Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware has posted a wonderful blog entry called “New Publishers: To Query or Not To Query.”
Go, read!
Happiness
It’s been a good day all around. I just found out that an excellent local chain delivers to my complex, so I had a delicious pizza for lunch. Their salads are good, too. Whenever possible I prefer to support local businesses (restaurants, bookstores, games stores), so I was very happy to find this place.
The book I mentioned last week is still on the NY Times list, always exciting. Also, the Romantic TImes book awards nominees have been announced, and some titles I worked on have been nominated. I’m very happy for the authors! It’s fabulous that they’re getting recognized for their hard work.
::jumps up and down with glee::
I’m currently working on the fifth book in a series. It’s so much fun to be on board for a series and be able to see it through from the beginning. I feel like I know these people (the characters), and I think it probably helps the editing as well that I’m familiar with the characters and the settings, the back stories, all of that. I don’t know if it helps the author, or at least causes less trepidation, to hand over a book to someone who knows what’s going on, but I’m always excited when I hear that the next book is in!
It’s chilly here in Austin today, which means I’ve had a warm, purring kitty curled up close. Hard not to smile under such conditions!
zomgYAY!
The book reviewers for an Australian newspaper have listed their favorite books for the year, and a romance novel I worked on made the list! Whee!
Possible good news for Triskelion authors
According to Dearauthor.com, Loose Id is bidding on some Triskelion assets, which could result in Triskelion authors getting the rights to their work back or possibly being published through Loose Id.
Triskelion Publishing to close
In May, RWA de-listed them as a recognized publisher and Gail Northman (editor) resigned, and now has come the announcement that Triskelion Publishing will close as of 2 July 2007.
My sympathies and best wishes to everyone affected – here’s hoping author rights don’t get tied up for too long. 
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian
I just finished reading this book, and it was wonderful. The author, Marina Lewycka, is of Ukrainian heritage, and she has done a fabulous job of capturing not only the mindset, but the hybrid language (and insults!) of her characters.
This is the story of a Ukrainian family living in England. The father, an eightysomething widower, is in love with a voluptuous young Ukrainian woman. Very voluptuous, and very young. Needless to say, his two adult daughters are skeptical of her motives. The book is by turns hysterically funny and heartbreaking. It deals with the issues of ageing parents, East/West, war and peace, and historical truth vs. perception. The last page is pure genius: it left me with a smile on my face that stayed there for hours.
This is a wonderful book, and I highly recommend it.
YAY!
The new USA Today bestsellers list is out, and two books I edited are on it. One has been for six weeks now, and the other just made the list this week. There’s a very good chance that the second book will make the NY Times bestseller list next week, which would make me ridiculously happy.
(Please to repeat the familiar refrain: I am low man on the totem pole, I did not have all that much to do with these books, but I’m still very excited and thrilled for the authors.)
IPPY!
The Independent Publisher’s Awards have been announced – this year instead of a winner, a finalist and honorable mentions they have awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze awards. A total of 2,690 national entries came from all 50 U.S. states, 8 Canadian provinces, and 17 countries overseas.
The complete listing can be found here.
Romance
Gold: Mistress in Training, by Edwina Columbia (Dorian Press)
Silver: Turn Back Time, by Radclyffe (Bold Strokes Books)
Bronze: The Devil’s Bastard, by Charlsie Russell (Loblolly Writers House); The Vengeance Trap, by A.L. Hansen (Ophir Publishing); The Crossroads Cafe, by Deborah Smith (BelleBooks)
Erotica
Gold: Best Women’s Erotica 07, edited by Violet Blue (Cleis Press)
Silver: Erotic Interludes 4: Extreme Passions, edited by Radclyffe and Stacia Seaman (Bold Strokes Books)
Bronze: Room with a View, by Lucy Fur (Feral House); The Smart Girl’s Guide to Porn, edited by Violet Blue (Cleis Press); Gay Art: A Historic Collection, by Felix Lance Falkon with Thomas Waugh (Arsenal Pulp Press)
The Erotic Interludes books are so much fun to work on. So many amazing women, so many amazing stories. Thanks to everyone who contributed (authors, beta readers, proofreaders, our amazing cover designer) and to everyone who reads the books! YAY!
nerves
This year I started trying to write again. I’m not entirely sure why; maybe it was that I started travelling again and it made me start thinking, or maybe things had just percolated long enough in my brain that I could start putting words to paper.
Usually I’m happy just writing stuff down and letting a couple of friends read it, but over the past year or so I’ve been encouraged to read calls for submissions and send things in, which has brought me to a previously unknown level of sheer terror. I think people tend to assume they’re learning something about the writer when they read, and I’m not particularly comfortable with that idea, so I don’t like to put myself out there in a public way.
Anyway, in the past six months I’ve sent submissions to four anthologies. So far two accepted and two pending. I’m fully expecting those to be rejections, but at least I tried, right?
::bites fingernails again::
more good news, plus random meme-age
Earlier this week I mentioned a book in the USA Today top 150 list. This week’s list is out, and the book has moved up 60 spots! Always exciting.