Some Spring and Summer Must-Reads

I'm ready for Summer already, aren't you? I'm looking forward to some time on the sand, book in hand, with the sun in a blue sky and a cold blended drink nearby—hey that rhymes! I'm becoming a (really bad) poet.
I'm working today under cloudy skies, anticipating the much-needed rain that's been predicted, and thinking of things I'd rather be doing. (What is wrong with me? After all, I'm in one of the most beautiful cities on earth, I have plenty of work to do that I love, I'm my own boss, and I live on a sailboat—what's not to like?)
So, in order to distract myself from the work on my desk, I thought about some of the new books out for Summer that I'm looking forward to reading. Some are freshly published, and one comes out in July. Here they are, in order of release:
Wild Women, Wild Voices: Writing from Your Authentic Wildness by Judy Reeves (March, 2015).
I am a great admirer of Judy Reeves, not just as a great motivator, teacher, and mentor to writers, including myself, but as a master of the craft, herself. You always learn something (often about yourself) from her, and I always feel inspired to write after one of her classes or after dipping into one of her books. I can't wait to read this new one!
Orhan's Inheritance by Aline Ohanesian (April, 2015). This debut novel by a SCWC conference instructor (formerly a SCWC attendee) has had readers and booksellers buzzing for months. I'm fascinated by the history behind this story, set during 1915 in the Ottoman Empire. The book was recently chosen by the NYT for a piece in the Sunday Book Review.

In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume (June, 2015). What can I say about Judy Blume except her writing made a pre-teen me consider that I might be able to write (I already loved reading!) in the early 1970s, and that her book "Are you there God? It's me, Margaret" was the springboard to almost everything I read and wrote in my teens. Gotta read her new book.

Scents and Sensibility by Spencer Quinn (due July 14th). If you haven't read any of the "Chet and Bernie" series, you are in for a real treat. Narrated by a wordly yet innocent mixed breed dog named Chet, who works with his master Bernie, a P.I. solving crimes and catching "perps by the pant leg" this series is full of laugh-out-loud moments. Anyone who loves mysteries or dog stories will love them, and there are plenty of them to love. S & S will be number 8 in the series.
And last on the list, but surely not least, the final book on my "I've got to read it this summer" list is
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee (due July 14). I am so excited to see what this amazing author's original story was like, before she adapted the storytelling to suit her publisher. And because—for goodness sake, people—she's Harper Lee, that's why.
I hope you're as excited about your Summer "to read" list as I am, and I'd love to hear if you have any of the books I mentioned here on your list.
By the way, I had a great time last Sunday, writing all day at the "Blazing Laptops" fundraiser for San Diego Writers, Ink. My heartfelt thanks to all of you who contributed to helping me support this fine non-profit resource in our community. Between the silent auction, the raffles and the many generous pledges, SDWI raised almost $13,000 toward their goal of $15,000. It's not too late to contribute, on their secure fundraising site, right here. 
I loved being back at at the Ink Spot in Liberty Station, it's been too long. I'll be teaching at SDWI again this fall, and I'll keep you all posted as to those dates. Until then...
hasta pronto!

JennyRedbug needs YOUR help!

May was a busy month for me. I've not only been busy with work (see below), and spending time with my mom and the rest of my family—we even got some boat work shoe-horned in there. Russel has been designing and installing new cupboards and storage areas on the mighty sailing vessel "Watchfire 2" and I have had to watch, and give advice. Exhausting. Add to that our anniversary and my birthday and you can see why the posts have not been proliferating here.

Luckily my recent book-editing projects have not been exhausting—they've been challenging and exhilarating. I'm doing a line-edit on a timely and evocative Civil Rights Era novel by an author I met at San Diego Writers Conference. Also doing some content/structure edits on a travel memoir and evaluating a new genre novel by an excellent writer. The summer is booking up with new projects, too. I love my job!

You might have missed my last post—it was a guest blog on my friend Oz Monroe's excellent blog. Oz has a fun (scary) challenge for himself: He lets his Facebook friends pick a weekly topic, and the winning topic (by likes) is the subject he writes about. He calls the challenge, "Throw Oz Under the Bus." A couple of us have allowed ourselves to be "thrown under the bus" too, as guest bloggers—I was the latest. The winning blog topic for me was “A feminist perspective on masculinity in the 21st century.” (WTF?) Here's my post for Oz, based on that topic: Man up?

And now, my friends, it's that time of year again...won't you help me to support San Diego Writers, Ink (SDWI), an important non-profit resource in our writing community? Their yearly "Blazing Laptops" fundraising event raises a major portion of their annual operating funds, allowing them to offer great classes at low rates. I donate time to them every year, and I'll be donating a free book evaluation (value $500 to $1000) to the auction; I'll also be writing all day during "Blazing Laptops" at the SDWI Ink Spot in Liberty Station on June 7th.

Could you donate $5 or $10? We'd all appreciate it! My fundraising page is here.

Thanks for any help you can give SDWI, and...
hasta pronto!

Beauty of a Woman Blogfest 2015: The Language of Beauty

Today's blog is part of the Beauty of a Woman Blogfest 2015; here is a link to the fest page: http://www.augustmclaughlin.com/boaw15/ This is a wonderful event and I hope all my readers will stop by today or sometime this week to participate—there are valuable prizes galore, including one from Yours Truly!

The Language of Beauty
Why is it that we always refer to fabulous women as "beautiful"? Isn't there a better word to honor true inner beauty? Why are words like "strong" and "healthy" and "intelligent" so often seen as a back-handed compliment—the equivalent of the famous blind-date compliment, "she has a great personality"?
I recently saw a Hollywood movie where the female star was introduced to a young girl who would become her adopted grand-daughter. The first thing she said to the girl—who was, of course, very cute—was "Aren't you beautiful? Do you know how beautiful you are?" as if that was the pinnacle of  achievement for a little girl.
We've all heard about the shameful treatment (in a newspaper I won't dignify by naming) of the late, and oh-so-talented author Colleen McCollough, when this line was printed in the first few sentences of her obituary: "Australia’s best selling author, was a charmer. Plain of feature, and certainly overweight, she was, nevertheless, a woman of wit and warmth."
Wait, what? Seriously?!
What in blazes does being "overweight" or "plain" have to do with this woman's real life—and the pleasure that she brought to millions of readers? Would that this episode had been the first of its kind—we can only hope it will be the last.
But, I admit, I have been too often guilty of referring to my many bright, talented, incredible women friends as "beautiful." Why do I say guilty? Because when I join the legions of people who see women as primarily (sometimes solely) physical packages, to be judged as meeting or not meeting someone's specifications of "beauty," then I'm part of the problem.
Yes, it's hard to see a woman friend's picture on Facebook and not want to say that they are beautiful or lovely to look at, but I'm going to try hard to think of other words to use. I'm going to try to look past their attractive surface and come up with other words—words that pay homage to the many facets of beauty that powerful bright women share. Assets like generosity, loving-kindness, caring, self-respect and respect for others, insight & intuition, and so many others...
Hmm...I may still use the word beautiful when I refer to women, especially those who may not seen by the surface-obsessed world as traditionally beautiful, though—if I feel moved to...Rules, after all, are made to be broken.
hasta pronto!

Why Go to a Writers Conference?

Authors often ask me whether they should go to a writers conference--after all, it is an investment of time and money.There are many reasons, but I think the five below are key. I could write about going to conferences in general, but instead I'm going to write about going to the Southern California Writers Conference (SCWC), coming up here in San Diego, on Presidents’ Day Weekend, February 13-16th.

Partly this is because I know this conference the best (I've been teaching workshops there for years), but also because I like the way it's run--the casual, fun vibe of it--and because I've seen it actually work for people, year after year, in so many different ways.

Here's 5 Reasons you should go to SCWC:

#1. Great Workshops/Excellent Teachers

The weekend is full of great workshops--on everything from writing and editing your manuscript, to pitching, selling, & marketing your book. All the workshop leaders are either published authors, working editors or agents, or publishers (some are even all three!). They ALL have something to teach you. Soak it all up!

#2. To Get Feedback

No matter how wonderful your writers group and Beta readers are, it's good to get some more eyes (usually ears, actually) on your project. Go to Read and Critiques and read--and listen... Find out what works, and what doesn't. You might find some Beta readers, too.

#3. To Network with Other Writers

Writing is a solitary sport--it's good to meet others who sit in rooms and type for days on end…You will meet others who share your interests, and some who will introduce you to new ways of writing, thinking, and thinking about writing. After all, these people are your TRIBE. 

#4. To Meet Industry Experts

Even if you don't have Advance Submission slots set up, SCWC gives you plenty of opportunities to meet literary agents, editors, and publishers, not to mention successful published authors. Have a glass of wine at happy hour or dinner or sit down and visit over coffee or lunch. Take time to talk--not just pitch your project--and listen!

#5. To Hang Out in a Cool Place

I probably don't need to explain this one...Come on, it's San Diego. Perfect weather, fabulous setting. You are allowed to have FUN in life, after all--even before you finish your book or get published. Invest in yourself!

 

I think I've said it all...Hope to see you there. For those who live in San Diego, I'm also teaching at San Diego Writers Ink this coming weekend, both Saturday (editing workshop) and Sunday (pitch, query class). There's plenty of info on their home page.

hasta pronto!

My Five Fave Books of 2014

A short list of the new books I enjoyed reading this year (all were published in 2014).
Once again, I am not putting on my list of favorites the recent books that have been bestsellers—a couple of which I admired greatly, like Sue Monk Kidd's The Invention of Wings, Five Came Back by Mark Harris and Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult, since they have gotten, and will get, plenty of "ink" elsewhere.
I want to share with you the excellent, important, or just plain entertaining reads you might not hear about otherwise—because, well, the world isn't necessarily fair.
I'm linking to the books' Amazon pages because it gives you all a super simple link to find out more about these books and to maybe even purchase one of them. Why Amazon? Because it's the easiest way to do it—and because, well, the world isn't necessarily fair.
The order of the list is the order in which I read them this year, not in any order of achievement.
So there.

The Stones of Kaldaar by Tameri Etherton I loved Tolkein's LoTR trilogy and I love the echoes of it in this author's new fantasy series-starter. The world our heroine is suddenly plunged into is strange and yet totally believable. I'm waiting impatiently for book two.

The Mapmaker's Daughter by Laurel Corona was a learning experience that transported me—two attributes I love in literature. Set in the years just before the Spanish Inquisition, Corona's story of a young Jewish girl "passing" as a Catholic is heartbreaking and incredibly timely.

In Doubt by Drusilla Campbell The latest from my beloved friend—a brilliant writer, teacher and mentor who we lost much too soon. As always, Dru takes the hard road in this book, by defending the "indefensible" in this unusual and contemporary courtroom tale.

The Bone Feud by Wynne McLaughlin Real rollicking fun—a fact-based western with cowboys, Indians, and dinosaur bones. Enough said.

Metaphysical Odyssey Into the Mexican Revolution: Francisco I. Madero and His Secret Book by C. M. Mayo  Last but certainly not least, the book I just finished, about a time I find fascinating, by one of my favorite authors. Don't be thrown off by the academic-sounding title—this book is like a rambling conversation with a really smart friend who knows a great deal more than you do, but truly enjoys telling the story to you, and does it in an entertaining and enlightening way.

Enjoy your end-of-the-year reading and the holidays...
hasta pronto!