Bye til Sunday!

I'm off to the wacky wild world of RT... Will report in on Sunday when I return. I promise to take lots of pics!

See ya soon!
Marianne

"Meh" Blogs

My friend Diana writes:

I begin to wonder if I'm supposed to be using my blog for thoughtful, erudite posts about the art of storytelling or the endless pursuit of craft or something that marks me as a *real* writer, rather than silly internet quizzes, snapshots of my flowers, or pointless regurgitations of my GH scores.

Then she contemplates giving up blogging altogether because of it.

Now, as a rule, I hate blogging about blogging, but I had to address this one. As a blog reader, I very much enjoy rambling posts about nothing. I like to find out what went on in that author's life that day. How she's feeling, what she did, her doubts, hopes and fears. What she's looking forward to, what she dreads. In fact, I'm not such a big fan of the essay blogs--if I get in the mood to read them though, there's plenty of sites that post thought-provoking stuff every day the week. But truthfully, I often prefer reading off-the-cuff comments about whatever is on the blogger's mind at that moment. This, to me, is the real attraction to blog reading.

You're never going to find long, thought-out, witty prose on my blog. Like I said, there are plenty of other sites that offer that - so I know you won't to go starving for it. My blog only promises "rambling thoughts and other fun stuff." It's a place where anyone who'd like to can travel the road to publication with me. Witness my doubts, hopes, and fears -- unedited and imperfect and not in essay form. I'll take you on field trips to cool and disturbing stuff I found on the web. And once in a while we can even take quizes to find out "what kind of X" we are.

I'm not going to apologize if sometimes it's boring. Cause other times it's exciting. (Okay, maybe not exciting, but at least a bit juicy...) And Diana, I don't think you should either.

Marianne

An Australian Fashionista...

Ooh check it out! In Australia, CT Fashionista is being published by Random House and there's a completely different cover. I just found out what it looks like today. Take a look:

I think it's pretty darn cool, don't you? Very different than the US version. (Which I also like.) It's so interesting to see what the different cover artists have Kat wearing. In the actual book she starts off wearing Armani silk pants and a D&G black top. And then she pretty much wears medieval clothes for the remainder of the book. But I guess that's not sexy enough for a cover.

Marianne

The Great Amazon Mystery

So I told you two days ago about my one star review from Amazon and how the person said my writing was excellent, but personally didn't like first person and thus found it unreadable.

Well, that review has mysteriously disapeared.

Where did it go? I have no idea. Did the reviewer have a change of heart? (If so, thank you reviewer, thank you, thank you, thank you!) Did someone click "Report This" and "Unhelpful" and Amazon agreed and took it down? Even though it was a strange review, I've read much more biting things that aren't removed, so I can't imagine this is the case. But if not, then what?

Oh well, I'm not trying to look the gift horse in the mouth, believe me. Whatever the reason, I'm just glad it's gone. Still, this whole Amazon phenomenon is very interesting...

Marianne

Performance Anxiety

Deidre Knight (as author not agent) has a good post about first book performance anxiety on her personal blog today. I found it very helpful and reassuring...

Marianne

Lyme Disease, Amazon, & Kwana

The poor dog that we're babysitting starting badly limping this weekend. We took him to the vet and found out he has high levels of lyme disease. Ugh. Poor little guy - he's only 10 months old. They put him on antibiotics and he seems to be doing better, but still. Yuck. Such an awful disease for dogs and humans. :-(

In book news, watched Amazon ranking yesterday. Low of around 8,000. High of about 25,000. Not sure what that means, of course, so really even mentioning it is silly. I won't go look again. Really, I won't. **grin**

Monday shout out to my friend Kwana - a most excellent chick from NYC. She just got an agent!! You go girl!!! Kwana's the artist behind the Chick Lit group's artwork. Very talented in lots of ways.

Gotta go to work... more later.

Marianne

Yup, I'm fluffy and first person

Don't you hate when people inadvertantly insult you and they have no idea they're even doing it? I went out with a group of people last night and this girl was like:

Girl: "That's so cool about your book coming out."
Me: "Thanks."
Girl: "I'm going to buy it and I'll even read it."
Me: Um, okay. Cool. (thinks: EVEN read it?)
Girl: "I mean I don't NORMALLY read those kinds of books - well, that's not true. I do like SOME fluff, I guess...
Me: Um...

And honestly, I know she was trying to be supportive and nice, while at the same time informing me of her normal, much more intellectual taste in literature. So should I be grateful that she's going to do me the favor of lowering herself to my level to read my book? Hmm...

Please people hear me now! If you dont't want to read CT Fashionista, you don't have to. Honestly, I don't mind. I won't be insulted. I know it's not for everyone. For example, my first Amazon reviewer. She was so mad that it was written in first person, so she gave me one star, even though she said the writing is excellent. Um... I understand that some people don't like first person, but did you have to destroy my Amazon rating due to your personal preference of POV?

Sigh.

Onto more fun positive stuff:

Found this cool site that tracks blogs called Technorati. You can type in something and it will list all the blog mentions in the last few months. Pretty cool.

Author Gena Showalter writes in her blog that she's been "itching to get her greedy hands on" CT Fashionista and that she's "so excited about it." Awh, thanks Gena!! I can't wait to read your first Alien Huntress series book "Awaken Me Darkly." It looks so good!! :-)

And finally, my agent read "Boys that Bite"... and says it's "submit-ready." Yay!! Hopefully Cindy and Susan at Berkley will love it too!!

Happy Sunday!
Marianne

Stressin'

Thanks to those of you who said they headed to the bookstore to see if CT Fashionista was there. I haven't heard of any sightings yet, but I'm sure it'll be soon. I'm told it's actually a good thing for an author if the bookstores don't put the books out early because it negatively affects your chances for bestseller list. You want to have everyone buy the book in the same opening week to get the biggest impact on the lists. NOT that I think I'll be a bestseller, believe me. Just sayin.

I'm so glad it's Saturday. This week dragged. I think it's the book anticipation that's making my everyday life miserable. I imagine this is what a pregnant woman feels like a week before she's due. Excited, scared, uncomfortable, drained. The works.

The good thing is I'm not alone. Even bestselling authors like Katie MacAlister still agnst about their upcoming books. Actually, maybe that's actually a bad thing, as it means that many books down the line I'll still never get over the stressed out feeling. Of course, I think I'd feel better if my book was NUMBER 35 on Barnes and Noble's sales rank as Katie's is, rather than 51,285. Ah well. :-) Maybe someday...

Hey - this is cool. My friend Marley does a blog in the voice of a character of her novel Vanessa Virtue. And it was quoted in the Boston Globe online blog log. Neat, huh?

Oh and Alesia Holliday mentions CT Fashionista in her PWOPB (Procrastinating with other people's books) list on the Literary Chicks blog. BTW I'm going to be a guest literary chick on this blog in May.

Okay that's all for now. Happy Saturday everyone.

Marianne

Gah!!

I just learned that Amazon and Barnes and Noble are now shipping copies of CT Fashionista! It's on sale. It's really on sale. Hmm.. I wonder if stores have it yet.. will have to check!

Hopefully now some people will buy it....
Mar (freaking out.. a lot)

Okay I can spill now!!

Yay DIANA!!!!

Fiction Debut:

Yale grad Diana Peterfreund's CONFESSIONS OF A (SECRET) SOCIETY
GIRL, following the irreverent and intrigue-filled adventures of an average college student who just happens to be a member of one of the most notorious secret societies in the world, to Kerri Buckley at Bantam Dell, in a significant deal, at auction, by Deidre Knight of The Knight Agency (NA). Film rights are with Matthew Snyder at CAA.

I'm sooo proud and happy for you, Diana!!! And totally drooling over the SIGNIFICANT DEAL part!!!!!! How much do you ROCK!?!?

Go congratulate her.. NOW!

Mar

Shhhh

Don't you love/hate it when a friend tells you their exciting news but hasn't officially announced it yet so you can't post big cheering words on your blog about them?? Ah well. Stay tuned!

Mar

Newbs!

Sometimes if you've been on an email loop for a while, all the questions asked become super annoying. You've heard and answered the same ones a thousand times and you're sick of the list being clogged up by them. And in the back of your mind, you're thinking to yourself, "God save me from newbies!" It's mean, but you know you do.

An example of one such post:

Hi all,I'm new to this email loop but have been loving the discussions so far. Now I have a question to pose. How does one write a chicklit synopsis? I guess what I'm asking is whether it's diff than say a straight romance type synopsis. I mean, should the synopsis be witty and funny and have attitude like the book? Or more straight - just stick to the facts/plotline? Does anyone have an example ofa good chicklit synopsis they could post (or email me)? Since it's such a new genre, there's not as much info about it as other types of synopses.Thanks!

Okay now who wrote this post? Someone just getting into the genre. Someone totally clueless. Someone you might like to hit over the head with a rubber mallet and say, "Do your homework!"

Someone like... me!!!

Yup - I pulled this post from the archives of the Chick Lit loop. I originally posted it August 2003. I was working on my first chick lit and had just joined the loop and really, honestly, had no idea how to write a chick lit synopsis. Sadly, no one responded to my post and I was left to fend in synopsis land by myself. I remember feeling like such an outsider - all these cliquey writers had their own friends and discusssions and didn't care about me and my little just-started manuscript.

I almost quit the loop right then and there.

Anyway - I guess my point is, lest we forget, we were all newbies in the writing world once. We weren't born all knowing. So when someone asks what you might consider a dumb question, think for a moment where they are coming for. And maybe answer the "dumb question," even though you've answered it a thousand times before. Because in this way you will nuture and grow that writer and someday they will be able to pay it forward to other newbs.

Back in the summer of 2003, the prolific Alesia Holliday hadn't made her first fiction sale. Lani Diane Rich didn't have a title for Time Off for Good Behavior. Katie Maxwell had to head to the bookstore to get a glimpse of her first Emily Smooch book. And I was a complete newbie, writing a little book I called "A Connecticut Fashionista in King Arthur's Court" - with no idea how to write a synopsis for it.

Just sayin'

Marianne

In my hot little hands

Yesterday, for the first time ever, I got to hold my novel in my hot little hands. It was a totally surreal feeling - to skim through an actual novel and see my words, my sentences, my paragraphs -- staring back at me. At times it doesn't seem like it could possibly be real. Yet here it is. My dream as a tangible object I can pick up and read.

I have a book. A real book. Weird.

Now all I have to do is get people to read it....
Marianne

Agent Obscura

PS - my YA agent, Nadia Cornier, interviewed me today in her blog. Check it out. :-)

Mar

GCC: Cooking to Hook Up

I love today's Girlfriend Cyber Circuit guest author. Ann Marie Michaels has written a nonfiction book called "Cooking to Hook Up:The Bachelor'sDate-Night Cookbook." What a terrific concept!

This book is all about teaching guys to cook for us girls -- depending on the type of girl. It's a great gift for single guys, as well as husbands, boyfriends, brothers, etc.

Here's a blurb:

It's a fact. Women will always choose men with wooden spoons over men with Gold Cards (unless you're in L.A.). But there's a world of difference between any dinner and the right dinner. Should you serve sushi or meatloaf? Play Sting's greatest hits or the latest Yo La Tengo single? Wear the Birkenstock sandals or the Armani loafers? It all depends on the Girl.

Casanova, arguably the most successful seducer in history, had a simple philosophy: Get to know the woman, find out what she lacks, and provide it. Seduction through food is a time-tested technique. However, and this is the big however, you must choose the right food, the food that works for that particular girl. Cooking to Hook Up gives you complete meals designed for every female taste.

Sound complicated? It isn't. All you need is a small supply of tools, a permanent stock of twelve staple foods, and ten additional ingredients you can buy through the express lane (plus a pit stop at the liquor store). There are fifty complete meals, including dessert and optional "bonus points".
----

Cool, huh? My husband definitely won me over with HIS cooking abililies. Now I'm wondering if he had some secret book. :-) Of course, in my case, the poor guy is STILL cooking for me - 5 years later - as I'm a complete failure in the kitchen and can't properly boil water. I bet sometimes he wishes he ordered take out on our first date... heh.

Anyhow - as the blurb for "Cooking to Hook Up" suggests, the first thing a guy has to do when preparing to cook dinner for a girl is to determine what kind of girl he's cooking for. Which means - BLOG QUIZ TIME!!! Woot!

I am Indie Girl Click on the picture below to read more: Take the 'What Kind of Girl Are You?' quiz at CookingToHookup.com

So there you have it. I think that's pretty right on for me. But what kind of girl are YOU?

After you're done figuring out who you are, go check out "Cooking to Hook Up" by Ann Marie Michaels. A delicious read from the Girlfriend Cyber Circuit.

Marianne

Boys that Bite #1 Complete

I put "The End" on Boys that Bite this morning. Actually, I put "To Be Continued" as it's a series, but hey, at least it's "the end" for now. No matter how much you enjoy writing a book, it always feels great to finish, and this is no exception. Now I'm just giving it one final polish and letting my agent read it and then it'll be sent on its merry way to Berkley. I'm very happy with how it came out, if I do say so myself.

Since I'm going to RT next week, I figure I'll wait til I get back to start the next one. Yes, I'm giving myself one week off. So generous, I know.

Speaking of RT, aka the Romantic Times convention in St. Louis, I'm very excited about going. I've never been before, but it looks utterly wild. Also, it'll be the first time ever I'll be signing books. Gah! I can't even believe that!!

Okay, I know this is the most boring blog entry in the entire universe, but I have this Laurell K. Hamilton book that's calling to me....

Marianne

Party Like a Rock Star

When I was in college, I was a big time raver chick. In fact, I prided myself on finding venues to dance at 6 out of the 7 nights a week. (I never could get my Tuesday night fix!) From clubs to raves -- if it had a dj and a dance floor, I was there. I even worked to help promote certain club nights/rave parties and worked as coat check girl at The Loft, this after hours club in Copley. Because I did all these odd jobs, I met everyone and usually got in free everywhere - which was an added bonus since I was also a poor starving college student at the time. :-)

So why am I telling you all this? Well, it turns out one of my former raver buddies Camper English (Yes, that's his real name and he even used to wear a t-shirt to parties that said "I am a happy camper") has written a book called "Party Like a Rock Star, Even if You're as Poor as Dirt." How cool is that?

What does this book cover? Well for example, in chapter five you've got "Getting Trashed Without Spending Your Cash" and in chapter ten there's tips to "Save Your Money For Rehab: Dirty Discounts and Other Easy Ways to Save." And of course Chapter 2 has the secret info on getting into clubs for free.

Honestly, this is such a FAB concept!! Why wasn't this book out when I was a college kid? (Oh yeah, cause then Camper was in school too and still honing his techniques. )

Camper's book comes out in June. I haven't seen him in a million years (he lives in San Fran now where people still party after age 30, LOL) but I totally remember him as the sweetest, nicest blue haired guy you could ever meet and everyone in our little Boston scene loved him. So go buy his book! :-)

And if clubs aren't your thing, at least check out his "hate blog." Too funny!

Marianne

Publisher's Weekly Review :-)

Okay, I swear I'm not going to be the author that shares every single review she receives, but this one's a biggie and since I already blogged earlier this week about how I was scared of what it would read, I figure you might be curious if I got shredded. Anyhow - this the review that will appear in Publisher's Weekly on the week of April 25th!

A CONNECTICUT FASHIONISTA IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT

Marianne Mancusi. Love Spell, $6.99 (368p) ISBN 0-505-52633-6

At the start of Mancusi's sparkling debut, a Gypsy curse propels feisty 29-year-old Kat Jones, associate fashion editor at La Style magazine, from King Arthur's Faire back in time to the real King Arthur's court, where her cell phone doesn't work and the menu doesn't accommodate her low-carb diet. Kat's strange speech (peppered generously with "like" and "totally") makes Merlin and King Arthur suspicious enough to lock her up in a tower, despite the protests of kind Queen Guinevere. Luckily, the gorgeous Lancelot helps her escape. Could this noble knight finally be the remedy to all the 21st-century creeps she dates? Kat is determined to find a way back to the present and to save Camelot from its impending doom, while introducing such novelties as the "Round Table" and modern dance. The interactions between the acerbically sassy protagonist and the stoic knights and royalty amuse, though the difficult and sarcastic Kat can also be annoying. Still, Kat's efforts to figure out the real story of Camelot's destruction intrigue, while her romance with Lancelot puts a nice twist on the modern girl's search for prince charming. Agent, Paige Wheeler. (May)

Obviously I am so so so so thrilled about this. I mean just for a mass market paperback to be selected for PW review is big enough. For them to write such nice things - well, I'm just blown away -- and sooo relieved. :-)

---
And for those of you interested in something other than book news - we went to the Sox game last night and they totally shut out Tampa Bay 10 to 0!!! We had seats behind home plate and it was a lot of fun. I like going to ball games - it's too bad it's so difficult to get tickets usually. And that they're so expensive.

Gotta go write. For some odd reason, Boys that Bite refuses to finish itself.
Marianne

Save Toby! & Other Stuff

I'm not even sure what I should put as witty commentary to this link. You just have to see it yourself... Is it sick? Funny? Creative? Cruelty to animals? A little of all? Will Toby actually meet his doom? Would you give money to save him? Is it wrong I kind of want a t-shirt?

Save Toby

Speaking of t-shirts..ThinkGeek has a lot of cool stuff. (If you are a geek gamer grrl like me..) I know, I know. I've scared you all off now.

BTW I'm experimenting by reactivating the comments section, at least for now. In case you're considering commenting, just FYI, I like comments and feedback -- but not mean rants that say "I am never going to read your blog again." Honestly, if you never want to read it again, I'm cool with that. Really. You can just click away - I don't need an official "goodbye" comment from you for closure.

Not much else is new. Very busy at work. Happy it's Friday. Going to see the Red Sox tonight at Fenway. Woot!


Mar :-)

Sk8er Boy Cover!!

I got the cover for my first teen chick lit book "Sk8er Boy" today. I absolutely adore it. Check it out!!

I think Dorchester is doing a great job of making the newer Smooch covers look more hip and sophisticated. And I was hoping not to get something too young or cartoony looking. This cover reminds me of Katie Maxwell's new Smooch "Life Love and the Pursuit of Hotties." And did I mention I LOVE IT?

Blessed by the cover gods once again. :-)

Marianne

Mean Bloggers

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. Somehow the day just got away from me. Me being so busy is actually a good thing, I suppose. Makes me obsess about the book less. :-)

Literary Chick Alesia Holliday has a great post on meanness and blogging.

I don't mean to go all preachy here, but so many friends have been hurt by vicious and ill-considered blogging, so it's been on my mind a lot. I know there's diatribe as schtick; the shock jocks of the blog-o-sphere. I just don't read it. I wouldn't buy books written by those people, either. Does that make me too naïve to live? Maybe. But it's easier than dodging all that bad karma in these three-inch heels . . .

The post really hits home to me becuase I was a victim of some pretty nasty blogging back in December. Though the blogger didn't mention me by name, she made it obvious who she was talking about - even quoted from my website. I don't want to get into details, but it really hurt at the time and was really embarassing as well. It's one thing when someone doesn't like you and tells their friends. It's another when they post on a public forum for millions to see. Did I deserve her ire? Probably, though it was for something stupid I'd done like 3-4 years before.

That's another good point to make, actually. Be nice and respectful to everyone in the writing world! Always!! From the very start. When I was a complete newbie writer I joined this critique group that was way too advanced for me. And when I realized it wasn't working out, I didn't leave gracefully. Instead I fired off a nasty email - basically out of anger and not thinking it would ever make a difference. As you can see, it did. So please, always, always, always practice netiquette and treat people with respect. And not only cause karma can come bite you in the butt, but becuase it's just the right thing to do and your fellow writers deserve it. :-)

Marianne

Publisher's Weekly & Reviews

The Dorchester publicist told me today that CT Fashionista is scheduled to be reviewed by Publisher's Weekly in the April 25th issue. This fills me with both excitement and fear all at the same time. Excitement because PW is the bookseller Bible - the trade industry publication of who's who in the literary world. They don't review every book either, especially not every mass market book. So it's a complete honor to be chosen for review. That said, it's terrifying because if they absolutely slate me then everyone in the bookselling world will see it. GAH!

You know, as I've gone down the road of publication, I've found the whole review process kind of interesting. You send advanced copies to these people in hopes you will get a good review and thus gain good publicity. But what if you get a bad review? Does it actually hurt more than it helps? I will never forget the poor chick lit author who got 1 star in People Magazine. I mean when she found out People was reviewing her, she must have been filled with joy! Free publicity! In People Magazine of all places! Woot!! But then she gets 1 star. Must have been SUCH a bummer.

Then again, there's those that say any mention - negative or positive - is valuable to building name recognition. So there's that theory as well. Still, I imagine it would really hurt to read someone tear apart your book. There are some sites on the web that are known for their snarky, usually negative reviews and I'm sure CT Fashionista won't escape their notice. :-) And then of course there's Amazon, where anyone can slam you anonymously in front of everyone and you'll not be able to do a thing about it.

There's no real moral to my ramblings... I guess all we as authors can try to do is develop a thick skin and remember - it's NOT PERSONAL. Though that's easier said than done...

Anyhow, cross your fingers the fine folks over at PW love my little fashionista and enjoy her trip to Camelot.

Marianne

The Book Release Party & Fashionista Martini

On Tuesday, May 10th I'm having a book release party for CT Fashionista. It's open to the public (so if you're in Boston please stop by!) and is shaping up to be a lot of fun! We checked out the space last night. It's being held at a cool Newbury Street bar/restaurant called Croma. It's a great location and a really nice place.

The coolest thing is that they have a guy on staff who creates specialty martinis ... and we've convinced the manager to have him make us a special Fashionista Martini!! How cool is that?! hehe. My character will have her own martini named after her. I love it.

We're also doing a deal that the first 50 people who come can get a free beer or wine if they buy a book -- in addition to a yummy spiced pecan sample from our sponsor: Nana's Candies. So make sure you don't come too late! (It'll start around 6:30pm.)

Oh and we'll have other fun stuff too - like a very dishy knight in shining armor type on the premises. :-) I mean a good book, a dishy guy, and a fashionista martini! What more can you want? hehe

Anyhow, hope you can come! Here's the details:

Date: Tuesday May 10th
Time: 6:30-8:30 (or so)
Where: Croma Boston - 239 Newbury (www.cromaboston.com)

I'll post a reminder when we get closer to the date...
Marianne

Book Release Dates!

My agent just sent me the release date schedule of all my books with the new ones added. 2006 is going to be a busy year for me!! Luckily I'm writing for two different audiences - teens and adults. Otherwise I'd be worried that people would start getting sick of me!

Anyway - here's how it breaks down:

2005
CT Fashionista - Dorchester Love Spell (adult) 5/05
Sk8er Boy - Dorchester Smooch (teen) 10/05

2006
Boys that Bite - Berkley Jam (teen) 6/06
Vintage Romance - Dorchester Love Spell (adult) 7/06
Boys that Bite #2 - Berkley Jam (teen) 12/06
Camelot Code - Dorchester Smooch (teen) - 12/06

2007
A Hoboken Hipster in Sherwood Forest (Sequel to CT Fash) - Dorch Love Spell (adult) 2/07

Since Boys that Bite will hopefully be finished up by the end of this coming week, next up I'll be starting my Vintage Romance... which is a pretty cool concept... I'll tell you about it later, when I have more time.

On my way out to Boston for drinks and dinner with friends... :-)

Marianne

New Crimson City cover!!

I know I've blogged before about how utterly cool I think Dorchester's Crimson City series is going to be. My author friend Liz Maverick is the brainchild behind it and she's such a brilliant, talented author. Plus, the concept is so cool. An action romance series with vampires, werewolves, and "mechs", all living together in futuristic Los Angeles. I can sooo not wait!! The books are being written by some excellent Dorchester authors.

Book 1 - Liz Maverick
Book 2 - Marjorie M. Liu
Book 3 - Patti O'Shea
Book 4 - Carolyn Jewel
Book 5 - (Still says TBA...I wish I didn't have so many books to write, or I'd beg to be #4!)
Book 6 - Liz Maverick

Anyway - the 3rd cover of the series is out now. This book will be written by the very talented Patti O'Shea. If you haven't read her 2176 book last year - The Power of Two - I high recommend you check it out.

Anyhow this is what the cover looks like. Soooo cool huh?

Okay, I'll stop gushing now. :-) I'll leave you with some Crimson City Links to check out:

Crimson City Homepage
Liz Maverick
Marjorie M. Liu (Author of A Taste of Crimson)
Patti O'Shea's Blog
Carolyn Jewel
Crimson City Amazon Guide

Marianne

Blogger Fixed!

I couldn't post yesterday cause Blogger was down. Finally I found out there was a blogger status site and it recommended you delete your cookies and it would load up. So anyone having trouble, that's what you've got to do.

I'll post yesterday's post below... and then today's. :-)

Marianne (Who thinks she might be a tad blog addicted after her frustration at not being able to post yesterday!!)

Pathetic Author Girl

I wish I could be more like one of my writer heroes, Bret Easton Ellis. Here's an excerpt from an interview done by Index magazine, talking about when his first book, Less than Zero, was published in 1985 -- when he was just a junior in college, mind you!

RICHARD: What was that time like for you?

BRET: Well, when Less Than Zero became a bestseller, I suddenly found myself on the Today Show and in every magazine. The media labeled me the ?voice of a generation.? Then the book was optioned for a movie, and I just assumed that happened with every book.

RICHARD: Really?

BRET: My agent called me up at school and screamed, ?You?re on the New York Times bestseller list!? I was in the phone booth in my dorm going, ?I am? Oh, cool, cool. That?s okay.? I didn?t know what that meant. My agent was screaming because it was her first fiction bestseller.

Yup, I wish I could be so cool and detached and ironic about my writing career! I wish I had no ideas or expectations or hopes or dreams for my book. I wish I didn't spend 23 hours a day thinking up ways to market CF and get the word out and the 24th hour worrying that I wasn't doing enough.

Instead I am now Pathetic Author Girl, always obsessing. Worried it won't do well. Hoping that it will. It's a sickness. Really.

For example: Non Pathetic Author Girls go to various bookstores to "visit" their books. To see them on the shelves. To move them to the front of the store if no one's looking. This is excited, but normal behavior.

Pathetic Author Girls go to the bookstore to visit the spot on the shelf where their book WILL BE...next month. Yup, a visit to an empty space. (Good placement in Barnes and Noble, bottom shelf at Borders.) Then, to make matters worse, Pathetic Author Girl goes and "visits" a current book out that has an excerpt to her book in the back of it. (Crazy for You - Kate Angell - in case you're curious.)

Yeah. I know. Totally lame, huh? I so need a life.

Or some pride.

Or a "hang in there" email from Bret Easton Ellis.

But I'm sure he's wayyy too cool to GOOGLE himself and thus will never find Pathetic Girl blog entry. And know how much I need his reassurance. :-)

Marianne

Another Emmy Nom!!!!!!

Woot! I am so excited!

I know usually I talk about book related stuff in this blog, but today I have to tell you about my day job achievement. Last night they held the Emmy nomination party and I GOT NOMINATED!! Yay!!!

See the thing is, I've entered the Emmys two other times (last year and the year before) and both times I've won. So why am I especially excited about this third year in a row nomination? Well... the previous two years I was partnered with a very talented Investigative Reporter. And this reporter has been in the biz for a lot of years and has won like 23 Emmys already. (Impressive, huh?) So the Emmy win was sort of a team effort, you understand.

In 2003 I stopped working for this reporter and started producing my own stories. SO.. I am now a solo operation. Taking the project from conception to finished product. And this Emmy nod is on a piece I produced myself!!

Again, can we say WOOT?!?

Anyway - if you want to read a transcript of the story that got nominated, you can find it here. It's about kids buying and selling their Ritalin medications to get high.

The awards dinner is on May 7th. Wish me luck! (I'm going to need it!!!) But as they say (and in this case it's especially true!) it's an honor just to be nominated.

Hmm.. now I just have to figure out how to showcase my book as part of my acceptance speech. LOL.

Marianne

GCC: The Diva's Guide to Selling Your Soul

It's that time again! Another great book from the Girlfriend Cyber Circuit. Today's guest is Kathleen O'Reilly, author of "The Diva's Guide to Selling Your Soul." Here's a blurb:

The Devil Made Her Do It

What would you sacrifice to be a size zero? For more than a few women, the promise of thin thighs in 30 seconds might just convince them to deal with the devil. Award-winning author Kathleen O'Reilly's The DIVA'S GUIDE TO SELLING HER SOUL (Apr., Downtown Press) is a story for every woman who knows that getting celebrity-style skinny involves a pact with Lucifer?or in this case, the silver-tongued Lucy. She's the trashiest gossip columnist in the city and she's working a pyramid scheme that's truly evil. The more clients our innocent" heroine V recruits for her "Life Enrichment Program," the more of V's decadent desires will come true. Unfortunately, V soon discovers there maybe something worth saving in her after all, which means when she made the deal with the devil she may have truly damned herself - unless she can figure a way out.

Sounds like a great premise, huh? Really got me thinking. So I asked Kathleen if she sold her soul in exchange for her heart's desires, what would be the first materialistic thing she wished for. Here's what she said:

"Oh, that's a toughie, because most of my wishes are not materialistic. A Size six bod, an extra four days in every day.... However, since you SPECIFIED materialistic, I'll bring out my greedy self. A maid service. That's what I want. They could come in once a week and....oh, let's make it EVERY DAY! Someone to make my beds, scrub the floors, go to the post office, make homemade French toast, and laundry! They must do perfect laundry!!!..... Actually, I suppose that's more "little elves" than "maid service," isn't it? Does a little elf service count as materialistic?"

That sounds pretty nice to me as well! And I know my husband would appreciate it -- seeing as housecleaning sort of goes to the wayside when I'm writing, which is almost always. A Hermes "Kelly Bag" wouldn't go amiss either. Or maybe a big plasma tv. Or an Alienware gaming computer. Ooh or a Jaguar Convertible in British Racing Green.

Hmm... I think I'm a little more materialistic than Kathleen.

In any case, check out "The Diva's Guide to Selling Your Soul" from Downtown Press. You can find an excerpt here.

Marianne

Official Slap Your Irritating Co-Worker Holiday

I got this email forward today... way too good not to share!! (Plus then I don't have to come up with anything interesting to write!)
Mar

Monday is the official Slap Your Irritating Co-Workers Holiday:

Do you have a co-worker who talks nonstop about nothing, working your last nerve with tedious and boring details that you don't give a damn about? Do you have a co-worker who ALWAYS screws up stuff creating MORE work for you? Do you have a co-worker who kisses so much booty, you can look in their mouth and see what your boss had for lunch? Do you have a co-worker who is SOOO obnoxious, when he/she enters a room, everyone else clears it?

I am so very very glad to officially announce Monday as SLAP YOUR IRRITATING CO-WORKER DAY!
There are the rules you must follow:

* You can only slap one person per hour - no more.
* You can slap the same person again if they irritate you again in the same day.
* You are allowed to hold someone down as other co-workers take their turns slapping the irritant.
* No weapons are allowed...other than going upside somebody's head with a stapler or a hole-puncher.
* CURSING IS MANDATORY! After you have slapped the recipient, your "assault" must be followed with something like "cause I'm sick of your stupid-a$$ always messing up stuff!"
* If questioned by a supervisor [or police, if the supervisor is the irritant], you are allowed to LIE, LIE, LIE!

Now, study the rules, break out your list of folks that you want to slap the living day lights out of and get to slapping.....and have a great day!!!!

The conference Recap ... and Simon Le Bon!!

Friday night my friends and I went to see DURAN DURAN at the new BU arena. GAH! They put on an amazing 2 HOUR show. It rocked! Simon Le Bon has still got it -- which I find fascinating since I loved Duran Duran since the second grade, LOL. I felt like a little girl again. What a fantastic talent and so very drool worthy. I LOVE YOU SIMON!!

Okay, I'll stop with the obsessed teenage fan thing now. But seriously, if any of you get a chance to see them as they're touring, I highly recommend it. It's a fantastic show. I'm going to download every Duran song onto my iPod now...

Anyway, I also spent the weekend at the New England RWA conference. (only sneaking out to see Simon and the boys.) It was an excellent conference, as usual. On Friday I did an agent/editor pitch help session with Intrigue author Jesicca Andersen and then on Saturday I did my own segment called "Romancing the Media" which dealt with how to be your own publicist and deal with the media the right way. I think it went well - people said they learned stuff, so that's good! If you want proof, they audio taped the session and you can buy tapes on the NEC-RWA website.

I met a lot of great writers and the conference. Everyone was so nice. There was a sort of after-party on Saturday night where I sat and talked to Vicki Lewis Thompson, famed author of the "Nerd" series. She was sooo nice and interesting, as was her daughter Audrey who does her website and stuff. It's so great to meet authors you really like and then find out they're equally as great in person! I also got my tarot read by my conference roomie and Red Dress Ink Chick Lit author Cathy Yardley. (Buy her book Couch World - it's so great!) The cards have predicted good things for me, so we'll see... I have faith in Cathy's deck, actually, cause it predicted my Dorchester sale back at Nationals last July. I also talked with Harlequin editor Julie Barrett for a long time as well. Sounds like they've got a lot of great stuff planned for their Bombshell line.

My agent, Paige Wheeler, was there as well, but she was so busy I barely got a chance to talk to her. Which is fine cause I just saw her recently and we talk almost everyday either by email or phone anyhow. But it was nice to see her all the same.

Okay I could go on and on, but I should get some actual writing done. :-) It's a gorgeous spring day out and I want to go meet my friend Mary to take the dogs hiking later so I've got to get done.

I'll leave you with some Simon pics..

http://www.duranduran.cl/fotossimon.htm
http://www.kraftykards.com/KKMusic.htm

Gah! Makes me want to run out and buy some legwarmers!!

Marianne