Monthly Archives: August 2009

Literary Auctions

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There have been some interesting posts lately on auctions in the literary world. I first came across literary agent Kristin Nelson’s post about “What Agents Talk About When We Talk about Auctions”.

In one of the comments, someone mentioned editor Cheryl Klein’s post, “An Open Letter to Agents, with a Modest Proposal Regarding Submissions”.

In response to Cheryl, agent Michael Bourret posted “In response to ‘A Modest Proposal Regarding Submissions’”.

[update]: Michael has posted an update here.

All of these posts have been very professional and are obviously coming from their own point of view within in the literary world. In the end, as an author, I would have to say that I see great merit in Cheryl’s post. What she is asking for is for all houses to be given an equal amount of time to come to the table, regardless of level of enthusiasm.

I work for a bank in IT. New projects come flying at me all the time. And those that don’t give me much time to prepare, insisting that it be ready within days, irritate me. Sometimes I can pull it off in days, and some projects are really interesting and I can’t wait to start them, but I like it when you give me more time to think about how best to implement. Now before anyone jumps down my throat about how different the IT world is from the publishing world, yes, I’m aware of that. Very. But the simple courtesy of time is universal.

I totally get where Cheryl is coming from. Give editors a reasonable deadline, and for those that need more time (simply because they need to line up more ducks than others) they will have it. As an author, I don’t mind waiting because I’ll know what deadline my agent has set. I just have to sit back and wait.

And I’m sure those houses that are quick to bite will respond before the deadline, but at least we’ve given all of them the time and opportunity to respond. As well, for my own writing career, I’m interested in working with the right editor who gets my work, has a vision for it, and has passion for it. I’d like to think that may be the first editor back with an offer, but that may not be the case.

It’s certainly worth considering.

Single Ladies

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Just found this video of Goth Single Ladies and had to post.

Here’s the original from Beyoncé. And one thing that I’ve wanted to point out about this video is that, like Alfred Hitchcock’s The Room, this was shot in a single take. Nice!!


Beyonce – Single Ladies (New)
Uploaded by Le-Tour-2Lor. – Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

A Book You Must Read (especially with your kids!)

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As I’ve said before, I’m not a professional reviewer, so take this post for what it is: thoughts from a guy who loves to read fantasy books. So with that said, I’d like to offer my thoughts on Sarah Prineas’ The Magic Thief.

“In a city that runs on a dwindling supply of magic, a young boy is drawn into a life of wizardry and adventure. Conn should have dropped dead the day he picked Nevery’s pocket and touched the wizard’s locus magicalicus, a stone used to focus magic and work spells. But for some reason he did not. Nevery finds that interesting, and he takes Conn as his apprentice on the provision that the boy find a locus stone of his own. But Conn has little time to search for his stone between wizard lessons and helping Nevery discover who—or what—is stealing the city of Wellmet’s magic.”

Let me start by saying how much I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book! (And I generally abhor first-person narrative, so that’s saying something.) Conn is such a likeable character. You just want to take him into your own home and help him. And I know what I’m talking about. I’m an adoptive father of three boys. And I think that’s what resonated with me the most in this book. We are a family of two dads. And in essence, Conn is taken in by two men (a burly bodyguard type that knits and bakes, and a crusty old wizard who cares for Conn despite what he lets on). Conn is such an honest, upfront individual you can’t help but admire his integrity. He seems to take everything in stride, remains humble throughout his adventures, yet has a stubborn resolve to see through what he knows he must. He is driven, and has survived, by his instincts.

If you’re looking for a fun adventure for your kids, and I’m always on the lookout for books that will get boys to read, put this on your list. This books has magic, lockpicking, adventure, thievery, and characters that you will love. I have only one negative thing to say: I wish I would have read this sooner! I had trouble putting this one down.

Oh, and one other thing. Sarah Prineas is not only a talented author, but just a lovely human being. She’s on Twitter, so follow her. Go and visit the web site for The Magic Thief, and then go buy the book. You’ll be glad you did!