Publishing Insider

hot fun in the summertime!

‘Tis the season – and been so throughout August – for county and state fairs, with which I have a love/hate.  Not fun: the hot days, tattooed masses, fried food, specious mechanical whirling pieces of metal run by tattooed people, missing the ring toss, and standing sweating while daughter (years ago)said hello to every rabbit. The fun: the hot days, tattooed masses, fried food, specious mechanical whirling pieces of metal run by tattooed people,  standing sweating while daughter (years ago)said hello to every rabbit. . . and winning the stuffed animal (after just $15 spent) for beaming daughter!!

The Minnesota State Fair, which a colleague says is the best ever, prides itself on food on a stick! Ditto Wisconsin  - which I’ve been to and loved!

words, music, baseball, love and goodness

Randy Wayne White, one of my favorite authors, and his ol’ pal, Bill “Spaceman” Lee went to Cuba years ago to find Hemingway’s Boys – the kids Ernest taught to play baseball. The trip was captured in the PBS documentary “Gift of the Game.” See a clip. It’s touching and wonderful! In 2 related developments of late – you ready?? 1 – Randy’s paramour Wendy Webb has recorded a beautiful, beautiful album called Moon on Havana – and I gots the vinyl, hah; you should buy the cd or the vinyl, too!!! – and 2 – Bill Lee is pitching Sept. 5, at 63 yrs old!!!

7 suns!

Oh joy, oh rapture. 7 suns on the Weather Channel week's forecast the other night. I have NEVER seen that. It was like 4 cherries on a slot machine, times two.

Fawlty fans rejoice!!!

No, no; sorry; he’s not returning…BUT if you’ve been Jonesing for another British cranky misanthrope, he’s here!! Dr. Martin Ellingham of the BBC Doc Martin series. Omigoodness, he’s awful and fantastic!!

River Why to be a movie!

One of my favorite novels of all time, the first novel published by Sierra Club back when I was a Random House sales rep 25 years ago, is finally going to be a movie!!

best band in the world featured on Treme

On the HBO show, Treme, Tommy Malone of the Subdudes plays at the end, and then All The Time in the World plays over the end credits!! If you have not yet seen the Subdudes on tour, you are missing a  joyful experience!

state fair time

going to write a longish piece about this summer phenom i have a love-hate with soonest!  pot belly pigs cute. deep fried twinkies not!

a fantastic book discovery!

I found ML Malcolm’s small press novel, HEART OF LIES, at Litchfield Books on vacation, after owners Tom and Vicky put it in my hands and said: “We’ve sold hundreds to our reading groups. You’ll love it, too.” I did, as did an agent and an editor here at Harper. We’ve signed her up to reissue Heart of Lies in a new trade paper edition, which we just have, AND the sequel next year.

Based on her husband’s family story, HEART OF LIES follows our hero, Leo, from Budapest to Paris to Shanghai between the wars. It is a wonderful and dramatic story.

Reading groups will LOVE discussing Leo’s motivations for all the good and bad decisions he makes.  A complicated, tragic character, to be sure. And they’ll get more, with 2 books to follow.  AND author ML Malcolm is a self-described recovering attorney who will go, at her own expense, to any store with 2 hours of a major airport to meet reading groups. How? Read more at her site.

writer's conference to publication

I met Jeanne Matthews at the Book Passage Mystery Conference a few years back, and loved the opening of her novel, Bones of Contention. It is a wonderfully atmospheric, witty and tense mystery set in Australia – with such a great cast of characters. We did some editing together and then Poisoned Pen Press picked it up!!! AND it’s # 1 on Seattle Mystery Bookshop bestseller list for July. Yay, Jeanne!! Check it out. And she’s working on the sequel, set in Hawaii.

cool City Lights contest

Funbook title contest from City Lights Publishers!