Mary Akers

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

Many thanks to the incredible Mary Akers for tagging me in this latest writer’s meme.

I am privileged to have attended one of her workshops and now serve as a reader and editor at r.kv.r.y Quarterly Literary Journal. I’m looking forward to reading her forthcoming book Bones of an Inland Sea. In the meantime, Women up on Blocks is available from Press 53.

Now for the questions:

What is your working title of your book?

Ellie’s Elephants

Where did the idea come from for the book?

A few years ago in Buffalo, there were reports of employees at a collection agency that were illegally threatening and harassing people. I wondered what it would be like if a tax collector did that and came across someone who had a deep secret to protect.

What genre does your book fall under?

I think of it as literary fiction but it could appeal to a broader audience.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Interesting question! Casting directors must go insane trying to match up the ages, talents and work schedules for the actors they want. While it’s not a comedy, Lisa Kudrow for Ellie. Her work on “Who Do You Think You Are” is fantastic. For Selin: Colin Firth. If it was cast older, Jodie Foster and Jeff Goldblum. Brad Pitt for Kyle. Reese Witherspoon for Billie. Oh, and please, please, please–Pierce Brosnan for Lionel.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

A woman who tries to escape her fame as a poet nearly succeeds until an underhanded tax collector enters her life and then all bets are off as to how far love, fidelity, and loyalty will take a family to protect one of their own.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Ideally, an agency, but I have been looking into different ways of self-publishing.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Happily, I can say that the first draft was a product of NaNoWriMo. 50,000 words in 30 days. The intensity was thrilling.I’m still editing and tweaking it though, usually while sitting here:

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

During my first attempt at NaNoWriMo, I had this image pop into my head: Kyle was wearing boxer shorts, cowboy boots and nothing else. Ellie and Billie were engaged in an intense conversation. A dog came out of nowhere and then a shotgun went off. I needed to know what happened to these people, but having read the pitfalls of NaNo, I knew I couldn’t abandon the work I had already started. That year, I finished a first draft of “Dandelion Dreams.” I thought about those other characters and they grew, changed, and evolved until the next November rolled around and then I felt ready to write the book.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

While the main character is a poet, there is only one poem in the book and it’s by Tanith Lee.

I hereby tag Madeline Claire Franklin.

Happy 2013! I’m an Editor now!

I hope your 2013 is starting off to be a great year. Yesterday, I was promoted from a fiction reader to a Fiction Editor at r.kv.r.y. Quarterly Literary Journal. Thank you, Mary Akers! I went through the receipts for the year and gathered all the tax information I have so that dreadful bit which I usually wait until the last minute to do is over and I already have a contest entry and three submissions sent off. My year is starting off very well, and last year was not too shabby. I went to a writer’s conference in Westfield where I met James Goertel, Reg Darling, LouAnne Johnson, and Linda Lavid. I traveled to Binghamton and met Jefferson Rose and his family. My son and his family visited. I saw Chicago again. My garden shed was completed. I had ten pieces accepted (including one which will appear in Rosebud–one of my “dream” publications) and an agent queried me.

While I don’t make resolutions, per se, I’m not immune to the hype for personal betterment in the new year. I do hope that my writing (and editing) skills improve and that my work is accepted in awesome venues. Payment would be nice and finding an agent that believes in my work would be fantastic. I think I have these vague “goals” at all points during the year, but they seem most pronounced in January.

I know it works for some people, but declaring a new start at the beginning of the year has never worked for me. When I quit smoking (on Saturday, it will be the eighth anniversary) it was something I had tried before. I hadn’t been as serious about it until then. And don’t get me wrong, the drugs helped, too. Without Welbutrin, I don’t think I would have made it past the hump. But, I quit on the fifth, not the first. Now, writing challenges and prompts are different. So are deadlines. I have a better chance of meeting another person’s parameters than deciding which things to impose on myself for some reason.

I’m so grateful the holidays are over. Husband has been home too much for my taste. I thought that today I might be able to get back to normal, but no. On the ride over to Weber City, he got a call and he’ll be putting a bid in on a job in Depew this afternoon, and since there will be no time for him to get back to the Buffalo Zoo and get tools out, he’ll be home early again. Yesterday, he was home early because he was all ‘manly’ and had three cavities filled during one dentist visit which numbed his tongue completely. *Sigh* Men…

Cats though, they are sweet and look lovely in ribbons. Since mine is a diva, here are two photos where I tried to capture her New Year’s Eve ‘costume.’

This month there will be an additional posting as I’ve been tagged to participate in the “Next Big Thing.”

Thanks for checking in!

(*These are just my Creekside Reflections. Your experience may vary.)

Spent

Alright, I’ll fess up. I didn’t make the NaNo goal this year. I could beat myself up, but I won’t. Part of it was that NaNo changed its notifications and some other bits that worked in the past didn’t work the same way this year. Plus, the two best ever ML’s dropped out and let the Buffalo group be led by N. Seriously, that’s her name. N and I never clicked. Sarah & Madeline were such great ML’s, so ‘spoiled me’ didn’t want to go to the write-ins and midway parties and the kickoffs because they weren’t going to be there. I had myself somewhat convinced to go to Perry to the write-in at Burlingham Books on the 20th, but that didn’t pan out.

On top of that, I went to my first workshop. It was on 5 November and the presenters were Mary Akersand Kim Chinquee. I had the best time! I learned so much! It was SO awesome. I’m beyond grateful to Husband for taking me to The Hodge Podge in North Tonawanda–what a brilliant choice for the workshop location. It was beautiful and inspiring. I’m so grateful I had the chance to attend.

So now you’re thinking I must have been slacking since I wasn’t creating new work? Oh contraire!

I worked my ass off this month. While still piling words into the latest NaNo novel (and had I gotten a fat letter from NEA instead of the thin one, I so would have changed gears since ‘Finding Forest’ was the project I wanted the NEA grant I applied for to fund.) I got my entry form for the Minotaur Books/ First Crime Novel Competition and dug into revising ‘Campus Crimes.’

Did I say revise? Oh, I hacked away. I took that beauty from 101,842 words down to 81,843. As Marko Fong commented, I was doing a reverse NaNo.

It wore me out. Strung me out. Made me hate the person I was when I wrote ‘Campus Crimes’ since I didn’t know squat then. (Not that I know anything now, mind you…)

Anyway, I slashed away, printed it out and sent it to a reader who had it delivered to him on Tuesday. Now, it’s in his hands. Could I have done better? Yes. The point is that I made the revision a priority and reached a deadline.

Goals and deadlines can be interchangeable, but sometimes it takes a person literally sitting themselves down to figure out which actions are most important. That’s what I had to do. That’s what I did. I think I made the right choice.

Neglecting NaNo also allowed me to concentrate on other contests I wanted to enter, and after I wrap this post up, I’m off to tackle the Buffalo News contest, cause you know, I‘m not competitive enough…

Last night, I attended a Grand Opening/Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for a bar and be the designated driver in exchange for the drive up to North Tonawanda. Seemed more than fair. It was pretty alien though. Husband turned into chatty Cathy social butterfly and I spent the night mostly alone. I mean, I was sitting at a table with some very nice people, I’m sure, but the band was right there and so conversation wasn’t possible without shouting. I still have traces of a malingering cold/flu. I didn’t want to shout.

I relearned two lessons though. 1) ALWAYS bring a book wherever you go–if I have one I never get to read it, if I don’t I wish I had. 2) Trim Husband’s moustache if eating/drinking will be done in public–self explanatory.

Ah well, I’m sure the experience will find a place in a story somewhere some day…

Speaking of which…I AM SO PSYCHED!!!! The Amazing, Awesome, Incredible Copyeditor Extraordinaire–Teresa Tucker will soon be done with Ellie’s Elephants. I am SO excited to get my baby back. I’ve missed her so much and am eager to see what she looks like now. I bet she’s even prettier than I imagine her to be, and I thought she was a great looking baby when I sent her to the equivalent of ‘finishing’ school. SO PSYCHED!

*These are just my reflections. Your experience may vary.