourth Jackson Brodie title and the new Mark Billingham; a Margaret Forster I hadn’t come across before, but the bookshop was doing three-for-two; and Winifred Holtby’s South Riding, which is a re-read after the lovely recent TV adaptation – it must be twenty years since I read it for the first time.

I have a birthday coming up, so I expect the pile will grow. Fortunately, since I’m neither a jewellery person nor the kind who spends hours in clouds of scented steam in the bathroom, I’m impossible to buy gifts for and my family never know what else to give me! I hope that in a couple of weeks the to-reads may include a new J D Robb, maybe an early Zoe Sharp if my gift-givers have managed to track them down, Sue Miller’s The Senator’s Wife and Susan Hill’s latest Simon Serrailler adventure if it’s out in paperback. Lots of lovely holiday reading; we leave two weeks tomorrow, and between ten-hour flights at each end and dark evenings in motels in nightlife-free parts of Arizona and Utah (I’m not a nightlife person either), the books will need their own suitcase. (No, I’m not buying a Kindle! Some of us have to keep the faith!) And who knows, while I’m in the US, I may pick up an E J Copperman or two, or maybe even an early Jeff Cohen…

I can guarantee I’ll enjoy every single one of the above. The authors are all familiar; some of the books are from series whose characters are almost like old friends. And I keep discovering new authors – not necessarily debuts, but people I haven’t read before, whose work I want to pursue.

And there are only twenty-four hours in a day, and I have to spend some of them working and sleeping. And believe it or not, other things happen which eat into the reading time.

How’s a girl to choose what to read from the wealth of books available to her?

Mostly I apply the 50-page test. If I’m not hooked by then, I’m probably not going to be – and life’s too short for books I’m not enjoying.

Which is fine if the book has come from the library; I spend far too much in bookshops, but the library is invaluable for test-driving a new author who may or may not pass the 50-page test.

Or even a new book by a familiar author. I don’t know what good fairy made me pick up Joanne Harris’s blueeyedboy last time I was wandering the aisles, but I’m glad I did before I parted with hard cash. Don’t get me wrong; I love Harris’s work, and it's not as if she needs my money. Chocolat would make my all-time top ten, and until now I’ve enjoyed every twist, turn and genre-jump of her career. But I couldn’t connect with blueyedboy. Sorry, Joanne; nothing personal. It’s probably me.

There are books I’ve borrowed which I’d love to buy – my J D Robb collection has several gaps dating back to a time when I was broke and the library was my haven – but bookshops are draconian about stocking backlist more than a couple of years old. Heck, they’re reluctant to stock anything more than a couple of months old!

There are also books I’ve bought which I’ve wished afterwards that I’d borrowed instead. The da Vinci Code, though I confess I did finish it. And others which I won’t risk litigation by naming.

How about a challenge, blog-followers? How about a list of books we wish we hadn’t bought – or maybe hadn’t even read?

Territorial Angst

Josh Getzler 

I'm going to get back to my Waiting/Good News/Bad News/No News topic, most likely in two weeks. But something happened this week that made me want to comment right now, because it's the third such instance in the last six months or so. And I want to say off the bat that I'm very specifically not taking sides, but rather discussing the issue and saying how unfortunate it is that I'm even involved in the issue.

So I was lucky enough to sell three books this year where I was able to retain foreign rights for my authors. I happily secured an advance for each, then went to sell the books to a UK publisher. And in each case, I came up against the controversy of Schedule A.

Schedule A is the list of English speaking territories in which a UK publisher expects to have exclusive rights to publish. These territories include Australia, New Zealand, many African and Caribbean countries, India, and Pakistan. Basically, it's the British Empire, save Canada. (And I'm working without the list in front of me, so please excuse me if I'm leaving out a country or two, or adding a few that aren't old members of the Commonwealth). For decades, the British had publishing hegemony over these territories.

Now, though, American publishers are attempting to encroach on some of these territories, particularly India and Pakistan, and claim these as nonexclusive territories (so, in those cases, both British and American editions may be sold there). The argument is that Schedule A is a relic of an earlier time, and as many US publishers have opened offices in, say, India, they should be allowed to compete their. The Brits say this is a land grab; the Americans say there is no empire any more.

The problem is that they don't ever sit down and discuss this. Instead, every time there's a UK deal after a US deal, the UK publisher insists that their bid is contingent on retaining the "Open Market" exclusivity, and it becomes the agent's job to relay that information to the US publisher, who is then frustrated and annoyed. There is tension all around, and the author freaks out because he or she thinks all their deals are going to fall apart. So far, knocking on everything, no deal has actually collapsed over this. But it's happened with three of the Big Six publishers in the US, and it's clearly an issue that's not going away.

And I don't believe it should be my problem, or my authors'. I really don't much care whether the Brits or the Americans control India and Pakistan, or whether they share it. I just want it to stop being an issue with my deals. I'm willing to spend whatever time or effort is necessary to work out, say, electronic royalty splits; but territorial divisions, it strikes me, ought to be worked out on the publisher level. And I implore them to do so. And incidentally, I definitely understand that it is a real issue, and one with material financial implications. But it seems to me that fighting over each individual deal, rather than coming up with a more industry-wide policy, is a huge waste of time.

One of these days I'll actually discuss crime fiction. Have a good week, and thanks to everyone who's been following, tweeting, and otherwise looking at these posts!

Till next time...

 

Sing Along!

Jeff Cohen

It's singalong day at DEAD GUY! A one, and a two, and a--

Songs Sung to the Tune Of...

On the Street Where You Live

I have often walked down this block before/

But nobody ever said it was a crock before/

If I only knew/

The next word or two/

I could get my butt off Writer's Block.

 

People stop and stare/

Yes, they bother me/

What they're doing in my living room's a mystery/

Still the deadlines loom/

I face certain doom/

Better write my way off Writer's Block.

 

The Last Time I Saw Paris

The last time I saw Paris/

It was still there in France/

I hear that it's in Vegas now/

Now, that's a game of chance!

 

A Day in the Life

I read the news today, oh boy/

"Gaddafi"'s spelled without a "Q" these days/

And Charlie Sheen has lost his mind/

So now I've got the blues/

How the hell does such a story/

Even qualify as "news?"

I'd love to turn... it... off...

 

Born Free

Books free!/

And records and movies/

Yes, oldies and newbies/

All free--just download away!

 

Stealing? Tell someone who's caring/

I call it "file sharing"/

And that's what makes it okay!

 

Books free!/

I'm loving the readin'/

There's more that I'm needin'/

But hey--no new books to read!

 

Free books/

Now authors won't get paid/

So new books are waylaid/

But I read free!

 

Make 'Em Laugh

Be a slob, be a slob/

Don't ya know everyone loves a slob/

My grandpa said with dreadful remorse/

"You smell like the rear end of a horse!"

 

Eat your fries/

With your toes/

Drink your milk through a straw up your nose!

 

Now, you can be quite proper and remain really neat/

And you can hang around with members of the elite/

But what the hell, just be a slob and wear what you eat/

Be a slob, be a slob, be a slob!*

 

I Am the Walrus

Kindle, e-book, Barnes & Noble, Sony Reader, iBook in an iPad/

Some say that all books' gooses are cooked; I disagree/

I'm smiling.

 

Books can be on paper/

Or they can be on a Nook/

Authors write for readers, not for certain formats; read me any way you like and I will shake your hand.

You are the reader/ (Whoo!)

You are the leaders/ (Whoo!)

I'm just the writer!

Goo goog a joob!

 

 Don't Get Around Much Anymore

Used to think I would tour/

Take my book on the road/

Now my kids are in college/

And that's a big financial load.

 

Thought of going to cons/

Make the mystery scene/

I'll be driving to Malice/

If I can pay for gasoline.

 

Darlin', I jest/

But tours take a bite/

I'll still do my best/

But I can't buy a flight.

 

If you're selling my books/

And would like me to sign/

I'll be happy to do so/

Could we arrange it online?

 

Seriously, if you're going to be at Malice Domestic this weekend, please say hello! Check my redesigned web site for panel info!

 

* "Be A Slob" lyrics by Jeffrey Cohen and Jeffrey Pollitzer; all other lyrics by Jeffrey Cohen. Used without permission. From anyone.

Character Development 101 - Extra credit

If my two most recent posts about character development have sounded a tad cranky, it's because I'm annoyed with authors who, instead of doing the hard work needed to create memorable characters, take the easy way out by using shortcuts and stereotypes.   What bothers me  most is that I continually encounter  character archtypes who exist far more frequently in fiction than they do in real life - young women successfully running their own businesses, very attractive people who always seem to be "between relationships",  otherwise smart people taking really stupid risks - you get the idea.   

However, in trying to avoid creating characters who are too attractive, talented and rich, authors must also take care to avoid falling into the pitfall at the opposite end of the spectrum - the character who is flawed, but in a way that is either adorable or that easily evokes the reader's sympathy.   In this category you will find the perfectly proportioned plus-sized diva with the sizzling sex life, the struggling artist who manages to express her unique sense of style through the purchases she makes at the Salvation Army thrift shop, the private eye  who suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder or Tourette's Syndrome, and the police officer who valiantly continues to fight crime, even in spite of the injury in the line of duty that has left him a) blind; b) a quadriplegic who travels around town in a motorized wheelchair and a specially equipped van; c) deaf; or d) struggling with amnesia.

Therefore, for  those of you writing mysteries  who are guilty of what I've described in the above paragraphs, I challenge you to incorporate into your next novel one or more of the following potential character types who actually exist in very large numbers out in the real world.   Yes, you will have to work harder to develop your characters' motivations and inner lives but the paradox will be  that, by writing about more prosaic characters, you will have a novel  that is more likely to stand out from the crowd. 

Female heroine: a) a nurse who works the 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM shift at a suburban same day surgery facility; b) language arts teacher at a suburban middle school; c) assistant manager at Target; d) underemployed liberal arts major working as a downtown hotel desk clerk.  Her hair color should be a) brown.   Her favorite item of clothing is her a) New Balance sneakers; b)pair of  Liz Claiborne jeans she picked up on sale at Macy's; c) red turtleneck sweater she got from the Land's End catalogue; d) small backpack  found on the sale table at Kohl's that she uses as a pocketbook.   She should be 36.8 years of age (the median age for the United States, according to the 2010 census.)   In addition, she should have given up on trying to lose the last ten pounds of  the pregnancy weight that she put on with her second child, now age 5.

Male hero who works in law enforcement  - I will concede that it's useful in the typical crime novel to have at least one main character who is employed in some aspect of law enforcement.  However, to be more realistic, this character should have at least three and preferably more of the following traits: a) a receding hairline; b) a weight problem evidenced by a slight but definitely perceptible roll of fat in the upper abdominal region; c) body odor that is not a  sexy turn on; d) nose hair; or e) an occasional problem with flatulence.   He should be 41 years of age, recently passed over for a promotion, but  still more or  less happily married to a wife who loves him in spite of his imperfections and shortcomings.  The only six pack he should have is the Budweiser in his refrigerator.  When lounging around at home, our hero should favor a moderately stained sweatshirt  from the local state university and a pair of ancient grey sweat pants with a slight hole in the crotch. 

The female villain-  The preferred female villain may be employed in any of the same locations as the female protagonist.  Additionally, she might also be a) a cashier at the local supermarket; b) a customer service rep.; c) a floor clerk at a mall store; or d) administrative secretary in a small office.  She should be 5 to 10 pounds above her ideal weight, unbotoxed, have chin length brown hair that is starting to go gray, and shop at the same department stores as the heroine.   She should also have had a normal childhood and be 46 years of age.

The male villain- In looks and temperment, the male villain should actually share many of the same  traits as the hero and wear similar clothing.  His job should be one of the following: a) UPS driver; b) high school math teacher; c) bank vice president; d) carpenter.    He occupies himself in his spare time by a) playing bass guitar; b) watching sports on TV; c)  hanging out with his buddies at the local bar; or d) working on his car.   His neighbors should be able to identify him as the guy who always helped them shovel out their cars after the big snowstorm but  who otherwise kept to himself, just like in real life. 

If you've gotten this far, you may already be saying that  mysteries with such characters already exist.   If so, what are they?  Based on my admittedly limited experience, I'm guessing that they are in the minority.

BTW, wishing everyone a Happy Easter and/or  Passover and also reminding everyone that April 26 is National Hug a Friend Day.  

 

The Soaps

Robin Agnew

I'm a proud viewer of General Hospital, a habit I picked up in college when a group of us gathered in the TV lounge to give Luke and Laura a champagne toast on their wedding day.  30 some years later, I'm still hooked (and Luke is still a venerable GH presence).  GH has gotten me through laundry, breastfeeding, and bouts of sadness.  It's been a constant.  Many moons agao I worked at a downtown hotel in Minneapolis (pre-VCR) and I'd sneak into the kitchen to trade GH tidbits with one of the cooks.  

I can only imagine the sadness and teeth gnashing occuring for fans of One Life to Live and All My Children - two shows I watched occasionally during between college summers.  I love Erica and Vicki as much as the next person, though a favorite character of mine was Judith Light's.  But this constant is going to go away for thousands and thousands of people.

There are all sorts of ways I hate the way the world changes so fast, and I guess this is just a small piece.  I do think narrative storytelling - of which soap operas are about the purest form you can come by - is something hardwired into the human brain.  I've never called them watching my "stories" as some people do, but I feel that way.  The charm of them is that the characters age and even die - it's like life, only they have better hair and better clothes and they don't have to work so much.  It's just plain better!

As I've watched the writing on soaps has only seemed to get better, as has the acting, and indeed there's a huge roster of A-list stars who got their start on soaps - Melissa Leo, Amanda Seyfried, Kelly Ripa, Leonardo DiCaprio to name a few - the list is a long one.  Recently on GH there's been a storyline with a lost child and a grandparent responsible for the death, a story taking in grief, alcoholism and even organ donation.  Across the board the writing and acting have been wonderful.

I'd have a definite hole in my life without GH (which I now watch on hulu much of the time) and I'm not sure that hole could be filled by "The Chew", a replacement show scheduled by ABC featuring cooking.  I like scripts, actors and sets - I'm sure all those things are expensive.  But in a changing world my "stories", which still include Luke Spencer, are something to hold onto.

 

#SocialMediaFail Round 2

By Dana Kaye

A couple weeks ago, I posted the Top Ten Signs You're Using Social Media Incorrectly. As I continue to notice people executing Twitter taboos and Facebook faux pas, I think another list is in order. I know publishers are telling authors that social media is a must, however:

Top Five Signs You Shouldn't Use Social Media

1. You are only there to promote. If your only purpose of creating a social media page is to promote your book, then that's all you'll be doing and it won't be effective. Hopping on Twitter and FB for the month or two around your book launch isn't an effective way to build your fan base, so you may as well forget it.
2. If you don't enjoy it. If you don't enjoy posting, chances are, your friends/followers won't enjoy reading your posts either. Most of authors I follow enjoy (or don't mind) posting tidbits throughout the day, at least once they get the hang of it. But if posting and reading is a pain and a nuisance, just don't do it.
3. If you don't understand it. People who don't understand how social media works shouldn't be using it. You would never take a motorcycle for a spin without having a lesson first and the same goes for social media. Make an appointment with a social media consultant or your high-school age child and take the time to learn how it works.
4. If you don't want to interact. If you enjoy posting, but don't care to interact with your followers, then there's really no point. If you're Stephen Colbert or Shit My Dad Says and you post purely for the entertainment of others, then maybe you can get away without interaction. But if your goal is to build a following, and you don't want to talk to other people, then consider a newsletter or other form of online promotion.
5. If you don't know how to censor. I tell all my clients there are certain topics they should avoid (religion, politics, etc.) but if you're one of those people who can't help saying something AND you want to build a readership, I suggest you stay off Twitter and FB. You'll read something that aggravates you or inspires you to comment on something, but if it could be controversial and alienate some of your readers, you need to keep your mouth shut. If you can't handle that (and it appears many of the authors I see on Twitter/FB can't) then I suggest you stay off social media pages.

Feel free to add your items to the list, I'd love to know what everyone thinks!

Trading Places

 

by Alison Janssen

 

Do you have fictional aspirations? Is there a character you'd love to trade places with, if you could be him/her for a day, a week, or a year?

 

I once had to write an essay for a scholarship application, and it asked me if I could be any fictional character, who would I be? I was about 13 at the time, and I was slanting my answer to appeal to the reading committee, so I went with the Vampire Lestat. Because he lived forever, he had every day until eternity to learn, read, think, and discover new ideas. I didn't think I'd like the whole drinking-blood thing, but it would be a fair tradeoff for the opportunity to eternally sate my curiosity.

 

I totally got that scholarship, guys.

 

But outside of essay writing, I don't think I'd go with Lestat. Maybe I'd go with Jack Reacher -- totally capable in everything and very good at kicking ass. But he's also such a loner, and that's not really my cup of tea. So ... Sherlock Holmes? Breathtakingly smart, a little snide ... but I don't really relish the needle drugs.

 

I think I'd go with Peter Pan. I'd never have to grow up, I could fly, I'd know mermaids and pirates, and my best friend would be a fairy. Plus I'd be super brave.

 

I can tell you this, though (watch out, here comes a segue!): I certainly would never want to be any character written by Anthony Neil Smith. Have you heard what goes on in the lives of these poor saps? Paint huffing, beatdowns, motorcycle crashes, branding with hot irons, and severed heads? No, thank you.

 

That of course doesn't mean I don't loooooove reading about them.

 

How about another contest? I've got an ebook version of Yellow Medicine I'd like to give away. Let me know which character you might like to trade places with -- any character, not just one of Neil's -- and I'll pick a winner next week. Until then, here's the incredible cover for the e-version of Yellow Medicine (click it to make it big):

 

 

[Last week I offered an e-book of DAY ONE, and because two entrants already have it, I'm going to go ahead and give it to the two commenters who don't: Sarah W and Carrie, email me at alison.BHB at gmail and I'll send along your files. And yes, abfabgab, COUNTY LINE will be available as an ebook ... watch www.tyrusbooks.com or follow Ben on twitter (@TyrusBooks) for news and more giveaways!]

Hindsight is 20-20

They say you should never look back. I think maybe they’re right.

A couple of days ago I was between books: just finished a Reginald Hill, hadn’t quite decided whether to save the new Mark Billingham for holiday reading, and if so, which of the other dozen on the pile to embark on next.

So I idly reached for one of the early titles from my publishing career; they’re all lined up on some bookshelves right by my favourite armchair, the one I stretch out on to immerse myself in the current reading matter, so I only had to put out a hand.

If I was into self-flagellation I’d be counting the bruises.

Don’t get me wrong: I have absolutely no regrets about a single title I published. At least, not about the content. Thirteen brilliant authors; thirty-four brilliant novels. Absolutely none of what follows reflects in any way badly on what they produced.

But oh, what a learning curve I followed.

My excuse is that I went into publishing from a point of no knowledge whatsoever. Well, OK, I knew you took a pile of manuscript, got someone to make a cover for it, sent it to a printer and hoped people would buy it. But the rookiest of rookie authors knows that, and one thing I learned very quickly it was how little authors know about publishing. (And before any passing author jumps on my head, remember that’s where I came from – aspiring author crosses to the dark side sums up the early days quite neatly.)

Flicking the pages of this early title, which shall remain nameless lest I embarrass the author with my admission of incompetence, I discovered how little I knew about the process I was most closely involved in: editing. Not the major stuff, the to-and-fro, give-and-take which pares away the bits that slow the pace and stitches up the occasional hole in the plot; I like to think I was always OK at that. I’m talking about the fine detail: the copy-editing which now forms a large part of my working week. The making sure spellings are consistent, that house style is adhered to, that punctuation hasn’t gone missing, that the hero’s eyes don’t change from blue to brown, and aren’t green at all.

I settled down to read the early title (well, it was a great read, and  seven years on I’d almost forgotten how it ended), and found myself wincing, at my own incompetence you understand, about twice per page for the first fifty pages.

I remembered a conversation with two experienced editors who took on the titles I didn’t have time for. We need some ground rules, they said; s or z spelling for words ending in –ize/ise; OK or okay; double or single quote marks around dialogue; that kind of thing. Do what you think best, I replied insouciantly. No, they insisted; you have to decide.

They were right, of course. House style needs to be consistent.

I decided. OK, not okay; –ise endings to keep it simple. Double quote marks. A long list of other possibly insignificant details.

And what did I find in those first fifty pages? Okay on every page. Civilized, and several other

–izes.

The quote marks were fine. I suppose one out of three isn’t bad for a beginner, and I promise I got better. These days I even copy-edit MSN conversations with my daughter; and I once offended one reviewer who thought jail should be spelled gaol in an 18^th century mystery – but by then we’d spelled it jail in a couple of dozen books, and your friendly neighbourhood copy-editor (moi, I’m afraid, as I’m sure you gathered, for all thirty-four) had got the hang of consistency. 

Now, where was I going with this rambling diatribe, apart from a bit of belated self-flagellation? Oh yes, I remember. The trouble with becoming ever more meticulous about consistent copy-editing is you start to notice it in other people’s books. At least, you notice when it’s less than meticulous. And there’s a lot of it about in these straitened times when the final polish has fallen victim to sinking sales figures. Favourite is a mix of –ise and –ize – and I don’t just mean the borderline words. I recently found realise spelled both ways within a couple of chapters. Most people probably wouldn’t even notice. Unfortunately for me, I do.

And the moral of today’s sad tale is this: don’t take up copy-editing if you don’t want to be picky about what you read.

No News

Josh Getzler

So I spent quite a bit of time this week having catch-up conversations with clients whose manuscripts have been submitted to publishers. Most of these conversations went something like this:

Author: "I know they're busy, but why haven't we heard anything for the last three weeks? Does it mean we're dead?" 

Me: "No. Really, no. Really no. No news is not bad news. Really! No news is...no news."

Author: "Oh come on now."

Me: "No. REALLY."

Author: "Oh, okay." (Meaning, "Oh, stop trying to make me feel better; I know we're really dead.")

At the same time, I got a whole bunch of emails from authors who sent me email queries a (ahem) long time ago, and have not heard from me. With excruciating politeness belying their entirely justified pique, they say, "Dear Mr. Getzler: I submitted my manuscript, Naked Came the Zombie, in mid November, and I haven't even heard a peep from you. I know you agents are extremely busy, but I was wondering whether you've had time even to take a look. I appreciate the time you are taking just reading this email, and I wish you all the best. Sincerely, ..."

This means: "Dear Arrogant Jerk who can't even take a couple of minutes to read the first five pages that I formatted exactly the way you wanted: I'm DYING HERE. I spent nine years writing this and you don't even have the courtesy to respond at all. And now I don't know what to do, since I'm simultaneously totally resentful of being ignored and hopeful that if you do read it you'll like it, represent me, and sell my book."

OK, so this week we're talking about waiting. Perhaps it's because I'm about to head into Passover, which is all about querying the Pharoah for 200 YEARS, then hearing that he's requesting your Partial, then getting a REALLY GOOD agent, before being told to wander in the desert--for 40 YEARS--to reach the Promised Land.

But ultimately, the waiting (which is, as Mr. Petty so aptly said, the hardest part), is a necessary evil of this process. And here's the thing: I'm really not just blowing smoke: For the most part, no news is simply just that: no news. Whether it's an unrepresented author waiting for a query to be read (or worse, when we ask for a partial and that takes even LONGER), or an agented writer checking the inbox at midnight for THAT email, the waiting is excruciating.

And the thing is, all the agents and editors I know realize it, and feel AWFUL about it. And it's not a theoretical feeling of guilt--it literally keeps us up at night when we realize that we have not only five full manuscripts to read, but also 10 partials and 243 unsolicited queries, and our mother-in-law's bridge partner just sent us her cousin's novel which needs to go to the top of the pile. It's simply a prioritization, and it sucks. We need to take care of the people we're contractually obligated to work with before those whom we aren't. I state an expected response time for partial manuscript requests of 8 weeks, but I also say upfront that that's a hopeful guess. Sometimes, when I have a mess of clients submitting new or revised manuscripts, it takes a lot longer than that. And sometimes I lose projects as a result. And I hate that. And my editor friends hate getting nudge emails and calls from me because they've had sales conference or a bunch of authors submit revisions and haven't gotten to my submission from Thanksgiving.

BUT here's the other thing: Most of us (and really, MOST), do go through all of our queries; and editors do read their manuscripts. And because they are in the middle of a large inbox full of similar queries/submissions doesn't mean that we don't WANT to like them. And the editors DO want to publish them. I've found clients in the unsolicited query folder, and I've gotten offers after editors hadn't responded for three months to repeated emails. No news, it turns out, is no news.

Next week, I'll talk about what happens when no news turns into GOOD news. I'll be happy to respond to comments (after Wednesday evening). Obviously this is a subject everyone from all sides of publishing has had to deal with, and there is a ton more to say about it. Till next time! Happy Easter, Happy Passover, and see you next Tuesday.  

It's An Outrage I'm Not An Outrage!

Jeff Cohen

Last week, the American Library Association issued its list of the most challenged books at libraries for 2010. That's exactly what it sounds like--the list of books that people complained about to a library and asked to have them removed from circulation.

And wouldn't you know it, not one of my books is on the list. What a disappointment.

Apparently, a book called And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, is the most offensive book in the land, or at least it was in 2010. This tale of two male penguins who adopt an egg warranted major protestations because it suggested with great subtlety that homosexuality might not, after all, be a sign of the coming Apocalypse. It does so, as far as I can tell, by depicting two male penguins having a loving relationship (and without mentioning sex at all). The complainers probably would have preferred the egg go to a lion and lioness living in a trailer park, drinking a lot and practicing corporal punishment with an omelet whisk.

Personally, I'm moved to buy a copy of the penguin book and read it to my kids, but they're in college and I'd have to Skype them so they could see the pictures. It's just too tiring.

Among other heartily challenged books last year were Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and Twilight by... do I really have to say? And there was a non-fiction book about a woman who lived the life of just-barely-making-it workers in America and dared to say it was bad in Nickel and Dimed. 

But not one of my books, not under any of my names. Man. 

As a writer, you go out of your way to provoke, to compel, to irritate, and what happens? One of the most challenged books in 2010 is a novel published in 1932! I mean, if you didn't know what was in Brave New World by now, what right do you have to complain? Aldous Huxley hasn't gotten less offensive in 78 years?

I've written books in which children with autism-spectrum disorders are taunted with obscene messages written in barbecue sauce. Where a conservative politician(are you listening, Tea Partiers?) is skewered with a kitchen knife in the bed of his mistress. Where an man and his ex-wife conceive a child during a post-divorce one-night stand. Where a woman lets her fourth-grade daughter live with, and befriend, a dead 28-year-old with a somewhat checkered past.

And they're complaining about a couple of penguins adopting an egg? 

Where did I go right?

It's a shame. Here I go out of my way to piss off every possible narrow-minded group, and due to my own somewhat questionable marketing skills, I just don't get on the radar to the point where they'll complain about me. (Although I did get an email from a rabbi about the one-night stand thing.) It hardly seems worth going on.

Still, there's always next year. And I do have an outrage or two left in me. Once more into the breach, dear friends! Get out to your library and complain!

School for mystery writers - character development 101, session 2

The villain -  It only takes a couple of weeks of reading the newspaper or watching the local 6:00 PM news to realize that bad guys come in all shapes and sizes.   However, today's multiple choice will  mostly focus on  a single  category each for  male and female villain.

The elderly gentleman- Tall and distinguished looking, in his mid-sixties to early seventies and with a shock of thick white hair, this particular villain prototype has an Ivy League background;  he is wealthy by virtue of  having earned his money as   a) a surgeon (sub-specialty unimportant); b) an entertainment lawyer;  c) an investment banker; or d)  boss of whatever business it is that he was able to establish with his wife's inherited fortune.    His primary residence must be either a) a classic yet understated prewar apartment with two maid's rooms  on Central Park West; b) a  private 120 foot yacht ; c) a beach house in the Florida Keys; or d) a townhouse around the corner from Kensington Palace.  When not at the office, he can be found wearing a) his favorite dinner jacket; b) polo gear; c)  green and pink golfing attire; or d) silk lounging pajamas.  Your elderly villain also must have a close and loving relationship with his eldest daughter, even as  he is secretly having an affair with her old college roommate.  His relationship with his son, a college drop out with a drug habit, is necessarily  strained.  His wife, if she is still alive, must be actively involved in one or more of the following volunteer endeavors: a) the library board; b) community theater; c) the hospital ladies auxiliary; d) a charity that focuses on finding the cure for a particularly lethal pediatric illness.

If you would prefer to go with a younger villain, you may want to consider one of the following:  a brilliant but deranged sixteen year old residential student  at an elite New England prep school;  a wavy haired charmer who is running for national political office; a floor trader on the New York Stock Exchange; or an exiled descendant of the Bulgarian royal family.

The young woman -  First and foremost, your female villain may be attractive, but she must never be allowed to be as attractive as the female heroine; unlike your heroine, she is permitted to have brown hair.  It is important, however, that she have one of the following back stories:  a)  she is a malignant narcissist who uses everyone in her path to get what she wants; b) she is the damaged survivor of an extremely unhappy and dysfunctional childhood; c) she is someone who resents the fact that her younger sister has found fame and fortune as a  Victoria's Secret catalog model; or d) she is the mousy looking workaholic who has been passed over for law partner and is now seeking revenge.   Her sexual attraction to a) her boss's husband; b) the handsome  but married stranger she sees every day at the train station; c) her personal trainer;  or d) the gorgeous bartender who, unbeknown to her, is really an undercover cop,  is never reciprocated, causing her to have feelings of inadequacy and rage.  Her environmentally unfriendly vehicle of choice should be one of the following: a) Hummer; b) Range Rover; c) Chevy Suburban; or d) Lincoln Navigator.   Whereas the quirky high end tastes of your heroine are considered charming, in the hands of your villainess, a taste for life's finer things becomes evidence of a serious character flaw or psychological weakness.   Therefore, it is imperative that you have her closet filled  with  all of the following items: a)  cold weather boots crafted from the pelts of baby seals; b) alligator handbags; c) jewelry, hair ornaments and other accessories made from the tusks of endangered African elephants; and d) full length coats crafted from the skins of Dalmatian puppies (why does that sound so familiar?)   When our villainess invites guests over for dinner, it  goes without saying that her favorite recipes require copious amounts of veal, lamb, or other baby animals.

Alternate female villains you may wish to consider:  a forty-something field rep for a pharmaceuticals company; the first female creative director at a  Madison Avenue advertising firm; a hospital administrator; or a tobacco company executive. 

Next week's lesson: Extra credit.

 

Booksigning Etiquette

Robin Agnew

This is a topic I don't think I've covered.   For so many years I was so happy that ANYONE showed up for a book event, I wasn't too picky about who bought what where.  Though at one of our very early events, for Susan Holtzer (who wrote a series set in Ann Arbor), a customer showed up carrying all of Susan's books - in a Border's bag.  I was pretty irritated but I sucked it up and let Susan sign the books - what could I do at that point? - but since then I've grown a bit more of a spine.

This also happened at a very early Sharan Newman event - Sharan was irritated enough for the both of us (thank you Sharan).  But as time went on and we started booking better known authors and started drawing more people to events (though the second one with Steve Hamilton attended by his mother and his pal from 5th grade remains memorable) we started to rethink our policy.

Now in some ways I'm the "nice" one between my husband and I - he'll step in where I wouldn't want to, but when it comes to signings I've drawn the line.  It's ridiculous to advertise, do a mailing, talk up an event on facebook, contact the calendars of various newspapers, read and review the book for the newsletter and website and display as well as order a quantity of books and not expect to reap a sale.  I love books but I also want to SELL them.

As time has progressed and events have become even more key - a pretty sure way to draw customers to the store - this has become even more important.  When a woman called about an upcoming event with a well known author (an event I've had in place for nearly 6 months) asking how early she could come and saying sorry, but she'd pre-ordered the book from Barnes & Noble, I exploded.  Luckily I wasn't at work that day.  My husband more gently suggested that she buy some book from us.  

Our rule has been you can get any number of books signed but you must buy at least ONE from us.  This is not unreasonable, and most every customer follows it.  It's common courtesy.  I have no problem with a customer bringing two shopping bags full of proofs and foreign editions to Loren Estleman events, because he always buys the new one (and sometimes more than one copy) from us.  He calls to order books by authors he likes.  This relationship has some give and take.

Keep in mind that when you attend a book event, a great deal of effort has gone into setting it up and getting the word out in every way possible.  Have some respect for the bookseller, the author, and the publisher and do the right thing.

 

 

Authors vs. Characters

By Dana Kaye

Erin Faye – another PR extraordinaire and blogger – has been running interviews on her blog to promote Brad Parks’s new book, EYES OF THE INNOCENT. But instead of interviewing Parks, she’s interviewing his main character, New Jersey newspaperman Carter Ross. When I asked her about it she said, “Characters tend to be more interesting than the authors. Don’t you think?”

That prompted me to go through my client list. If I put my authors head to head with their characters, who would be considered the most interesting? Let’s find out.

 

Jamie Freveletti vs. Emma Caldridge

Jamie is an attorney, a competitive runner, and holds a black belt in Aikido

Emma Caldridge is a biochemist and ultra-marathon runner.

Both chicks kick ass.

Emma survived a plane crash in the Columbian jungle. Jamie is surviving raising teenagers.

Emma faced Somali pirates that overtook a cruise ship. 

Winner: Emma – though Jamie has gone to Columbia and would go to Somalia, her journey would (hopefully) be far less exciting than Emma’s.

www.JamieFreveletti.com

***

Gregg Hurwitz vs. Patrick Davis

Gregg is a screenwriter, comic book writer, pole vaulter, and Shakespearian scholar.

Patrick is a struggling screenwriter.

Gregg has snuck onto demolition ranges with Navy SEALS, swam with sharks in the Galapagos, and gone undercover into a mind-control cult

Patrick has been stalked, hunted, blackmailed, and nearly killed.

Winner: Gregg – because both of them could have been killed numerous times, but Gregg put himself in his situations voluntarily.

www.GreggHurwitz.net

***

Julie Hyzy vs. Ollie Paras

Julie is an author and former signing waitress at Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor

Ollie is the white house chef and an amateur sleuth

Julie has visited the morgue, taken numerous handgun classes, and has traveled all over in the name of research

Ollie has prevented the assassination of the president, solved crimes, and prepared countless state dinners.

Winner: Ollie – sorry Julie, but we have a clear winner.

www.JulieHyzy.com

***

Marcus Sakey vs. Daniel Hayes

Marcus worked in advertising for 10 years becoming a full-time author.

Daniel is a screenwriter in Hollywood.

Marcus has shadowed homicide detectives, toured the morgue, learned how to pick a lock, and has been maced, all in the name of research.

Daniel has amnesia, is accused of killing his wife, and is frantically trying to figure out who he is.

This is a tough one since Daniel is pretty interesting, but it’s hard to be interesting when you don’t really know who you are. But ultimately…

Winner: Daniel – because you just know that if you ask both of them, “What did you do today?” Daniel’s answer will be far more interesting.

www.MarcusSakey.com

***

Michael Harvey vs. Michael Kelly

Michael Harvey is a former attorney and journalist. In addition to writing, he’s also an award-winning documentary filmmaker.

Michael Kelly is a former cop and current P.I. in Chicago.

Harvey has done intense investigative research and uncovered government conspiracies.

Kelly has too, but he has a gun.

Harvey has won multiple Emmy’s and was nominated for an Oscar.

He’s also interviewed more serial killers and other criminals than Kelly.

Harvey owns the Hidden Shamrock, Kelly just frequents it.

Winner: Michael Harvey – because I think he has more stories to tell.

www.MichaelHarveyBooks.com

COUNTY LINE, by Bill Cameron

 

by Alison Janssen

 

This week a forthcoming Tyrus book got a wonderful starred review in Publishers Weekly, and I'm so excited for and proud of Bill.

 

County Line

Contemporary sharp-edged noir doesn't get much better than Cameron's mournful third novel featuring ex-cop Skin Kadash (after 2010's Day One). Kadash, who's recovering from a serious gunshot wound, returns to Portland, Ore., to reboot his relationship with on-and-off lover Ruby Jane Whittaker, the owner of a coffee shop chain. When he's unable to reach Whittaker, a desperate Kadash goes to her apartment, only to find the corpse of an elderly man in her bathtub. Aided by Peter McKrall, who also was involved with Whittaker, Kadash follow tenuous leads to find her, a search made more urgent by a murder. At one point, the narrative flashes back almost 20 years, to provide Whittaker's tragic backstory, which continues to reverberate in the present. The twists flow naturally from what the reader has learned about the characters, though it's clear Kadash has hidden facets Cameron has yet to explore. (June)

 

I know that you'll have to take everything I say with a grain of salt, seeing as how I'm just a bit biased, but honestly, this book is wonderful. If you haven't already tried Bill Cameron, I'd urge you to start. Skin and Ruby Jane are amazing characters to spend a whole book with, and Bill's settings are vivid and sometimes -- in the case of the Cartopia, the food truck gathering in Portland -- sound delicious.

 

(People who've been there, is Portland really like Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein say it is?!)

 

You can read an excerpt at Bill's site, and you can watch the trailer for County Line below.

 

Preorders are available on Indiebound and amazon.

 

And I'll give away an ebook copy of Bill's previous book, Day One, next week. Just leave a comment to enter, and I'll pick a name from a hat on Thursday.

 

Happy reading, everyone, and congratulations on the star, Bill!

 

A matter of time

Now I can no longer append the label ‘publisher’ to my name, it looks like I occupy a sort of floating voter place on the Dead Guy continuum – but one function hasn’t so far been formally represented is reader of the crime fiction that between us we write, edit, publicise or sell. So, emerging briefly from the meticulously crafted world of one of my favourite authors earlier this week, I thought, if nothing else I can represent the people writers, editors, agents, publicists and booksellers are all trying to reach.

So wearing my crime fiction reader hat, I have a question. It’s for authors of series, and specifically of contemporary series.

In some series, only weeks pass between one adventure and the next – yet several months, often a year or more, pass between the publication of one book and the next. In those months fashions will change with the season, governments may change entire social systems, and technology can change faster than most people change their socks.

So how do you keep up with current trends?

Especially in the case of technology, are you second-guessing on the fly? Reality can outstrip fiction in far less than the time it takes to turn a manuscript into a hardback, but if one story follows hot on the heels of another, it has to look seamless. Do you need to reinvent the world, or at least look ahead and anticipate where things will go next?

I recently revisited a novel I wrote about ten years ago (feels good to have time to do that…) and found my protagonist in possession of a particularly sophisticated type of mobile phone, which (deep breath of amazement) worked if you took it out of its country of origin! One of many details which will need some work, methinks… And I don’t even do technology to any great extent. How much harder it must be for you guys whose sleuths and spies rely on chips and sticks and complicated bits of software and machinery known only by initials.

For me this would be one challenge too far – which is why I shall probably never write crime fiction, much as I love reading it. But I’d love to know how you guys do it. Really.

 

A completely unrelated afterthought.

You have to smile at bureaucracy. Well, it beats tearing your hair and throwing plates at the wall.

We’re coming to the US on holiday (vacation) next month (northern Arizona, no fixed itinerary yet, but probably with Bryce Canyon and the Painted Desert in there somewhere, in case anyone’s close by and free for dinner one night) and one of the pre-departure jobs has been to apply for that document that isn’t quite a visa, on account of the UK and the UK have a special relationship and we don’t need visas to visit each other’s countries.

The process was quite painless; we filled in a form online and printed out all the answers we gave. All we had to do was provide a few personal details and answer yes or no to a handful of questions. And that’s what made me smile. Condensed and slightly paraphrased, the questions amounted to are you a drug addict? are you a criminal? are you a terrorist?

Naturally, being a decent law-abiding citizen, without even points on my driving licence for exceeding the speed limit, I answered no right down the line. But what of the actual drug addict, criminal or terrorist who wants to get into the US for nefarious purposes? Is s/he really going to own up to past peccadilloes? Come on, guys; s/he isn’t even going to own up to his/her name.

I’d like to think the powers-that-be have other ways of identifying dangerous characters than a list of questions on a website. But the mental image of said character completing that form… that made me smile. Well, it beat tearing my hair and throwing plates at the wall.

Greetings from 5 AM

I’m sitting at my Family Room table at 5 AM, writing this first post and thinking about how hectic a day it’s going to be. In an hour and a half I’m going to need to start waking up three cute, resentful children, get breakfast together, help my wife get everyone out the door in our typical morning ballet of knapsacks, gym bags and forgotten folders; go to a presentation by my seven-year-old daughter about the Intrepid; then take an author I represent to meet consecutively with five editors in anticipation of an auction on his middle grade adventure novel tomorrow. At some point I’m going to need to thank the other editors I met with yesterday, send out rules for the auction, respond to six clients who expected to hear from me yesterday, then finish up by attending my almost-twelve-year-old son’s  play, where he’s the kid who gets bitten by Dracula in the middle of act 2. (He was denied a dramatic death scene by his cruel director.) Welcome to my world.

I love 5 AM. All of the above hasn’t happened yet. It’s quiet and dark and everyone else in the family is asleep. I use this time to gather myself—to read manuscripts, assess queries, converse with Overseas clients, look for magic in unsolicited queries, line-edit without interruption. I’ve always been a morning person. But since the beginning of 2007, when I rejoined the world of book publishing 13 years after I’d left my first incursion into this fascinating, maddening, addictive industry, 5 AM has been my time.

I’m so delighted to be joining this great group on Hey, There’s a Dead Guy in the Living Room. For full disclosure’s sake, I represent Jeff Cohen in all his names (as far as I know!), and Alison Janssen edited one of the books I’m most pleased to have sold: the fierce, magnificent novel Hello Kitty Must Die by Angela S. Choi (discovered in the middle of a morning unsolicited query read approximately three feet away from where I’m writing this—but that will be another post).

Over the next weeks and months you’ll hear from me on assorted tribulations of a literary agent in the middle of an uncertain, exciting, turbulent time in the book business; of a husband and father of three getting ready to send two young daughters to sleep-away camp for the first time and planning a Bar Mitzvah (I’m not really old enough to be planning a Bar Mitzvah!). It is going to be a fun ride, and I hope you will enjoy my notes from 5 AM.

 

--Josh Getzler

Hang On, Snooki. Snooki, Hang On

Jeff Cohen

There has been considerable brouhaha in my area lately over the fact that Rutgers, the state university of New Jersey (and my alma mater, where my daughter is finishing her freshman year as we speak) decided to spend $32,000 of student activity money on one program.

The program was an evening with Snooki.

Yup, Nicole Pilozzi, "star" of Jersey Shore, a "reality" TV show on MTV, best known for drinking a lot and being short, spent an evening doing two "shows" at the public university of the Garden State, talking with a comedian about... stuff, I guess.

Now, I realize that the student activity fee is technically something that I helped pay with my daughter's tuition, so in some extremely detached way, I am partially responsible for the expenditure. And yeah, I'm concerned that this is simply another PR disaster for my home state, which is generally believed by outsiders to be a toxic waste dump run by the Mafia.

But the fact is, I don't care that Snooki walked away with some of my cash (and a lot of other people's) by providing Rutgers students with a little taste of her "celebrity." (And forget that Snooki is actually from New York State, and NOT Jersey.) The poor girl's going to be in the upholstery business by the age of 30 anyway, and college students, who chose to have the program, are SUPPOSED to make stupid selections like that. I have no problem with it.

What bothers me, and I'll admit it, is that this happened after I--that is, after last week's guest blogger E.J. Copperman--wrote AN UNINVITED GHOST.

See, part of AN UNINVITED GHOST (for the uninitiated, the second in the Haunted Guesthouse Mystery series, and you really should get a copy for yourself, your mom, your friend, your cousin Bob...) deals with the invasion of Alison Kerby's home by a reality TV crew filming the second season of Down the Shore, a television program that some believe bears some passing resemblance to Jersey Shore. Naturally, I don't see the comparison, but then, I'm just the author...'s close friend.

 And boy, would a controversy revolving around a "cast member" of the fictional Down the Shore have come in handy! This one, absolutely ready made and all set to go, would have been a doozy. But no, they had to wait until right before the book (that is, AN UNINVITED GHOST, only $7.99 or less at your local bookstore and online!) was published last Tuesday. My... that is, E.J.'s luck.

Writers have to keep coming up with new plots, new scenarios, new situations for their characters to confront. So when something that ripe falls into one's lap, it's frustrating not being able to use it (you get to understand how the LAW AND ORDER guys love a good "ripped-from-the-headlines" storyline). I mean, there were so many ways to go with the Snooki-at-Rutgers-for-32-grand business.

I... E.J. write[s] murder mysteries, too. Imagine the possibilities. A cast member resented for taking a bunch of money from a public university during a politically charged budget season is found murdered. Who could be responsible? A university official whose salary has been cut? A politician trying to deflect attention from budget cuts to the school system so he can make the teacher's union look bad (gee, where could I have gotten THAT one?)? A disgruntled (that goes without saying--gruntled people don't generally commit murder) parent upset about the spending of his/her hard-earned tuition payment?

Or a fellow cast member?

Or: The reality star is the suspect when someone who has been loudly protesting her appearance for, oh, let's say $32,000 is put into jeopardy and she really needs to money for implants, or something?

The possibilities are endless. And the opportunity has passed, alas.

Of course, I... that is, E.J. is supposed to start another Haunted Guesthouse book soon. Maybe the reality TV crew from AN UNINVITED GHOST (also available on Kindle and other e-readers!) comes back, and the new star of the show is about to appear at a local college amid a storm of protest by parents, teachers, even some students...

Hang on. I need to get a pen. Um, for E.J. to jot something down. 

School for mystery writers: character development 101

Although I hardly consider myself an expert, after these past several months of reading mysteries  and blogging for Dead Guy, I think I'm starting to figure some stuff out.  Therefore, as a public service to those of you planning to dabble in the  mystery genre, I've decided to offer - with tongue only slightly planted in cheek - a series of tutorials.  

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT 101 - Although there are exceptions to every rule, there do seem to be certain criteria that need to be followed when determining the characteristics of  your mystery novel's main protagonists:

The female crime solver who is not a member of law enforcement   In spite of the fact that your female protagonist is considerably more attractive than average and also certainly more attractive than any other female  character in your novel, it is mandatory that she be in the throes of an extended patch of celibacy; this is required in order to explain her instant attraction to: a) the  police department hottie assigned to the case, b) the psychopathic but extremely handsome murderer, or c) the buff  bystander who has been unjustly accused of the crime and thrown into jail, thereby greatly increasing the level of sexual tension between him and the heroine and which also explains her powerful  motivation for finding  out who the real killer is.   

Your heroine must also have a near fetishistic attachment to at least one of the following: a) three inch Manolo Blahniks, b) strappy sandals,  c) Birken bags, or d) Fleur of England bras.  

In order for her to have freedom to move around as the plot dictates, it is advisable that your heroine be self employed in a field that  requires her to be out and about for large portions of the day during the course of a typical  work week.  Her job must also sound like an awful lot of  fun while being, at the same time, one that very few people actually get to do in real life.  Choices include: a) wedding planner, b) personal shopper,  c) dog walker, or d) landscape architect.

With regard to the details of your heroine's personal life, she should live in a tastefully decorated condo or apartment in  either an affluent suburb or a recently regentried central city neighborhood.  Her choice of vehicles includes:  a) a ten year old BMW MINI,  b) a newly acquired Harley Davidson V-rod, c)  a 1958 Corvette, or d) her grandma's 1964 mint condition Chrysler Imperial.   Additionally, your heroine must be either a)  a gourmet cook courtesy of a degree from the Culinary Institute of America, b) vegan,  c) addicted to White Castle hamburgers, or c) someone who  subsists entirely on takeout items from Whole Foods.   

Finally, although your heroine does not have to be super wealthy, she should be doing well enough to  support herself comfortably  and with money to spare for the occasional extravagant impulse purchase.  She  must be blond and in her early thirties.

The  Male Cop  Going by the characters who have populated recent mystery novels, it is only logical to conclude that sometime during the past decade the law enforcement community quietly added as a prerequisite for entrance into  the police academy the requirement that all  applicants show proof of having previously been employed as billboard models for Abercrombie and Fitch.  In addition to being extraordinarily buff, your cop must  have piercing but sensitive blue eyes, short black hair (bald spots are an immediate disqualifier), and look absolutely adorable when he hasn't shaved for a day or two.  His favored off duties activities may  include either a) long distance running,  b) ice hockey,  c) coaching PAL basketball to inner city kids, or d) playing alto sax with a racially diverse group of  old guys  in a jazz club  located down a flight of stairs in a part of town not usually frequented by tourists. 

 It is  absolutely essential that your police officer be assigned to the detective bureau so that he can avoid the embarrassment of having to wear an unstylish uniform.   His favorite fashion statement for off duty time is a black tee shirt with jeans. - sorry, no multiple choice options here.   If he is going to own a pet, it must be either a) a black lab named Jack, b) a macaw named Charlie, c) a python named Python, or d) Charlotte, the cat that he inherited from his recently deceased sister. 

It should also go without saying that your cop is divorced, his wife having left him for someone else when she finally realized that she just wasn't up to  the demands of being a police officer's wife.    He rents a two bedroom apartment in quiet part of town  and his four year old son stays with him on  alternate weekends.   He drives a ten year old Honda because that is all he can afford after child support payments.  He  must be in his mid to late  thirties.

Next week's lesson: character development for male and female villians.

You say Tomato, I say Tomahto

Robin Agnew

I've tumbled to something over the years: men and women buy books for different reasons.  Both want to read a compelling story, obviously, but they emotionally relate to the books they buy in a different way.  What got me thinking about this was the fact that we have a long slate of events coming up, some male writers and some female writers.  Makes sense, right?

For the male writers I have coming up (and they are appearing together) I have a couple pre-sells.  The people buying the books won't be at the event, they just want them signed.  They are male book buyers buying (in this case) a thriller and a noir book.

For the female writers I have coming up, I don't have any presells, but I have plenty of interest in the events.  In one case, several of us are joing two female authors for dinner before their event.  While I can't guarantee this, this dinner group will be 98-100% female.  Once at a similar dinner for Rhys Bowen, one of my best male customers turned up, saw the crowd, and fled in alarm!

My conclusion?  Men like to own the object.  Condition, edition, signature and date are all important to them.  The book is an object, one they'll read, but mostly one they'll want to have on their shelf.  Women like the experience.  They like to meet the author and talk with them, and they often like some kind of inscription.  They want to know what has happened, and what is going to happen, to the characters.  Two of the authors we have coming up, Rhys Bowen and Julia Spencer-Fleming, have series characters people are especially attached to.  I've held long conversations with customers about Molly and Clare both as if they were actually real.

The most dramatic experience of a female author signing - the "girliest" though I'm sure she'd object to that word - was Nancy Atherton, who not only inscribes her books but travels with a pack of rubber stamps and inks to really personalize the books.  One of them is a stamp of Reginald, the pink bunny that appears in all the Aunt Dimity books.  There is not a male author on the planet - and I don't think I'm going out on a limb when I say this - who would use a rubber stamp of a bunny.  But I treasure my own copy.

Last week, Jacqueline Winspear shot through on a drive by.  Now, Maisie Dobbs is one of my all time favorite books, and I happen to own a beautiful first edition.  I was so excited (and this hasn't happened in awhile) I was absolutely goofy.   I made my husband drive my copy into the store so she could sign it (she signed stock too, of course).  I'm pretty sure I made an absolute ass of myself, but it was apparently unavoidable.  And my signed copy of "Maisie" sits gloriously on my shelf of favorite books, only one of them unsigned (Ngaio Marsh's).

My dad, on the other side of the gender divide, has been the recipient of many a signed book, by authors he reads and enjoys, but he doesn't really care.  His comment:  "They all read the same, dont they?"  I guess so.

However.  Women are getting a social experience from their book event; men are getting a good read and a solid, displayable object, no bunny inscluded.  It's just different.  I like my pink bunny book, personally.  Hop on!

 

Generation E-Reader

By Dana Kaye

Yesterday I attended the Columbia College job fair. Though I’m not actively hiring at the moment, I do seem to go through more assistants than Murphy Brown, so I thought it would be a good idea to talk to students and gather resumes.

Since I’ve always been self-employed/freelance/hustler, this was my first job fair and I wasn’t sure what to expect. It’s Columbia – an urban, mostly commuter, art school - so I thought everyone would be pierced and tattooed 20-year-olds riding in on skateboards and pulling up their resume on their iPads.

This wasn’t the case, though there were still more piercings than the average job fair. Most of the students had printed resumes, portfolios, and were dressed in business attire. There wasn’t a skateboard in sight and the only iPads I saw were brought by the exhibitors.

But that wasn’t what surprised me the most.

I talk a lot on Hey Dead Guy about the gadget-obsessed, digital world we live in. I also talk about how most people are shifting to e-readers, reading on their phones, etc. When you picture the type of person reading on their iPhone or their iPad, who do you picture? The same 20-somethings that were at yesterday’s job fair, right?

Wrong.

Though many of the people I talked to had iPhones and iPads, there wasn’t a single person I talked to that had an e-reader. Every student I talked to read traditional books. For some, it was a factor of cost, but for many of them, they said they just don’t enjoy reading on a device.

Though people are switching to e-readers by the thousands and sales of print books are decreasing rapidly, it seems that this is a factor of a different generation. Does this surprise you? I’ve always considered Generation Y and younger as the early adopters, but are Generation X and the Baby Boomers the real trend setters?

Reading, Pen in Hand

 

by Alison Janssen

 

 

Do you guys mark up books when you read? Do you underline? Highlight? Make little notes in the margins, or across the endsheets? Do you fold over corners? Do you break the spine so the book opens to your favorite part?

 

I do. Though I'll confess, I did it much more often in high school and college, and these days it's a rare practice for me in leisure reading -- but one I'm trying to get back. (The above photo is one of the books I pulled off my shelf this morning, I think I read it around 2006 or so.)

 

Of course when I'm working, I've got a pen in hand, and a notebook, and Track Changes and margin comments in the manuscript file. It's pretty much my job to write in books, it's just that when I write in them, they're not quite books yet.

 

I read a really great essay recently about marking books, and what with the David Foster Wallace archive getting all sorts of attention with the release of his posthumous book, I'm thinking more about the practice.

 

"There are two ways in which one can own a book. The first is the property right you establish by paying for it, just as you pay for clothes and furniture. But this act of purchase is only the prelude to possession. Full ownership comes only when you have made it a part of yourself, and the best way to make yourself a part of it is by writing in it. An illustration may make the point clear. You buy a beefsteak and transfer it from the butcher's icebox to your own. But you do not own the beefsteak in the most important sense until you consume it and get it into your bloodstream. I am arguing that books, too, must be absorbed in your blood stream to do you any good."

 

Ereaders make it super easy to highlight and revisit sentences and paragraphs that strike your readerly fancy, and I wonder if readers unaccostomed to using a pen on a hardcover are now taking advantage of the ability to highlight on their Kindle, without "ruining" their books.

 

What do you think? Is writing in books a terrible affront to the author, designer, and printer? Or is it a way to engage the text and remind yourself, in future readings, what the text inspired in you?

The future starts here... maybe

Interesting news snippets, speculation and hints of things to come have been buzzing around for months now. The book trade, it appears, is in meltdown; traditional books seem to be about to become quaint old-fashioned souvenirs of less adventurous times; and traditional bookselling is in its death throes.

So they tell us.

Then again, it all depends what you mean by traditional bookselling.

Once upon a time there were small bookshops in every town, usually tucked away down a side street, secluded from the hurly burly, quiet, dimly-lit havens run by the genuinely bibliophilic owner who knew where to find every item of his stock, where browsing was de rigueur and the series title you were missing was always on the shelf.

Then came the chains.

Here in the UK, I’m old enough to remember half a dozen which changed the face of the trade, without even counting W H Smith. Blackwells. Dillons. Hammicks. Ottakar’s. Then later, Waterstone’s, and Borders. For a long time there was one or another in pride of place on every high street and most out of town shopping centres. But big business practice prevailed and they began to buy each other out, or get bought by bigger organisations whose priorities didn’t involve words on a page. Now, give or take the odd name with a handful of shops, it’s just Waterstone’s, and they’re not exactly having a good time.

I know I inhabit a 1960s time warp as far as bookshops are concerned (OK, as far as most things are concerned; I loved the ’60s) – but shouldn’t the way things have gone tell us something?

Over there in the US where the rest of the Dead Guys are based, it eventually boiled down to Barnes & Noble, and they teetered wildly for a while not long ago. The gossip seems to have subsided for the moment – while over here, conjecture is rife about the future of Waterstone’s, which seems to be about to save the bacon of its parent company by changing hands yet again.

Meanwhile, back in those secluded side streets, business is much as usual in the little independent bookshops. Quiet still reigns, browsing is still encouraged, the owner is still often the guy behind the counter, and you can still find that missing series title which the chains stopped stocking six months after it was published because, well, nobody wants old stuff, do they?

When one of the breed, the Big Green Bookshop, which ironically grew up in a north London suburb when the local branch of Waterstone’s closed, found its survival under threat a few weeks ago, it put out a call for help: not charity, just book purchases. It wanted people to use it for its stated purpose. This week it announced it’s within 4% of the target it set itself.

Shouldn’t that be telling us something too?

Looks to me as if, since the supermarkets, Amazon and eBooks seem to have scooped up the over-hyped bestsellers and made them their own, and chain bookselling doesn’t seem to be the licence to print money it once was, it’s time for real traditional bookselling to make a comeback.

In a world dominated by technology, built in obsolescence and mass market everything, wouldn’t that be something?

So Long, Farewell, Goodbye and Adieu

A mix of happy and sad news today, everyone.  The sad:  I'm leaving Dead Guy :(  (more on why in a minute).  The happy: Josh Getzler, who is awesome, will be taking my Tuesday spot!

 

To follow up on Dana's post, and all my authors will kill me when they hear me say this- I am just not made for social media.  There are lots of agents out there who Tweet and blog and Facebook, but I am oddly old fashioned when it comes to doing it myself.  I do have a Twitter at @michellebrower, but it's not natural to me to have a conversation in public.  Yes, I am totally that person giving you an evil glare while you are talking on your cellphone and I am hearing all about your baby's medication-resistant diaper rash.  I feel like I fall in the middle of the pack of publishing professionals; there are some de facto social media experts out there like Colleen Lindsay and Janet Reid, but then again some very reputable and very prosperous agencies don't even have a website.  Little 'ol me- you can find me on Google, I keep my Folio page up to date, and I occasionally tweet, but I'm afraid that's about as much as I'm comfortable with.

 

However, YOU, meaning the person who is trying to make a living selling books that you've written, you DO have to learn to use social media, even if it's as natural as breathing underwater.  And I have seen social media work wonders for authors in terms of making new friends, getting blurbs, having honest-to-goodness champions join in on the cause.  I think I've distilled the process down to three simple steps.

 

1) Listen.  Believe it or not, social media is not actually a promotional tool.  It's something that people use to come together and form communities on the internet.  So, from the first, don't worry so much about promoting.  Listen to what others have to say, cheer them on, learn from their experiences.  Soak it all in.

 

2) Respond.  Now that you've taken the time to actually listen to what people are saying, interact with them.  Still no promoting!  Start conversations, ask questions, support the efforts of others, re-tweet good news, have someone guest blog, etc.  Everyone likes to get a little attention, so consider it your duty to dole some out.

 

3) Be genuine.  If you tell a favorite author you like their book, make sure you've read it and you do!  Be honest in your dealings, like in any friendship, and that will carry you a long way.

 

After you've done all three, that's when you can start self-promoting, but you still have to keep listening, responding, and being genuine.  See?  Simple.  Now you just have to actually do it, and that's the hard part.  Ask Dana, she will tell you the rest!

 

Now, even though I'll no longer be posting on Tuesdays here at Dead Guy, I WILL still be haunting the comments (ooooOOOOoooo) so you haven't seen the last of me quite yet.  Muah ha ha!

-Michelle Brower

10 Reasons Not To Buy AN UNINVITED GHOST Tomorrow

E.J. Copperman

Tomorrow, AN UNINVITED GHOST, the second Haunted Guesthouse Mystery novel featuring Alison Kerby, her Jersey Shore guesthouse and her resident ghosts, will be published by Berkley Prime Crime and, if there is any order in the universe, be available at a bookstore near you. In honor of that august occasion (despite August being four months away), we have invited the author of AN UNINVITED GHOST and its predecessor, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEED, to list reasons you should avoid running out as soon as you awake tomorrow to purchase the new novel. Feel free to ignore any or all of them.

AN UNINVITED GHOST gives Alison a lot to deal with: She's welcoming her first paying guests to her newly-opened guesthouse, and at that very moment, her resident ghost Paul Harrison, who was a P.I. in life, asks her to help him investigate the case of another not-so-living guy, Scott McFarlane, who believes he might have unwittingly (and unwillingly) harmed or killed Arlice Crosby, a local octogenarian and philanthropist. Scott's not sure what happened, because he's been blind since the 1920s. 

(You can read the first chapter here.)

Oh yeah, and there's a reality TV crew coming to film their new season in Alison's house. It promises to be a fun couple of weeks. But hey, don't buy AN UNINVITED GHOST. Here's why you shouldn't:

 

10 Reasons Not to Buy AN UNINVITED GHOST Tomorrow

1. You haven't yet read NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEED.

2. It might rain.

3. You don't believe in ghosts.

4. You've never heard of E.J. Copperman.

5. You don't like JERSEY SHORE.

6. It might snow.

7. You might miss OPRAH.

8. You don't know what "E.J." stands for.

9. In this economy?

10. You don't want a book that's entertaining, funny, challenging, and exciting, with three-dimensional characters, plot twists you won't see coming and a conclusion one reviewer said "made perfect sense, but I never saw it coming".

 

10 Reasons Those Reasons Aren't Important

1. You don't have to--it would be nice if you read both, but AN UNINVITED GHOST doesn't require you to have read NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEED. No surprises will be betrayed.

2. It might not. Besides, you won't get wet; you can drive to the bookstore. Buying online is okay, but Robin will get mad (unless you buy from Aunt Agatha's).

3. Neither do I. Don't let it worry you--the ghosts are fun characters.

4. Pshaw. Neither has anyone else.

5. The reality TV plotline might inadvertently spoof such things. Inadvertently.

6. It's April. It's not going to snow A LOT. And wouldn't a good book be helpful if you're snowed in?

7. You've never heard of TiVo?

8. Practically anything.

9. It's only $7.99 (or less!). That's less than the cost of a movie ticket, and you can enjoy the book for much longer than a movie (unless you go to see DR. ZHIVAGO or something).

10. There's no hope for you.

 

One last thing: there's a contest tied to the publication of AN UNINVITED GHOST, and it ends tomorrow, so get your entry in now, and you might win a $100 gift certificate to the bookseller of your choice! Click here for details!

Yet another mystery

I can't believe that it's been more than 25 years since I saw Compromising Positions, a very entertaining movie starring Susan Sarandon and the late and lamented Raul Julia and which was based on the novel by Susan Isaacs.  Because of my fond recollection of that movie, I recently decided to give a listen  on audiobook to Isaac's most recently published novel, As Husbands Go.    My expectation was that I would be entertained by something that was smart, sexy and funny. 

Susie Gersten, the novel's main character, appears to have everything going for her - she is thirty-something, gorgeous, the mother of adorable triplet sons, and the wife of a very successful and upstanding plastic surgeon.  So when Dr. Jonah Gersten is found murdered in the apartment of a prostitute, Susie refuses to reevaluate what she thought she knew about her husband and sets out to determine what really happened.   Isaacs does a good job of developing each member of the cast of characters who populate Jonah and Susie's world, several of whom are set up by Isaacs as potential suspects: Jonah's wealthy, socially prominent  and extremely obnoxious parents; Jonah's somewhat creepy Hollywood-type brother, the two other plastic surgeons with whom Jonah shares his medical practice, and  Susie's best friend and business partner in their high end flower shop.  The character I liked least was Susie's long lost Grandma Ethel, an unapologetic opportunist who - even in old age -  continues to ridicule the daughter (Susie's mother) who she  had abandoned as a child.  Grandma Ethel finds herself  drawn into the mystery of Jonah's death and so allows herself to be enlisted as  Susie's investigatory partner. Although Grandma Ethel's extreme shallowness and narcissistic tendencies  were deliberately overblown and described in a humorous fashion, I could not get beyond the repulsion I felt for her, even as I knew that it was exactly how Isaacs intended her to be.

Although I pretty much had the murderer pegged about two thirds of the way through the book, Isaac's characters were clearly defined and delineated, the story line was propelled forward at a decent pace, and the details of the plot were all more or less plausible.  Isaacs is a pro who knows how to take good care of her readers who are looking for this particular type of read.

What kept this book from being more fun for me  (Grandma Ethel aside) was the fact that I could not make myself like the Widow Gersten, even in spite of her determination not to believe the worst of her husband in the face of  all that damning evidence to the contrary.   Rather than finding it cute, I quickly became tired  by Susie's preoccupation with the trappings of a high end life style, brand name dropping, and the accompanying snark that is inevitable when too much attention is being paid to the superficial.   I know that Isaacs was treating her characters in a somewhat sardonic manner and I  also know that there are more than a few authors of chick lit who have carved out successful careers from just this sort of thing but I found it to be a turn off.

This was by no means a poorly written book - it was supposed to be fun, but it just wasn't a good match for me.  Would I recommend it to people in the library looking for a certain type of read? Absolutely!   Will I be reading anything else by Isaacs anytime soon?  Probably not.

  

 

 

 

The Dilys Trophy

Since 2002, I've helped to administer the "Dilys Award", which is given by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Associaition (IMBA) for the book we "most enjoyed selling".  That is a pretty hard to define thing, but somehow, we always "know", and during the time I've helped with the award, books like Mystic River, In The Bleak Midwinter. Still Life and Thirty-Three Teeth have all won, all of them books we sell on a regular basis, and I'm pretty sure that holds true throughout the IMBA stores.

When I first was helping with the award, we gave a certificate and a glass paperweight to the winner.  The paperweights were lovely, handmade ones, but there was a limited supply, and eventually we ran out of them.  The next year we had to figure out a new plan of action.  

My husband has a high school chum, Greg Anthony, who had turned up in our neck of the woods around that time, spending holidays with us.  Greg is a talented photographer and gifted artist - one of the things he likes to do is create these nutty sculptures which he would give to us at holiday time - the easter bunny with a bloody head on the ground, that kind of thing.  Anyway, he had given us a few real classics, including a skeletal hand holding a Christmas ornament that still adorns our store window, when I had the thought that he would be the perfect person to create the Dilys trophy.

The first one he made was for William Kent Krueger, who won for Thunder Bay.  Kent wasn't at Left Coast that year and I had Greg mail it to him at home.  When he opened it I got a delighted e-mail from Kent, who says the extra large trophy is now the focal point of his family room.  Sean Chercover (who won for Trigger City) said the same, and last year he made a beautiful stamp inspired one for Alan Bradley.  

This year, his last year making the trophy, I sent him the winning book (which, as you can see above, is Louise Penny's Bury Your Dead) and waited to see what he would come up with.  I think he outdid himself, using a monument he'd seen in Montreal years ago as a basis for this year's work of art.

Sometimes in life a little gift comes your way, like Greg making these beautiful and memorable trophies for us.  Whatever we find to replace them couldn't possibly be as special and original as his have been.  The gift must be appreciated for what it is.  And for that, I say thank you to him.

#SocialMediaFail

Top Ten Signs You're Not Using Social Media Effectively

1. You post trivial tidbits like "Happy Tuesday" or "How is eveyrone today?" This won't draw readers in, and gaining readership is the point of social media.
2. You only Re-Tweet or Re-Post. The Huffington Post has news aggregation covered, post original content.
3. You post what you eat for every meal, usually with pictures. Unless you're a chef or food blogger, no one cares what you have for lunch every day.
4. You post "Buy My Book" multiple times each day. It's the equivalent of standing in Times Square, wearing a sandwich board and ringing a bell.
5. You post multiple times in less than 5 minutes. There's nothing more annoying than a stream of a single person's posts.
6. You don't post every day. Out of sight, out of mind.
7. You don't interact with your followers/friends. Twitter and Facebook are not one way conversations.
8. On Twitter, you use multiple hashtags and random @ replies. Too many symbols make your posts look dis-jointed and spammy
9. On Facebook, you post your promotional information on all your friends' walls. Their facebook page is not your avenue of promotion.
10. You spend more than an hour a day on social media sites. If you're an author, your primary job is to write books. Spending too much time on social media sites is just another form of procrastination.