Robin Sloan at Richardson Reads One Book

by Joan

One of my favorite joys in life is discovering a new author. I imagine a few of you might agree. It starts when you open the cover and dive into the first pages (or listen or scroll). You hope for carefully chosen words, carved into lovely or snappy or funny (or all three) sentences, one after the other until you are hooked. A smile curves your lips. “Yes, this is going to be good.”

But just because an author is a genius on the page doesn’t mean that author can deliver an engaging talk. It’s not a requirement, surely, but I’m wowed by those who can do both. I can’t count the number of author talks I’ve been to—I was just browsing my wide shelf of autographed books yesterday—but I’m awed when a speaker emulates the perfect combination of charm, humor and modesty.

Robin Sloan at RROB

Last week Elizabeth and I went to Richardson Reads One Book, featuring Robin Sloan's Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. In my opinion, as far as cool writers go, Robin Sloan is right up there with Jamie Ford and Chris Cleave.

Sloan is a rare combination of techie and bibliophile, interested in the concept of “media inventor,” which he describes as “someone primarily interested in content (words, pictures, ideas) who also experiments with new formats, new tools, and new technology. The paperback pioneer Allen Lane was a media inventor. Early bloggers were media inventors. The indie video game scene is full of media inventors.”

Sloan suggests that technology is not an intruder or interloper into the book world, but that it’s been there all along. He described his visit to the Grolier Club, New York City's exclusive group of rare book collectors, where he got to see in person the types of books he had researched and written into Mr. Penumbra’s story. His novel includes a fictional book published by Aldus Manutius, the 15^th-century publisher who Sloan considers a pioneer in technology. Manutius, concerned with user experience, published the first small books. Before then, books were too large for laps, meant to be read from lecterns. Sloan considers Manutius’s new format as unique and high-tech as an iPhone.

Read his explanation of the concept of flip-flop, “the process of pushing a work of art or craft from the physical world to the digital world and back again — maybe more than once.” 

As a former Twitter employee, it’s fitting that the idea for Sloan's book was sparked by a friend’s Twitter feed:

“Just misread ‘24-hour bookdrop’ as ‘24-hour bookshop.’ the disappointment is beyond words.” 

He wrote a short story and from there, the novel, published by Farrar,Straus and Giroux. As someone who’s crazy for bookstores and libraries (hello Bodleian), I added the book to my TBR immediately. But contrary to Sloan’s understanding, not everyone in the Richardson audience had read his book. That night I downloaded his book and after reading the first page, I smiled. “Yes, this is good.” It’s also charming, humorous and unpretentious, just like its author. If you haven’t read it, you should.

From the publisher's website:

The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon out of his life as a San Francisco Web-design drone—and serendipity, sheer curiosity, and the ability to climb a ladder like a monkey has landed him a new gig working the night shift at Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. But after just a few days on the job, Clay begins to realize that this store is even more curious than the name suggests. There are only a few customers, but they come in repeatedly and never seem to actually buy anything, instead “checking out” impossibly obscure volumes from strange corners of the store, all according to some elaborate, long-standing arrangement with the gnomic Mr. Penumbra. The store must be a front for something larger, Clay concludes, and soon he’s embarked on a complex analysis of the customers’ behavior and roped his friends into helping to figure out just what’s going on. But once they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, it turns out the secrets extend far outside the walls of the bookstore.

With irresistible brio and dazzling intelligence, Robin Sloan has crafted a literary adventure story for the twenty-first century, evoking both the fairy-tale charm of Haruki Murakami and the enthusiastic novel-of-ideas wizardry of Neal Stephenson or a young Umberto Eco, but with a unique and feisty sensibility that’s rare to the world of literary fiction. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore is exactly what it sounds like: an establishment you have to enter and will never want to leave, a modern-day cabinet of wonders ready to give a jolt of energy to every curious reader, no matter the time of day.

Jamie Ford Strikes Again

By Pamela

A somewhat-serial visitor to our blog (Joan interviewed him here in 2009 after he appeared at the Crow Museum of Art, and Elizabeth shared his impending visit to Richardson Reads One Book in 2011 here), Jamie Ford once again graciously agreed to answer a few questions about his new book Songs of Willow Frost as he visits Dallas tomorrow night at Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas.

From his publisher:

Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of the beloved Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, presents his much-anticipated second novel: Songs of Willow Frost.

Twelve-year-old William Eng, a Chinese American boy, has lived at Seattle’s Sacred Heart Orphanage ever since his mother’s listless body was carried away from their small apartment five years ago. On his birthday—or rather, the day the nuns designate as his birthday—William and the other orphans are taken to the historical Moore Theatre, where William glimpses an actress on the silver screen who goes by the name of Willow Frost. Struck by her features, William is convinced that the movie star is his mother, Liu Song.

Determined to find Willow and prove that his mother is still alive, William escapes from Sacred Heart with his friend Charlotte. The pair navigates the streets of Seattle, where they must not only survive but confront the mysteries of William’s past and his connection to the exotic film star. The story of Willow Frost, however, is far more complicated than the Hollywood fantasy William sees onscreen.

Shifting between the Great Depression and the 1920s, Songs of Willow Frost takes readers on an emotional journey of discovery. Jamie Ford’s sweeping novel will resonate with anyone who has ever longed for the comforts of family and a place to call home.


Advance praise for Songs of Willow Frost

“Ford is a first-rate novelist whose bestselling debut, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, was a joy to read. With his new book, he takes a great leap forward and demonstrates the uncanny ability to move me to tears.”—Pat Conroy, author of South of Broad

“This is a tender, powerful, and deeply satisfying story about the universal quest for love, forgiveness, belonging, and family. If you liked Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, you’re going to love Songs of Willow Frost.”—Lisa Genova, author of Still Alice

Welcome back, Jamie! We’re excited to get our hands on this new novel. How was the writing process for this book different from Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet given your touring schedule to promote the novel, cramped autograph hand, constant posing for photos, paparazzi and all?

The process was quite similar. About six months of research and then three months for the first draft—which is identical to Hotel. And like with Hotel, I didn’t show it to anyone until I was done, then it went to the Holy Trinity of my writing life: My wife, my agent, and then my editor.

You shared that when you wrote Hotel, you were actually writing another book at the time and stopped to tell the story of Henry and Keiko after writing a short story about them. Then you mentioned your next book was going to feature a Kamikaze pilot and yet now we have William and Willow. Is it poison to mention a book before it’s finished or do you think it’s just best to keep an open mind about what story needs to be told when?

I’m not really superstitious about these things, and I’ve always been fairly transparent about what I’m working on. People ask, so I share, and sometimes the subject of that discussion changes. I wrote Hotel and then was working on another book when William and Willow showed up and said, “Um, excuse me, but we really think you should tell OUR story next.” Who am I to argue with my imaginary friends?

Was there a particular event that inspired Songs of Willow Frost?

Not exactly an event, but a place, which has a minor role in the book and that’s the Wah Mee Club, which is the backroom gambling parlor in Chinatown where my grandparents met. My grandfather was a blackjack dealer and my grandmother was a coat-check girl. My research began around that place, during prohibition and the Great Depression. Once I had a better understanding of the place, time, the social dynamics of that era, I was able to wind up the characters of William and Willow and turn them loose.

I glimpse some similarities in the two novels—the Seattle setting, childhood friendships between a boy and girl, alternating time periods, the need for family connections. Do you think these storytelling elements speak to you for any particular reason?

I gravitate to young protagonists because that was the age when I first felt heartache—from that first crush, to losing friends, to seeing the cracks in the foundation of my parents’ marriage. And all of those complex emotional dynamics were introduced to me in and around Seattle—it’s an emotional well that I keep returning to, and will write about for at least one more novel. Then who knows, once I’ve exorcised my Seattle demons maybe I’ll be ready to move on to another city, another location. How’s Cleveland these days?

I'm not sure Cleveland has the same charm as Seattle, but who am I to judge? I wanted to share that I read Hotel with my book club and then with the book club I coordinate at a retirement village—thankfully we were able to find it in large print, audio AND in German (for one resident who prefers to read in her native language). I wish you could have been there to hear some of the stories they shared about the internment camps they witnessed. Has one experience in particular from a reader stayed with you? I’m sure you get emails and hear comments at book signings. 

Wow, where do I begin? I was invited to the Minidoka Reunion (and I went, of course). That was incredible, and they even had a karaoke night where former internees sang "Don’t Fence Me In." Another special moment was receiving a handwritten letter from Monica Sone who wrote Nisei Daughter in 1953, the first book to really address the Japanese Internment. I happened to have a first edition hardback of Nisei Daughter (with dust jacket) and Monica, who was ninety-one at the time, didn’t have a copy in hardback. I was delighted to give her mine.

How generous of you to share that with her! Although I'm not at all surprised given the amazing trip you took with your family this summer. Do you see any of your adventures showing up in your writing anytime soon?

Those weeks in the bush village of Pommern (Tanzania) were amazing. And watching my kids work in the schools and the AIDS clinic––Wow, that was the proudest, happiest, most satisfying experience ever. I don’t think that trip will spill into my fiction anytime soon, but it definitely changed who I am and how I see the world. And my wife is going back in November with another nurse.

What a wonderful way to spend time with your kids. Thanks, Jamie, for stopping by the blog again!

Join us at Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas tomorrow night, September 19. The 7 p.m. presentation is free; a reception featuring Jamie is $30 (signed book included). Register for the reception at HPUMC.org (search for “Jamie Ford”).

Author Event: Let there be cake balls and scones

by Joan

Julie Kibler on Calling Me Home

I love book signings. I love meeting the authors of my favorite books, hearing the stories behind the stories and, yes, dreaming of a time when the one at the podium might be me. 

Long before our own Julie Kibler’s book came out I told her I wanted to host a signing at my house. Though I’ve only been in Dallas for eight years, I’ve made pockets of friends here and there and wanted to get a chance to spread the word about Calling Me Home. Plus I love to entertain, especially when there will be sugar involved.

Dallas friends at the Mora's house

We had a nice turnout, great conversation and just the right amount of books. Julie told the rapt group about the seeds of the story, her grandmother’s doomed relationship with a black man in a sundown town, and about her journey to publication.

Pamela's scrumptious cake balls

Pamela made gorgeous cake balls, Elizabeth made decadent scones and clotted cream, and my husband graciously agreed to shoot the photos.

As writers, we gravitate to book events. In fact, over the next month, at least 3 or more of us are going to see Cheryl Strayed, Elizabeth Strout and George Saunders at the Dallas Museum of Art.

Over the past several years, several of us have seen KathrynStockett, Vanessa Diffenbaugh, Chris Cleave, John Irving and Jamie Ford to name a few.

Thanks, Julie, for treating my friends to a great day!

Tell us about your favorite author events. 

photo credits, Rick Mora

An unsent letter

by Joan

My writing directory includes a What Women Write folder where I store half-written blog posts. Some will be finished one day, others leave me baffled at why I imagined others might be interested. I like running Q&As because we get to peek inside our favorite authors' minds, learn about their motivations and interests. Sometimes my requests come from book signings, like with Vanessa Diffenbaugh and Jamie Ford, or, when I feel brave, email introductions, like with Kate Morton, Adriana Trigiani and Dani Shapiro.

A while back I began a note to one of my most beloved authors, first to tell her what her books have meant to me, second to invite her onto the blog. I’m not sure why I was so intimidated or why I hesitated, but the half-written invitation lingered in the someday folder.

I deeply regret not sending my invitation to Maeve Binchy. She died July 30 in Dublin at the young age of 72. But I will share my note here.

Dear Ms. Binchy,

My letter is long overdue—your books have lined my shelves ever since my oldest sister suggested I’d enjoy Light a Penny Candle over twenty-five years ago. She was right. Since that first book, I’ve read (and own) your sixteen novels and two of your short story collections. When I settle down with one of your books, I know I’m in gifted hands.

My letter stopped there, but today I finish it. 

Though I didn’t know you personally, my heart goes out to those who did. I will mourn you, but luckily for the rest of us, your characters will live on.

Through you, Ireland came to life for me on a glass lake, in a working-class pub, a convent school, a tailor shop, an Italian class. Through the characters you managed to draw as both ordinary and extraordinary at once. Thank you for your novels, for your Night of Rain and Stars, your Glass Lake and Circle of Friends, for your Firefly Summer. For your Heart and Soul that you shared with us so generously.

Maeve Binchy's inspirations were the people she saw on the street, the conversations she eavesdropped. She said she got some of her best material from riding the bus or listening on the old party telephone lines.

Over the last few days, I’ve read many touching obituaries, lovely tributes, and interviews and here. For those who’d like to hear her lovely voice and spirit, here’s a lovely 25-minute interview with Gay Byrne about her feelings on spirituality, life and writing.

When I met Elizabeth, she knew we'd hit it off when she learned we shared a favorite author. And Julie is a big fan, also. If there’s a silver lining to Ms. Binchy's untimely death, it’s that she had submitted another manuscript to her editor and they will set a release date for publication. 

What's your favorite Binchy book?

In Praise of Book Clubs

By Pamela

I've yet to meet a writer who wasn't also a voracious reader. It's akin to saying you compose songs but never listen to music or sing. One can't be proclaimed without the other.

Me (bottom left) with my Illinois book club friends, circa 2002.

So when my neighbor, Tracy, asked if I might be interested in joining a book club that was just starting out, I said sure! Before I moved to Texas from Illinois, I was in a book club that met for five years. We started out with about six women and grew to around a dozen or so, varying in attendance each month, as most groups do. I've been gone for over six years now but still stay in touch with most of them and always will.

I must admit, my book reading has been a bit off lately. Whether it's due to the fact that I 'read' at the computer so much during the day or that I tend to be a little fickle in my reading preferences, I'm not sure. Maybe a bit of both. I'm excited about the reading prospects this new group will bring.

My new book club met this past Wednesday and for our first selection we read Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. I felt a little smug about his title being our first: Not only do I have an autographed copy of the book but I also heard Jamie speak when he was in town.

As the discussion got under way, I contributed little to the conversation and instead enjoyed hearing the women around me speak so passionately about the story. They talked about the characters they loved, the ones they didn't really relate to and others they felt made the tale come alive.

Then I imagined what might be debated if they had read my manuscript. Which characters would they find intriguing/irritating/forgettable? What issues would they discuss and possibly disagree on? Would they love or hate the ending? Would they wonder what happened to my characters after the story ended? Would they even care?

What I concluded, after pondering these questions, was: I have to up the stakes. I need to create more passion in this story--make the reader really care about how these characters relate to one another, make the people in the story come alive on the page and dwell in the mind of the reader. The reader needs to become invested in the outcome of the book enough to keep reading--even wish the story didn't end.

Time to get busy!

Breadcrumbs and Whoopie Pies

By Julie

Like Hansel and Gretel’s mother, we’re always dropping bread crumbs along the path, leaving a trail for our children to follow back to home and family—even if we’re not aware we’re doing so in the process. The poor mother of those fairytale chidren secretly left crumbs, intentionally and strategically, hoping they'd be able to retrace their steps toward home after their father decided the only way for the family to survive was to sell them as indentured servants to an evil witch who actually intended to devour them.

Okay, maybe that’s kind of a morbid metaphor. But most of our regular readers here at What Women Write know several of us were inspired to write novels based on breadcrumbs of family lore—whether extensively researched stories, following the family story as closely as possible in a fictionalized account of real life (The Oak Lovers/Kim!), or simply clutching a single gem of a family secret and using it as a springboard for a—more or less—made-up story (Calling Me Home/me!). We also love interviewing authors who’ve done something similar, such as Kristina McMorris with her novel Letters from Home, Jamie Ford with Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, and Cathy Marie Buchanan with The Day the Falls Stood Still, to name a few.

What exactly is it about our ancestors that draws us in, that makes us want to delve deep and attempt to discover what made them tick, what led them to make the decisions they made, who they loved and left (or were forcibly separated from, in the case of my grandmother) and who they stayed with? Not every one of us has these yearnings to uncover history—some of us would rather bury it, I suspect—but with some of us, the drive is deep and irresistible.

I know, too, that it’s not a drive we can force upon our children. Will my grandchildren or great-grandchildren be curious about what I did in my life? Will I have done anything interesting enough to make them determined to nose out the details or dream up their own versions? Will they study my photos, as I study my ancestors’ photos, wondering why I decided to be a writer, why I lived in so many different homes and states before I finally settled here in Texas, why I … never mind. I’ll let them discover that on their own, maybe with the help of rumors they’ve heard through the family grapevine. Maybe they will. Perhaps they won’t.

It’s the same with family traditions. We can guide our children as they grow up, hoping they’ll take an interest in the things we do every year at the same time, the recipes we cook, the photos we lovingly protect. But they may not take the bait.

My kids are interested in family history—by spells. At some times more than at others. I was thrilled this week when one of my daughters decided to take on the not-simple task of preparing Whoopie Pies from the recipe one of my grandmothers recorded carefully in her notebook of food wonders. We don’t know where Grandma got the recipe, but we know it’s absolutely the best. (None of that marshmallow fluff, none of that regular old buttercream frosting. Our soft, cocoa-flavored cookies embrace genuine, rich, creamy icing, pure white from the ungodly amount of Crisco shortening it takes to prepare it.) But I know that as a child, one of my favorite moments of every family journey to see her was the one where I rushed through the front door and headed straight for the fridge, where a batch of individually wrapped Whoopie Pies always awaited our arrival. One taste, even now, is enough to conjure up memories of those childhood visits, good or bad, joyful or sad.


I suspect you have those recipes in your family, too. Kim blogged once about the her family’s holiday sugar cookie recipe and the special cookie cutters she uses to prepare them. Are the cutters themselves magic? Is the recipe really is the best in the world? Or is it the combination of factors—the equipment, the recipe, and not least of all, the family history—that makes the outcome so special?

I am thankful for the breadcrumb my grandmother left me—a handwritten recipe, delicious in part because of the memories it stirs (but trust me, it really is the best!). I am thankful for the breadcrumb my other grandmother left me—the gem of family legend that says she fell in love with a young man who was judged inappropriate by her family and society, the true love of her life, though she spent only a small amount of time with him.

What are the breadcrumbs you’re following, leading you back in time into the vault of your own family history?

And yes, of course, this is my daughter, busy making Whoopie Pies with Sadie, one of our fur babies, who stuck close by to be sure she cleaned up anything Emilie offered—accidentally or on purpose.

Who's got your back?

By Pamela

Last week, the six of us spent the evening at the Richardson Reads One Book event, hearing Jamie Ford discuss his bestseller: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. As we were standing in line to talk to Jamie, the six of us began discussing our upcoming retreat. We really weren't all that quiet while we talked about what we loved about last year's place, where we might want to go this year, who was willing to room with whom, and so forth.

Eventually, we realized, since we were almost the last in line, we might as well let the few behind us go before us. Just like having a few more than 15 items in the express lane, we figured it was only fair not to make the others wait. (We knew we'd want to chat with Jamie and maybe talk him into a photo op.)

As we let the others go ahead of us, a lady who graciously moved up in the queue leaned in and asked me, "Are y'all related?" I wondered if she thought we might be planning a family reunion--a gathering of sisters or cousins who really don't resemble each other that much.

"No," I said. "We're writers."

But maybe I answered too quickly because we are a family. We're bonded in a way that makes me know I have five women who have my back. And while we've never lived under one roof (except for during our annual retreats, which last three days and nights), we do reach out to each other--either over lunch, phone calls or emails.

Not a day goes by that I don't hear from at least one of the other five. And even though, due to work and family commitments and the distance between our homes, we don't get together as often as we'd like, we might meet two or three at a time.

When Susan transitioned from full-time, work-at-the-office employee to work-from-home consultant, she and I met for lunch and talked for hours about her new role. When Julie's book deal went to auction, Susan grabbed lunch and half a dozen cupcakes and went over to Julie's house to hold vigil, while we all eagerly waited to hear the news. This week, Elizabeth and I have a lunch date planned to discuss her new manuscript and figure out some details about where mine is heading. And next month, Joan and I are driving to Austin for a Writers' League of Texas workshop we both thought would serve us well.

Last week I paid the deposit on our new retreat location at a lake house that usually hosts scrap-bookers. (A couple of emails went around to explain to Susan what the heck a 'crop table' was; we'll use them for critique sessions.) When I told the home's owner that we were a group of writers, she said, "Oh, we've never had writers before."

"Well, we're a lot of fun," I told her. "We're like sisters."

If you write and don't have the support of like-minded souls, I urge you to get out there. Write in public, don't hesitate to tell others that you're a writer, attend author events, seek out writing groups, go to conferences, check out online groups like Backspace. I know my life has been made all the more richer because I got out from behind my computer and met My Fabulous Five.

Where two or more gather, let there be cake!

By Julie

Look at us! Quite the fangirls as we converged upon Richardson High School for the Richardson Reads One Book event featuring the recipient of our first honorary tiara, Jamie Ford, New York Times Bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.

We'll use almost any excuse to gather and gab and eat as a group. The six of us are spread to the far corners of DFW (Dallas/Ft. Worth!), and it doesn't happen every week.

It's even more gratifying when we get to experience a writer's event together. And this is a HUGE event--1500 to 2000 in attendance each year with big names like Jodi Picoult, Khaled Hosseini, Garth Stein, Chris Bohjalian, Jeanette Walls, Catherine Ryan Hyde, and David Oliver Relin/Greg Mortensen in previous years.

One of our earliest gatherings as a group was at Jamie's booksigning event at the Crow Collection of Asian Art in Dallas way back in 2009--the very day Jamie learned he was on the New York Times Bestseller List! It was exciting to see him again last night and learn how far he's come in his publishing journey.

I've known Jamie on Backspace and Facebook for a few years, but still, imagine my surprise and slight faint feeling when Jamie snuck in a congratulations about my book deal near the end of his talk. My fellow What Women Write'ers took up all my slack by making lots of noise and pointing while I sat there stunned. (This book deal thing has been a pretty surreal experience. I pinch myself daily at least a few times!)

I recovered, and we waited until the book signing line wound down to chat with Jamie for a bit, where he graciously posed for the above photo with the six of us.

At one point in the Q&A, someone asked what Jamie's favorite part of the publication process has been. He said it was meeting other authors--not just the multipublished, big deal authors like his writer idol, Pat Conroy, but the hopeful, aspiring ones, too.

I quite agree. For me, that's been one of the best parts of this journey so far. I mean, look at these five amazing women I wouldn't know otherwise: Elizabeth, Kim, Joan, Pamela, and Susan.

And speaking of amazing ... this next part could look like a brag on me, but it's not. It's a brag on Pamela and on every one of these women.

We made another stop after the talk at the newly opened In-N-Out Burger in ... I don't know where, somewhere near Richardson, ostensibly to eat dinner and chat a while longer. We always run into this problem after events that last past 9 p.m. or so in DFW--everything closes by 10! So we're always having to be creative. Sometimes we just end with hugs all around and promises to plan ahead better the next time.

We were almost to that point last night when someone remembered In-N-Out stays open late. I said, "Let's try it and if it's closed, let's just go on."

Now, I'm usually all for staying up past bedtimes. I'm a night owl, and I'm proud of it. But last night, everyone got kind of sqirmy when I said that--not that I really noticed.

Turns out Pamela had made this cake. This incredible, unbelievable, unquestionably coolest cake I've ever seen--a prototype of my future book cover, complete with the tiny little car holding driver and passenger pegs representing my beloved Dorrie and Isabelle and words Pamela pulled from the humbling notes I've received from editors who bought the book. (Seriously, I loved my wedding cake, but gosh!!!)

And NOBODY was going home until we found a place to eat it. I laughed and choked up all at once when Pamela emerged from her vehicle carrying this masterpiece, finally clued in to why everyone was desperate to find a place last night of all nights.

We did eat cake, though I very neurotically cut pieces from the edge and from the corners so I could take all the words and decorations home intact to show my family. And we've been eating cake all day.

But Jamie's right. So much of the time, in writing and in life, it's about the relationships.

These are my girls. I love them.

Interview with Agent Kristin Nelson, part I

By Pamela

When I started writing fiction years ago—even before I began networking with other writers—I turned to the Internet as my first resource—for how to write compelling characters, how to create conflict, and ultimately, how to secure an agent. One of the agent’s blogs I faithfully read was Kristin Nelson’s Pub Rants, and later I queried her with my first project. She turned me down (and she should have—I had a lot to learn yet!) but she remains a favorite agent of mine for her commitment to telling it like it is and educating writers about the industry. So, imagine how delighted I was when she said, YES! when I asked her to participate here on our blog.

Here's more information about Kristin:

Kristin Nelson, Nelson Literary Agency, LLC

Being an avid reader practically since birth, Kristin is equally happy reading a Pulitzer prize-winning literary novel for her book club or a sexy romance novel. She established Nelson Literary Agency, LLC in 2002 after the literary agent she was working for expressed dismay that Kristin wanted to represent—gasp!—genre fiction as well as literary novels. Forming NLA was absolutely the right thing to do. She currently specializes in representing commercial fiction (mainstream, women’s fiction, romance, science fiction, fantasy, young adult and middle grade) and literary fiction with a commercial bent. In general, she does not handle nonfiction projects with the exception of an occasional memoir. Clients include bestselling authors Jamie Ford, Ally Carter, Gail Carriger, Simone Elkeles, Courtney Milan, and RITA-award winners Sherry Thomas and Linnea Sinclair. When she is not busy selling books, Kristin loves playing Ultimate Frisbee (where she tends to be the oldest person on the team) and taking hikes with her husband and their dog Chutney. Member: AAR, RWA, SFWA, SCBWI. Please visit her website www.nelsonagency.com before submitting and also check out Kristin’s popular blog http://pubrants.blogspot.com.

Pamela
You’ve been blogging for over five years. How do your posts differ now from those earliest ones?

Kristin
Initially I spent a lot of time blogging about beginning writers’ mistakes—and still do occasionally if I find a topic that’s helpful for my audience—but today I tend to write from an agent’s viewpoint about how writers can protect themselves and what some of the changes in the industry are. Because, regardless of the changes in the digital publishing industry, mechanics of writing and beginning writers’ mistakes haven’t changed much in the past five years and those were covered in earlier entries.

Pamela
Publishing is all about relationships. How much do your relationships with editors and publishers play into your deciding to take on a project? Have you passed on a submission that sounded like an amazing story for which you just couldn’t think of a publisher/editor? 

Kristin
I’ve definitely looked at sample pages or a full manuscript where I don’t have a really good vision of how I could talk about it. But I know I’m going to take on an author when I can’t put down the book and can immediately think of ten editors who would love to see it and I start formalizing in my head how I’m going to talk about the novel. When I’ve read things that were good that really didn’t speak to me and I didn’t have that clear vision in my head, ultimately I passed on it. A lot of those never got representation. Some have gone on to be agented but not sold. And then quite a few have gone on to be agented and sold. And some for really good money. But if I didn’t have the vision for the book, then I was not the right person for it. I know writers hate to hear that, but because they feel like, ‘Oh, if it’s good writing and the person’s telling a good story, wouldn’t you take it on?’ But no, not necessarily.

Pamela
So, no agent-remorse when something you passed on went on to do really well, if you knew in your heart it wasn’t what you wanted to represent?

 

Kristin
I’ve only been remorseful about one project, and while reading it, I kept going back and forth and back and forth. At the time I was thinking, ‘This is kind of like a knock-off of Twilight.’ And what I should have been thinking was, ‘Oh, this is kind of like Twilight.’ The writing and the concept were really good but I decided if I was going back and forth, I should pass. Two weeks later, I was still thinking about the book and I got back in touch with that author but she had already signed with someone else. And then I knew that was going to be the one that I was going to be remorseful about. But all the others that I’ve passed on, that have gone on to sell and do well, I still review them to see if there are a lot of revisions since I’ve seen them, and I still don’t get the feeling that they were for me. Not every book in the world is going to appeal to every reader in the world. There are a lot of people who don’t like JK Rowling and I can’t imagine it, but there are.

Pamela
Several of your recent blog posts focused on query letters and writers missing the mark as to piquing your interest. Do you feel the biggest problem is good writers who over-think the query or writers who submit work that’s not yet ready?

Kristin
To me, those are two very separate things. Because there are some writers who nail the query letter and then you look at the sample pages and you realize it’s just not ready for an agent to see. They’ve just not mastered their craft—at least in the draft that I’m seeing. Not to say they won’t ever master the craft. If someone hasn’t written a good query letter, we’re just passing on it regardless of how good the pages might end up being because we’re not even getting to the stage that we’re looking at the pages.

Of about the 36,000 queries we got last year, probably more than 50 percent were so poorly written that they were rejected within seconds, so you’re not really competing with them. If you’ve learned how to write a good query, then you’re competing with the group of writers who may or may not pique our interest.

Pamela
I watched a video on your blog that was recorded at a conference you attended. And of all the research I’ve done online about how to write a query letter—that video of you and what you advised: to reread your first 30 pages and find the inciting event and let that form the cornerstone of your query, became a light bulb moment for me. It’s really the best piece of advice I’d seen. 

Kristin
I don’t disagree. And when I teach that workshop, it’s amazing how hard it is to get some people to think about what their inciting incident is—usually it’s because their inciting incident isn’t happening within the first 30 pages. It ends up being on page 100 and right there you know your manuscript’s in trouble. You have a pacing issue.

Pamela
A couple of us at What Women Write are Backspace members. For writers who are not familiar with Backspace, how would you sell them on the benefits of belonging to the group? Are there other online support systems you think are worth the investment of time and money?

Kristin
I know of three: Writers.net, Backspace and Absolute Write’s watercooler. My question to writers would be: Why aren’t you involved in one of these groups? All have wonderful, professional writers who dispense advice and offer feedback and generally make themselves available. Holy cow! Why wouldn’t you want to be a part of that? For example, on Backspace agents will often chat on the forum boards. Where else can you get that one-on-one opportunity in a virtual situation where people will address questions? Some of the most amazing posts on the forum are by experienced authors who say: These were my mistakes.

I’ll never forget on Backspace when a very popular NYT’s bestselling thriller author talked about how she got into a world of trouble for not paying her taxes on time. Ever since then, I always have a conversation with my authors who have large advances on the importance of keeping up with their taxes. How smart that she was willing to say, ‘Hey, this was a big mistake that I made.’

Pamela
We’ve followed Jamie Ford’s publishing journey—saw him speak in Dallas, featured him on the blog and will eagerly hear him again as he returns this fall for Richardson Reads One Book’s event. He stated that his query included having a portion of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet place in a short story contest. How important are pre-pubbed credits such as contests when it comes to getting your attention in a query? 

Kristin
It absolutely never hurts to have prepublication credentials, especially if you’re writing literary fiction and are in the good literary magazines. That’s going to carry a lot of weight—just like graduating from Iowa’s MFA workshop carries a lot of weight. But it’s not the end-all, be-all. I’ve definitely signed authors who didn’t have anything. Nada! And I took them on. As long as the manuscript is wonderful and strong enough, that’s most important. Having non-fiction credits, even if you’re shopping a novel, doesn’t hurt because it communicates a level of professionalism and shows you know how to meet a deadline. In the end, non-fiction pub credits won’t play a factor in promoting fiction unless you’re an NPR correspondent or if you have a pretty high level of media exposure as someone like David Sedaris.

Come back tomorrow for part two of Kristin's interview where she discusses contract negotiations and what she's currently looking for in submissions. 

What Women Blog

by Joan

As we've recently mentioned, next week the six of us will present a program at the Writers’ Guild of Texas. We’ve been asked to talk about how we formed our group, why we decided to start blogging, and what we blog about. We'll also share our experiences with critique, the social media monster and our annual retreat.

During my five minutes of fame, I'll address content. Interesting, since as I mentioned in my last post, I’m the one staring at my computer for hours trying to be half as engaging as the other five! Often I share the same dilemma faced by many bloggers: What should I write about?

What I’ll tell our audience at Writers’ Guild is to first consider what you're trying to accomplish by blogging and what you can offer your readers. Are you trying to reach a certain audience? Gain a following? Promote your book? Air your deepest secrets? Since there are probably millions of blog posts published daily, yours should be, well, something that could only be written by you. (Readers who already blog, we'd love for you to share your link in the comments below!)

By just clicking on my Google reader, I can gain information about the Victorian Era from author Lee Jackson at The Cat’s Meat Shop, find the name of a new agent at Guide to Literary Agents, enjoy an insightful reflection from Dani Shapiro, appreciate gorgeous photography by Sarah Laurence, pick up querying tips from the all-powerful Query Shark, get a book review from Bibliophile by the Sea, read author Jamie Ford's BitterSweet Blog, peer into an agent’s world at Dystel and Goderich (our friend Jim McCarthy in particular!), throw out a story hook at TaleBait, and learn about the craft and business of writing with Writer Unboxed. The list goes on and on.

We started this blog with a simple mission—we wanted to share a little about our experiences and offer advice and insight to our writing lives. We offer observations on point of view or character, share personal reflections about struggles with issues in our manuscript--or lives. In lighter moments, we run book reviews, Q&A with authors, agents and editors, a list of our favorite reads, or a sneak peek at our annual retreat.

I hope we’re on your list of must-read blogs. We appreciate your stopping by, visiting us on Facebook, and mentioning us to your friends. And don’t forget, if you’re in Dallas next Monday, January 17, stop by the basement of the Richardson Library at Arapaho and North Central Expressway at 7pm. You never know what we might talk about.

Q&A with Jamie Ford

by Joan

In February, fellow What Women Write blogger Julie Kibler invited me to join her at Jamie Ford's author talk and signing at Dallas’ Crow Collection of Asian Art. It was an intimate gathering for an as-yet unknown author, but I figured, if I didn’t like him, I’d get a peek at some fantastic art. Little did I know, the next month his novel would make the New York Times Bestseller list. As it happened, Jamie thoughtfully answered our questions and enthralled us with a short reading from his debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.

Since then, I’ve been reading his Bittersweet Blog and following him on Facebook. He’s a genuinely nice person and kindly agreed to answer some questions.

From his publisher:

In the opening pages of Jamie Ford’s stunning debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle’s Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II. As Henry looks on, the owner opens a Japanese parasol.

This simple act takes old Henry Lee back to the 1940s, at the height of the war, when young Henry’s world is a jumble of confusion and excitement, and to his father, who is obsessed with the war in China and having Henry grow up American. While “scholarshipping” at the exclusive Rainier Elementary, where the white kids ignore him, Henry meets Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese American student. Amid the chaos of blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids, Henry and Keiko forge a bond of friendship–and innocent love–that transcends the long-standing prejudices of their Old World ancestors. And after Keiko and her family are swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps, she and Henry are left only with the hope that the war will end, and that their promise to each other will be kept.

Forty years later, Henry Lee is certain that the parasol belonged to Keiko. In the hotel’s dark dusty basement he begins looking for signs of the Okabe family’s belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot begin to measure. Now a widower, Henry is still trying to find his voice–words that might explain the actions of his father; words that might bridge the gap between him and his modern, Chinese American son; words that might help him confront the choices he made many years ago.

Set during one of the most conflicted and volatile times in American history, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an extraordinary story of commitment and enduring hope. In Henry and Keiko, Jamie Ford has created an unforgettable duo whose story teaches us of the power of forgiveness and the human heart.

Joan: Jamie, thanks for agreeing to answer a few questions here. Success has come quickly for you. If you weren’t such a nice guy—we might be stabbing pins into a Jamie Ford voodoo doll. What’s been the biggest surprise for you?

Jamie: Aside from someone actually paying me to write? Hmmm…let’s see, the most surprising moment would probably be a group of ESL students that were reading Hotel in their classroom—students from all over the world: Ethiopia, Sudan, Thailand, Iran, just to name a few. They could all relate to the challenge of trying to assimilate into another culture while retaining their unique identities. They also gave me these really cool hand-made cards, which were lovely.

Joan: That must have been a wonderful moment—knowing your book reached other cultures and touched them in such a way. Hotel is a moving novel—did you really write it in two months? If yes, stabbed voodoo doll will be mailed to you.

Jamie: Well, yes and no. (Hold onto that voodoo doll). I’d actually been researching 1940s Seattle for another book when I wrote the short story that would later become the Hotel. So I’d spent a lot of time––probably six months––researching and ruminating on the time period, the neighborhood, the jazz scene, etc. But when an editor read the short story and encouraged me to write the book, I wrote like a madman—about three months, with a week or two of non-writing in the middle where I flew to Seattle for more research, toured the Panama Hotel and met with historian Doug Chin.

Joan: Okay, we’ll save the voodoo doll for someone else. But what’s the latest on Hollywood? Are you negotiating a bit part into the contract? Will you write the screenplay?

Jamie: Hollywood is strange. Creatively, I’m sure there are incredible screenplays collecting dust while Dumb & Dumberer III gets made. Because of that I’m morbidly curious about the whole process (read: frightened). So far we’ve turned down two small offers on the film option. Both were intriguing, but not intriguing enough, I guess. Hotel is a difficult story to finance from a Hollywood perspective since the three main characters are Chinese, Japanese, and Black—not exactly a vehicle for your chisel-jawed Caucasian movie star, but we’re hoping that the success of Slumdog Millionaire has changed that mindset a bit. And no bit part for moi. I think the Hollywood version of that these days is an Executive Producer credit. I’d probably be better off with the walk-on. And as far as writing the screenplay, I love the control I have when writing novels. A screenplay on the other hand is like a sandbox where all the kids take turns getting dirty. I’m not sure I’d be able to share my toys in that environment.

Joan: I’m sure you’re right about the screenplays collecting dust. Executive Producer sounds good. No bit part, but at least you read your audio book, right?

Jamie: Oh, actually the audio version is read by actor Feodor Chin, but thanks—he has a far better voice than I do, trust me. Back in the day I think there was something sexy about having the author read, but then, some authors are terrible readers, so professional voice talent is used these days––a much better proposition than listening to some drunken, slurring, crowd-shy, Tourrette’s-addled writer who’s better off staying behind a keyboard. I listen to a LOT of audio books, and a great voice can make a book come alive. Mine would probably make dogs howl.

Joan: Hotel visits two time periods—something I’m writing as well. What was the biggest challenge for you? How much cutting and pasting did you do? Not as much as I’ve done, I’ll bet.

Jamie: Not so much really. I found that the narrative ebbed and flowed as my short-attention span waned. What was the question again?

Joan: Well, it worked. I couldn’t put your book down. It truly was a sweet love story. You’ve been fairly close-mouthed on your next book. What can you tell us about it?

Jamie: The juicy good news is that I’ve just agreed to a new contract with Random House, so my new book, tentatively titled WHISPERS OF A THUNDER GOD, is slated for release in early 2011. It’s about a failed Kamikaze pilot, now in his 70s who’s still searching for a noble death—one that will allow his spirit to be reunited with that of his late wife. It’s another historical, multi-cultural love story. Shhh…but don’t tell anyone.

Joan: I love it! But I don’t want to wait until 2011. I’ll never understand this crazy business. What advice can you give an aspiring author in this strange and uncertain publishing market? What do you think of the publishing industry’s current crisis?

Jamie: The best advice I can give to aspiring authors is this: Allow yourself a healthy margin for self-improvement. Keep writing. Consider everything to be good practice. You wouldn’t expect to sit down at a piano and play Mozart the first time. The same rule applies to writing. It just takes practice. As far as the publishing industry’s crisis, I think it’s rooted in an inward self-reflecting style of literary writing mistakenly aimed at other writers (and critics) rather than readers who are looking to be entertained and perhaps educated a bit. If publishers focused more on storytelling and less on performance writing, I think they wouldn’t be losing their battles with television and cinema.

Joan: Great advice and an interesting take on the industry. For self-improvement, do you have favorite books on writing? Tell us a little about Orson Scott Card’s boot camp. Did you have to run ten miles before breakfast?

Jamie: Scott Card’s Characters & Viewpoint was a godsend. It’s a terribly practical read, but really helped break some bad habits of mine leftover from writing for the camera. I stopped writing from the outside in and started writing from the inside out. And his Literary Boot Camp was amazing––and exhausting. With most writers conferences, you bring something you’ve already written, you workshop it, you sit through panels and basically hang out in some resort-like setting with a glass of merlot in your hand. At Boot Camp you start with a blank screen and you write. No show, all go. Then you go through a blood and guts workshop of those stories. It’s tough love at its finest. There were writers there who wrote 9,000-word short stories in two days that were AMAZING (and later published).

Joan: I’m not big on blood and guts, but I’d love to attend one day. You’ve traveled quite a bit since then. How many cities did you visit on your book tour? For your next book, imagine the budget is tight so you’re asked to sleep on friends’ sofas to save money. How many states can you visit if you employ this tactic?

Jamie: Hmmm…(counting)…I think I did 22 events in 16 cities. The funny thing is, I had friends (or relatives), in almost every city, which was fun but exhausting, because we usually ended up going out every night for dessert or a late dinner. And if I did the couch tour I’d probably have a place to rest my head in every city but Chicago. Hello, Chicago?

Joan: Our blog audience will want me to ask this question: How did you snag the wonderful Kristin Nelson as your agent? I love her blog, but I skip over the “what’s playing on the iPod right now.” If I don’t, the songs follow me around all day. And did you really turn down four New York agents?

Jamie: You know, honestly I think Kristin was surprised that I chose Kristin––because it seems that most newbie authors equate New York with success. But I’d always looked at Sandra Dijkstra in California as one of the premier agents in the industry, so the distance/geography thing was really a non-factor. In the end I did turn down those other agents, because Kristin truly understood the book, she understood what I wanted to do with my career, and she’s a well-respected up-and-comer in the industry. I describe her as “relentlessly nice.” She knows her stuff, and don’t be fooled, she’s a strong negotiator, but she doesn’t make you feel like you’ve been in a hockey fight afterwards. Plus she has an insanely diverse taste in music.

Joan: She sounds like a dream. Okay, what’s a question you’d love to answer but no one ever asks?

Jamie: “How did you get so strikingly handsome? Are you single? Is your wife here?” I keep waiting for stalkers, but they just don’t seem to show up at book events.

Thank you so much for joining us, Jamie. We wish you great success and will anxiously await your next novel. Readers, the paperback of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet will be out in October. And if you’d like to leave a comment here, we’ll enter you in a drawing for an autographed copy of the hardback. But hurry; we’ll only take entries from people who comment before midnight on Thursday, August 6, so check back on Friday to see if you’ve won. Be sure your comment links us to contact info for you or contact us at wwwtx6 (at) yahoo (dot) com. Also, unless you're willing to spring for postage, winner must live in the U.S.

UPDATE: The winner of the autographed book is C. I will email you today for your address. Thanks everyone!