Writers = Real People

My little Canadian sister has posted brilliantly over at Killer Year today. Couldn't have said it better myself. Read her words of wisdom here.

Also found a gem over at The Playground. Absolutely some of the best advice and inspiration I've read in a while. If you don't read anything else today, read this. It is SO worth it.

Due to my disorganizational skills my interview with Robin Burcell will be delayed just a tad. She was working on a deadline and I was working without a brain. Not a good combination. Anyway, it's coming up soon, so stay tuned.

Speaking of writers being real people. I had the pleasure of meeting one J.A. Konrath last night. What a hoot that guy is. Very funny, very down to earth, and very gracious. Mr. Konrath (Joe to his friends) is doing a whirlwind national tour, visiting a planned 500 bookstores over a two-month stretch of time. He's concentrating this trip on the booksellers - meeting, schmoozing, signing stock. No formal signings or anything, just what he calls "the publishing equivalent of drive-by". He popped in to our Sisters in Crime meeting to regale us with his tales of getting published, and we discovered he's really a pretty neat guy. He even showed us his ... well, I'd better not say anything about that. He likes to spring that surprise on folks during his talk. If you haven't met his protagonist, Lt. Jacqueline (Jack) Daniels yet, go pick up a copy of his first book, Whiskey Sour. He promises it's worth your time.

This is really cool. MJ Rose, whose book The Delilah Complex blew me away, is all about promotion, for herself and other writers. (Check out her blog, Buzz, Balls & Hype, at the link to the left.)

MJ is doing a thing very similar to Joe, but where he is traveling the country in an SUV, she's doing it through cyberspace. MJ is promoting her newest Dr. Morgan Snow novel, The Venus Fix (this is a video clip/trailer, so turn up your speakers), by doing a virtual tour of the blogosphere. It's called "The Venus Fix Summer Buzz Promotion". Count me in, MJ! Let me tell you, folks, this lady knows how to buzz books!

Apparently I did a good job with the rewrite of the WIP's opening because I got some serious kudos from JT. Now if I can just carry that forward for the rest of the story ...

Read a book. It's good for you.

=) JB