News

God, what a boring blog title.  Oh, well; one can’t be erudite all the time.  <grin>

First bit of news is that I had a FABULOUS reception/reading at Burgundy Books in East Haddam, CT on Saturday, October 24 at 2:00 pm.  Linda, Chuck and  Morgan of BB really pulled out all of the stops for me and I can’t thank them enough.  What a great time!  Not only did we have a good-sized crowd, but many of those who showed up were people I either didn’t know (new contacts — yea!) or people I hadn’t seen in a long time (reconnecting — yea!).  One of my visitors I hadn’t seen since 1975 and had no idea she was coming, so that was a HUGE thrill!  (Thanks, L!)  At any rate, we had a great time hob-nobbing about books and such and they were an extremely attentive audience when it came to the reading (“Darling Wendy,” the title story from the collection).  Best of all, when it came to questions afterward, they offered up some really interesting and thought-provoking comments.  All in all, a wonderful time!

Second (though by no means SECONDARY) — the query has been sent off!  Only to one agent, as an exclusive, but I am hopeful.  I’ll keep you posted.

And now it’s time to dust off “Call of Blood” and get back to work gutting the orignal manuscript and seeing what I can make of it.  Where’s that razorblade……???

Today’s The Day

Come say hello at Burgundy Books in East Haddam, CT at 2:00 pm today!  The nice folks at Burgundy are hosting a reception/reading/book signing for yours truly and I am VERY excited!  Looks like it’s going to be a good time with lots of good food and drink, and lots of people who are interested in books.  Hope to see you all there!

Had a GREAT radio show with Barry Eva on BlogTalkRadio’s “A Book and a Chat with…”  I’ve never had 30 minutes go by so quickly, and the response to the show so far has been terrific (two sales in as many days; that’s good!)

The synopsis — I’m thrilled/relieved to say — is DONE!  The query letter — ditto!  As soon as I have a minute to breathe, I will send out a packet to the first agent on my list.  Wish me luck!!

I’m JAZZED!

Had a WONDERFUL time tonight chatting with Barry Eva on BlogTalkRadio’s “A Book and a Chat with…” (the ‘with’ being ME!).  Barry was a terrific host, put me at ease at once, and it was exactly like sharing a bit of conversation over a cuppa or two.  Barry, thanks again for having me as your guest.

For those who missed the show, you can access it at BlogTalkRadio.com.

Next up:  my reading/talking/book signing reception at Burgundy Books in East Haddam, CT this Saturday, 10/24 at 2:00 pm.  Come on down for some fun!

On the work side — the synopsis is nearly finished and I’ve begun work on the first agent letter (meaning, of course, that each agent letter is individually written because, you know, no two agents are alike).  Wish me luck!

You Gotta Have Friends…

I don’t mean the sort who gush over every word you write, who tell you that you’re perfect.  I’m talking about the friends who challenge you, who give you honest, rot-gut CONSTRUCTIVE criticism.  I’m talking about the friends who make you a better writer.

I’m fortunate to have several of these folks in my life.  Folks who believe me when I say I want their honest opinion.  Sure, there are times when I wish I’d kept my big mouth shut and asked them to gush instead…but more often than not, their criticism is spot-on.  A writer can become so blind when it comes to the work — you know it intimately, you live it every day (either during the active writing part of your day, or the rest of the time when you’re mulling over plot points).  You become too close to it.  Something that seems so OBVIOUS to you, is completely confusing to someone else.  You miss things.  You forget things.  A good reader/critic is worth their weight in gold.  They don’t just complain, they tell you WHY something doesn’t work for them.  (They won’t always be right; there will be things you won’t choose to change.  But at least give them a listen; they deserve that much for having gifted you with their time.)

EVENTS!

I have a couple of major events coming up that I’m very, VERY excited about.

The first is on Wednesday, October 21, at 6:30 pm EST (please note that EST; it’ll affect how you listen in if you live in any other time zone), when I’ll be interviewed by host Barry Eva on “A Book and a Chat…with Melissa Crandall.” You can access the interview on your computer at www[dot] blogtalkradio[dot]com/Across-the-Pond.  The show will also be available as an MP3 download at some point.  (You can get further info on Facebook as well.)

The second event is on Saturday, October 24, at 2:00 pm EST when I appear at a reception/reading/signing at Burgundy Books in East Haddam, CT. Please contact them at burgundybooks.com to reserve your spot.  We’re hoping for a large turn-out and it promises to be a lot of fun.  I’ll be talking about writing, answering questions, signing books, and reading “Darling Wendy,” the title story from my collection “Darling Wendy and Other Stories.”  Hope you can be there!

Progress!

You’ve ‘heard’ me say it before here, how hard it is to write a book synopsis, but <knock on wood> I’m getting there!  I now have what I feel is a quite workable piece and am having several people look at it — these are NOT people who will gush over anything I write; these are folks who will jab me sharp in the kidneys if I get out of line.  Once they’ve given the okay on certain points in the synopsis (things like, oh, is it interesting or a real snooze?), I’ll be ready to send it off to an agent.  With any luck, that will happen next week.  I’m very excited about this.  I have a lot of faith in this novel.  I believe that it’s a good read and entertaining.  Deep breath, then, and here goes.  The water’s only cold for a minute or two….

Freakin’ Remiss!

Seems like sometimes you have to be bad in order to be good.  Seems like something always falls by the wayside.  In my case, of course, it’s been this blog that’s languished (much like a gothic heroine, back of delicate hand to lily-white brow).  I have good reasons — the editing and finishing up of “Weathercock” and (now) the dreadful attempts to write a decent synopsis.  Honest to Pete, it’s easier to write the damn novel than it is to condense it into 5 pages or (horrors!) 1 page.  How to make the novel sound good in that tiny bit of space?  I know it can be done but, boy-howdy, is it work!

On the other hand, I have a couple of events to promote:

The first is on Wednesday, October 21, at 6:30 pm EST (please note that EST; it’ll affect how you listen in if you live in any other time zone), when I’ll be interviewed by host Barry Eva on “A Book and a Chat…with Melissa Crandall.” You can access the interview on your computer at www[dot] blogtalkradio[dot]com/Across-the-Pond.  The show will also be available as an MP3 download at some point.

The second event is on Saturday, October 24, at 2:00 pm EST when I appear at a reception/reading/signing at Burgundy Books in East Haddam, CT. Please contact them at burgundybooks.com to reserve your spot.  We’re hoping for a large turn-out and it promises to be a lot of fun.  I’ll be talking about writing, answering questions, signing books, and reading “Darling Wendy,” the title story from my collection “Darling Wendy and Other Stories.”  Hope you can be there.

A Bit of Musing

“When you are small, if you reach out, and nobody takes your hand, you stop reaching out, and reach inside, instead.”

(I apologize in advance for not knowing who that quote is from.  Something I read recently, but I neglected to note the author and book, and now can’t remember for the life of me what it was.  Maybe it’ll come in time…)

But that little bit of wordage rang in me like a gong.  We all write for same and different reasons:  a love of words and books, a compulsion, a chance to make sense of things or to put our mark on life, to say we were here…  There’s probably as many reasons for picking up a pen (or sitting down to a keyboard) as there are writers (and I mean the people who persist, the people who can’t go a day without jotting something down, the people with THE ITCH).

I don’t think I know entirely what it was/is in me.  Some of it was just something I had to do.  I asked for my first typewriter when I was all of 5 years old or so (and got one, praise be!  One of those rare instances when I was given what I asked for…)  But a good portion of what drives me is in that quote above.

Now understand something:  I’m not looking for any “Oh, poor Melissa’s” here.  My life could have been a whole lot worse than it was.  But the truth remains that my parents were…neglectful, in certain respects.  And while that was painful to me as a child, I think that in some respects it worked to my advantage.

I was taught a love of books early on, mostly because once I learned to read for myself, my folks could keep me supplied with books and I would stay off in a corner and not bother them.  I read incessantly (and still do — something I think every writer NEEDS to do if they’re going to become good at the craft).  As for the writing, well, that’s where the ‘reaching inside’ mentioned above comes in.

Because that’s where I went.  When I needed that hand to hold, I went inside and discovered something extraordinary — there was more to me than met the I.  (Typo on purpose.  How profound!)  There were WORLDS in me, and the more I discovered them, the more there were to discover, multiplying endlessly.  And millions of characters — good and evil, human and animal.  I discovered a richness that my everyday life did not provide and (to wax lyrical) I drank at that well as often as possible and discovered that the more I drank, the thirstier I became.

The water isn’t always sweet.  Far from it.  There are days when it is murky and sour, clouded with silt, flat and metallic.  Those days pass.  I see my way clear.  The point is to persevere.  If you love words — love the writing — this much…how can you not?

I can see clearly now, my brain is gone…

Well, almost.

BIGGEST NEWS:  “Weathercock” is complete!  Yea and verily, the “final” (I use that term loosely; is it ever really final?) edit is done and the manuscript sits here beaming at me.  Now, of course, comes the REALLY hard work — finding an agent AND a publisher.  But I am optimistic.  This is a good tale.

To those who are curious about such things:  I don’t believe I can categorize this book as fantasy except in a very broad sense (as in the sense that ALL fiction, to some degree, is fantasy).  To those who must have contemporary media references, think about a cross between “Thelma and Louise” and Barbara Hambly’s “The Ladies of Mandrigyn” (with a twist).  Using an alternate world, “Weathercock” takes a look at what happens to a society when the mores and sexual roles that have been established for centuries are upended and set on their ears.

What is is about?  I’m so glad you asked!

To young Kinner, the Weathercock is the stuff of legend, stories told to him by his mother of a man who will one day rise up to balance the powers between men and women.  Born into a society strong in women but weak in male progeny, Kinner is coddled and protected, weak and insecure.  His role in life is to be that of homemaker and stud and he is content with that…until he proves to be sterile and must flee the wrath of his family or be killed.

For Rai, a soldier in the Caerau garrison, the Weathercock is nothing but a peasant’s tale, with no more substance than a dream.  She likes life just the way it is (or thinks she does) and sees no reason for anything to change.  When she falls foul of her commander and deserts her post, her fate becomes linked to Kinner’s. And when the Weathercock shows up?  Well, that’s when all hell breaks loose!

Other News:

Thank you to everyone who stopped by to say hello (and buy books!) at “Celts and Curraghs” this past weekend in Waterfront Park, New London, CT.  We had a great breeze off the river (blessed relief!), terrific music, step-dancing and more to tempt the Celtic palate.

Next up:  NYC , October 2 & 3 for the New York Book Fair Expo at the Queens Museum of Art.  I’ll be back in Queens on October 27 for the “Reading at the Rez” series, which we HOPE will be in a cemetery.  (Gotta love Hallowe’en!)

On October 21 at 6:30 pm EST, for 30 minutes I will be the guest on Barry Eva’s “A Book and a Chat with Melissa Crandall” on BlogTalkRadio.  Check it out!

On November 16, I’ll be at the Groton Public Library in Groton, CT at 7:00 pm for their 6th Annual Local Authors Night.  If you’re in the area, please come by.  (And that reminds me — any of you with schools or libraries interested in speakers and workshops, please pass me on to them.  I’m happy to travel.)

After that…who knows?

Well, that’s not entirely true.  I know some of it…and that will be the writing.  I have a short story to finish (finally!), and another novel in the editing phase (said editing involving a LOT of rework; this is gonna be a bear, I think, but since I like bears, that’s okay.  It’s worth it in the end.)

That said, well, it’s time to get to work.

I’m so dizzy, my head is spinnin’….

Busy in every way and neglectful of this blog.  Sorry, sorry.

First up, work progresses on the novel.  One (perhaps two) chapters to go and the editing is DONE and I am ready to find an agent willing to represent — WEATHERCOCK.  (In a nutshell, a cross between “Thelma and Louise” and Barbara Hambly’s “Ladies of Mandrigyn” (with a twist).  WEATHERCOCK tells the tale of what happens to a soceity when its established social mores and sexual roles get turned on their heads.)

Appearance-wise, tomorrow from noon to 6 pm I will be at the Celts and Curraghs Festival in Waterfront Park in New London, CT.  Come on down for a taste of all things Celtic, and stop by to say hello to me and my fellow writer MJ Allaire!