Returning to the Blog

I am returning to this blog! I've been absent too long. The life disturbances that sidetracked me are mostly resolved or gone away for now, so I want to get back on track. I've rejoined a large writers' group in which I once was active. I'm attending the weekly meetings of my small writers' group. Now I just have to get back to actual writing.

2011 was an interesting year, but also tragic.

On the interesting side, I met a writer whom I knew only through his blog -- Steve Malley. Steve's an American who's lived in New Zealand for many years. He came back to the States for a convention here in New Orleans and decided to meet up with some of his N.O. blogger friends. My group got together with him for dinner at one of our popular seafood restaurants and we had a great time. We all immediately felt comfortable with him. We wished he could've stayed in town longer so we could get together with him again. I've read Steve's book Crossroad Blues, a thriller with a touch of horror to it. Steve has a real talent for painting pictures with his words, and for sustaining suspense. The book has a very creepy killer and an interesting premise. I hope to see more of his hero character, Kane, in a future book.

On the tragic side, my mother died in August, aged 87. I want to post a tribute to her, but haven't felt ready to do it yet. I'll put it up one day soon. Another tragic event occurred, but I can't speak of that yet.

It's a new year, and I've always loved the idea of New Year's Resolutions. Although I haven't made any formal ones so far this year, I've made "change your life" my motto for the year.

The E-Book Revolution

During my hiatus from blogging, I managed to keep up with my weekly writers' group meetings. I haven't done any creative writing in a very long time, but just being around my writer buddies keeps me from wallowing in the stews of anxiety. Our discussions--works-in-progress, books being read, developments in publishing--are soothing and reassuring. My own writing interests and ambitions have long been in stasis, but I enjoy their successes vicariously and I value their esteem. To the Wordsmiths group--Charles Gramlich, Laura Rowland, Steve Harris, Candice Proctor, Rexanne Becnel, Pam Ahearn, Marie Goodwin--thanks for being there.

Sony Reader

E-publishing has been one of our regular discussion topics for quite a while. The increasing popularity of e-books and the resulting huge changes in traditional publishing concern us all. Our individual opinions run the gamut: Some of us have been eager to embrace the new technology (I myself own a Sony Reader and a NookColor reader); some are gingerly learning about it and trying it out; some have sworn never to read an e-book. We all are stunned by reports of huge sales of a few writers' backlists in e-book form (e.g., Barbara Freethy) and writers who became popular and successful through e-books alone (e.g., Amanda Hocking).

NookColor e-reader

The biggest change that e-publishing works is that many authors e-publish without a traditional publisher. They are self-published or, as it's coming to be called, "indy" published. This wreaks havoc with the financial aspects of the publishing business. Established publishers don't earn money from authors' self-published works nor, in most cases, is there an agent involved. One of the members of my writers' group is an agent, so this directly affects her future in the business. 

As an unpublished author, it's encouraging to think I can get my work out to the world despite rejection by traditional publishers, but it's discouraging to realize how few self-e-published authors earn significant money. (There will be very few Amanda Hockings.) As a reader, it's encouraging to realize there will be more variety on the reading market--we won't be locked into books published only to follow trends; we'll get to see good work that was rejected by a traditional publisher as not marketable enough.  On the other hand, we readers also will have to wade through a lot of dreck that people will e-publish, because without screening via review by an agent and/or editor, some really bad work is going online. 

Kindle e-reader

One way or the other, e-publishing is the future. Paper books won't die, but more and more people will go to e-readers. As much as I love books (and I own thousands of them), I love the idea of being able to carry hundreds of books with me in one small e-reader. I long ago ran out of shelf space in my home for traditional books; being able to store them invisibly in a device the size of a single slender volume is appealing.

I'll still want to keep paper books around. After all, what if I have to do without electricity for a while and can't recharge my e-reader? (I can never forget the post-Katrina morass of loss of power, etc.) The idea of going without reading material terrifies me! So next time I evacuate for a storm, I'll carry my e-readers with me...but I'll also bring some paper books. Just to be safe. 

Hail and Farewell

I welcome 2009 because it brought a new president, in whom I have much hope.

I shrink from 2009, however, because it brought the departure from New Orleans of Laura Joh Rowland, a good friend whom I shall miss greatly.

You know as much as I do about our new president, and the hopes of the voters who elected him. I shall focus instead on my friend, whose departure I bemoan. Laura has moved to New York due to her husband's job change.

I've known Laura since 1993, when I joined SOLA, the local chapter of RWA, a national writers' organization. Laura was already a member and she made her first book sale that year (Shinju, first in her Sano Ichiro mystery series). For a long time we were mere acquaintances, but over the last eight years we became friends. Since 2001 we've belonged to a writers group that meets once a week. Over those years I've seen Laura nearly every Monday--she was a faithful attendee and rarely missed a meeting. I had the chance to get to know her, and everything I discovered about her is admirable.

Laura is, first, a fine person, kind, loyal, honest, hardworking, and conscientious. She has a serious demeanor, but underneath an antic sense of humor and a fine wit.

She is, second, a true artist, creative in many ways. As an author, she's had 14 books published (13 in her Sano Ichiro mystery series set in 17th century Japan, one so far in her Charlotte Bronte mystery series). She's a fine writer, with a wonderful skill at taking us back into a historical setting and making us see, hear, feel, smell and taste it. Her characters live and breathe, as if in the room with us. Her plots are fiendishly clever.

Laura is generous in sharing her knowledge with fledgling authors, and encouraging them to become productive writers. She regularly gives talks to groups of writers as well as readers, and presents programs at writers' conferences. For more than 10 years she mentored a critique group in New Orleans that had been started by the noted science fiction author George Alec Effinger. She always has a fresh perspective to offer on one's work; her advice is cogent, succinct, and as valuable as gold.

Laura is a painter, too, and plans to pursue that talent with serious study at a major art school soon. She faithfully took painting classes for years while in New Orleans, and her work decorated the walls of her home in New Orleans. (I wish I'd asked her to paint one for me.) Last year the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts gave her a special award for "exceptional promise, discipline, and selfless devotion to the fine arts."

Laura now resides in one of New York's five boroughs, outside of Manhattan, in a busy neighborhood full of people speaking other languages. The population in her new neighborhood is mostly Korean immigrants. (Laura, a third-generation American of Korean and Chinese ancestry, says for the first time in her life she's part of the majority ethnicity.)

What wonderful grist for a writer's mill. I know she'll enjoy all the opportunities and excitement that New York has to offer, but oh, how we'll miss her here in New Orleans.

Ave atque vale, Obama and Rowland.

Ave atque Vale, Annus MMVII

"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day." -- Edith Lovejoy Pierce (b. 1904), poet

I thank my friend Shauna Roberts for the quotation, which is perfect to start off the New Year.

I believe in new beginnings, and I like them. I always make New Year's resolutions, although I rarely stick to them for long. I am an optimist. I always try again.

2007 was not a good year for me. I suffered through a variety of worries: extreme anxiety for a beloved family member dealing with addiction, as well as my own health problems, financial worries, caretaking responsibilities, job issues, and free-floating anxiety.

Today marks the end of 2007, however, and tomorrow is a new year. I mentally erase the blackboard of 2007, washing it clean for the new self-history I will write in 2008.

Things for which I was especially thankful in 2007:

• My Family: I love them and they love me, even when we are in conflict.
• My Friends--especially Brenda, Carolyn, Cheryl and Joanne: their love and support have rescued me from despair.
• My Writer's Group, Wordsmiths (Laura, Candice, Charles, Steve, and Emily): They are not only professional colleagues, but also good friends; their opinions, tastes and judgment in literary and other matters are significant to me; their concern during my dark times over the past year has helped enormously.
• My Pets--the dogs (Dozia, Galadriel, Squeaky) and the cats (Katy, Harmony, Precious): their unconditional love and eagerness to please have comforted me through dark times.
• My Job: Even when there is chaos at home, at the office things are orderly, logical, peaceful and predictable.
• My Books: Reading them lets me escape into other minds, other lives, and other worlds; possessing them makes me feel rich, replete, rapturous and reverent. When I am anxious I sort out piles of books and I am calmed.

I will post my New Year's Resolutions for 2008 tomorrow.

Happy New Year to all my blog-friends. I'm grateful to have "met" you over the past year, through our exchanges of posts and comments.

K+2Y: I got by with a little help from my friends

As you know, Wednesday (August 29) marked the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Here in the greater New Orleans area, it was commemorated by dozens of events--prayer services, memorial ceremonies, solemn convocations, art shows, musical performances, brunch/lunch/dinner gatherings, and assemblies of survivors. I observed the day by meeting a group of friends for lunch at VooDoo Barbecue (in New Orleans, nearly every event starts with food, ends with food, or centers on food). We adjourned for dessert to the home of one among us, Laura Joh Rowland. Laura's home, in the Gentilly neighborhood, sustained major damage, but has been restored. Originally we planned to head out from Laura's for a tour of some of the worst-affected areas--Chalmette, the Ninth Ward, Lakeview--but the sky was pouring rain and some of us were feeling our arthritis too much to go farther afield.

It was a good day. Being with my friends comforted me and lifted my spirits. There's an underlying sadness now to gatherings in this city; we always are aware--sometimes subliminally--of those who didn't survive the disaster and those who haven't returned from afar. Yet with each gathering we celebrate that we're still here, we still have friends here, we still have life. Love and human connections and our bond with This City are what keep us going.

In a followup to my August 28 post on Chris Rose, here's a link to "As Not Read by Oprah," his column published on Wednesday--the day he was to appear on the Oprah show. He was bummed out because they would not allow him to mention his book in any way. (They only wanted him because he went public with his bout of depression.) With his usual sardonic wit, he points out why they were wrong.

George Alec Effinger

On Thursday, July 12, Octavia Books in New Orleans will hold its (sort-of-annual ) George Alec Effinger memorial reading. George Alec Effinger was a noted science fiction writer who lived in New Orleans during most of his last three decades. He died here in April 2002. Effinger's first novel, What Entropy Means to Me (1972), was nominated for the Nebula Award. Schrodinger's Kitten, a novelette, won both the Nebula and the Hugo awards. Although science fiction was his genre, many of his stories also included elements of fantasy and horror. His stories have a sly sense of humor and antic wit.

I'd heard of Effinger over the years numerous times, and had read some of his work during my SF-loving days in my twenties. I didn't know he lived in my town, however, until the early nineties when I joined SOLA, the local chapter of RWA. There I met Laura Joh Rowland, author of the Sano Ichiro historical mysteries set in 16th-century Japan. Laura credits her publishing success to her membership in an ongoing writers' workshop started by George Effinger in the late eighties. Effinger served as mentor to the group almost to the end of his life, until he became too ill to continue. (Laura, with twelve published novels to her credit, has now taken the post of mentor in the group, which continues to meet monthly.) As I grew to know Laura over the years, I heard more about Effinger; he even spoke at SOLA meetings a time or two. Over the years Laura often mentioned Effinger's generosity to and encouragement of aspiring writers.

After Effinger died in 2002 a group of his friends and his former wife, prolific author Barbara Hambly, decided to hold a reading of his work as a memorial to him. A local bookstore, Octavia Books, offered its premises as a place for the reading, and the first George Alec Effinger Memorial Reading took place. Amid chuckles, snorts of laughter, and a few tears, George's nearest and dearest read excerpts of his work. Readers included Barbara Hambly, Laura Joh Rowland, and Andrew Fox (also a member of the Effinger workshop; like Laura, Andrew credits his becoming published to Effinger's encouragement and support).

Sadly, at the time George died most of his work was out of print. In the years since, however, several of his novels and collections of his stories have been reprinted, due at least in part to Barbara Hambly's efforts. Octavia Books has continued to host Effinger memorial readings, held sporadically in conjunction with releases of Effinger's reprinted works. It's always an evening of fun, fellowship, nostalgia, wit, and good humor. This year Andy Fox (see above) is the featured reader. Barbara Hambly won't be there this year, but Laura Rowland will. And so will I, and other Effinger-ites.

If you're going to be in the New Orleans area around 6 p.m. this Thursday, July 12, why not drop by Octavia Books, 513 Octavia Street (corner of Laurel) in New Orleans' Garden District? Come pass a good time and join us in celebrating the genius of George Effinger.

Affinity

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; ... any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

--John Donne, Meditation XVII, Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions

Last night I had dinner with two friends whom I hadn't seen in a long time. The reunion was great. We've been through many changes over the last two years--not least the aftereffects of Hurricane Katrina--yet on meeting again, it was as if we had never been parted. We picked up on our old rhythms and patterns, and fell into the same easy rapport as we had before. As in the past, the evening simply wasn't long enough for everything we had to say to one another.

After five hours of nonstop talking, we had to part ways. We agreed to get together once a month to keep the buzz going. I hope we'll do it. I've discovered that having friends who are boon companions is more important than nearly everything else. I am a loner--I need and enjoy time alone--yet I've learned I must make time for friends. Even when I feel grouchy, irritable, and mad at the world, I've discovered that if I make the effort to go out and be around people with whom I have rapport, I'll be glad later--I'll return home feeling refreshed, renewed, relaxed, and connected.

Happy New Year!

I was in the midst of preparing a lengthy, rather pontificating post about writers and blogging, but realized it's New Year's Eve and I have a party to go to. My New Year's Eve celebrations for the last few years have been spent at a dear friend's home, where the major activity of the evening, apart from consuming mass quantities of food and drink, is playing Trivial Pursuit. I LOVE Trivial Pursuit. (My Gen Y daughter thinks it's hilarious that her mother plays Trivial Pursuit on New Year's Eve.)

The lengthy, pontificating post shall be saved for another day. For tonight, blolleagues and readers, I simply wishes you all a very happy and successful New Year.

Band of Comrades

For the past five years I have belonged to a writers' group that meets weekly. It evolved from a group that met once a week to study The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. After four months of working through The Artist's Way chapter by chapter, we grew to know and trust one another. When the course ended, several of us wanted to continue our weekly meetings, and so we did--same day, same time, same location.

We started with a core of six people from The Artist's Way group. Over the years three new members joined, two original members dropped out, and a third original member went on extended hiatus. Now we have a nucleus of six who meet every Monday evening at a local bookstore, except for the night before Mardi Gras (Lundi Gras) and for when the meeting night falls on a major holiday.

We're not a critique group; we're a creative inspiration group. Two-thirds of us have published books, either fiction or nonfiction; two of us are full-time novelists; all of us write as a part of our jobs.

Over time, our meetings have taken on a pattern. One of us volunteers to be the meeting moderator. We start with a round-robin, each reporting in turn on what we've done during the past week that's writing-related and what books we've read. We also mention other activities we think will interest the others--anything is grist for the mill. After the round-table reports, we spend the rest of the meeting discussing one or more topics. Sometimes we plan ahead what topics we'll cover; sometimes we go with the flow and talk about whatever comes up. Our discussions are always interesting and usually productive.

Our topics have included such things as tapping into readers' fantasies; why some books become bestsellers despite so-so writing and humdrum plots; what makes a book boring; what makes a book exciting; plot twists; secrets of story composition; brainstorming concepts for novels; whether familiarity breeds success.

We not only help each other with specific artistic and creative issues, but also have become friends. We don't want the group to become psychotherapy, so we focus on writing and avoid talking too much about our personal lives and personal problems. Inevitably, however, we have learned about one another's lives, families and jobs. Each of us sympathizes with the others' successes and failures, and each gives moral support when another is going through a tough time.

In our discussion about the fantasies that drive the stories that readers like most, we agreed that one of the most common is the "band of brothers"--a major part of the stories in Lord of the Rings, the Harry Potter series, The Dirty Dozen and every "buddy" movie, including women-oriented stories such as Sex in the City--which led us to change the name of that particular fantasy from "band of brothers" to "band of comrades" in the interest of gender neutrality.

After that discussion, the light bulb went off over my head. I realized that our weekly meetings had formed us into a Band of Comrades. To Candice, Charles, Emily, Laura and Steve: Comrades, I salute you!

I have listed the blogs and/or websites of three members of the group in the "Links" section to the right--Razored Zen (Charles), C.S. Harris (Candice), and Laura Joh Rowland. (Steve and Emily don't have blogs or websites...yet.)