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

What not to write

By Pamela

Stacy and Clinton of WNTW

I once was a big fan of the television show What Not to Wear, where people and a hearty sampling of their pitiful wardrobes are whisked away to NYC for a complete overhaul by Stacy and Clinton. I found it hard not to cringe, though, when those featured were criticized--at times mercilessly--for simply expressing their individuality through their fashion choices. In the end, I suppose, maybe their egos recovered when they got to take home a brand new wardrobe of the 'right' clothes.

canvas.landsend.com

I absorbed fashion advice in my formative years:

• Never wear white after Labor Day or before Easter.
• Don't mix patterns.
• Don't wear horizontal stripes; they'll make you look fat.
• Never wear orange if you're a redhead.
• And so on ...

And yet today, I wear whatever I want, whenever I want. As I'm typing this, I have on a plaid shirt and a plaid scarf--not the same fabric or really the same colors but it works, I think. One of my favorite shirts has horizontal stripes, and I've been a redhead and worn orange and pink and red without a second thought. Plus I'll wear white any month of the year--as long as it's clean.

My point is: I know the 'rules' of fashion and yet I'm not shy about breaking them if I think I can pull it off.

Joan and I recently took a class in Austin, and I found it interesting, that as the instructor rattled off some 'rules,' she countered nearly every one with an exception: an author who didn't follow convention yet found success anyway. I realized that ever since I started pursuing writing as a career, I'd read and heard a lot of advice about What Not to Write.

• Don't write more than 100,000 words for your first novel.
• Don't follow the latest trend--vampires, werewolves, zombies, etc.
• Don't start a book with a reference to the weather.
• Don't 'head-hop' or have one scene with multiple POVs or have too many POVs in one story.
• Don't start or end a book with dialog.
• Don't tell an agent that you're writing a trilogy unless you've already sold the first one. 

So, if every author followed The Ever-expanding Rules of Writing, Kathryn Stockett's first novel, The Help, which is over 150,000 words, would likely have been a much different--less compelling and shorter--story.

Many folks have hitched their keyboard to the paranormal wagon and found new ways to spin a good ol' vampire tale and done quite well. 

As far as books starting with the weather, read the opening lines of The English Patient or The Memory Keeper's Daughter. 

I'm pretty sure he never 'head-hopped' but Carl Hiassen's Skinny Dip had so many POVs, I lost track. And loved the book so much, I've read it twice.

I've also heard, "Don't write a book as though it's a journal or a diary." What about The Color Purple? And that "People don't read/like/want prologues or epilogues." Really? I didn't hear anyone complaining much about The Time Traveler's Wife or The Dive from Clausen's Pier.

Someone also advised me to not write in the present tense. As in A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius? And two other books I loved: Open, Andre Agassi's autobiography and Elizabeth Berg's Until the Real Thing Comes Along.

So, my advice to anyone who writes is this: Study the craft, learn the rules and then write what moves you. It's fine to wear white in winter while you write your vampire novel in multiple POVs in present tense with the opening scene taking place in a violent snowstorm.

Just do it well--wear it with confidence--and I'm sure you can pull it off.

Hats On!

by Joan

I’ve always wanted to wear a hat. But I have bad hat hair.

In my curly days, wearing a hat would leave me with a flat top and frizzy sides, much like Larry the Stooge. Now that it’s straight, I haven't found one I'd venture out in. Until now…

If any of you follow us on Facebook, you’ll know that we’re planning a special field trip this week. Most of you know our fond affection for a little book called The Help. It all started when Pamela interviewed Amy Einhorn. (Most things start with Pamela and that’s why we love her.)

We all fell in love with the book, which is rare for our group with our unique tastes. We discussed the characters as though we knew them personally or would meet them one day. If I’m not mistaken, we were all sharing ideas about who would play which part in the movie, long before we knew the option had been sold.

When Pamela let us know (see, I told you, it all starts with Pamela) there would be a preview in our area, she sent us an email: “I vote we all go together in period dress. I have pearls!!! And a nearby Goodwill!”

Later, she’d pepper her emails with little tidbits like, “Dressing in period clothing is NOT optional. :) Well, I guess it is, but still....”

And after she'd purchased the tickets for us, “He mentioned they'd be at will-call and I caught something about y'all who dress up in southern '60s style getting preferred seating. Just sayin'.” (Later she admitting to fudging that promise, just a little--okay, a lot.)

Judging by the texts and pictures flying back and forth between us, I’d say the two of us are the most excited about dressing up. I found two options for dresses and waited until this weekend to choose, based on shopping for shoes, hat, purse and jewelry.

My decision was made early when I came upon these spectator pumps. Later when I found my hat (see above!), I texted the price to Pamela and asked if it was worth it (not printing here because Elizabeth and my husband would have a heart attack). With her hearty approval, I paid for my hat, wondering how I was going to keep the thing on my head, and only worrying a little about the unlucky viewer who would sit behind me.


Tomorrow night we’ll be watching the movie together, laughing, crying, and revisiting our old friends on screen. I’m not sure who’s up for Wednesday’s post because we’ve been switching days around a bit, but I imagine there will be pictures involved and a blow-by-blow description of our hats being yanked off by short, unlucky viewers.

If you get a chance to see the movie, stop by and let us know what you thought! And if you were also inspired to dress the part, share your pictures!

Lessons on Writing from Kathryn Stockett

By Pamela

One of the perks of living near a big city is taking advantage of the cultural offerings. I always reach for the entertainment section the Sunday Dallas Morning News first. Book reviews, movie listings, plays, musicals—all sorts of goodies to read about. Three weeks ago, I happened to see a tiny blip on the calendar featuring The Help's author Kathryn Stockett’s stop in Dallas, sponsored by the Dallas Museum of Art | Arts & Letters program.

I quickly emailed my co-bloggers and only Susan had the night free. On Friday, she recapped our adventure. But I wanted to share today, some of the writing advice Kathryn shared during her talk.

While I own a shelf full of writing books—some by agents, others by authors, a few by editors—and each book shares a unique angle on writing, for some reason, hearing nuggets straight from the mouth of an author who once obsessed over her query letter the same way we do, just makes the end goal seem that much more obtainable.

Here’s what we learned from Kathryn Stockett…

on writing: One of the first things Kathryn said from the lectern, as she began her talk, was that she wanted to address the writers in the room. And several times, throughout the 90 minutes she talked and answered questions, she made specific references to the task of writing. “Reading a lot makes for a good writer,” she said. “You learn the turn of a phrase and, if you read it enough, you can rip it off.” She good-naturedly continued to downplay her success, assuring us that everyone can learn the craft as she has. “There are those who are truly gifted—Hemingway, Steinbeck—but really, I’m just makin’ shit up.”

on editing: “When you write you spend a lot of time editing; a lot of time revising; a lot of time rockin’ in the corner; a lot of time on Prozac.”

on persistence: When she started sending out The Help to agents, she said her first rejection letter was pretty exciting. “It showed me someone had read it.” With the second one, she still felt it was pretty cool to think someone out there was responding. “After number 15, I started to get a little depressed. After 35, I thought about sticking my head in the oven. Number 60 just about put me under the bed. But all along, I kept writing and refining.” (Minny started out in third person.) “And at number 61, Susan Ramer took pity on me. What if I had given up after 60? You just never know.”

In response to a question from an audience member as to whether or not she’s had any contact with the agents who rejected her, to give a little nanner-nanner, Kathryn said, “You know, if I did meet one, I’d need to thank her. Every ‘no’ made me go back to the story and make it better.” (To give you an idea how much I think those rejections affected her, though, she brought some of the letters with her and read some excerpts.)


on choosing cover art: The first cover option for The Help was a B&W photo of a black woman’s hand holding the hand of a white child. She loved it, thought it was perfect but the editor was concerned that “people might think it’s about race.” Three months and 50 covers later, Kathryn said, “I don’t care a rat’s ass what you put on the cover, as long as it’s not purple and yellow. I went to the University of Alabama and we don’t care much for LSU. Of course, it’s a perfect cover because it has absolutely nothing to do with the book.”

Since The Help’s United States printing, its foreign rights have been sold 39 times. First version was the UK. The UK publisher sent Kathryn a photo of the cover they were going to use, featuring a photo of a white child with two black maids. (The publisher had found it in the US Library of Congress and it had a city and state on it—small town in Mississippi.) Kathryn sent a copy of it to a woman she knew there and that woman identified the little girl as a child whose family owned the local newspaper. “They had so much money, they had two maids,” the woman told Kathryn. To that, Kathryn added, laughing, “This just perpetuates the notion that the South is just one small town where everyone knows everybody.”

on the evolution of book-into-movie: “When I found out I was going on my first book tour, I asked my good friend Octavia Spencer to come along with me,” she said. “I didn’t feel comfortable reading in front of people in a black voice.” Octavia then read for the audio book (“She told me she’d never do that again!”) and was later cast in the movie as Minny.

Tate Taylor, screenwriter and director, went to kindergarten with Kathryn. When they were 14, they stole his daddy’s car and drove it to New Orleans, ate at Brennan's, drank champagne, and slept it off before driving it back. “I knew when we got home, we’d be in trouble but we didn’t care. It was worth it.” Later they moved to New York together and were roommates before he left for LA. Tate was one of her first readers. He asked for the movie rights and at first she said, No. Then she worried who might end up buying them … “possibly even someone from Canada!” So, she gave Tate the movie rights and he spent about a year writing the screenplay. Then he shopped it around and got nowhere until, one day, Steven Spielberg called him and said he wanted to make the movie.

Along with Octavia, the movie features Emma Stone as Skeeter and Viola Davis as Aibileen. Bryce Dallas Howard (Ron Howard’s daughter) plays Hilly. “She’s never wanted for anything,” Kathryn said, and Kathryn’s daughter plays young Skeeter in a scene with Cicely Tyson as Constantine. “My daughter has no lines but, as soon as we got on set, she asked me, ‘Where’s my trailer?’”) Kathryn has a cameo and even dons a beehive hairdo. From the stills, I noticed she’s wearing purple!

on writing her second book: She didn’t say when we can expect it to hit shelves but shared that it takes place in the 1920s and ‘30s in Oxford, Mississippi. “Y’all, I’m so bummed I missed the depression,” she said. “It was such a defining moment for women.” In the story, the women “really didn’t have a skill set, but they come up with a unique idea to make money.”

She shared that the problem with writing the second book is: “Y’all are all the room with me. It takes me a while to clear everyone out of the way so I can write.”

on writing every day: Kathryn used the analogy of her granddaddy having a leather strap with all these keys on it. “When one would fill up, he’d just add another strap.” And, even though he knew what they opened, she never did. If she doesn’t write every day, it’s like “standing at a door with that strap of keys in my hand, trying to figure out which one to use.”

An Evening with Kathryn Stockett

By Susan

On January 2, 2010, I wrote here about a great debut novel by an unknown Southern writer, Kathryn Stockett. On Tuesday night, in the middle of a week full of work, kids, and general busy-ness, I attended her book signing in Dallas with my good friend and co-blogger Pamela and her delightful mom. It was a full circle, of sorts, for me and my journey as a writer.

By now, everyone knows Kathryn Stockett, the author of The Help. It's been translated into 39 languages, has been on bestseller lists for something close to 100 weeks, and sent a shock wave through the South in its dissection of race, class and women. It broke rules. It shed light on our own failures as a society in 1960s America. And it kept me committed to my own work-in-progress when I truly had no idea what I was doing.

The First Presbyterian Church of Dallas was packed on Tuesday night, women in groups huddled together with Coach purses and perfectly coiffed hair. I swear an aging Miss Hilly--one of the characters in The Help--was sitting two rows behind us. I shifted in my seat before the author began speaking. I was here as a writer, not just as a fan. What would she have to say to this group, who in many ways looked like the characters she had created?

She did not disappoint. She told us of her own journey as a writer. She talked about rejection (60 agents declined The Help before the 61st said 'yes'.) She talked about that crazy tenacity that a writer must have to continue working on a novel just because you love it--because it speaks to you, because it made you homesick for the voices of your childhood.

And she was irreverent, poking fun at her home state of Mississippi, her characters, and herself as a writer. ("Me?" she said at one point. "I'm no expert. I'm just makin' shit up.") She talked about her childhood dreams to become a writer, about the love she had for Demetrie, her grandmother's black maid, and her time in New York during the September 11, 2001, attacks.

She took questions from the audience. A blind women articulately implored us all to listen to the audio version. A fellow-Mississippian extolled the virtues of their state, and at least one African-American woman praised her for telling the story. She answered all of the questions with humor, truthfulness, and an endearing transparency that felt like friendship. By the end of the evening, Pamela and I just knew that she would love to hang out with us, of course, if just given the chance. She made you feel like a friend.

Once we were in line for the book signing itself, they let us know she would not be personalizing the copies due to time constraints. Pamela's mother, who had just flown in from Indiana that day, found a chair while Pamela and I entertained ourselves in line, declaring this the best book signing ever. Once we got face to face with her ("Dang, she's tiny!" I said to Pamela. "Tee-tiny," Pamela answered.) Pamela's mother joined us with her copy of The Help, and we all said our thank yous as the author lifted her Sharpie, ready to sign the next one.

As we walked away, we were quickly called back. "Ms. Stockett wants you to come back," the rep from the Dallas Museum of Art said. And we returned, as giddy as though we had an audience with The Queen. "I'd like to personalize your copy," Kathryn said, not to me or Pamela, mind you, but to Marianne Tooley, Pamela's mother.

We three left in giggles. I was too excited to even get a photograph of Marianne beaming at the author as she asked her name and personalized her copy.

On my drive home, I turned the radio off and drove in silence, thinking about The Help. I thought about my own novel, which I just completed last week--all 99,910 words of it. When I read Stockett's novel, I was consumed with perfection and lost in my own plot line. I wanted it to be right. I wanted it to follow a pattern, I wanted it to have order. After falling in love with The Help, I decided to stop listening to the voices around me that were 'showing me the ropes.' Sure, I didn't know what I was doing. I was writing for the love of it, for the story itself. It was then that I decided not to worry about things that I could not predict or even foresee--things like agents and query letters and the scary and dejecting world of publishing. I decided then and there that I was just going to continue writing.

"Keep writing," she'd said at the beginning of her speech--not to the Miss Hilly's in the audience, I think, but to me. "Keep perfecting it. Make yourself better. Don't give up." I left the First Presbyterian Church inspired--not just by Kathryn Stockett's novel, but by her journey, her tenacity, her humor, and her kindness.

On August 12, 2011, The Help will be released by Dreamworks, and I'll be there, watching it unfold on the big screen. Where will my own manuscript be by then? Will I be brave enough to submit it to agents? Because beyond there be dragons.

I have a feeling I will. What have I got to lose?

More fish in the sea

By Julie

My family reads with varying degrees of enthusiasm. The youngest reads under duress when forced to accrue Accelerated Reader points to pass language arts. In the process, she's found a few books she might publicly admit she enjoyed.

My middle child reads voraciously in spurts as time allows between her other social activities, enjoying many of the books I also enjoy, often reading books behind me, though usually in line after my mom.

My free-spirited eldest won an award for reading 100 books in kindergarten, but never read much as an adolescent. After flying the coop in recent years, he discovered that books about philosophy and sustainable agriculture and making things from scratch (buckskin pants, anyone?) tickle his fancy. He's been tracking down old FOXFIRE books lately.

Some think readers are born. Others believe it takes finding what speaks to a person to make them a reader. I suspect the answer lies between. I can't remember not loving to read, but also identified my reading niche at a very young age, first devouring books about pioneer girls and orphans and huge, all-of-a-kind families, then growing into adult fiction about relationships and family crises and dealing with the world in general. Not much of a stretch from one to the other.

I've tried the last few years, however, to widen my reading experience. I borrow library books I've heard recommended time and again even though they don't fit my usual M.O. Sometimes I grab remaindered hardbacks for a few dollars by authors I've never considered reading. I've discovered there are a lot more fish in the sea of reading and I'm a better person for it, if I do say so myself.

What's been fun lately is seeing others around me branch out, too.

My father-in-law, a retired nuclear physicist who writes poetry and other short forms under the radar, is an obvious intellectual. Yet, in one of our many conversations about books, he freely admitted he rarely read novels by women. I understand. Until the last few years, I rarely read books by men. But shortly before Christmas last year, he emailed me his Christmas wish: Name one book by a female author I'd read in 2009 I'd like him to read. His request flattered and challenged me. I went a step further and recommended two. (And, of course, we purchased those books as gifts.)

This recent feedback from made me smile.

"I did it, I finished HOME (Marilynne Robinson). And I was astounded and moved by much of the writing: some really remarkable descriptions, dialogs, and turns of phrase. I found it a bit difficult getting into at the beginning; sometimes I lost track of who was speaking in extended scenes of conversation; and sometimes I wanted to inflict great bodily harm on one or all of the characters. But altogether wonderfully writ. I thought of COLD MOUNTAIN as I read HOME. Both novels were challenging to read in spots and required some will power to keep after them; but both were eminently satisfying and of both I said "Wow!" when I finished. Fine literature indeed."

And:

"I finally finished reading THE HELP, and I really enjoyed it. It is quite an achievement for a first novel, or any novel for that matter. I notice it is #1 or 2 or so on many best seller lists at present. She (Kathryn Stockett) certainly did a fine job of drawing upon her own experiences of life and place. The characters really rang true and resonated with me from some of my 60's memories even though I lived in 'the north' until '69. An altogether gripping and entertaining read. Thanks for selecting it for us."

My husband seemed an enthusiastic part-time reader for years, going through two or three books during holidays or on vacations. This year, though, he's burned through so many, my own little reading log is cringing in shame. (And a man who reads is an attractive man, indeed. Just saying.) After consuming a forest of books, he's run out of his favorites – thrillers and mysteries by Steve Berry, Harlan Coben, Stieg Larsson, Dan Brown, and Tom Clancy, to name a few.

He decided to postpone another trip to the bookstore last week, but was antsy without something new to read. I got sneaky. I casually handed him a few novels I'd purchased and said, "You might like these. I don't know what they're like because I haven't read them yet." And guess what? He doesn't have to give up his man card because they're by men, but I'm almost certain A RELIABLE WIFE by Robert Goolrick and SECRETS OF EDEN by Chris Bohjalian are unlike anything he's ever read.

The jury's still out on the Bohjalian, though he's about a third in and says he likes it so far. HOORAY! I love Bohjalian's books. He wasn't crazy about the Goolrick novel, going so far as to compare it to "one of those bodice ripper things," (not that he's ever read one ... or so he says). Still, he plowed through and said it had some interesting twists and turns. He claims I better hurry up so we can compare notes because I'm falling behind. :) I'm sure he'll mostly stick with his favorite genres and authors in the future, but I think he's enjoying branching out a bit, and I'm enjoying watching.

I received a text message from my daughter yesterday. Yes, from school.

Her: I finished LOVE IN THE PRESENT TENSE.

Me: Did you like it?

Her: YES!

Me: Cool. I love that book!

I'd mentioned this Catherine Ryan Hyde novel to her a few weeks ago as something I thought she'd enjoy and we found it at the library. (BT-dubs, who has my signed copy?! Gail?! This blog is beginning to serve as a GPS for locating loaned books. Ha.)

Anyway, I think there's a point to this post. It goes something like this:

People like what they like. But sometimes they're just waiting for you to help them get out of their reading comfort zones. Sometimes they're brave enough to ask for your assistance, and sometimes they're just waiting for you to knock them over the head with new books when they least expect it.

Regardless, the connection we gain by sharing out-of-the-box reading experiences with friends and family can be priceless.

Your turn.

Photo credit: he(art)geek's flickr photostream by Creative Commons license

How to Write a Great First Novel

By Susan


Two months ago I picked up a book at Barnes & Noble recommended by Pamela. "You must read this," she had emailed me. I had it for a few days before I started it on a Thursday night. Unable to sleep, I picked it up at 10:00 pm and finished it completely 8 hours later at 6:00 am. I passed it on to others with the similar effect: my mother-in-law devoured it. My sisters fought over the one copy I brought home at Christmas. Everyone I recommended it to seemed to love it as much as I did.


What was the novel? It was The Help, by first-time novelist Kathryn Stockett. For me, reading it unraveled every rule of novel-writing that I have ever learned. And it was completely delightful.


I'm not really a rule follower by nature, but up until 2009, I was writing away in an ignorant bliss, not even knowing which rules I was breaking. I knew none of the guidelines to writing a novel; I'd been trained as a journalist. This year, in getting serious about my manuscript (which includes, by the way, actually calling it a manuscript), I joined writing groups, started blogging, and went to workshops. I realized that there are hundreds of books written on the rules of writing a book (I had no idea!). I learned a lot about query letters and agents and publishing. I also learned a lot of rules and formulas. I learned the rules, and they made me squirm.


I started stressing about things like point of view and word count and sentence length. It seemed that the more I wrote, the more I read about writing, which then forced me to go back and rewrite everything I'd written. I started doubting myself (which, the books told me, was normal). I started thinking it was all crap (also, they say: normal). Long story short, I spent more time agonizing than I did actually writing. But I learned the rules.


Then I read The Help. Kathryn Stockett broke every rule that I had spent the past year learning. More than that, somehow she gave me permission to write the way I have wanted to write all along. And so, at the beginning of 2010, I have learned some new rules for writing:

1) It's OK to write a really long first novel...


2) It's OK to mix up points-of-view...


3) It's OK to use vernacular, slang, and stereotypical language...


4) It's OK to go over-the-top without being kitschy...


5) Basically, it's OK to break all the rules of writing...


HOWEVER...

None of the above are OK unless you are a really, really, really good writer.


Kathryn Stockett is that very talented writer. Yet I can't help but wonder what kinds of doubts and roadblocks greeted her in the journey to complete The Help. I think about well-meaning writing groups or former professors who could have advised her to shorten the length, or pick one voice, or to just choose ONE point of view. How many books are lining her shelves on "How to Write a Novel"? And then I wonder: what would have become of The Help if she had listened to them?


Stockett did what so many writers aspire to do with every submission: She wrote the Great First Novel and while doing so she broke most, if not all, of the rules. Does that mean that I can do it too? Aren't rules just made for breaking? If she did it, does that mean that you can do it too? Of course not. It only mean this: Someone with the talent, the story, and the tenacity to see it through can do it. It can be done.


And that gives me hope that all of my labor is not in vain. I don't know what will become of my manuscript. I'm not just breaking all the rules in a wild stab at becoming the latest and greatest new thing, but I am picking and choosing to whom I listen. The year 2009, for me, was an education in the rules. For 2010, my only resolution is to complete my novel by my rules, not everyone else's. After all, you've got to know the rules in order to break them.