We had so much fun at Murder By The Book last night and appreciate everyone who came to listen to us talk about our work and who bought books. Thank you all!
Murder By The Book is of course a bookstore that sells mystery, crime, and fantasy books and our anthologies are romance. Though actually–what is more mysterious than the human heart, on whose behalf we live much of our life fantasizing? Seriously, this bookstore is so good to local authors and is happy to support us with signings and publicity. For that and so many other reasons, MBTB exemplifies why bookstores should exist and thrive in every city and town. Online booksellers are great for people who don’t have independent bookstores (or, increasingly, even big box bookstores) where they live, and they’re a good place for reviews when that system is used legitimately, but nothing can measure up to the respect, effort, and knowledge you’ll find in a real bookstore where the staff loves books, their work, and writers. Thank you so much to McKenna, John, and the entire MBTB team.
It’s always great to sign with other authors. It’s a lot less daunting when I have not only my editing partner next to me, but two contributors who were there, as well. Plus we signed with Dean James (or “Miranda James” for purposes of the Cat in the Stacks series) and Kimberly Frost. Kimberly’s Southern Witch series has been re-released in mass market paperback (the first two are already available, the third releases March 4) and her brand new number four in the series, Slightly Spellbound, comes out in May.
Left to right, Kevin Langson, whose story “Brooding Intervals” is in Best Gay Romance 2014, Kimberly Frost, Dean James, Taylor McGrath, whose story “A Royal Mess” is in Foolish Hearts, me, and Timothy J. Lambert.
Booksignings–no matter which side of the table I’m on–always invigorate me and renew my interest in writing creatively. They are good places to connect with other writers, too. For example, we met an aspiring writer last night. Who knows–one day we may be asked to do another anthology and will be inviting him to submit a story. One of the questions last night was about our process for choosing writers for the anthologies we’ve edited. I thought I’d share here how we knew/heard of the writers whose work is in all three of the anthologies (including 2009’s Fool For Love).
9–We were familiar with their work through their published novels and/or short stories. We liked the way they wrote and knew they’d give us something reflecting a unique and interesting voice.
1–We met at the Lambda Literary awards.
2–Referred to us by another writer whose opinion we respected.
6–We met at Saints and Sinners, so they later queried us; or, we had conversations with them, heard them read from their work, bought their work, and were interested enough to ask them to submit stories. None of them ever “pitched us” at this event, and sometimes our conversations weren’t even about writing. That isn’t to say you shouldn’t pitch if you get the opportunity when you meet agents or editors. Lots of successful publishing experiences begin that way.
8–Social media–Knew of them by reading their blogs, knew of them because they read and commented on our blogs, or we were on writer message boards with them. But here’s the key. We formed relationships with them over time, or admired their writing. We didn’t meet them by being flooded with self-promotional updates on Facebook and Twitter. Social media works, but it works best when used thoughtfully.
6–We didn’t know them and hadn’t read their work, but they queried us or responded to our calls for submissions.
3–We knew them personally, two of those being Timothy J. Lambert and Timothy Forry, part of the Timothy James Beck team. Since we all met originally online, maybe that also fits into the social media category.
If you don’t already have a body of work, you can see there are definitely other avenues that will get stories published. The biggest feat, of course, is actually writing them. I wonder what the ratio is for people who talk about writing that book or story one day compared to those who actually follow through. You can’t be published if you don’t write.
I’ll stop nagging now and go back to the fun part with another photo, this one graciously provided by Lewis DeSimone. There was a reading/event at Books Inc. in San Francisco that included three of our contributors.
Left to right, Felice Picano (“New Kid in Town: 1977” in Foolish Hearts, “The Invincible Theatre” in Best Gay Romance 2014), Rob Rosen, Lewis DeSimone (“Quality Time” in Best Gay Romance 2014), and Rob Williams (“Bothered, Bewildered” in Foolish Hearts).
Wish I could have been there to enjoy that signing/reading, too! If any of our other contributors are part of events, please let us know! And we always love photos.
Last Thursday morning, I awoke to pouring rain. I read email and stared out the window with dread. I like rain, but I don’t like driving in rain. Because I work from home, I don’t usually have to–I can postpone errands until the skies are clearer.
I’m not a professional photographer, so my photos aren’t always great, but what I lack in skill I try to compensate for in enthusiasm and reliability. So that morning, as little as I wanted to drive on rainy freeways and side streets, I reminded myself that it would also be raining on the fosters who were driving their dogs to the meeting place. It would be raining on the vet techs who’d take the dogs from boarding kennels to the waiting volunteers outside. It would be raining on Mike the driver, his wife LC, and the board members who’d be coordinating the transport. And most of all, it would be raining on the dogs who might not understand that this leg of their journey was toward a forever home instead of the euthanasia table.
So I got ready and dug out some of Tom’s rain gear, not so much to keep me dry as to protect my camera. And as I backed out of my driveway, the skies cleared. Though clouds came and went during the loading process, it never rained again until after I drove away from the meeting place. That was a great outcome, but as I was there, I remembered again that whatever time or energy I give this effort is nothing compared to what it gives to me.
Second, it’s very easy for my heart to be broken by stories of animal neglect and cruelty even if I have only minimal awareness of news stories. If I donate to animal rescue groups and get on mailing lists, if I see those heart-wrenching pleas for donations on commercials, I wonder how humans can be so inhumane. Why do people overbreed animals, hoard them, fight them, or mistreat them? Why are there so many animals in need? I end up feeling discouraged and helpless and overwhelmed by the sheer scope of the problem. But then I go to these transports and I see how many people give their time and effort to making rescue a success. I see everyone’s affection for animals who pass through their hands and homes. I observe their tender care and hear their reassuring words to the dogs and cats. They restore my faith in humanity. They remind me that there are a lot more people who want to help and protect and nurture animals. They are a tonic for my soul, and I’ve driven for far more inconsequential reasons in worse conditions, and expended my time and energy on significantly less important things.
