Five Books I Highly Recommend

It’s time for me to list five books I loved in 2015. As always, I leave off the bestsellers—those ten titles you’ve read about ten times in the last ten weeks of top ten books lists. (After all, no one needs to hear anymore about Girl on the Train or Purity—though I thought they were brilliant!) I tried to keep it to works published in 2015, but made exceptions for The End of the Sherry and Good Sam as they were published within the last two years.

I am also, as always, not including on this list the books I edited in 2015, but I cannot help but mention some of the excellent books I help to bring to the world—like Fourteen: A Daughter's Memoir of Adventure, Sailing, and Survival, by Leslie Johansen Nack. I found Nack’s memoir an absolute pleasure to dive into, again and again. I am pleased that the book has garnered excellent reviews and that Leslie enjoyed the process of working with me—she actually wrote about the editing process here, in a short piece in Writer's Digest.

Another book I edited is Soil-Man by Oz Monroe. This book is much harder to describe than it is to recommend. When I was done with the final editing on the book, I told Oz, “Soil-Man is ready for the world, but is the world ready for it?” The dark fantasy is not for the faint of heart—or stomach—but, if you are not afraid to question your own faith, you’ll definitely enjoy this gritty, black-comic tale of an average man beset by avenging angels. The book is comes out in January, but it’s available now for pre-order.

Here’s my "top five" list, in no particular order:

1. A great choice to gift to others (you can get one, too!) is Embraceable: Empowering Facts and True Stories About Women’s Sexuality by August McLaughlin. There’s more than eighteen reasons to recommend it, one for each of the authors, including “Girl Boner” founder and radio host August McLaughlin herself. The pieces deal with body image, self-love, female empowerment, and sexuality in diverse and inclusive ways. You must know a young woman (of any age) who could benefit from reading this book.

2. Everyone who knows me knows I love visiting Mexico, and this year I went “south of the border” in a superior and eclectic new anthology Mexico: Sunlight & Shadows: Short Stories & Essays by Mexico Writers (the list is long and you’d probably recognize some of the names). There’s definitely something for everyone in this collection of short pieces, which include fiction and non-fiction, set in Mexican locations far and wide. (It’s available on Kindle for $2.99 right now.)

3. Good Sam by Dete Meserve, is a novel about our media culture and television reporting that avoids all the tired cliches while still fulfilling every expectation. And you don’t think the world is such a terrible place after reading this book —unlike the aftereffect of reading most novels that deal with crime and criminals—and those who hunt them down. And, the ebook is currently only 99 cents! 

4. The Black Velvet Coat by Jill G. Hall is a debut novel that feels so assured you just fall right into the story. The author skillfully weaves together two women's lives: one, a young artist in contemporary times, the other, a young heiress in the 1960s. The book is not easy to define, as there are elements of mystery and suspense, but most importantly, The Black Velvet Coat is what literary fiction (and all fiction) should be, and often is not—entertaining. 

5. Those lucky enough to be familiar with Bruce Berger’s writing (Almost an Island, The Telling Distance, There Was a River) won’t be surprised to hear that his memoir The End of the Sherry is a compelling, gorgeously written book. Those who believe they don’t like memoir should give this a try. The character of Berger’s twenty-something self—untethered to job or family, who finds himself in Franco’s Spain in the mid-sixties—felt as familiar as a long-lost friend. His down-to-earth story transported me, thrilled me, and made me laugh.

Now, get thee to a bookseller. Or a library. Or click the links to purchase the books on Amazon. Enjoy your end-of-the-year reading and the holidays...
hasta pronto!

Some "Ballpark" Humor

And now for something completely different. 
I've been listening to baseball lately—first, the Divisional Series, then the Championship Series, and now the World Series. Since we don't have cable television on board, we listen to ball games on the radio. Last night I was wondering what life would be like with color commentary...
And so, today's post:

Bob: Welcome listeners, it’s a beautiful day here in Frank’s office and we’ll be broadcasting live here all day, so we hope you’ll stay tuned in to our live, on the spot coverage of Frank versus The Manuscript.
 
Mike: And here comes Frank out for some warm-ups right now…He’s looking confident in his home colors—the traditional blue sweatpants and concert T-shirt—strolling out to the bookshelves to shag a few early ideas and try to build inspiration.
 
Bob: Frank was warming up in the field a while ago, before we went live, and let me tell you, his defense was looking spectacular. He had some snappy rationalizations, a few reasonable excuses, and a quick, spirited line of attack—you know what they say about the best defense being a good offense!
 
Mike: And speaking of offense, Bob, he’s stepping up to the computer right now…He settles into the writer’s seat with his trademark wiggle, and immediately goes into his stance. You wouldn’t think he had that long weekend off, the way his fingers hover over the keys.
 
Bob: He takes the first idea all the way. Never flinches.
 
Mike: Yeah, he’s obviously waiting for just the right—
 
Bob: And he hits that first line deep—that’s definitely deep, and with today’s conditions, it could lead to something very profound. Oh, yeah, that paragraph's easily profound, if not quite philosophical. What a start to the day!
 
Mike: A quick adjustment of his flannels and a tug of his cap and he’s back into his stance, fingers hovering, eyes on the page, once again waiting for that perfect—and he types! It looked good, but by the second sentence it’s starting to drop down into prosaic…Yeah, that has a definite whiff of cliche.
 
Bob: Whiff? Mike, that reeks cliche. But—as you know from the stats—his second paragraphs have always been a bit hackneyed.
 
Mike: Yeah, Bob, especially when revising, his first paragraphs have always scored much higher than his second.
 
Bob: And historically, his on-base percentage falls off as soon as he starts feeling the pressure from having produced some tired prose. He just loses concentration.
 
Mike: I wouldn’t be surprised if he reaches for the coffee now, Bob.
 
Bob: That’s his go-to move in this position, Mike.
 
Mike: Not that it’ll help him, according to our numbers.
 
Bob: And there he goes—he’s out of his seat and heading for the kitchen.
 
Mike: Time for us to take a moment for station identification…


I hope you enjoyed my take on sports radio commentary. 
Keep writing, and...
hasta pronto!

It's Conference Time, Everybody!

Just finished my last editing project of September, and I'll soon be diving into my HUGE stack of advance submissions for the Southern California Writers Conference—and I'm filled with anticipatory glee.
Why? Because this weekend is fun!
I always have a great time at this conference—I get to both learn and teach, which I love. This weekend, I'm teaching a new workshop called “Backstory: Employing Expository like a Screenwriter,” plus doing "Pitch Witches" and much more. SCWC inspires me to be at the top of my game, because everyone else there is!
If you haven't been to a writers conference before, you're probably wondering, "Why should I go to SCWC?"
The biggest/best reason is to connect with a community of writers—and readers (because all writers are readers, no?). Writing is often solitary so we need to meet and talk to others in our "tribe"—to hear people talk about going through the same things we go through; to learn from their mistakes, and to gain insight from their successes.
Of course, you'll also meet and get to chat with agents, editors, and publishers—not to mention people who are successful author-publishers.
The world of publishing is evolving fast, and it's important for aspiring (and published) authors to keep evolving, to keep their strategies always shifting, in order to compensate. Going to SCWC gives you the cutting-edge tools to do that. The panels and workshops include subjects that span the world of today's publishing. Check out the schedule here.
Hope to see you there...
hasta pronto!

The Pros and Cons of Freelancing

 I am updating and re-posting this piece from a couple of years ago, since a new acquaintance recently mentioned how "fun" it must be to work for myself.

When I tell people that I'm a freelance editor, people always say "How cool—that must be fun!" and of course, it is—but, like most everything in life, there are good and not-so-good points about working for yourself...
Most all authors are freelancers, even if they have a "day job" because they are not usually getting paid to write (not as they write, that is—hopefully, they do get paid, but usually months or even years later).

Here are just a few of the Pros and Cons of Freelancing:

Pro: You make your own schedule (plenty of time to read).
Con: You can easily feel guilty if you are not working (never enough time to read for FUN).
Pro: You're your own boss (no one to tell you what to do).
Con: You have to motivate yourself—and on some (sunny) days that is really difficult to do.
Pro: You set your own rates and can ask for what you feel your skills are truly worth.
Con: You don't get a weekly paycheck. (Sometimes more than a few weeks go by!)
Pro: You can work from home (in your pajamas, even; I don't because I feel better when I am "dressed for work")
Con: Your home is your office and your job never really stops.
Pro: Your job is your life and it's fun!

Feel free to add to the list—I'd love to hear from you.
hasta pronto!

My 10 Favorite Adventure/Travel Memoirs

As an editor (and as a writer) I've always been drawn to true stories, and especially to people writing about adventures they have had or about their travels and voyages. Whether harrowing or humorous, these exciting memoirs are always my favorite reads, year in and year out.

Like all my "top ten" booklists, this one is quite personal and highly subjective. I had to leave out some classics like Riding the Iron Rooster by Paul Theroux, because it's been so long since I read it, I couldn't remember what I loved about it, only that I loved it. And I left out Into The Wild because it's not a memoir, it's the story of Christopher McCandless, told by Jon Krakauer, an excellent writer.

Readers may notice a number of these titles are about Baja California and boats. Well, I lived on a sailboat for many years, much of that time spent on and around Baja's Sea of Cortez, so I'm partial to stories about the area, and about sailing, too.

Anyway, here's my current list of favorite memoirs that involve travel or adventure:

Adrift: Seventy Six Days Lost at Sea by Steven Callahan

Almost An Island by Bruce Berger

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert

Into A Desert Place by Graham Mackintosh

Miraculous Air: Journey of a Thousand Miles Through Baja California, the Other Mexico by C.M.Mayo

My Old Man and the Sea: A Father and Son Sail Around Cape Horn by David Hays

Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat

The Log from the Sea of Cortez by John Steinbeck

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail by Cheryl Strayed

Let me know which of these books are on your top ten list—and which of your favorite memoirs I should check out.

hasta pronto!