Pub Rants

Author Archive

Happy Launch Day Jana!

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: It’s almost 7 pm. I’m ready to leave the office.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? DON’T TREAT ME NO GOOD NO MORE by Sonia Dada

I have to say it’s rather rare to have two books release on the same day. I didn’t want Jana to think that I had forgotten about her so also hitting shelves as of today and yesterday is TROUBLE IN MUDBUG by Jana DeLeon.

I have to say that I love the concept for this novel and so does Hollywood. We’ve had some nice interest that we can only hope will evolve into something.

Meanwhile, if you like your mystery with a zany southern Louisiana flavor, then the first book in the Ghost-in-Law series will be right up your alley.

TROUBLE IN MUDBUG
A Ghost-in-Law Mystery Romance
by JANA DeLEON, Author of Unlucky

“Original, smart and comedic writing.” —RT BOOKreviews

Maryse Robicheaux can’t help heaving a sigh of relief at the news that her not-so-beloved mother-in-law has kicked the bucket. The woman was rude, manipulative and loved lording over everyone as the richest citizen of Mudbug, Louisiana. Unfortunately, death doesn’t slow Helena Henry down one bit.

“Jana DeLeon is very good at writing zany comedy as well as spicy romance.”
—Affaire de Coeur

Being haunted—or more like harried—by Helena’s ghost isn’t even the worst of Maryse’s problems. Close to making a huge medical breakthrough, she’s suddenly been given an officemate, and the only thing bigger than Luc LeJuene’s ego is his sex appeal. Maryse would bet her life the hot half-Creole is hiding something. Especially because it seems someone’s out to kill her. But getting Luc to spill his secrets while avoiding Helena’s histrionics and staying alive herself will be the ultimate bayou balancing act.

“DeLeon has an excellent knack at weaving…the right amount of mystery and suspense with plenty of romance and lots of laughter.” —Once Upon a Romance

Happy Launch Day Jamie!

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Very excited for this book to hit shelves today.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? BLUE by The Jayhawks

February 2009 Costco Pennie’s Pick
An IndieBound NEXT List selection for February
Borders Original Voices Pick
Pulpwood Queens Bonus Book Pick
Barnes & Noble March New Reads Book Club Pick

HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET is the story of Henry Lee, a Chinese boy in Seattle who falls in love (although it is forbidden) with a Japanese girl named Keiko right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It is also the story of Henry Lee as a middle-aged man forty years later who, when passing by Seattle’s old Japantown’s Panama Hotel, stumbles into a news conference on the hotel steps where the new owner has discovered in the basement the untouched belongings of thirty interned Japanese families. When the owner unfolds, for the news cameras, a Japanese bamboo parasol with a bright orange koi painted on it, Henry instantly recognizes it as Keiko’s. In that moment, he can no longer suppress his familiar and never forgotten longing and he must confront the memories and the choices he did or did not make all those years ago.

“Mesmerizing and evocative, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is a tale of conflicted loyalties, devotion, as well as a vibrant portrait of Seattle’s Nihonmachi district in its heyday.”
–Sara Gruen, New York Times Bestselling author of Water for Elephants

“Jamie Ford’s first novel explores the age-old conflicts between father and son, the beauty and sadness of what happened to Japanese Americans in the Seattle area during World War II, and the depths and longing of deep-heart love. An impressive, bitter, and sweet debut.” – Lisa See, bestselling author of Snow Flower And The Secret Fan

“A tender and satisfying novel set in a time and a place lost forever, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet gives us a glimpse of the damage that is caused by war–not the sweeping damage of the battlefield, but the cold, cruel damage to the hearts and humanity of individual people. Especially relevant in today’s world, this is a beautifully written book that will make you think. And, more importantly, it will make you feel.”
–Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain

The Panama Hotel
Several years ago, the owner of the Panama Hotel did discover the belongings of Japanese interned families in the basement. Jamie read about this discovery and it became the starting framework for his novel. Jamie’s father had also related a story of his wearing an “I Am Chinese” button right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, a historically accurate tidbit that plays a key role in HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET.

Here is Jamie in front of the hotel. The next pic is the view of the basement through the floor boards. The other shot is taken in the basement where the belongings remain—mostly undisturbed.


An Interview with Jamie Ford where he discusses the writing of HOTEL:

A walking tour of Seattle narrated by Jamie. In this video clip, Jamie explores the history of all the real places mentioned in HOTEL:

But despite all the historical places and historical accuracies, the story of Henry and Keiko existed only in Jamie’s mind and now on the pages of his novel. HOTEL is a work of fiction.


As you can probably tell, I think this novel is a wonderful and amazing read. I encourage you to pick up a copy and immerse yourself in Henry & Keiko’s story.

Enjoy!

Teens Speak

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Tired but happy from the long working weekend.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? IN YOUR EYES by Peter Gabriel

ALA wraps up today—for me anyway. I actually think Librarians are meeting for another day or two to finish up discussions.

Hands down the best session I attended was on Sunday afternoon when the Best Books for Young Adults met with area teens to discuss the titles that have been nominated.

The session was packed as editors, agents, librarians all sat in to hear about which books caught the teens’ attention on the nomination list. Unfortunately, the nomination list was 9 pages long and the teens only got a chance to air their views on the first four pages. I, for one, would like to vote on making the session significantly longer so we could hear what the teens had to say on all the possible titles but that wasn’t an option yesterday. The last five pages of nominated titles were done in 25 minutes and teens were only allowed to speak once about a title they liked from those 5 pages. I was pretty thrilled to hear two teens pick Brooke Taylor’s UNDONE as their choice from those undiscussed pages.

As for the teen commentary, it was pretty revealing.

Yes there were some teens who were so excited about a book, it was hard for them to articulate anything beyond “I really, really loved this” but there were many teens who were sharp, analytical, articulate in their views about why they did or didn’t like something.

Heck, I wanted to hire some of them to be my teen review committee!

Of course there were the usual gushes for Stephenie Meyer, Melissa Marr, and Suzanne Collins’s THE HUNGER GAMES and Cory Doctorow’s LITTLE BROTHER but there were also some surprises.

Like the teen boy who prefaced his comment that he wasn’t one for poetry but did enjoy THE APPRENTICE’S MASTERPICE: A STORY OF MEDIEVAL SPAIN. Told in verse no less! I think some of us swooned and wondered where this kid was when we were in high school!

Boys liked Eoin Colfer’s AIRMAN and James Kennedy’s THE ORDER OF ODD-FISH.

Girls loved AUDREY, WAIT!

Other favorites were GRACELING and NATION. Also, THE DANGEROUS BOOK FOR DOGS had very passionate responses and made me want to read the book.

There were mixed teen reviews on LUXE and lots of teens were drawn to a novel called GONE (as in the title grabbed their interest and they picked it up) but ultimately none of them gave the title a favorable review.

Also interesting was the fact that the books that the teens loved didn’t always line up with the titles the committee members from Best Books For Young Adults were voting for to make the final list.

And I’m sure you’ve heard this already but the Printz Award for best YA for 2008 went to JELLICOE ROAD by Melina Marchetta.

A title I’d never heard of I have to admit.

Newbery Medal went to Neil Gaiman’s THE GRAVEYARD BOOK.

Morning Breakfast With Hyperion

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Finishing a few things here at the office before I head over to the convention center for the start of the ALA Midwinter conference.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN by The Moody Blues

Was up and at ‘em early this morning for a breakfast with Stephanie Lurie Owens, who is the new Editorial Director over there at Disney-Hyperion. Brave woman had us meet at 7:30 a.m. It’s a rare editor who is a morning person I have to add. I don’t think I’ve ever had an editor breakfast before 9 a.m.—that is until this morning!

Oddly enough, we didn’t talk about books too much. Our main discussion was about digital formats and technology actually. I’m happy to say the Stephanie is pretty hip and on-top of what is currently unfolding in the tech world despite the fact that the company of Disney-Hyperion has been a little slow (in my mind) to embrace electronic books. Disney legal tends to slow things down, but it’s nice to know that the availability of the D-H titles in the ebook format is just around the corner. [So you Gallagher Girl and Percy Jackson fans shouldn’t have to wait too much longer.]

We also talked about the prevalence now of Sony eReaders for editors. Finally! Publishing houses got the memo that they could save hundreds of thousands in paper and printing cost by equipping their editors with this little gadget.

Praise the lord and pass the peanut butter! (Wait, maybe not the pb with all the recent salmonella scare).

But don’t worry, we also talked about what Hyperion might be looking for as of late.
She’d love to see, gasp, more middle grade series for girls. Hey, it’s been a long time since I’ve heard that from an editor. A new MG Meg Cabot, she says, bring it on.

For Hyperion, they have such a strong MG list for boys (with Percy Jackson and Artemis Fowl etc.), they really would like to take on something new in MG girl stuff and make it big. Having watched them build Ally Carter, I have to say they can do it well.

Have a great weekend!

Just Like New York But Denver

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: All my appointments are set for the weekend. It’s going to be busy.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? FRIDAY I’M IN LOVE by The Cure

ALA officially began for me tonight as I had my first editor dinner with Susan Chang of Tor. I must say I love it when conferences are held in my home town. It’s like a trip to New York without the travel!

I’m very glad we met up though because most of you know that Macmillan has gone through a large restructuring over the last few months. The biggest change is in how the children’s divisions will operate. Before, each imprint was a separate entity with its own publisher, sales force, marketing dept. etc. Now all the children’s divisions are gathered under one umbrella and will be sharing things like the sales force, marketing and promotion people, reporting to one publisher head rather than six. Although, I’ve been told, each imprint will keep its own publishing vision and imprint identity even though they are now all one big family called Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.

All except Tor, which was news to me. Tor is still considered a completely separate entity with Susan and her children’s imprint reporting directly to Tom Doherty.

To quote Frontier Airlines, Tor is still a whole other animal! Interesting. In general they have always been known to be less corporate (which can fabulous in some respects—such as creative vision and the embracing of new talent—and frustrating in other ways—such as long response times on submissions). But they’ve always been known to be independent, slightly quirky, and with smart editors.

So far, that hasn’t changed. Go Tor.

Susan and I also got into an interesting discussion about SF and young adult. Both of us agreed that SF in the young adult world works best when the novels aren’t labeled SF.

Seriously. One look at the Uglies series and The Hunger Games rather proves that out. Those books are basically SF but never called so. I can name a host of other examples as well.

We also talked briefly about the popularity of fantasy in the children’s realm and why they didn’t seem to translate to fantasy readers in the adult world. We didn’t play with any theories but it’s an interesting conundrum. What happens to those avid fantasy readers as they age?

There’s probably an essay waiting to be written there if it hasn’t been tackled already.

ALA Midwinter

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: It has been just overwhelmingly beautiful in Denver the last two days. 70 degrees +. Can you blame me for skipping out early just to walk in the sunshine? Have laptop, can work from home when the sun goes down.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? NICK OF TIME by Bonnie Raitt

As I mentioned yesterday, ALA Midwinter is happening in Denver this weekend. But what is ALA you might be asking. It stands for the American Library Association and this weekend is their midwinter conference. They also have an annual conference that happens in the summertime.

Midwinter is what the industry calls a “working” conference. Now all big conferences are work but what is meant by the term is that this conference is about the business of running ALA. There are many division and committee meetings.

Most important are the discussions that will determine the awards for the Printz, Newbery, and the Caldecott. These are not open to the public.

But many of the discussions are. For example, the Notable Children’s Books Committee and the BBYA, which stands for Best Books For Young Adults, are both discussions that anyone can attend.

In other words, I can sit in on librarian chats that will spotlight the books they are excited about and what they’ll be recommending to their young readers.

Heck yes.

And I’m definitely going to be at the BBYA presentation where members will be talking about one of my books that has been nominated: UNDONE by Brooke Taylor


Now the ALA midwinter conference does encompass the adult and children’s world but for whatever reason, the main emphasis tends to be on the children’s books. More to come as the conference unfolds.

Editor Letter for Real Life & Liars

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Getting ready for ALA Midwinter Conference which is happening here in Denver. I have a packed weekend ahead of me but it should be fun.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? I’M YOURS by Jason Mraz

Because I think my blog readers find the agent-editor interaction fascinating, here’s the submission letter for this project.

Here are two interesting things to note about this letter. Kristina’s novel had a unique POV structure. One narrative is written from first person POV and the three children are written from a third person POV. I decided that I didn’t want an editor to be surprised by what is a complicated narrative structure so I actually highlighted it in my submit letter. I also highlighted that I thought the unique narrative was strength—thus (hopefully) setting the editors perception before they began reading.

By the way, this narrative structure is almost impossible to pull off. It takes a lot of talent—which is how I pitched it in the letter.

I also spent a bit more time talking about how this novel impacted me personally. I wanted to make it clear that this wasn’t “just another cancer” story. That what we had here was an insightful novel about family relationships and how complicated they can be.

I guess I succeeded as several editors agreed with me and Lucia Macro at HarperCollins won this novel at auction.

Hello Lucia,

I hate to be the agent who says this every time I send out a project but I do think that this time, I’ve found the perfect novel for you (and if I haven’t, you have permission to snub me). First off, the writing is just top-notch. This story, REAL LIFE & LIARS seamlessly shifts between the first person POV of Mira, the sixty-something hippie mother who has just been diagnosed with breast cancer and has decided not to fight it, and the three third person POVs of her three, very different children. This would be a mess in the hands of a writer with less talent.

But here’s the other reason why I’m so passionate about this story (besides the fact that I just couldn’t put it down). Even though the Zielinski family is nothing like my own, I just felt like Kristina had tapped into the essential truth of my own family’s dynamics, despite the fact that my mother never has had cancer and my brother is the oldest and not the middle child etc. She has tapped into the core truth of how all families interrelate. How siblings treat each other as adults (our worn and familiar view of each other) as well as all the possibilities that emerge when we realize our love and loyalty. It’s also a very piercing look at the relationship parents have with adult children. And even though the novel is unflinching in its exploration, the reader is left with nothing but optimism that despite our personal failings, our families really do form our core.

So here’s the story: As a wilted flower child, Mira Zielinski has never been one to follow orders. Not from her husband, not from her boss – not even from her oncologist. Mira has her own idea about handling her newly diagnosed breast cancer, and it does not involve hopping up on the operating table. Her grown children will no doubt object — when she gets around to telling them.

As they come home for the weekend of Mira and Max’s thirty-fifth wedding anniversary party, her kids harbor some secret trials. Middle child Ivan’s lifelong desire to be a songwriter is withering on the vine after years of futility and his dating haplessness is so familiar, it’s almost a family joke. The impulsive and very young youngest child Irina will walk in the door with a surprise groom, though she’s already looking for the escape hatch in her shiny new marriage. As for the oldest, Katya, let’s just say that it would be a relief if her husband’s big secret were just the affair she suspects he’s having. As these trials unfold, certain family truths come to light but will they shake Mira’s resolve?

The author, Kristina Riggle, is a freelance journalist and published short story writer. Her credits include Cimarron Review, Net Author’s E2K and Espresso Fiction. She is also the co-editor for fiction at the e-zine Literary Mama, named one of Forbes’ “Best of the Web.” Kristina was also a judge for the 2007 Carrie McCray Literary Awards in the short fiction category. Since she is connected to the writing community, she has already lined up blurbs from published authors such as Kristy Kiernan (CATCHING GENIUS) and Carrie Kabak (COVER THE BUTTER, A Book Sense pick June 2005).

May I send this novel your way?
All Best,
Kristin

MLK

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Good.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? PRIDE IN THE NAME OF LOVE by U2

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Tomorrow’s inauguration is quite the historic milestone and what a tribute to his birthday. He will definitely be present in spirit.

Kristina Riggle’s Query

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Tech troubles yesterday. Sorry for the blog silence. I left the office thinking I’d do it from home. Internet was down.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? DO YOU REALLY WANT TO HURT ME? By Culture Club
(okay, I can never hear this song without thinking about the Adam Sandler movie The Wedding Singer)

Don’t worry! I hadn’t lost sight of lending a hand with queries. As promised, here is yet another original query letter from one of my clients. Kristina was a current client referral so certainly had a leg up in terms of my attention. However, she also sent a darn good query letter, and so there isn’t any controversy, she did not have Sherry Thomas’s help in the writing of [at least not that I’m aware of].

Here’s the letter without comments for your reading pleasure:

Dear Ms. Nelson,

I’m a friend of the hilarious and fun Becky Motew, and she suggested I contact you about my novel, REAL LIFE AND LIARS. Here’s a brief description.

As a wilted flower child, Mira Zielinski has never been one to follow orders. Not from her husband, not from her boss – not even from her oncologist. Mira has her own idea about handling her newly diagnosed breast cancer, and it does not involve hopping up on the operating table. Her grown children will no doubt object — when she gets around to telling them.

As they come home for the big anniversary party, her kids harbor some secret trials. Ivan’s lifelong desire to be a songwriter is withering on the vine after years of futility, and youngest child Irina will walk in the door with a surprise groom, though she’s already looking for the escape hatch in her shiny new marriage. As for Katya — let’s just say that it would be a relief if her husband’s big secret were just the affair she suspects. As these secrets come to light, will they shake Mira’s resolve?

I’d love to send part or all of REAL LIFE AND LIARS, complete at 83,000 words. I’m a freelance journalist and published short story writer, plus I’m the co-editor for fiction at the e-zine Literary Mama, named one of Forbes’ “Best of the Web”. My short story credits include Cimarron Review, Net Author’s E2K and Espresso Fiction. I served as a judge for the 2007 Carrie McCray Literary Awards in the short fiction category.

Besides your blog and Becky’s recommendation, I’m also familiar with you as a member of Backspace, where I post (not as frequently as I’d like) as simply “Kris.” I’ll paste my opening few pages below. Thanks for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Kristina Riggle

The commented version:

Dear Ms. Nelson,

I’m a friend of the hilarious and fun Becky Motew, and she suggested I contact you about my novel, REAL LIFE AND LIARS. Here’s a brief description.

As a wilted flower child, Mira Zielinski has never been one to follow orders. I just love the line “wilted flower child” so just that turn of phrase has caught my interest. I’m really paying attention. Not from her husband, not from her boss – not even from her oncologist. A women who doesn’t take orders. I’ve got good insight into this character and the ‘oncologist’ at the end there is an attention grabber. Mira has her own idea about handling her newly diagnosed breast cancer, and it does not involve hopping up on the operating table. Interesting! Her grown children will no doubt object — when she gets around to telling them. This is a unique twist on the conflict. Why wouldn’t she tell them is my first thought. And then I like the phrasing again, “around to telling them.” There’s a certain relaxness that’s unexpected here given the cancer diagnosis. I’m intrigued with the character of Mira.

As they come home for the big anniversary party, her kids harbor some secret trials. Ah…. Mira’s issue is going to be further conflicted by what’s happening in the family. I’m a sucker for family stories. Ivan’s lifelong desire to be a songwriter is withering on the vine after years of futility, and youngest child Irina will walk in the door with a surprise groom, though she’s already looking for the escape hatch in her shiny new marriage. “escape hatch in her shiny new marriage” Dang, that’s intriguing writing so I’m going to be asking for the full—no doubt. As for Katya — let’s just say that it would be a relief if her husband’s big secret were just the affair she suspects. I’m hooked. Let me see it! What could be worse than an affair? And interesting that the announcement of an affair would be a relief to this Katya character. As these secrets come to light, will they shake Mira’s resolve? Hey, I want to know!

I’d love to send part or all of REAL LIFE AND LIARS, complete at 83,000 words. I’m a freelance journalist and published short story writer, plus I’m the co-editor for fiction at the e-zine Literary Mama, named one of Forbes’ “Best of the Web”. My short story credits include Cimarron Review, Net Author’s E2K and Espresso Fiction. I served as a judge for the 2007 Carrie McCray Literary Awards in the short fiction category. Nice tight bio. Kept to the details that would be important to her career as a writer.

Besides your blog and Becky’s recommendation, I’m also familiar with you as a member of Backspace, where I post. Thanks for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Kristina Riggle

What We Say When We Talk About Covers

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: It’s been one of those days. It’s almost 4 o’clock and I haven’t even tackled my TO DO for today. Seriously, I think I only get my scheduled work done at the office between the hours of 3 and 7.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? SAY HEY (I LOVE YOU) by Michael Franti and Spearhead

What is said 1: “I’ve shown this cover to everyone here in the office and we all love it. I hope you love it as much as I do.”

What is said 2: “This has been approved by sales & marketing and they just love it. I hope you love it as much as I do”

What is said 3: “We believe our concept is very strong and will really signal that this is a big book. We are excited about the author and these covers.”

Possible Translation 1: Everyone in the office indeed loves it. Sales & Marketing also love it and has approved it. The cover really does rock. It’s new, original, fresh, and innovative.

Possible Translation 2: Editor is worried about the cover but is hoping for the best. That we’ll like it and won’t raise a fuss. There won’t be a cover issue.

Possible Translation 3: That this is really not the greatest cover but time and money have been spent on the concept and the art design/photo shoot and the publisher really doesn’t want to start over. Editor will have a tough road to try and change it.

Possible translation: Editor actually doesn’t care for it but must present it as is. Is hoping we’ll raise a fuss so she can go back to the Art Department and say “see, I thought this was a miss.” Editor then fights strongly for a cover change.

I’ve never had an editor come to me and say, “gee, I think this cover stinks. I think it needs a do-over but what do you think first?”

For the most part, I really do believe that publishing houses and their cover departments have a good handle on the creating of the cover art. That it is their expertise more so than it is mine.

But I don’t believe that publishing houses always know best. If they did, there would never be bad covers. There would never be two covers for two different authors with the same image or the same model on the cover. And released at the same time. There would never be covers that are nixed by the B&N buyer.

The Cover art wouldn’t ever miss.

But it does. Far too frequently.