I got an email from my editor at Walnut Springs Press and she’s very happy. Apparently it’s been like pulling teeth to get their books into Seagull Book Stores, but last week they received a call from Seagull’s buyer, who requested 93 copies of my book to distribute throughout their stores!!! So here’s me next to my books at Seagull…if you would like to buy one, you can now get them at Seagull Book Store at Gilbert and Southern…WHAHOO!!! A happy editor is a very good thing.
Summer goals or a mental journey of failure?
Long gone are the days of summer chore charts and goals with a long sought after prize waiting at the completion. My children are adults and set their own goals….which leaves me without the comforting structure of the school year. It still feels weird to not plan my world around when school starts. But here sits summer before us: a productive chunk of time or a total wasteland?
I’ve decided to set a few goals and try to keep it simple:
1.Clean out a few things – still VERY loosely defined, yet I know the cupboards and closets that need it…they yell at me every time I walk past them. “Clean me out, you lame person! It’s dusty and cramped in here…D.I. would be better than this!”
2.Put my bum-cheeks in a chair and write every day – sounds great on paper, so hard in real life.
3.To no longer purchase potato chips – this is where the whole “journey of mental failure” comes in. Every shopping trip begins with a firm resolve, then my manipulation skills kick in and I think, “Rick does enjoy a chip or two with his sandwich….I love Rick….should Rick be denied this small indulgence because of my weakness?” One thing leads to another and within twenty-four hours the bag is open and failure has been achieved. The madness must stop! I’m determined and hopeful that if I can make headway with this goal, it will greatly aid in achieving my next goal.
4.To no longer hear a swishing sound while wearing Levis and walking.
So what are your summer goals?
I was pounding the petticoats myself
Lovely! A beautiful and convincing story: my hands are sore, for Baker had me pounding the mud out of Elizabeth’s petticoats myself. If you need some “Jane” this is the book for you.
Some kinda good news…
My editor said no to the idea of posting edited material from Changing Worlds, which makes me sad because there’s some good stuff in there. But, she said if it does well they will definitely have me do a sequel. What DOES happen to Anna and Daniel after they get married? I’m sure the mafia wouldn’t leave them alone for a minute!
Thanks for all the great support 🙂
Don’t pull an “Emma”
When I need to remind myself how to behave, I look to Jane–Jane Austen–and ask What Would Jane Do?
The men in my life are rolling their eyes…let’s give them a moment.
*****
The truth is, no one pokes more fun at ill-behaved people like Jane. Her books are brimming with examples of how not to be. So what if she lived over a hundred years ago…poor behavior is universal and timeless and she’s got it dialed down regardless of the century. There are things to be learned from Jane.
All of Jane’s heroines are sufficiently naughty and daring to give contrast and set, in the end, the proper example. But when I need an attitude overhaul I look to Emma–because Jane lets Emma go too far: she is cruel to Miss Bates. I remember the first time I read Emma and came to this part–I felt all was off in my universe. [Ya…didn’t have much of a life] And at the same time felt exposed. I still do. Most people think of the perfect comeback an hour after the moment.
Not me.
When my patience is stretched to the snapping point, I can deliver a searing reply with acute timing…and it’s usually not pretty. Some may wish they had this “gift”–you don’t. Because then you immediately have moments like this.
A moment where you’ve disappointed those who’s respect you cherish. A moment where, as Mr. Knightley puts it, others could be guided by your treatment. But instead you are just another example of poor behavior.
I don’t want to be this, and yet I so often find my well of emotional generosity dry. We all have our own ways to fill our wells; Jane is always good for me. Yes, she gives a good portion of what not to do, but gives in equal measure a clear view of behavior that is beautiful and generous and elevating. It’s where I go when I feel myself ready to “Pull an Emma.”
A moment at the book store…
An amazing experience to see my book on the shelf at Deseret Book…
so happy to share it with my daughter Sarah.
First Review!
Thanks, Allison, for the great first review!
…this is kinda scary
Changing Worlds is available at amazon.com and deseretbook.com
. Hard copies will be on shelves at Deseret Book Stores soon 🙂
My personal goal is to have skin like cowhide
This didn’t just happen.
I’ve been writing and submitting…and been rejected for years. So when Walnut Springs Press emailed me in October wanting to know if I still had that manuscript I submitted a year and a half ago and could they publish it, I sat and stared at my computer for ten minutes without blinking. Rick thought I got a hold of some bad Diet Pepsi.
I started writing in earnest while working on an MA in English. I was super-de-duper bored of writing academic papers and needed an outlet. At the same time, my daughter Sarah and her friend Shandi were dragging all kinds of LDS young adult romances through the house. Occasionally I would pick one up, read a few chapters and, appalled, think “I can write better than this.” This was pre-submission-rejection-prideful-Amy. So I took Sarah and Shandi’s challenge and began writing my own story.
And it was hard, really hard; harder than anything I’d done academically. I worked on it for a few years, in the cracks of my days, while I finished my graduate work and took care of my family. I gained a deep respect for writers and what they do, and the time it takes to do it. I hired a contract editor – because we don’t catch our own mistakes, no matter how good we are – a darling girl who I love with all my heart. She taught me and I listened and we worked together to improve the story. I began submitting and was promptly rejected…and would re-write and submit again…and was promptly rejected…and would re-write and submit again, you get the picture. I could wallpaper my family room with all my rejection letters.
It hurt.
I thought I had gained some “thick skin” in graduate school…I was wrong, like I was wrong about a lot of things. My personal goal is to have skin like cowhide.
I know what you’re thinking, “why put yourself through that and who in their right mind wants skin like cowhide?!” I do it – and want the skin – because of what happens to each of us when we read a good story: we feel a little less alone and understand ourselves a little more. I want to write a story that does that, no matter how hard it is.
So I’ll keep working on my writing and my goal of cowhide-like skin and hope both keep improving.
Changing Worlds
A humble first effort
I’m happy to announce the publication of my first novel, Changing Worlds. Look for it mid-March in Deseret Book stores and on Amazon.com. Thanks to Walnut Springs Press…they’ve been wonderful!
I’ll post more about this soon.