Grinding Time Away. Plus Author Photo

Every unpublished novelist knows how slowly the wheels of publishing turn when you're waiting to hear about a submission. I surely was in that boat for years as I sent out submissions, and they boomeranged back after a few months. Now, as I wait for the wheels of the publishing machine to turn for my own book, I realize that waiting is part and parcel of this side of the industry, as well. Sigh. Patience is not one of my virtues.

One bit of good news: Harper has asked for an author photo for their catalog, which I'm guessing means that they really are going to publish SOUL ENCHILADA. We took the photo with the middle one's new camera, and I worked some PhotoShop magic to make myself look better--it wasn't easy, I tell you what. We'll see the results when the Winter '09 catalog comes out.

Chicken or Egg: The Answer

Teen #1: "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"
Mom: "The egg. Eggs were around a long time before the chicken."

Smarticles of Matter

Today's vocabulary lesson--Smarticle

The Urban Dictionary defines the term "smarticle" as:

(adj) Describing someone/something being smart, smart in nature. Ironically uses incorrect grammar. Usually used in an informal or joking fashion

"The girl read her smarticle answer out loud to the class."
"That was quite a smarticle maneuver, he thought."

That's all well and good because we know the UD has the inside dope on every bizarre language usage, most of them sexual (which leads me to believe that the UD was created or at least fed by adolescent males, whatever their ages), but I have it on good information that smarticle has a different definition:

(noun) The smallest measurement of intelligence. A portmanteau of "smart" and "particle."

"If you're going to pass calculus, you've got to make sure all your smarticles are aligned."
"That girl's brain can make the Kessel Run in less than twelve smarticles."

There are ways to increase your smarticle load. Eat well (chocolate), lots of sleep (til noon, preferably), and exercise (Guitar Hero aerobic pantomiming). Also, you can decrease smarticles at a rapid rate, just by watching Hanna Montana or Corey in the House.

Source: Teen #2

The New Header

Thanks to my brother, Daniel, who is an accomplished graphics designer, painter, and teacher, there is a new header for all my Wordpress website, as well as all my social sites--lj, myspace, blogger, and soon, newsvine. When I write, I use photos of settings and objects to help visualize details. I collect these photos into a binder and annotate them. Daniel used a few of these to created header, so it's sort of a visual map of Soul Enchilada. The car above is the '58 Cadillac Biarritz that gets repossessed. The skulls are calaveras (sugar skulls), the candlelight pic is of an ofrendas, and the flowers at the base of the Franklin Mountains, which play a huge role in the story. Thanks for the graphic, Daniel. If you'd like to see more of his work, please visit his website at http://fisheyegraphics.net

 

I Know Y'all Are Sick of This

But I'm not. :-)

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6517352.html?nid=3323.  Scroll down.

Liz's Publication Party

Liz Gallagher's novel, The Opposite of Invisible, is making its debut!  Here's the review I posted awhile ago:

"Alice is a Seattle teenager who seeks advice from a poster. She has two tree-hugger parents, one good friend, and an endless thirst for vanilla lattes. What she’d really like, though, is a boyfriend, someone, anyone who will notice her, so she asks her poster-advisor, Dove Girl, to send one her way. The problem is, two boys answer the call. One is Simon, the hot football player who works as an octopus volunteer. The other is Jewel, Alice’s lifelong best friend, who now wants to be more. How does Alice decide between the two when she wants to keep them both? The answer is, she can’t have them both, and she has to decide–what is important, being noticed or being in love?

Liz Gallagher’s debut novel is a terrific first-person narrative that deftly explores teenage relationships and social expectations. The characters of Alice and Jewel are fresh and honest, as well as three-dimensional. When I picked up this galley, I was wary, I admit. Novels about a teen girl’s first love aren’t my cup of Sumatra. But after three pages, I was hooked on Alice’s voice and Gallagher’s prose. This is a good one, folks. Keep your eyes peeled for THE OPPOSITE OF INVISIBLE, coming out in January ‘08 from Wendy Lamb Books."

Whaddya waiting for?  Go join the launch party at Class of 2k8!

Multi-Blog Crosspost Test

Ignore this.