Tag: tu books

Adventures at the ALA #alaac14

This was my first trip to the American Library Association’s annual conference and it was a whirlwind tour for me. I arrived in Las Vegas around lunchtime on Friday, then headed back to the airport around dinnertime on Saturday.

In between I packed an inhumanly large number of activities. After communing with a couple slot machines, I scoped out the convention floor, then had dinner with my editor, Stacy Whitman (@stacylwhitman), publisher of Lee and Low’s Tu Books. Librarian Nina Lindsay and fellow author Valynne Maetani (@valynnemaetani) joined us.

On the way to the restaurant, I noticed an odd thing about Las Vegas (okay, there are a lot of odd things about Las Vegas)–all the faux architecture around town. Like the imitation Arc de Triomphe outside the Paris hotel and the fake Eiffel Tower. It’s like Disneyland for adults. A never-ending costume party as well with some very interesting apparel choices.

Saturday morning, I met with representatives from two of ALA’s ethnic caucuses–Heather Devine from AILA and Eugenia Beh (@ebeh) from APALA. We discussed ways they could get involved in the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign, and how WNDB can utilize the ALA caucuses as a resource. Sadly, we didn’t think to take a selfie of the three of us. 🙁

After a cruise of the convention floor, I returned to the Lee and Low booth to meet fellow Lee and Low author and new WNDB team member, Don Tate (@Devas_T), who was signing at the Lee and Low booth. Seems I can’t quite keep my eyes open when I get my picture taken. I got a copy of Don’s book IT JES’ HAPPENED which will probably end up with my older granddaughter once I’ve read it a few times and had a chance to enjoy its beautiful illustrations.

After visiting with Don, I stopped at Meg Medina’s signing (@Meg_Medina) to buy her book YAQUI DELGADO WANTS TO KICK YOUR ASS. I later crashed Matt de la Pena’s signing, stopping to introduce myself. He was very nice about my interruption. Also, Stacy introduced me to Jacqueline Woodson and between her and Matt, I was pretty starstruck.

I timed my return from lunch perfectly. Not just because I had a 2pm signing of the Tankborn Trilogy at the Lee and Low booth, but because Eriq La Salle (@EriqLaSalle23), the actor who played the prickly surgeon, Peter Benton, in ER, was just starting his signing. He’s writing a thriller series, self-publishing through Ingrams program. I managed to get a quick shot of him in passing.

My own signing was great, giving me a chance to meet fans and talk to librarians about the Tankborn Trilogy. After my autographing session, I headed over to the Special Events section where the Oakland Library (@oaklibrary) was participating in a poster session. They’d put together a bunch of the beautiful #WeNeedDiverseBooks photos that they’d taken during the campaign.

As inspiring as it was seeing those photos come through tweet by tweet, it was amazing seeing them all together in one display. I also got a chance to meet the librarians responsible, Sharon McKellar (@sharon), Nina Lindsay, and Helen Bloch. They had sheets handy with “We Need Diverse Books” across the top for people to write their own response. Sharon took their pictures and insta-tweeted them on the spot.

I headed back to the airport shortly after the poster session. Great conference. I’m looking forward to ALA 2015 in San Francisco. 🙂

July 2, 2014
Horse Trading, and Is Your Writing Really Ready?

Back in July, I blogged about how I was shopping for a new horse. I compared the process to figuring out which of the multitude of writing projects you might want to work on next. Then a few weeks later, I whined about my broken ankle and how difficult it is to wait–for an ankle to heal or for a writing career to get up and running.

Well, my ankle is now ready for prime time (or horseback riding), but my search for a new riding partner has thus far not borne fruit. It’s not for lack of trying. It turns out to be harder than I thought to find a horse in my price range with the kind of training I’m looking for. To find one that’s not too young and not too old. To find one that’s been actually ridden and worked recently rather than hanging around getting fat out in a pasture.

So far, I’ve seriously considered more than a dozen horses. Sometimes I never even went to ride them because my trainer and I looked at video and saw they wouldn’t work for me. Others we rejected because the owners refused to send us recent video. If horse is a couple hours drive away, I want to see video first. I’d hate to drive all that way to see a horse and have it turn out be a waste of time, time I could have saved if I’d seen the way the horse moves.

While there were a few I’ve gone to look at which were nice, but I just didn’t click with, there have also been several with peculiar stories:

•   There was the 8-year-old that I’d thought was trained, but had barely had a few months under saddle
•   There was the 11-year-old that hadn’t been ridden in four years. I wouldn’t have even visited this horse, except every time I asked the owner about how much work the horse had done, the story changed until I finally found out the truth when I went to see it.
•   There were two with unusual medical problems—no fault of the horses, or the owners (they were honest), but it sure explained how cheap they were.
•    My favorite was the “imaginary” horse. I responded to an ad and the seller sent video of a wonderful mare. But when my trainer and I tried to make plans to go see the mare in person and ride her, we were told someone else was buying the horse. The seller said if I sent half-payment, she would cancel the other deal and put the mare on a horse trailer for me. Sight unseen. Um, no.
•   There was the lovely gelding that the seller insisted on full price for, which I reluctantly agreed to, then she refused to take a cashier’s check as payment. Cash only, she said, because she didn’t have a bank account (!). I said no thanks.
•   There was the seller who had sent pictures of her gelding including closeups of the horse’s feet (the condition of the hooves is a very important consideration). The pictures she herself had sent showed chips, cracks, and nail holes from previous shoeings, yet the seller said the horse had great feet that never chipped, cracked, or needed shoes. My farrier gave that one a thumbs down.

I always like to turn my personal stories into object lessons for writers. In this case, I can see a bit of an analogy between the various horse traders and writers I’ve known who have finished a manuscript. They think they’ve got a wonderful, polished piece of work. They’re absolutely certain their manuscript is in fantastic shape, ready to hit the marketplace. They’re anticipating a huge advance for a book as great as theirs is. They’re also sure they won’t have the least problem selling it.

Then reality hits when they submit their books to agents or editors. It gets rejected again and again: Not right for us or Not suitable.

It could be that your book just didn’t click with an agent, like those two horses I rode that were nice, but not for me. But it’s more likely you didn’t put in your time with that book to make it irresistible.

Sometimes buyers are glad to put in the time on an untrained horse if they see its potential. By the same token you might find an agent or editor who will see a gem in the rough with your book and be willing to help you get it polished. But just as there are far fewer buyers out there with the skill and inclination to re-make a green horse into a show-ready champion, you will be hard-pressed to find an editor/agent who’s willing to make your rough draft manuscript into a polished bestseller.

So put that training on your horse…er, polish up that manuscript. And improve your chance of finding the agent or editor of your dreams.

Buy the first two books of the Tankborn science fiction trilogy: Tankborn and Awakening. Buy Clean Burn, a crime novel featuring private investigator Janelle Watkins.

October 1, 2013
A Broken Ankle, a Writing Career, and Playing the Long Game

A few weeks ago, I fractured my right fibula (the smaller bone on the outside of your ankle). I wasn’t doing anything particularly fun or dangerous. I was kind of trotting toward a local pet store, planning to ask to use the bathroom. I leapt up onto the sidewalk, and when the outer edge of my boot hit a groove in the concrete, my foot rolled under. Crunch.

I’d hoped it was just a sprain, in fact had to be talked into going to the doctor. I’m now in an attractive (not) “cam boot” that keeps my ankle stable. The boot is far better than a cast because I can take it off to shower, or to scratch an itch.

But here’s the thing–I’m a fairly active person. I’m in the habit of working out at the gym 3 times a week, dancing at least once a week, and before I sold my mare, I was riding 3-4 times a week. I was in the middle of horse-shopping for a new horse (which I blogged about here). In fact, that day I broke my ankle, my trainer and I were about to head out to try a horse. My trainer thinks it was fate that it happened since the horse we were going to check out wasn’t a good match for me.

Even still, it’s maddening not to be able to continue my usual level of activity and to see my calf muscle shrink. I’m exercising as much as I’m allowed to (I can go to the gym if I wear the boot and can do some strengthening exercises without the boot on). But I have to balance letting the ankle heal with my desire to get back to normal. In other words, much of the process is a waiting game.

Waiting is also a huge part of any author’s career. Take the Tankborn Trilogy. After the long process of writing the first book, Tankborn, I had to wait to hear back from agents. Once I had representation, I had to wait through the process of marketing the book to publishers. Once the book sold to Tu Books, I had to go through the complex process of the rewrite, then wait to see the gorgeous cover art, then wait again until the first book was released in September 2011.

The decision to go to the second and third books of the trilogy took some time, then more writing, more editing, more waiting for release dates. Awakening came out in April 2013, and I have to wait until spring 2014 for Rebellion, the final book of the trilogy.

Same deal with the Janelle Watkins mystery series that starts with the book Clean Burn. After all the waiting, it’s hard to believe that it’s going to be released in the US in less than a month. Back when Exhibit A first gave it the thumbs up was nearly a year ago. Which is kind of blisteringly fast from first offer to release. But it doesn’t seem that way when you’re dying to see the book on the shelves.

But just like I can’t make that ankle heal any faster, no matter how much I will that bone to knit, I can’t make the cycle of book to shelf happen any quicker. Writing and publishing is a long game, whether it’s via the traditional path that the Tankborn Trilogy and Janelle Watkins mysteries have followed or the indie-pubbed trail that my other books have traveled. And just as I can support my healing by eating right and exercising properly, I can support my writing career by writing the best books I can, polish them in as many rewrites as necessary, and do my best to get the word out so those books land in the hands of as many readers as possible.

July 29, 2013
Happy Book Birthday!

Sometimes the passage of time between when a book is contracted and when it’s finally launched into the brave new world seems like forever. But finally it’s the official release day for Tu Books’ spring 2013 releases. The first one is mine, the second by fellow Tu Books author Shana Mlawski.

Awakening by Karen Sandler, Book 2 of the Tankborn trilogy

Once a Chadi sector GEN girl terrified of her first Assignment, Kayla is now a member of the Kinship, a secret organization of GENs, lowborns, and trueborns. Kayla travels on Kinship business, collecting information to further the cause of GEN freedom.

Despite Kayla’s relative freedom, she is still a slave to the trueborn ruling class. She rarely sees trueborn Devak, and any relationship between them is still strictly forbidden.

Kayla longs to be truly free, but other priorities have gotten in the way. A paradoxically deadly new virus has swept through GEN sectors—a disease only GENs catch. And GEN warrens and warehouses are being bombed, with only a scrawled clue: F.H.E. Freedom, Humanity, Equality.

With the virus and the bombings decimating the GEN community, freedom and love are put on the back burner as Kayla and her friends find a way to stop the killing . . . before it’s too late.

Hammer of Witches by Shana Mlawski

Baltasar Infante, a bookmaker’s apprentice living in 1492 Spain, can weasel out of any problem with a good story. But when he awakes one night to find a monster straight out of the stories peering at him through his window, he’s in trouble that even he can’t talk his way out of.

Soon Baltasar is captured by a mysterious arm of the Spanish Inquisition, the Malleus Maleficarum, that demands he reveal the whereabouts of Amir al-Katib, a legendary Moorish sorcerer who can bring myths and the creatures within them to life. Baltasar doesn’t know where the man is—or that he himself has the power to summon genies and golems.

Baltasar must escape, find al-Katib, and defeat a dreadful power that may destroy the world. As Baltasar’s journey takes him into uncharted lands on Columbus’s voyage westward, he learns that stories are more powerful than he once believed them to be—and much more dangerous.

I hope you’ll check them both out!

April 9, 2013
Gol! How I met my goals when I thought I hadn’t set any

This week, YA Highway’s Road Trip Wednesday asks, where are you on your reading and writing goals? I have blogged before about how I don’t like setting goals and making resolutions. They kind of stress me out and bring up all kinds of fears that I won’t be able to achieve them so why should I set them in the first place? (Imagine me saying that last part really fast and in a high voice).

Yeah, pretty negative. And what’s kind of silly about this is that I actually do make goals all the time (I never would have finished writing a single book if I hadn’t). I just don’t tend to write my goals down on a piece of paper or keep track of them in a file. I probably should. I bet I’d be far more organized and it would be clearer when I’ve met a goal.

So, let me look back and come up with my first quarter goals in a retroactive way. First, I wanted to complete the edits on my first mystery novel, Clean Burn, which is coming out in September 2013 from Exhibit A. I had to wait for my editor’s notes, but he’d assured me they would be fairly simple. After I got his notes, I was able to incorporate those changes over the course of two weekends, so I’ve kicked that imaginary soccer ball into the net and the fans are screaming, Gol!

Second, I wanted to complete by a certain date a rough draft of my current WIP, Revolution, the third and last book of the Tankborn trilogy from Tu Books. I’m being cagey about the specific date, because I like to keep that sort of thing to myself. I’m on target with that. Assuming I meet that goal as I expect to, I’ll have a few days to set the book aside, have some fun without having to think about the story, then get back to Revolution so I can get the rewrite done by the deadline. Haven’t quite reached the goal of finishing the rough draft since the date hasn’t arrived yet, but it’s within reach.

Third, I wanted to get going on my marketing and discoverability for my indie published romance novels. I’m meeting that goal with my new author “support group.” After a writer’s conference last October, a team of us had agreed in principle that we would work together to learn more about social networking. Our ultimate goal is to improve reader awareness of our books and therefore improve our sales. We had a fantabulous get-together last weekend (which I blogged about here). We’re still working out the details, of course, but there will be some exciting ventures coming out of our collaboration (new goals!).

I’ve also wanted to get my website updated, which my hubby has helped me with (okay, he does all the work, but he does ask the occasional question that I have to answer). It’s still got some work to be done (I have to set up sites devoted to my romance and mystery sides), but you can check it out here.

So I’m doing pretty well on the goal front. I have completed or am close to completing most of what I set out to do this quarter. I’ve got a bunch of new things on my list, but that means I’m moving forward and challenging myself. Isn’t that great?

So how about you? Are you meeting your goals? Are you happy with how things are turning out?

March 6, 2013