A Writers Conference and a Readers Contest

Yes, it's here--the Southern California Writers Conference begins tomorrow, up in Newport Beach. So, I'm finishing up my advance reads and polishing up my class notes. Packing can wait...And I've been reading SUCH fun stuff! Not only the advance reads--though a couple were VERY good--but also a book of essays and other nonfiction musings by a good friend who is also a fine writer (Can't say who, for now, as the manuscript is still being submitted to agents and editors, and so is still technically "under wraps.")
Nothing cheers me more than great non-fiction writing, which is why one of my workshops this weekend is "How to Write and Sell Gripping Nonfiction." (See my last post for info on the other SCWC class I'm co-teaching.) I think that too many new writers think that nonfiction is somehow the domain of doddering academics and dust-covered biographers. And it just ain't so! Some of the best books I've ever read have been nonfiction: "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek"; "Under the Tuscan Sun"; The Log From the Sea of Cortez"; and "John Adams," to name a few exceptional works in different categories.
Speaking of my reading list, "Wolf Solent" is moving slowly and has been set aside for now--I may or may not return to it when I'm less swamped with "to do" reading lists. However, I am very much enjoying reading a new-to-me classic "The Way we Live Now" by Anthony Trollope, on Kindle.
And now, on to a contest...Readers Digest is sponsoring a "Life Story" contest where the entries must be under 150 words. (Winner gets $25,000) I think one must be on Facebook to enter, read, and vote for the best story; here is the link to my contest page. For those who have not yet succumbed to the relentless pressure and joined Facebook, here is my entry, which I called "Always/Siempre":
Married just six months, we took off for Mexico on a 26 foot sailboat. My grandfather once said “If you want to get to know someone, take a long trip in a small boat.” Suffice to say, we got to know each other. In the Sea of Cortez, the unspoiled beauty and the warmth of the people were the perfect backdrop to our honeymoon. Perhaps more importantly, we were in love and full of romance, so we found love and romance wherever we went. One day in an Immigration office (not known for either sentiment) I met a not-so-newlywed officer who talked about his beloved wife of ten years. He taught me the words “luna de miel” (honeymoon) and “siempre” (always) so he could admonish us to remain “siempre luna de miel.” We’ve
never forgotten his advice; it’s been twenty-two years, and we’re still on our honeymoon.
That's it--now you try writing a story in 150 words--it's great writing practice. And if you love the results, submit it--you might win $25k!
hasta pronto!

End of Summer--New Beginnings

Ah...Summer has flown by, and this weekend marks the un-official "end of summer" though school has been back in session for weeks, for most teachers and students. The end of summer brings me back to San Diego, which is always a pleasant place to be--and where summer lingers far longer than in most other cities.
I'm looking forward--as always--to the Southern California Writers Conference at the end of the month. The Los Angeles Conference is held up in Newport Beach, Sept 23-25th; for those who haven't heard me on the subject yet, check out previous posts, and see their great site (full of book, agent, and author news, videos, and info) here. Of course, you can also find them on Facebook, "meet" some of their staff there, and follow their fearless leader's always-entertaining blog.
I'll be doing a couple of "pitch" talks at SCWC with my good friend, writer and editor Marla Miller, of "Marketing the Muse." Check out her site here.
My reading last month was mostly non-fiction--a history of the "Mexican War" and quite a few essays and articles written about the current immigration situation.

A great friend who lives in Tucson gave me Crossing With the Virgin: Stories from the Migrant Trail which was hard to put down. The true stories are full of interest to me, since it sheds light on the subject our film, "El Camino" deals with. No reading on this sad subject can be anything but depressing, but it is heartening to read how many people are working to help the thousands of unfortunate souls forced to cross borders illegally.
I just found a used copy of Wolf Solent by John Cowper Pwys, a book I've wanted to read for years; the author is often compared to Austen and Hardy, both favorites of mine. (No one who's read this blog can be in doubt of my favorite of those two being Austen, but Hardy has his gifts--description and character--that offset his bleak outlook). I'll start the book today, and will comment on it soon.
Hasta pronto!

Things She Wants Us to Know...

Last Sunday's NYT Book Review section had a fascinating short article on Stieg Larsson and Eva Gabrielsson. She is the author of a new book about her life with Larsson, which also, apparently details the whole messy wrestling match between Gabrielsson and his family over the late author's artistic legacy and multi-million-dollar estate that has occurred since his untimely death.
Interesting story, but the article's author also makes some trenchant observations about Larsson's writing. I am so tired of reading that his three books are somehow "just" thrillers or that his women characters are weak or exploited...Most reviewers miss the boat, I think, as I find Larsson's writing both insightful and gripping--and I truly love the fiery, zero-bullshit Ms Salander!
I am enjoying re-reading Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto

Urrea, author of The Hummingbird's Daughter. Check out his site--witty and chock-full of delights, here. You can also vote for his book for "One Book, One San Diego" there, if you haven't already...
Hasta pronto!

From Monte Cristo, Across the Universe...

Getting ready to set sail for a Spring Cruise and I'm reading The Count of Monte Cristo, which turns out to include quite a bit of the ol' "seafarin' yarn" in it...as well as quite a few familiar plot twists, like the unjustly accused man who serves years in prison, the "romantic robber", and a search for "hidden treasure" on a desert island. The thing is, Dumas wrote this long before most of those other books were written, so it's not derivative--it's original!
And, yes, in answer to an email--I do read most of the classic books I discuss here as ebooks on my iPod (with the Kindle app for iPhone). Not only is that much more practical for someone who live son a 35 foot vessel, but I like having the illuminated screen for midnight reading, without turning on a light. Here is the link to the free public domain book at Amazon.
Last night, going through the DVD collection, we happened upon Across the Universe, known to most of us Boomers as "the Beatles Musical." We both remembered liking the movie, but the second viewing was even better! Unlike most musicals, this movie has a script--and because so much time is spent on songs (and a majority of the covers of the Beatles tunes are amazing and heartfelt) the script has to be succinct and clear. And it is that and more.
One scene is memorable--a great singer is courted by a semi-sleazy record producer and he offers her a deal. She demurs, saying it sounds like a good deal, she has to ask the guys in her band.
"No, you don't" he replies, simply but tellingly.
Those three words say so much about him and her and the whole backstory of her and the band. Great writing.
Back to the list of items I have "to do before sailing"...
hasta pronto!

Seth Godin does it again!

Today's words of wisdom from Seth Godin--a smart man who is also a smart businessman!
"In and out--That's one of the most important decisions you'll make today.
How much time and effort should be spent on intake, on inbound messages, on absorbing data...and how much time and effort should be invested in output, in creating something new.
There used to be a significant limit on available intake. Once you read all the books in the college library on your topic, it was time to start writing.
Now that the availability of opinions, expertise and email is infinite, I think the last part of that sentence is the most important:
Time to start writing.
Or whatever it is you're not doing, merely planning on doing."
Sounds like a message from the universe, eh? Time to start writing! And check out Seth's blog here, for more words of wisdom about life and work.
I'm writing today--and getting ready for my workshops and seminars this month at the Southern California Writer's Conference, and at San Diego Writers, Ink.
And I just finished a wonderful book called Room, by Emma Donoghue, which I highly recommend--not only is it gripping writing, but it's thoughtful and moving story about human goodness and strength (and its opposite) in the modern world. And a great example of someone who created an unusual and true "voice" in a work of fiction.
hasta pronto!

Resolution: Attend a Writers Conference in 2011

This is a short follow-up post to remind you of your New Year's resolution: write more. Okay, one way is to attend your writer's group. (Don't have one? Start one!) That will spur you on to write, because otherwise you'll have to say "I didn't write anything this week/month" to more people than just a few of your personalities (and the voice of your grandmother in your head).
My writers circle (we like the word circle better than group) of six warm and talented women, has been meeting in some incarnation for about 5 years, almost monthly; we always enjoy the opportunity to share new and revised short stories and poetry, encourage new work, and, of course, to constructively critique each other's writing. So start attending or creating a writer's group!
I talked about writers conferences and workshops (like the Southern California Writers Conference and San Diego Writers, Ink) last week, but I bet you haven't signed up for a conference or a workshop/class this Spring, yet, right?
Check out this short piece on Divine Caroline (a very cool site that is a virtual "writers community") on how and why writers conferences benefit writers.
And see info and links for my amiga CM Mayo's latest fiction writing workshops here.
Meanwhile--until you get to your group, or find your circle, just resolve to write or rewrite something today...or this week, and I will, too.
I'm re-reading "Anna Karenina" and loving it--"A Tale of Two Cities" was much better than I remembered.
hasta pronto!

A True, Very Short Story for Christmas

Recently, a perfect, and true Christmas story came to me, in the form of a letter, written with honesty and simplicity by my dear friend Jeannine Perez, of Loreto, Baja California.
First, I've asked for, and gotten her permission to share it. The only other thing you need to know in advance is that Jeannine and her husband Beto were in a bad car accident (not their fault) recently; they were hit by a young norteamericano in Tijuana, while returning from a visit to San Diego to supply their small but thriving bookstore (El Caballo Blanco) in "downtown" Loreto. Other than that, I see no reason not to include the whole letter, just as she wrote it:

"To all of you that I love so much…..
It is unbelievable that I am this old, and still seem to need keep learning the same lessons over and over and…(so if you are tired of reading about my inability to retain what I learn, just skip to the Christmas greetings at the end)!  But perhaps (and hopefully), this time the lesson will stick.
Last week turned out to be a challenging one.  Our toaster oven, my sewing machine and blender all gave up the ghost, and of course, our car is not doing well at all. I laughed about all of this (at first), and bought a new used blender at last Sunday’s Tianguis to continue making my “surprise smoothies” to go with our “surprise soups”. 
When going anyplace, Beto has to open the door on my side of the car to let me in and out, and that still seems rather fun and chivalrous, and we don’t even mind the bumping up and down without shocks.  We still feel very, very blessed to be where we are, safe and healthy, with plenty to eat, families that love us, and great friends.
Except, I kind of forgot all those good things for a day or so. I can try to blame this current pity party on a number of pesky happenings, and unfortunately, also a little nasty green envy.  A stiff neck that won’t go away, a friend bragging about leaving for a week to celebrate holidays with family and then a month in Peru . We finally got our wills done (makes you feel your mortality), I see no apparent progress in speaking Spanish, and fear that nothing I ever do is really good or needed. Then a strong bout of homesickness, and a pair of jeans that are uncomfortably snug all worked on me. I might still have remained an OK kind of person and risen over these minor setbacks when  the crowning blow came in an email from Lewis and Lewis stating that the kid from California who rammed us and totaled our car didn’t have valid Mexican insurance after all, and because it was more than 24 hours before we called our company, there is nothing they can/will do for us. (We’re currently fighting both insurance companies).  It was all too much and I groused and moaned to anyone who’d listen, about all the money we seem to lose by trusting people, how everyone took advantage of us, etc. etc., and the whole world looked evil and black. 
And then another lesson just whomped me on the head…
Actually it was more like my umpteenth review in humbleness and gratitude.
Beto asked me if I’d make some fresh coffee, and wondered if we had any cookies left from the morning batch, and all the while he was filling a sack with oranges (given to us by Martin), and some canned food from our last visit to the $ store. Sitting in the other chair in our middle room was Eduardo, who stops in to visit every few weeks, always soft-spoken, courtly and courteous, very thin and a little stooped, with silvery hair, a moustache, and crisply pressed white shirt.  I see him often too, walking on the malecon,  particularly in the evenings.
He was wearing Beto’s old leather boots, shined until they glowed, and he got up to shake hands, when I came in with coffee and some cinnamon rolls….2 huge ones, and a piece of aluminum foil so he could take the second roll home with him.  He ate both, really quickly, and then resumed talking (he doesn’t speak any English), to Beto. We found a used Spanish English dictionary and he smiled and put it in his sack. I tried out a little conversation, he answered me, and then clapped because I’d spoken to him in Spanish.  He told me that he walks miles each day because “…es el raton quien corre las calles quien buscar la comida”…it is the rat who roams the street who finds food!  He said that God has been very good to him, and he is a happy and blessed man.
When he left, Beto gave him 100 pesos and told Merry Christmas and that it is good that we all help each other. The old man had a few tears in his eyes, and then a big smile and he said he’d be back soon with a surprise for us.
After he left, Beto told me the rest of Eduardo’s story. He has colon cancer, and is trying to walk his way to health, he has no family in Baja, and he lives alone in a plywood lean-to that is not even really a room. Eduardo told him that his relatives in mainland Mexico send him money when they can, but they are poor and struggling, and he doesn’t want to burden them for the rest of his life.
Beto told him that he’d ordered a goat to share with Martin’s family for Christmas, and asked if he wanted some, and the man said softly …thank you, but no, I don’t have a stove.
 Hearing that, I asked Beto how Eduardo could possibly wash his clothes and stay so clean and dignified looking with no hot water or bathroom, and Beto said that he told him he has an iron, and he always irons his shirts before walking because he doesn’t like to be out on the street in a wrinkled shirt (you should see the condition of some of our clothes in public). I felt so ashamed! How many times do I need to be reminded of how rich we are? I decided that angels do come in all sizes and forms.
Then I went outside to sit in my beautiful garden and cried.
Have the greatest of holidays, and know that love and many good thoughts are winging their way north from Loreto."

Well...
Many good thoughts to you and yours from Jenny Redbug and Captain Russel, aboard the good ship "Watchfire", too...
Peace, and hasta pronto!

A great writers conference coming up

Less than a week until the Southern California Writers Conference in Newport Beach--I'm busy reading advance submissions, and preparing for a fun weekend for words at my favorite writers conference. Check out their lively site, and make sure you watch some of the videos on scwc.tv--they are a hoot, and some are fun animated stories, but they don't pull any punches.
I am polishing my two talks: Design or Death: Packaging The Self-published Title For Success, and also Young Adult: Why Write it and How Not To.
The thing about the SCWC is that it's not about going to meet famous writers and hear them talk (though you get to do that, too) it's about writing...Their motto is "a writer is a writer, before, as well as after publication" which I love!
There are so many amazing people on staff at SCWC, including some of my very talented friends like Judy Reeves, Marla Miller, Robert Yehling and Mike Sirota. Plenty more great writers and instructors--some of whom I haven't met yet--too many to list. And the list of Agents and Editors reads like a real "Who's Who" of Publishing.
Most important of all: When you attend this conference, you will write and read your writing to others; share your pitches, pages and queries with professionals; be challenged to improve; and you will get lots of good input and feedback on your work, be it novels, non-fiction, or short stories.
You'll also have a grand time, laugh plenty (Michael Steven Gregory, one of the organizers and sometimes MC, is a natural comedian and Wes Albers is the perfect straight man!) and, if all goes well, you will not sleep an awful lot.
So, if you don't make it this coming weekend to Newport Beach (Hyatt Regency NB), make sure you plan on San Diego on Presidents Day weekend, Feb 18-21, 2011.
If I don't see you next weekend--hasta pronto!

Summer Reading Book Review: "Tinkers"

I'm not sure what it is that Pulitzer Prize judges look for in selecting winners, but it doesn't often coincide with popular taste--in fiction, at least. This year's choice, "Tinkers" a gorgeously written short novel by Paul Harding, won't change that.
As for me, I usually love one winner every other year...I thoroughly enjoyed 2008's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (Riverhead Books), couldn't get into 2007's winner, The Road by Cormac McCarthy (Alfred A. Knopf), but I adored 2006's choice March by Geraldine Brooks (Viking). The books honored since 1948 are listed here, for those who care.
There's nothing wrong with Tinkers on a technical level--though some teachers might say none of the characters changed or grew noticeably; the writing is superb, but it never moved me, nor did I feel as though I ever got to know any of the characters.
I'm only a couple of chapters into The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and I already know I'll like it tremendously. I am beginning to get to know a couple of characters already, and the story is intriguingly convoluted. Some would say that the two books are so different that one should not compare them, but dang it, why else have a blog, if not to state one's opinion?
Most works of "literary fiction" read like assignments from an MFA writing program, and that bothers me--it especially bothers me when those books get all the awards and honors (because those sell books) but I needn't worry about the late Stieg Larsson's trilogy, as the three books are all solid bestsellers.
I do love that "Tinkers" was published by a small independent press, and that he's a debut novelist (he also has an MFA Iowa writers workshop!). Clearly, many people have loved the book, and I am certainly glad to have read it.
A note to those who wonder why I link to Amazon to buy books--if I'm so hot for independent bookstores and libraries, why promote Amazon?
Well, it's simple: I fervently hope you will buy these books from your favorite indie bookstore, or any bookstore, for that matter, but more important is that you actually buy books--from whomever!
Support booksellers and publishers alike, if you can, but without publishers the book business as we know it is dead and gone. Amazon is widely considered the enemy is much that is written about the modern book biz, but they at least pay their bills, and often on time--which is more than I can say for the chain bookstores (due to their intricate, no labyrinthine, billing and returns "process) and many of the indie shops (due to slow-to-stagnant cash flow).
Hasta pronto!

Arts writing, and the writers life

Friday night's "community forum" at Warwick's Books in La Jolla was a surprising and revealing evening.
Surprising because:
1.) About 300 people cared enough to come spend about 3 hours (seats were mostly all gone by 7pm and we didn't break up till 9:30, with everyone standing around inside until much later) talking about the arts and about arts coverage and the future of newspaper writing...
2.) Most people seemed more concerned about Bob Pincus' job than about the future of Arts writing in general...
3.) No one threw anything or even cursed...
Revealing because:
1.) The new editor of THE daily paper here (the San Diego Union-Tribune), Jeff Light, was willing to say he'd consider working with a "coalition of partners" to try to find a new and creative way to keep Arts critic Robert Pincus writing about our local arts scene--though not in his paper.
2.) No one mentioned Books Editor Art Salm (except in passing) though his being "let go" a couple years ago was the beginning of the end for local book coverage...By which I don't mean coverage of local books--which never happened much and happens less now--but local events about, and reviews of, "national" books.
3.) No one much supported KPBS arts producer/reporter/blogger Angela Carone's suggestion that we look forward--to new concepts of, and new paradigms in arts coverage--instead of backward to the way things used to be. (Nor did anyone clap when I suggested that lack-luster, unengaged arts "consumers" share some blame for losing arts coverage.)
For those who like Facebook, Warwick's was posting some snippets of the discussion on their FB fan page.
Anyway, it was a very good event, on balance, and I'm very glad I went. If nothing else, it's nice to hear raised (but civil) voices, speaking passionately about big ideas in a bookstore, these days. Warwick's is a good venue, too, as well as one of the last of the indie stores here in SD County.
My take is that we need to make the discussion about books and writing and all the arts, as passionate as the discussion about what NBA team LeBron James was going to play for next...Or the discussion about local politics!
Let's do it...I'm trying to do my part in a small way here. Maybe you are doing yours by spreading the word about what you are digging reading/seeing/hearing; that is an important part of the new culture; check out Seth Godin on the importance of the "new sorting."
Also very cool and inspiring this week--a new podcast with my friend C.M. Mayo, on "The Writing Life"...Listen to it here.
Hasta pronto!

The Fourth of July, Patriotism, Borders and Books

Another holiday that bugs me? Not really...Though I'm not much of a flag-waver. I always think of a comic riff done by Eddie Izzard (the funniest and smartest comedian on the planet, find him on DVD) on colonization, where the British Empire takes over a country, claiming it simply because the current occupants had no flag. "Where's your flag? We have a flag."
Reading about the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo and the Gadsden Purchase this morning over coffee...We started taking out some maps of the Southwest U.S. and comparing Mexico's current and former borders with the U.S. It certainly gives support to the current claim of many Mexicans living in what is now the U.S.: "We didn't cross the border, the border crossed us!" I'm fascinated by the history of the dynamic few years of shifting borders, as far back as the Louisiana Purchase (1803), but especially from the 1846 war between the U.S. and Mexico through the Gadsden Purchase (1854).
Boring, you may say, but think what an impact these few years had upon this entire continent. Not to mention the long-term effect on world affairs. And perusing those old borders certainly throws an interesting light on the current "fight" (if one can call such desultory efforts a battle) for and against immigration reform.
So, yes, the 4th of July: our founding fathers voted to become independent of Britain back in 1776 (not really on the 4th, but that's neither here nor there, for those who care here's the wiki page) but since that "freedom" didn't extend to slaves or women, there wasn't much freedom to go around. Now, of course, we go around the globe, importing our special brand of "freedom and democracy" to all and sundry--whether they like it or not. All while waving the "Grand old Flag" of these United States. And on July 4th, we all say hooray...Mostly.
For those who are intrigued by the current efforts of San Diego's Arts and literature community to Reinstate Robert Pincus at the San Diego Union, visit the Campaign to Reintstate Bob Pincus blog, with links to the Facebook page, articles, The Warwick's bookstore event, and more.

So many great blogs...so little time...

Yeah, I know, every day you hear about some new thing you need to read, do, participate in--and you're already overcommitted and tired of input. Everyone tells me this, and I hear myself say it too--"too much input--enough, already!" But I've been thinking about this whole matter, and I think we're tired of the wrong input.
Bad news is a lot of what we hear from the media, because "if it bleeds, it leads" as we all know. So you'll have to make a conscious choice to open your ears and eyes to the world of positive news, and the ever-growing list of books and blogs and other media that are trying to make a positive difference.
Okay, I hear you--that's just one more thing I'd have to do, you're saying, and I'm tired...I'm overwhelmed, I've heard enough, I've had it. But you know as well as I do that good news is always a turn-on, new mail is always a possibility, the ringing phone is always the call that might be the one call that changes everything. Think of the media in all its myriad forms as a friend who can recommend a great book or film, or who can give you the right advice at the right time.
I highly recommend "Ode" magazine--I always put it down thinking that the world is a better place than when I picked it up. They have a great online community and this page of their site has only good news--you can even sign up to get "good news emails daily". What could be better?
I also love ArtsJournal, which you can check out at their site, or sign up to get daily in your inbox as I do--a great way to start the day. Cool arts videos, stories, and links to propel you into the day, thinking that if that many artists are doing that many cool pieces, performances, and projects, then there's hope for us all.
If you just need a lift, check out this site, THXTHXTHX, an ongoing projects about thank you's for all of life's little unnoticed wonders...or go to YouTube and type in "puppies", and see if you don't smile.
Or, if you insist on intelligent world-changing though-provoking stuff, read Seth Godin's blog here (I loved the latest column I read, on "elites") or read Jon Carrol's always enjoyable column on SFGate.
Lastly, rather than picking up the latest mass-market paperback by some Rich Author who was once cutting-edge and is now cranking out Formulaic Follow-ups, set yourself the goal of finding a book you haven't heard of--that isn't stacked in piles right inside your nearest booksellers windows. Try GoodReads to hear from "real people" about what they are reading, or visit RedRoom (where you can read and write!).
I've been reading books as a judge for the San Diego Book Awards, and I've been impressed, as always, by how much good stuff is written each year that never gets written about or reviewed in the big media outlets--some of it barely gets published...
So take the time (sometime soon) to simply browse in your local library, or in your favorite bookstore, and find a book by someone who is new to you--if, in doubt, try asking the bookseller or librarian what they'd recommend. Or try one of the books in my "recently read and recommended" list on this blog.
You'll be glad you did.
hasta pronto!