Book Launch: SAINT SANGUINUS

The absotively, posilutely best thing about the interwebs is discovering like-minded friends in far-off places.

Today is launch day for SAINT SANGUINUS,
the debut novel of Apprentice Writer's online amiga Julia Phillips Smith. AW is delighted to introduce this brand-spanking new author, and have the chance to pick her newly professional writerly brain.

Congratulations, Julia! First things first: the cover. Did you have input regarding art or title?

One of the pluses - or minuses depending on your point of view - of self-publishing is the amount of creative control an author has over the finished product. In traditional publishing one can fill out a style sheet and suggest things, but it's really the marketing department that has the final say as to cover art and title of the book. An author has to trust that it's in the best interests of everyone involved to produce the best cover possible, with the catchiest, stop-em-in-their tracks title, ever.

With self-publishing, it's important to pay attention to other covers currently in the marketplace. Does your genre tend to feature a hero brandishing a weapon? Does your genre currently trend toward blue covers, or red, or orange? What do the covers of the top sellers in your genre look like?

Unless you're someone with graphic design skills, I wouldn't recommend designing your own cover. Hiring a professional to do your story justice - a story into which you've likely poured your heart and soul - will result in the wonderful moment when you first gaze upon a dream come true.

As for my title, I followed the time-honored convention of naming a superhero origin story after the title character.

The title certainly is memorable! What comes to you first: hero? Heroine? Ending? One-liners?

For me, stories always come in a vision-like flash. I'll be minding my own business, and then wham! I'm deep in the midst of a dramatic sequence unfolding in my mind's eye, and I haven't the slightest clue what's going on. Who is he? Why are they doing that to him? What's going on here?

Then I have to sort out what's what, almost like stumbling into a playground fight and listening to everyone's 'He started it!'

I can honestly say no character has ever come to me in quite that way. What's your favorite scene in 'Saint Sanguinus'?

My favorite scene comes toward the end, during the big set piece. Hero in jeopardy, deep in the Black Moment - my favorite! If it was a film, it would be the part I obsessively watch over and over again. Not that I'm prone to doing that *cough, cough*

Heh. What's a typical writing day look like for you?
Once upon a time, I didn't have a typical writing day. I wrote in creative bursts.

But over the years I've definitely developed a writing routine. Mon-Fri I work at my day job. So during the week I wait until evening to climb into the creativity cockpit. I'm a night owl by nature, so writing from 8:30-12:30 or sometimes 2:00am works best for me. That's when I'm really on. Even on the weekends, when theoretically I could write at any time, I still do my best writing between 8:00 pm and 2:00 am.

I love the image of climbing into the creativity cockpit. How does your family feel about you being an author?

I come from a creative background, so I've always had 100% support. No need to explain why I need to hibernate and ignore the garden, for example. Even my dog seems to encourage my scheduled time at the computer.

My garden and children don't seem to operate that way. Your best writing habit?

This has evolved directly from participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month - taking place right now! www.nanowrimo.org). I followed one character exclusively during the writing marathon, realizing it took too much mental rearranging to go back and forth between points of view. I then followed the heroine's POV exclusively. This helped me to realize that immersing myself wholly into the character is vital, and it's a new way of working that I'm now applying to all my stories.

I've never tried that technique before. Perhaps I should experiment! Worst writing vice?

Trying to tune into the revisions channel in my head. For the longest time, I thought it was a matter of finely tuning the same invisible dial that brought me to the story in the first place. Finally, it dawned on me that there is no revisions channel, at least not like the Generating A New Story channel that runs 24/7 in my mind.

Instead I had to get my own shiny revisions toolkit from the Put On Your Big Girl Panties store and just get on with it.

Social Networking: wolf in sheep's clothing or blessing in disguise?

Social networking is an immense, globally available, free marketing tool no writer should leave out of his or her press kit.

As a longtime blogger, I have online friendships with people all over the world. Think of attempting to spread word-of-mouth promo in countries like Australia, England, Denmark, Israel and all across the US by traditional means. This is already accomplished for me, because I have blog friends in all those places.

Nightstand Inspection! What was the last ____ you read?

Contemporary: The Christmas Baby Bump, by Lynne Marshall
Historical: Heiress in Love, by Christina Brooke
UF/Paranormal/Fantasy: The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, by Leanna Renee Hieber
Mystery/Suspense/Thriller: Spring Break, by Kayla Perrin
Memoir/Non-Fiction: The Supernatural Companions, by Nicholas Knight

That's quite the diverse lineup. Who is your writing idol and why?

Jo Beverly. She takes the time to place the reader squarely in the time and place of her historical romances, without ever slowing the pace of her stories. She never lets modern sensibilities intrude upon the historical tale she's telling. She manages to address the unromantic truths of her historic time periods without losing the shine of her happily ever after. Plus, she's a master of dialogue that carries the rhythms of real speakers, while still managing to weave story momentum within it.

Wow. I hope I write stories like Jo Beverly when I grow up. Just, like, in contemporary times and with comedy instead of historical drama and stuff.
Which literary character do you wish you'd thought of first?

Quentin Tarantino's The Bride from the "Kill Bill" series. But I'm glad he did think of such a kick-ass heroine.

You betray your roots by your choice of ultimate character from cinema instead of printed page!
Best piece of advice for aspiring writers?

The biggest thing - when you hit the point when you leave behind the infatuation stage with your own raw talent and now face the cliff-climbing phase of perfecting your craft - once you get to the top of that cliff, you will be like The Bride. You will kick ass yourself. Keep going.

I'm somewhere on that cliff now too.
How much tech know-how should one have to self-publish? Should a person like Apprentice Writer who barely manages to log on to Twitter or Facebook simply exclude that road to publication?

No, you don't have to exclude it. But you will have to be willing to pay other people to do the various aspects for you.

Self-publishing means wearing many hats, but it doesn't mean you will do every job yourself. I've hired my own little project team to prepare SAINT SANGUINUS for publication, including a graphic designer for the cover, a producer for the book trailer, a copy editor/proofreader for the manuscript and a formatter for the e-book prep.

Each book will require its own creative/technical team. Skimping on these aspects will produce an inferior product going out to readers, and I personally don't want to have my name on that.

A true co-operative effort. Anything else you'd like to share with AW's readers?

There was a time in my life when following my dreams seemed to have turned into a colossal joke. In embracing my artistic aspirations, I had a film degree but no way to pursue that field, because unforeseen health issues made working for free - in order to collect film credits - a complete impossibility.

Obviously, even through truly soul-crushing times, I managed somehow to hold onto my original dreams. Even though I tried to keep them at arms' length, they hid in little places deep inside of me. I kept working at telling stories by learning to write novels instead of making films.

In my personal life, my husband and I managed to climb out of the financial pit in which we'd languished. The health issues continued, but over time we've learned not only how to live with them, but flourish despite them. Suddenly, planets alligned or something, because things started falling into place at a rapid rate this year.

So what I'd like to share with your readers is this. Life really does kick you in the gut sometimes. The dark part of "...it's always darkest before the dawn..." can choke you into unconsciousness. But take it from me.

DON'T give up. NEVER give up.

Thanks Julia, for showing your story so honestly.

Gentle Readers, you can purchase SAINT SANGUINUS from Amazon from 18 November.

Visit Julia at www.juliaphillipssmith.com to learn more.

Review: EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT LOVE I LEARNED FROM ROMANCE NOVELS

EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT LOVE
I LEARNED FROM ROMANCE NOVELS
Sarah Wendell
Non-Fiction
Sourcebooks, October 2011

Premise: Blogger and devotee of the much-maligned genre draws helpful real-life insights about personal growth and relationships from the books, their authors, and their fans.

Cover: In a book with an already high tongue-in-cheek factor, the cover may be the tongue-in-cheekiest of all. The iconic clinch-cover image is obscured by what looks like brown paper wrapping, a clear and sassy nod to the perception that the genre is merely "chick porn" (hence reference to delivery method of X-rated material in the days before internet and the author's name looking handwritten, as in a postal address). It made Apprentice Writer laugh, which is a great way to begin a relationship with a book before the first page is even read.

What Works: A lot.

The author's trademark funny, breezy, low-key conversational style, familiar to legions of her website and twitter followers, translates seamlessly to the printed non-fiction page. New readers should be aware that this style sometimes includes expressions that may not be suitable at work, or with kids reading along. On the other hand, it provides learning opportunties for new vocabulary - AW, for example, had not come across the terms "giddypants" or "crapmonkeys" before.

Another appealling aspect is that the author does not set herself up as the one with all the expertise. She shares her views (sometimes vehemently; witness "giddypants" and "crapmonkeys") however for every personal opinion stated she seeks out those of others as well, and in so doing, gives equal measure to those crafting the tales and those consuming them. This is a refreshing reminder that the book community is composed not just of writers influencing readers through their work but equally of readers influencing writers through their reactions to and discussions about that work.

When Sarah Wendell sends out a query into the blogosphere or twitterverse, she really truly (to use the technical term) listens to the responses that boomerang back, and incorporates them into a more expanded understanding of whatever the issue may be. This collaborative attitude permeates the whole book, and is encapsulated in the dedication to "...the fabulous readers who have come to Smart Bitches over the years to talk romance novels, celebrate the excellence, and bemoan the bizarre."

This willingness to explore said bizarre is also a plus, of the book and the site. If the internet is to be believed (and why in the world shouldn't it?) (Just kidding. Kind of.) that vast army of romance novel afficionados that singlehandedly drives the lion's share of profits of the mass-market publishing industry can roughly be divided into two camps: those who believe it is "mean" to mention anything critical about a romance novel (meaning reviews are all rainbows and roses), and those who believe in mentioning aspects that could be improved (meaning reviews run the gamut between all out raves and full on evisceration. AW, the Gentle Reader may have guessed, leans toward the side that says all types of honest reviews are legitimate so long as this doesn't cross the line into personal slights or attacks on the author.

AW loved the mix of analysis and jokes/gentle teasing about certain common features, such as:

"...4..A romance heroine doesn't just stand by her man, she stands up to him!....5. A romance hero must always be willing to rush into a burning building to save a basket of kittens."

"...Reading romances and taking them literally is definitely not the path to everlasting happiness. There are some crazy over-the-top plots that would never fly in the real world...For any (real-life) men who may be reading this...if you like a girl, I suggest asking her out on a date, in preference to threatening to turn her ecologically sound tourism location into a strip mall."

AW's favorite parts were pseudo-scientific lists and tables. The list of best heros of all time, for example (who's #1? P&P's Mr. Darcy, of course) should provide endless room for debate on correctness of numeration and inclusion, the suggested newbie shopping list of ten iconic novels to start a romance collection that spans most subgenres and which AW imagines was Holy-Melting-Eyebrows-Batman difficult to keep so brief for a passionate lover (ha!) of the genre, the step by step guide to looking like a romance hero ("Step 1: Acquire a mullet. Step 5: Ensure that the wind is buffeting your manly chestular landscape in as flattering a manner as possible.").

Perhaps the most educational (albeit snortworthy) aspect for people who think that all romance is of the Harlequin Presents type (i.e. with a title along the lines of "The Latvian Tycoon Playboy Sheikh Billionaire's Virgin Pregnant Secretary Mistress Bride") is the graph "Which Romance Are You?" which illustrates how diverse the genre really is. It puts specific questions to each of 9 subgenres. In this way, one learns that the answer to the question "How Do You Like Your Steak?" is "Mooing" in Western and "Hairy in Paranormal, the answer to the question "What is Your Favorite Dessert?" is "whipped cream" for erotica and "anything on fire" for romantic suspense, and the answer for "What is Your Favorite Holiday?" is "Boss's Day" for Harlequin Presents and "Talk Like a Pirate Day" for Historical.


What Doesn't: Not so much a criticism as a desire for a specific point's greater emphasis of a or repetition (not, AW grants you, the usual type of request).

The author mentions early on how the life lessons explored are taken from more more recent decades, and may not be contained in quite the same way (or at all) in some older examples of the genre. This is so true, and significant, that AW almost feels like it should be tacked onto the bottom of each page of this book as a warning message. As in: "This is old-skool romance! May contain the opposite of messages like "We Know Who We are, and We Know Our Own Worth", "We Know How to Solve Problems", and especially "Happy Endings Take Work"! Content may be hazardous to feminist sentiments, the concept of men and women being equal partners, the expectation that men NOT solve every problem with might-makes-right, and the idea that women need to do more than just look pretty and blush on cue!"

Failing such distinction between what was then and what is now could lead readers newly willing to give the genre a try to feel like all their preconceived notions were well-founded. AW can certainly remember a couple of earlier-published works that ended up being thrown against a wall from the time that she had newly discovered the genre. Luckily for her, she simultaneously came across some other volumes with much more positive underlying messages (plus great writing) so continued exploring rather than giving up on the genre.


Things AW Wishes Had Been Included:
1. The author's husband's reaction. Not just because a person detailing all the great things they've learned about love just BEGS for a statement from that person's spouse. Not just because it would be nod to the Great Romance Debate on novels told only from the heroine's point of view vs. inclusion of the hero's point of view. But because this particular spouse once did a book review on his wife's site and as AW recalls he was just as funny as she.

2. A stepback cover. As AW may have mentioned (one or two dozen times), she loathes stepback covers because she has yet to see one that she didn't think was snarkworthy to the highest degree. It would have been a lot of fun to see a parody.

Overall: Strikes a good balance between thoughtful and entertaining. Readers already familiar with the author will not be disappointed, while those for whom this is new territory might well rethink a preconceived or perhaps outdated notion or two, and, who knows? Even pick up one of the myriad books mentioned, see if it clicks for them, and whether they can draw a worthwhile life lesson from it themselves.

Serious Side of Comedy: Online Etiquette

Social media seem to thrive on the ebb and flow of controversy. A recent cyberstorm made Apprentice Writer wonder about the nature of publicly being called to account for bad behavior, AKA shaming.

The Nutshell: A writer sent a literary agent a query. It clearly didn't follow guidelines, so a polite and even kindly form rejection was sent in reply. The writer took this rejection poorly, as expressed in two follow-up messages that were, shall we say, unfortunate on multiple levels. Whereupon the agent blogposted the correspondence, including the writer's name, resulting in a very long thread of blogcomments more or less universally deriding the writer. One commenter posted in haiku form which apparently led the agent to announce a haiku contest on Twitter, with a hashtag that included the writer's name, resulting in numerous mocking tweets and retweets. At least one author/blogger posted in a deliberately general manner (without any names or specifics that would allow identification) about discomfort with apparent misperception about a publishing hiearchy (unpublished writers below published writers below agents below publishers) and how this could cause writers to hesitate about speaking out when they see something with which they disagree. The agent posted a comment on expressed assumption that the author's post referred to her case, again specifed the name of the writer, and defended her choice to respond as she did due to (if AW has understood correctly) conviction that the writer's unprofessional responses constituted a direct attack on herself as well as her signed writers which justified counterattack.

OK, admittedly that was rather a large nut to fit in one shell. But here's the question:

What do you think of it all?

Here is what AW posted at the above-mentioned author/blogger's site:

"I'm still figuring out what I think of the whole thing, but chief among my reactions is - taken aback. There is no question that the response the writer made to the form rejection was unfortunate on multiple levels,

BUT

to me, his messages almost had something of a feel of the aspiring contestants in the audition rounds of reality shows that are not only deluded about the level of their talent, but give the impression they may have mental health issues going on as well. I have no knowledge about this particular writer, but my discomfort with how the online deluge mushroomed - haiku contest attached to a person's actual full name? - is because it feels like a colossally imbalanced situation if there is any possibility the rejected writer is dealing with health challenges. (I repeat: I have NO CLUE whether it's the case or not).

Wouldn't it be wise - or even, kind - to allow for this possibility before publishing names involved? Wouldn't the educational benefit (learning how NOT to correspond in the publishing world) have been achieved by sharing the messages without name attached?

I'm confuzzled about it all so I'd welcome thoughts."

Q & A and Giveaway: ABIGAIL REYNOLDS

Welcome to Apprentice Writer, Abigail!

1. What comes to you first? Hero? Heroine? Ending?

Actually, it's usually a scene that comes to me with great clarity, and then I build the story and characters around it. In the case of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, it was the scene where Darcy comes home injured and Elizabeth runs out to meet him, having finally realized that she loves him. The central scene keeps playing in my head until I figure out the story around it.

2. My favorite scene in the book is when Darcy and Elizabeth suddenly realize how badly they've each misinterpreted something about the other. It was an emotional scene for both, but my heart really bled for Darcy - trying so hard and meaning so well, yet frequently having people take his actions and motives the wrong way, partially due to having a specific type of brain wiring. The scene moved me almost to tears, because my son has a similar type of brain wiring and it has caused him vast amounts of grief, socially and academically. Maybe books like this can help readers develop greater understanding about this kind of thing.

What's your favorite scene?

I'm particularly fond of the whole sequence where Darcy is ill. It's the first time he and Elizabeth have a chance to engage in affectionate banter, and there's a lot of emotion for both of them and hope for the future.

3. How does a typical writing day look? Has it changed since Book #1?

There are no typical writing days! Between my part-time job and taking care of my kids, writing gets squeezed in wherever it can. Often I stay up after the rest of the family is in bed so I can write for an hour or two.

4. How does your family feel about you being an author?

They've been great about it. My husband has been wonderfully supportive since the beginning, even when it was just a time-consuming hobby, and my kids are proud of my books. The only problem has been one time when my son, who has Asperger's syndrome and has problems with social skills, told his English teacher she was wrong about something in his essay because his mom is a published novelist and I'd said it was OK. Oops!

5. Your best writing habit? Worst writing vice?

Probably my best writing habit is that I listen to my characters. They're always doing unexpected things that aren't in my plot, and usually they're right and I'm wrong. My worst vice is excessive self-criticism and its sidekick perfectionism. I can get so hung up on getting a sentence right that I end up not writing anything. I'm much better off if I just plow through a first draft breaking every writing rule, then go back and fix it.

6. Social networking: Wolf in Sheep's Clothing or Blessing in Disguise?

Tricky question! I thinkit's a bit of both. It's great to be able to connect with readers in a different way, but sometimes it opens writers to unexpected attacks. It can also eat enormous amounts of time that could be better spent writing.

7. Nightstand inpsection! What was the last ____ you read?

Contemporary: 'Too Good to be True' by Kristan Higgins
Historical: 'At Long Last Love' by Mary Balogh
Paranormal/UF/Fantasy: 'Sea Glass' by Maria Snyder
Mystery/Suspense: 'Suspense and Sensibility' by Carrie Bebris

8. Who is your writing idol and why?

Jane Austen, of course! She combines a brilliant satiric wit with caring observation, and I find new things every time I read her books.

9. Which literary character do you wish you'd thought of first?

Severus Snape.

10. Best piece of advice for aspiring writers?

Write the story that's in your heart. not the story you think is most likely to sell. The story in your heart is the one that will have the most life and will move readers the most.

11. Anything else you'd like to share with Apprentice Writer's readers?

Keep believing in your writing! And thanks for having me.

Thanks for giving us a glimpse of writer life, Abigail. Loved your Severus Snape answer, and your son is a hero, utterly convinced of his mom's superiority as he is.

Readers, you can learn more about the author and her 'Pemberly Variations' series here.

Comment today for a chance to win 1 of 2 copies of 'Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, the Last Man in the World', kindly provided by Sourcebooks.

Double your chances by commenting on yesterday's review!

The Fine Print:
1. US and Canadian addresses only, please.
2. No P.O. Boxes
3. Leave a way to get in touch if your name does not link to a site.
4. Contest ends 21 January 2010.

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Library Writer in Residence Programs

Any Gentle Readers out there also aspiring writers?

Apprentice Writer's suggestion of the day for you:

Investigate whether your public library runs a Writer-in-Residence program.

The Toronto Public Library does, and the current author holding the position is Deborah Cooke, also writing as Claire Cross, also writing as Claire Delacroix. Her oeuvre includes historical romance, chicklit, paranormal, fantasy, and dystopia. Her residence program includes panel discussions with industry experts to which the public is invited, blogging about various topics related to publication, and perhaps most enticing for us amateur scribblers, a manuscript critique opportunity (first fifity pages).

The author currently holding the position for the Richmond Hill Public Library is Barry Dempster, whose oeuvre includes poetry, short stories, and novels. His residence program includes a series of workshops, and also the tempting manuscript critique opportunity (first ten pages and synopsis).

Apprentice Writer had the good fortune to have her manuscript excerpt accepted for critique by Ms. Cooke, and spent an excellently helpful hour in the resident writer's library office, high above the North York public performance space and beneath Mel's Bells (an inside joke for Torontonians - Mel Lastman was a mayor of North York, a Toronto burb, and the library is in the same tower as the former North York City Hall which is crowned by a bell tower). Ms. Cooke provided a large amount of micro- and meta- comments about Apprentice Writer's manuscript, and the question of what to do with it now that it's complete. The most memorable of which was "This is good," and "You are not wasting your time," to AW's great relief.

Apprentice Writer now has renewed energy to work through another revision, and see the many-times-read words with fresh eyes. More importantly, she has completed (!) her query letter for sending out into the cold, harsh world of publication reality. Report forthcoming.

If you'd like the opportunity to speak with a Toronto-based author, editor, and/or literary agent, consider attending the public lecture tomorrow night. For info as well as a link to Ms. Cooke's blog, click here.

For info on the Richmond Hill program, click here.

At best, you could receive specific, helpful input on your work. At least, you would spend time with authors -who remain, in AW's opinion, some of the smartest and most interesting people anywhere.


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Freshly Squeezed Drama, Second Helping

Uproar ongoing.

For those not following this modern economics/public relations/social media lesson tweet by tweet or post by post, here is the bare minimum of what took place further to events in Apprentice Writer's previous post.

The Boards of Directors of the romance writers, mystery writers, and science fiction writers groups were unanimous in making pubic their strong and swift rejection of Harlequin's decision to open an arm (variously described as self-publishing and vanity press, depending on the speaker) for writers whose work was not up to Harlequin's regular publication standards.

Some of these organizations implemented immediate consequences regarding future recognition of Harlequin authors, some extended a deadline by which they hoped to hear from Harlequin about steps it might take to modify the new venture.

Harlequin issued a statment in which it expressed surprise at the negative reaction, and subsequently announced its decision to remove the Harlequin name from the venture.

For some blogosphere commentators, this was acceptable.

For others, it was too little, too late, considering two ongoing sore spots: Harlequin's original plan to include a reference to the service in standard rejection letters, and Harlequin's original fee structure for the service which are described without exception as much higher than industry standards. As of this blogpost, Harlquin does not appear to have made further public statements regarding these aspects.

Perhaps further developments will be handled behind closed doors, now that the initial storm has passed. Or perhaps this week will see further steps and counter-steps reported in the media.

Until then, Apprentice Writer passes on the following thoughts, shared by people with a helpfully enhancing point of view:

- According to an author-friend with background in Fortune 500 companies: when a company is working on an innovation, everything is very hush-hush and it simply does not occur that input is invited as this would ruin the scoop. Rather, the company anticipates which groups might have concerns, prepares responses dealing with those concerns, and after it unveils its innovation, expects that those groups will approach them and thereby bring about a discussion to lead to mutual satisfactory solution for both. According to this business practice, Harlequin would have expected writer groups to approach and consult behind closed doors, in theory leading to a happy (or at least, tolerant) faces all around.

But the writer groups didn't play it that way. Whether or not that was a good thing is for each onlooker to decide. Apprentice Writer's highly unscientific survey says opinions seem pretty much fifty-fifty on this.

- According to a friend 'on the inside', it seems many layers of employees at Harlequin had no idea this was in the works. That may include editors, and certainly the company's published authors, of which those tied to the Harlequin Historicals line were arguably the hardest hit since their double H logo could be and was easily confused for the Harlequin Horizon one. Something they could have warned upper management about.

- According to L'esprit d'escalier, the breakdown of fees is worth a very close look. For anyone thinking of making the leap to publication and interested in specific figures of what it can take on the road to get there, this is essential reading. Really, Gentle Reader who is also an Aspiring Writer - go look at this.

- The single item EVERYONE agrees upon:

Holy jaw-dropping numbers, Batman! How did they come up with these figures???



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Visualize This

Apprentice Writer is part ninja, part monkey, part stairmaster cyborg.
What on earth, you say?

AW will tell you.

Or more accurately, Chris Baty will tell you. The father of the global phenomenon of National Novel Writing Month (which outgrew the 'National' adjective many years ago) sends pep talks to the tens of thousands of participants at strategic times. The most recent such motivator urged lagging participants (that would be AW, not those credibility-challenged imbeciles whose wordcount bars changed color to signify 50k achieved on Day 2) to write in thousand word sprints, imagining a staircase of a thousand steps.

Adieu, Gentle Reader. AW has laced up her running shoes and is set for (keyboard) exercise.

NOVEMBER APPROACHING: Insanity Warning

Last days of October.

The Gentle Reader knows what that means.

NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH.

Yes, Apprentice Writer has signed up for the '30 Days of Literary Abandon' again, armed only with a snippet of an idea culled from, of all things, a newspaper article announcing the kickoff of a restaurant critic's new food column, and the story of how he and his first guest met. That's all that was needed to commit to writing 50,000 fresh new somehow-or-other connected words. No plotpoints, no character outlines - heck, no character names! - none of that. It's the month of writing dangerously, after all.

Even better, last night AW attended a coffee-house get-together (what in the world would literary types do without coffee-houses, those Boardrooms of the vocabulary rich and wallet poor?) of fellow Wrimos in York region. It was a mixed bunch: male, female, student, day-jobber, midlifer, married-with-kids, not-yet-dating. All with two things in common.

Tendency to laugh a lot (there was many a sidelong glance from other patrons, and the occasional barrista).

Eyes shining with the light of excitement at their utterly unique, kick-ass literary idea that each could not wait to plunge into. Atomic koalas? Time travel philosophy? Quest in the BC interior? Leprechauns? Innercity ecocults? Brunch journalism? You bet.

We all signed our NanNoWriMo contracts ("..pledge to leave our work unmolested by Inner Editors...to let our innate creativity and brilliance free rein...." etc.) and planned to meet again in a week's time so as to bolster fading enthusiasm and brainstorm plot stoppages.

AW will be working on her Nanovel most Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings between 9:30-11:15 at the Richmond Hill Central Library on the second floor at one of the south-looking solo window tables. If you like - please join her.

Or join the overall insanity: www.nanowrimo.org
Wrimos of York region have a thread on the 'Forums: Canada: Ontario: Elsewhere' board.

Writing "THE END"

Big news.

Apprentice Writer has finished her first book,

CUPID AND A TOOLBELT
An Epic Novel of Romance and Home Improvement

The full manuscript is gearing up to go on tour of slush piles everywhere, with the first official scouting trip already sent into the not-quite-wild-blue-yonder (a well-known agency inviting three-sentence 'Book in a Nutshell' pitches, to be precise).

To celebrate, here is the Prologue in its first public appearance. The goldfish welcomes any and all comments. (Seriously. Its scales have been toughened enough from contest entries to absorb constructive criticism, yet are still sensitive enough to appreciate praise.)

"She blamed the goldfish.

With hindsight, Josie could pinpoint the instant when she descended into a life of crime. It was the moment she looked into those trusting underwater eyes, and realized she had no choice. She couldn't live with herself if she didn't take action - consequences be damned. So, really, if the fish hadn't been right there, right then, doing infinite laps round its private little pool, her destiny would probably have taken a different shape..."

YEAR OF READING DANGEROUSLY

Apprentice Writer read a newpaper article about a family who didn't make any monetary purchases (except for food, utilities, medical needs) for a year. This experiment was the result of the parents' alarm that their teenaged daughter spent almost all her free time at the mall with her friends, shopping or planning future shopping. According to the article, it took a little while for all members of the family to settle into the new make it yourself/ barter / recycle / trade routine, but after the year was over they all agreed to continue with their good habits and enjoyment of rediscovered leisure activities.

Neither AW nor her family are ready for such a hard-core experiment. But it did make her take a very hard look at her TBR pile; like that of many a book-lover, it seems to double in size regularly. Yet, she keeps buying more. (The new paper smell! The pretty covers! The fact that there is always someone in the checkout with more books, giving a feeling of pseudo-virtue!)

Recently, other family members became disgruntled at AW hogging all the shelfspace. She brushed it off and recommended they get gruntled again.

Then she did a quick inventory. Yikes. Enough reading material for two books a week for over a year, sitting around gathering dust.

RESULT
AW resolves not to buy books in 2009.

But won't that cause the teetering tower of publishing in these harsh economic times to collapse altogether?

She thinks not. The whole point of the exercise is to clear space, SO AS TO BE ABLE TO FILL IT AGAIN. Also: isn't it insulting to the authors who worked so hard to polish their manuscripts to treat it like a rectangular rock?

Gentle Reader - What are you book-buying plans for this year? Do you also experience books giving off an 'essential' vibe in the store only to have it change to 'put-offable' on the way home?

Geographical Writing Procrastination

Do authors who live in tropical locations produce more books than those who live with winter?

Apprentice Writer spent an hour and half shovelling snow today. Fresh air, exercise, toddler playing alongside, fat, drifty snowflakes muffling sounds - all very picturesque, but there goes this morning's writing session. And this is only the start of the shovel-season.

E.E. Cummings thoughts on the matter:

The snow doesn't give a soft, white damn whom it touches.

Post Nanowrimo Blues/Celebration: TAG & NON-LAUGHTER REVIEW

The 1st of December. How Apprentice Writer has longed for and feared it. Ambivalent much? Yes indeedy.

November gone up in smoke, thirty days that never ended at the same time as they screamed past. Did AW reach her goal of 50K? She did not. But it doesn't matter: all but one chapter of her WIP is now locked and loaded on the hard drive. This is very, very good. Almost on to the terrifying part of the process called Sending your Baby out to Languish on Slush Piles Everywhere. Fun, fun, fun!

To distract herself, AW is catching up on neglected cyberlandia responsibilities:

1. Bookworm Meme
Passed on by Julia at 'A Piece of My Mind':

Open the nearest book to page 46. Write out the fifth sentence on that page, and also the next two to five sentences. The closest book, not the coolest, or the one you think will sound the best. THE CLOSEST.

From DELICIOUS , by Sherry Thomas:

"The chocolate custard sat on a small table, glossy, serene, entirely indifferent to his laughable internal struggle. He dug in the tip of a spoon, destroying its smooth surface - and released a coil of rich, dusky odor.

Chocolate. He'd never had chocolate before he came to live at Fairleigh Park, but when he was seven someone had given him a shred of paper that had once been wrapped around a piece of imported chocolate. He'd pressed the wrapper to his nose and inhaled as deeply as his lungs allowed, dreaming of chocolate enough to bury him. Her custard smelled like that, a good smell made mythical by fervid imagination and true hunger."

A perfect little capsule of a reason why AW adores Sherry Thomas.

Any gentle readers who feel inspired to play - please let AW know of your excerpt!

2. Non Laughter Reviews:

DARK NEEDS AT NIGHT'S EDGE (Book 3: Immortals After Dark)

Kresley Cole
PARANORMAL ROMANCE

Premise
Vampire warrior of the superbad variety is drawn back from insanity by a jazz age ghost trapped in her New Orleans mansion.

Cover
Generic and (to this reader) uninteresting. Must be thankful for small mercies of obligatory manchest at least having a head attached, and some sort of trenchcoat around the edges.

Why Read
Won in a raffle and had encountered a fair amount of praise for this author and series.

What Worked
The author has created a fascinating urban fantastical world, comprising so many races with complex ties to one another that the story doesn't even begin until the reader has thumbed through a multipage glossary. Built great anticipation for what would happen.

Current conventional wisdom as it that when a novel contains (or is all about) a romantic element, there must be a powerful reason for the intended couple to be kept apart so they can fight to overcome the obstacle for their Happily Ever After. In this case, the challenge is a whopper: he is vampire assassin, so far-gone in self contempt due to being turned into what he hates most (he had dedicated his pre-turned life to fighting against vampires in his native Estonia) that he is in near-constant states of rage. His condition and murderous rampages have deteriorated to the point that his three brothers, also all vampires (of the not-so-superbad variety) stage an intervention and capture him for a sort of detox program and also to hide him from all the paranormal beings who want him dead. It takes place in the ghost Neomi's abandoned mansion, and he is, of course, the only one in the eighty years since her murder at the hands of a spurned fiance to be able to see her. The gradual way these two physically and emotionally wounded souls form an attachment to each other was the main strength of this book. Believable and touching. How will suicidal hero and incorporeal heroine manage to get togehter? They do, of course, but the manner leads straight into:

What Doesn't
Up to the moment that Neomi investigates how to get her bod back, the tone of the book was dramatic, melancholy, with a sort of light historical touch feel. The change in pace with the introduction of witches etc. who arrive to grant Neomi's wish was shocking to the point of offputting, due to the strong emphasis placed on humorous contrast (wording of their business card, manner of speech, etc.).

This may seem an odd thing for a comedy writer to complain about, especially since some of these aspects really were funny. Gentle Reader, imagine how strange it felt for AW to object to successful humor insertion. But it was just too jarring, broke the previous mood completely, and created curiosity about the new kickass (literally) characters which was then - insult to injury - not even satisfied. Here are all these marvelous, unique, unpredictable female characters - given hardly any attention. It was maddening, with the only possible consolation to imagine that their stories might be explained more fully in other installments of the series.

Apart from lack of exploitation of the paranormal raw material, AW's main difficulty with the rest of the book had to do with target audience; the story is so strongly focused on maintaining the narrative tension between the two main characters that other elements are sacrificed. For readers whose main goal in reading is the emotional rush, this probably doesn't matter. For readers like AW, it does. Conrad's brothers are captured; he allows weeks upon weeks to go by without a single attempt to find them,only taking action when he wants their help to rescue Neomi. After becoming corporeal and leaving her prison for the first time, Neomi goes to a huge, festive paranormal gathering (yay!) which has barely begun to be descibed before events transpire that send her straight back home (boo!) and she doesn't mind. Not one scene is devoted to Naomi walking around New Orleans thinking about how it has changed in 8 decades, and what little description there is of how her transformation feels (an interesting experience, one would think) is exclusively devoted to how it relates to Conrad (especially puzzling due to Neomi's repeated condemnation of her mother spending her life oriented to the man who abandoned her). This focus goes so far as to make things miraculously disappear: in a climactic, claustrophobic scene, Neomie's fear goes into overdrive when insects find their way in to her imprisoned spot. Yet when Conrad releases her, the talk is all of flowing hair and rose petals. What did she do, eat them?

Overall
This is an author who does not lack in imagination or storytelling verve. In this reader's view, some more balance would have made the story much more satifying and complete.

It's Here!

November !

NANOWRIMO!

Apprentice Writer is about to set off on the chase for her 50,000 words, to be bagged and brought to the weighing station at National Novel Writing Month Headquarters by midnight 30 November.

Her computer is ready; keyboard polished and space bar reattached after junior apprentice writer #3's repeated detachments.

Her snacks are ready; purloined from junior apprentice writer #1-3's Halloweeen stash.

Her outline is ready; printed off in color coded glory (green for plot developments, red for MC growth, orange for recurring motifs, blue for sublplots).

Her laundry is done and her house is vacuumed; but let's not look too closely at dust-collecting surfaces, shall we?

LET THE WORD HUNT BEGIN!

(a word from our sponsor: due to circumstances beyond our control, blogging will cease for the month of November, and recommence, new and improved, in December. Adieu!)

Triple Tag

It is Banned Books Week, during which the American Library Association draws attention to the issues of literary freedom and censorship by publishing their annual list of the ten books that drew most complaints during the past year, and the hundred books that drew the most complaints ever. Complaints of American origin, ApprenticeWriter presumes; it would be interesting to know if the Canadian Library Association maintains such a list, and whether it has different books on it (note to self: find out).



Apprentice Writer has been tagged by cyberfriends Ciara (of 'Ciara Stewart', http://www.ciaralira.wordpress.com/) and Thea (of 'The Book Smugglers', http://www.thebooksmugglers.blogspot.com/)



Books Apprentice Writer has read in red:



1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz

2. Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite

3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling (enjoyed very much)

8. Forever by Judy Blume

9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman

12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (didn't care for it)

14. The Giver by Lois Lowry

15. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris

16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine

17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck

18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker

19. Sex by Madonna

20. Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel (liked the 1st, not the 2nd, stopped there)

21. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson

22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (excellent)

23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

24. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers

25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak (charming picture book; why in the world is it banned???)

26. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard

27. The Witches by Roald Dahl

28. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein

29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry

30. The Goats by Brock Cole

31. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane

32. Blubber by Judy Blume

33. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan

34. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam

35. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier

36. Final Exit by Derek Humphry

37. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (sobering, intelligent dystopia)

38. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George (recommended with age qualification)

39. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

40. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras

41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

42. Beloved by Toni Morrison

43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

44. The Pigman by Paul Zindel

45. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard

46. Deenie by Judy Blume

47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

48. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden

49. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar

50. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz

51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (depressing dystopia)

53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)

54. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole

55. Cujo by Stephen King

56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell

58. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy

59. Ordinary People by Judith Guest

60. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

61. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras

62. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume (recommended)

63. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly

64. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher

65. Fade by Robert Cormier

66. Guess What? by Mem Fox

67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende

68. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney

69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding

71. Native Son by Richard Wright

72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday

73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen

74. Jack by A.M. Homes

75. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya

76. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle

77. Carrie by Stephen King

78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume

79. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer

80. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge

81. Family Secrets by Norma Klein

82. Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole

83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King

84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

85. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison (complex, fascinating)

86. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez

87. Private Parts by Howard Stern

88. Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford (delightful time waster; why in the world banned??)

89. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene

90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman

91. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

92. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher

93. Sex Education by Jenny Davis

94. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene

95. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy

96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

97. View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts

98. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

99. The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney

100. Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier


And way back in September, cyberfriend Julia (of 'A Piece of My Mind', http://www.julia-mindovermatter.blogspot.com/) tagged AW for a husband meme. Gentle Reader, all you ever wanted to know about Mr. Apprentice Writer:



1. Who said "I love you!" first?
AW is embarrassed to say she can't remember. Somebody must have said it to someone because we celebrated our 2oth anniversary this February.

2.Who does the dishes?
AW does the lion's share due to being in strategic range of where dishes are dirtied more, but in the evening it's whoever isn't the person putting the juniors in the tub.

3. Who pays the bills?
Mr. AW. AW is hopeless with numbers and money. Sigh.

4. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
Right now, that would be junior apprencite writer #3. Whenever a junior came along, Mr. AW departed due to his worry that he might accidentally roll on the baby in the night

5. Who cooks dinner?
AW cooks more often (again, by virtue of spending more time in fridge- and stovetop vicinity) but Mr. AW cooks with more passion. One of his fantasies is to attend one of those month-long cooking classes in the middle of an olive grove in Tuscany. AW on the other hand cooks because she lives with hungry men, but by nature she is more of a baker.

6. Who drives when you're both in the car?
Both, unless it's at night. AW has terrible night vision.

7. Who proposed?
Mr. AW, by presenting AW with a self-created abstract painting rather than a ring. AW was wildly impressed with this evidence of artistic talent and sensitivity. The fact that it was false advertising is gradually dawning on her as he has produced zero paintings since.

8. Who has more siblings?
AW is the eldest of two. Mr. AW is the second of four boys. So, at 3 juniors, we are exactly in between what we grew up with.

9. Who wears the pants?
We both think we do!


Whoever wants to play along - Tag, you're it!

Anatomy of DNF

There are many reasons why a reader might pick up one book and not another.

How about the reasons why a reader might disengage from a book part way through?

AFTER THE RICE, Wendy French (Women's Fiction)
Originally picked up because: Enjoyed the author's debut novel, "sMothering", and was fascinated with the premise - a young, healthy, happily-in-love married couple choose to remain childless but find themselves accidentally pregnant. There are many people who remain childless due to fertility problems, financial imperative, not finding the right partner, focus on career, etc., but a couple in the protagonists' situation has not been explored in any books Apprentice Writer has ever read. Sounded promising.
Why put down: Did not want to spend more time with the characters. Following a first chapter in which it seems that the heroine continually observes things about her new husband which irritate her, there is a scene about how the husband wishes there were some way to avoid the obligation of dinner with the wife's family. Initially, this reader thought this was supposed to be a sign of potential ill fit between the spouses. After encountering the family at said dinner, Apprentice Writer cannot blame him. The members 'snap' at each other rather than speaking, they disapprove of the way one sister is 'spoiling' her daughter whom they've dubbed (apparently without affection) 'Pink Tyrant', the mother has to use undisguised coercion for everyone to respond to the invitation of an elderly relative, and the father employs an apparently oft-needed tactic of starting a tableside game to deflect bickering among siblings who are one and all adults. No thanks.
Ultimate test: Based on the strength of the first novel read, AW would look to another novel by this author despite DNF status of this one.


THE SECRET DIARIES OF MISS MIRANDA CHEEVER, Julia Quinn (Historical Romance)
Originally picked up because: It's Julia Quinn!
Why put down: Could not tolerate the hero. He had been harddone by in the backstory, yes, but that just didn't stretch far enough to excuse his being at strategic moments dismissive towards his mother, bullying towards his sister, and petulant, immature, and selfishly evasive towards the heroine. This reader kept hoping someone better would pop up for the heroine, and when it became clear that wouldn't happen it was game over.
Ultimate test: It's Julia Quinn. Or course AW will read this author again!


ME AND MR. DARCY, Alexandra Potter (Paranormal Chicklit)
Originally picked up because: Intrigued by premise of a contemporary heroine going on an Austen-oriented coach tour and somehow being transported back to several encounters with the 'Pride & Prejudice' hero.
Why put down: Could not stand the thought that the relentlessly bland heroine might end up with the perfection that is Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy!
Ultimate test: Though the premise was good and might be so again for another novel, the writing style did nothing to draw AW in, so another book would need to arrive with mega buzz and have a spectactular first page to make this reader try again.


MUMS @ HOME, Sophie King (Women's Fiction)
Originally picked up because: Enjoyed a previous novel by the author, "The School Run", and was attracted to the premise - an ensemble piece about the people who join a parenting website and how it changes their lives.
Why put down: The group of people described in the opening chapters are so utterly angst-ridden that this reader developed a tension headache before the story got properly going. Not what she generally aims for when reading.
Ultimate test: If she came upon another book by this author, AW would give the first ten pages a whirl.

Gentle Reader - what say you? Did you finish any of these stories and think Apprentice Writer should have kept going? What makes you put a book down incomplete?

Hero Potential

A high percentage of Apprentice Writer's family members are glued to the TV today, by turn is agony and ecstasy on the whim of a soccer ball.

The Eurocup 2008 quarterfinals continue, with ludicrously fit, passionate men filling up the screen in a dozen camera angles including straight-from-the-top, UFO view) being ludicrously fit and passionate. The crowds in the stands are somewhat less fit but no less passionate. Or colorful, for that matter, since having a costume/wig/chest coloration lively enough to warrant notice by the cameras can liven up a long, long game.

Makes AW wonder: any fiction out there with soccer as a backdrop? She herself knows of none, whereas American style football makes an appearance in many a contemporary novel.

Gentle Readers,what say you? Do you know of such a book, or any other that features a different type of sport? (Apprentice Writer herself considers pondering on this subject sufficent exercise for the day).

Score One for the Goldfish!

Last night, for the first time in her life, Apprentice Writer received a call from Alaska.

Not recognizing the telephone area code, she almost didn't pick up for fear of yet another sneaky telemarketer. Happily, though, she did, and had the pleasure of speaking with a lovely woman named Carolyn Ellis.

Carolyn had called to say that Apprentice Writer won the Alaskan Break Up Writing Contest.

Apprentice Writer made her repeat it three times.

She was understandably (she thinks) confused due to background noise of teething toddler, toothbrushing schoolaged sons getting ready for bed, dull crowd roar from the televised Eurocup soccer match between Switzerland and Turkey (who, BTW, also won), and, most important, her understanding that writers are supposed to enter contests for 3-5 years before starting to final and win. Or something like that.

But no, Carolyn insisted that Apprentice Writers ten-page scene of how the heroine from CUPID AND A TOOLBELT discovers her fiance in flagrante delicto and proceeds to break up with him in a very unusual manner, in which said goldfish has a starring role, was chosen from all entries to be sent to agent Laurie McLean of the Larsen Pomoda Literary Agency for a reading.

Apprentice Writer is in shock. And awe.

Whatever may become of the agent reading, this moment is pretty darn sweet. Do all writers crave external validation? From people not obliged by closeness with the writer to provide it?

Gentle Reader, if you have a sweet validation story - please share.

Where in the World....

On homework patrol, one of the things Apprentice Writer tries to drum into junior apprentice writer #1's consciousness is the importance of setting the scene. It is a rare book (or language arts homework assignment) that doesn't open with some description of the weather/place/country in the first paragraph, if not the first sentence.

"Why?" junior apprentice writer #1 wants to know, meaning 'Better go straight to action instead of boring old rain or fog or sunset or .....'

"Because" says his mother, "giving clues about where the story takes place gives the reader instant feelings and expectations about what will happen, a helpful shortcut if used right." It is doubtful junior apprentice writer #1 is convinced, but she stands by her point.

Story set in India? Tigers and elephants, ancient civilization and monuments, multitudes of colorful people and languages form an instantly intriguing backdrop. Paris? Mention of cafes, art, and romance is expected. Space? There will be talk of currently unavailable technology, alien races, and unisex jumpsuits will figure prominently in fashion regardless of planet.

Wise authors can use setting associations to their advantage. They may set their stories in tried-and-true locations that deliver certain ingredients readers expect to go along with those places, or they can strike out into little know territory, giving jaded readers something new to pique their interest.

Apprentice Writer's work-in-progress Cupid and a Suitcase is set in the alternative travel industry, with arctic, antarctic, desert, jungle, and south sea chapters. With any luck, readers will find at least one type of geography to suit their tastes. Friends and authors Wylie Kinson and Amy Ruttan have set soon-to-be released stories in the Carribean - Law of Averages in Bermuda , and 'Fox's Bride' in Jamaica- a brilliant move considering how countless numbers of readers would love to spend time in such a blissful climate, meaning reader goodwill would be high before the first page was even read. Rowena, blogging at bookbinge.blogspot.com, wonders if there are any Polynesian set-romances out there.

Three of Apprentice Writers favorite books of all are historical suspense stories. Two are set in Egypt and peopled with archaeologists (among others): Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters (see: Laughter Reviews -Keeper) and Mr. Impossible by Loretta Chase (to be reviewed). Another is the Falco series, set in ancient Rome and its farflung outlying provinces, beginning with The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis (to be reviewed).

One of Apprentice Writer's favorite authors, the late and brilliant Christine Monson, chose fascinating locations for her characters to fascinate each other: revolutionary Hungary, colonial Burma, medieval Spain and the Holy Land during the Crusades. Definitely not ho-hum.

Enquiring minds want to know. What have been favorite settings for Gentle Readers? And what other kinds of settings would Gentle Readers like to see?

Six Unimportant Things about Meme

Apprentice Writer has graduated!

After eight months in cyberspace, she has been tagged for a meme - thanks to her lovely friend Julia who maintains a tranquil, arts-filled blog for weary cyberhoppers to rest their eyes and minds. http://julia-mindovermatter.blogspot.com/

The rules are:
1. Link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six unimportant things about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your blog entry.
5. Let the tagged people know by leaving a comment on their blogs.

On to unimportance:

1. Though AW grew up with pets (a half dozen cats, a guinea pig, rabbit, some parakeets, one dog) and enjoyed them very much, she currently has none. It was great while her parents cleaned up after the menagerie - now that she is chief cleaner-upper, her desire for such activity is more than filled by the junior apprentice writers, thank you very much.

2. AW used to live near the Black Forest, of Hansel and Gretel Fame. Yes, the Forest is darker than most at floor level (due to high concentration of evergreens), and no, it is not filled with Black Forest Cakes. Though they would have been useful for making crumbs.

3. Though much better about eating her vegetables than during childhood, AW has never been able to make friends with Brussels sprouts.

4. Favorite household chore: taking clean laundry out of the dryer and folding. Mmmm- clean laundry smell!

5. Never needed braces. About dentures - not yet known....

6. Secret childhood fantasy: being half of a fabulously talented and popular figure skating pair, applauded by crowds and wearing cool little outfits. That, or being a female Mowgli (of 'The Jungle Book'), swinging around in the treetops with animal friends.

Now comes the tagging:
1. Tiff
2. Ely
3. Wylie
4. Amy
5. Christine
6. Rumpelstilzkin

On Names

Apprentice Writer has long been fascinated with names - in real life, and those writers give their characters. Choose by meaning? Sound? Fashion? Pun-making possibilities? The options are endless, and while a name might not make or break the success of an author's book (or child's life) all on its own, the fact remains that names trigger instant reactions in the hearer/reader. Ignore this reality at your child/manuscript's peril.

In honour of that mid-February day so beloved of retailers, a thought inspired by one of the most well-known name philosophers:

"A rose by any other name would still cost twice as much on Valentines Day."
(Anonymous)