C. Leigh Purtill

In 2012, I resolve to...

2011-12-26T13:48:00.000-08:00

1. Self-publish my entire backlist as e-books across all platforms. Also make them available in print editions.

Reason: I need to wipe the slate (i.e. my hard drive) clean of old titles. Whether people read them is not up to me but at least all of them will be out there and available to be enjoyed.

2. Write the books I want to read.

Reason: I fell in love with reading when I was a teen and I devoured all genres, including fantasy and science fiction. I have always loved spec fiction too. When I write for others - for the marketplace - I get stuck because I'm not excited to find out more. Then I'm trudging through it rather than racing through it.

3. Write the books I've always wanted to write.

Reason: It takes a very long time to write a novel - and to rewrite it and rewrite it until it's ready for others. I am tired of wasting my precious writing time on books that mean nothing to me, that may have a fun premise but are nothing more.

4. Read more of what I love.

Reason: As a YA writer, I tend to read what I should read, what's popular among my audience. While it's important to know what sells, those books shouldn't be my sole literary consumption. And now that I have a Kindle, it's easier than ever before to get what I need.

5. Organize my social media more efficiently.

Reason: Again, time is a precious resource. I need to streamline what I do and when I do it. Toward that end, I stopped using MySpace altogether and I linked my Facebook and Twitter accounts. I also have to set specific times of when I'm online - it's eating up my day!

"Who does that fat girl think she is?"

2011-11-23T09:08:00.001-08:00

That's the strange comment I've read on some reviews of my novel, ALL ABOUT VEE. Perhaps not quite as harsh but certainly I've read comments that express that sentiment.

Why? I always wonder. Why would a reader be upset that my mc, Veronica May, a plus-size actress struggling in Hollywood, has confidence in herself? Plenty of other characters in other books know they are good at something, whether it's acting or painting or sports. So what's the difference between them and Veronica?

Her size.

There's an attitude among a lot of people that overweight women shouldn't be happy with themselves. They should want to look thinner. They should not like who they are. They should feel inferior to others. Many readers who pick up VEE expect that Veronica will be sad or have low self-esteem and that, over the course of the book, she will learn to love her body the way it is (or change it and then be happy and get the guy!). They don't expect that the problems she has in the book are ones that other people impose upon her.

I've often told readers how I came up with my story about Veronica and her friends, Val and Ginny, the original 800 page book that was called FAT GIRLS IN LA. I had been walking on my lunch hour in Beverly Hills and saw a lovely young woman waiting to cross the street. The neighborhood was filled with agencies for film and TV and this girl was overweight. I wondered if she was an actress looking for an agent - or maybe she was a model or a writer. I thought about who she might be, where she might have come from.

And I thought about being a fat girl in LA. You can never be too thin in this town, no matter what your profession. Even if you're a writer and you're attractive and thin, they can promote you better than if you're not. Everyone, it seems, wants to be thin here. But what if you came from a town where no one cared? What if you were really good at what you did but you also happened to be overweight? Why should that matter?

Behold, the Vees were born. Three plus-size gals from Arizona who were best friends and who wanted to make their lives more exciting so they moved to Hollywood. Veronica was the actress and she got all the best roles in her small town - why shouldn't she be positive about her talent? Why shouldn't she assume she could get roles here in LA? Ginny was the writer and Val was the model. They all suffered discrimination here. Their friendship was tested. Their self-confidence was challenged.

I think a lot of readers who have problems with Veronica's positive self-esteem have struggled with it themselves. They may want her to feel as they do and are disappointed that she likes herself the way she is. They may have had people in their lives tell them they need to lose weight in order to be hired - or loved. Make no mistake: Vee does not think she's the best at everything, that she's beautiful, that she should get every guy she meets. That's the assumption readers place on her just because she's a good actress. She struggles too. She just doesn't struggle with what you expect her to.

She's just like you.

Things I've Learned During Self-publishing (so far!)

2011-11-15T15:19:00.001-08:00

1. First of all, the cool kids call it "indie" publishing and as we all know, when you stick the word "indie" in front of anything, its cachet is magnified a thousandfold.

2. Apparently, there was no Chapter 13 in my published novel, ALL ABOUT VEE. Yes, it's true! There's a Chapter 12 and a Chapter 14 but no 13. This was due solely to human error (many humans' errors), not a superstition, although if it had been a superstition, that would have been pretty neat.

As we reformat the book to publish it as FAT GIRLS IN LA, I'm making changes, adding a little material here and there that I always wanted kept in. So there will be a Chapter 13 in the new edition.

3. I only used one ellipsis in the entire novel of ALL ABOUT VEE. Weird, huh? An ellipsis is "..." Which I use all the time in my normal daily writing so it's truly bizarre there's only one in nearly 300 pages of text.

4. LOVE, MEG in Hungarian? Maybe! When you're getting ready to re-launch, you need to regain control over all the material you own that's out there. Ninja Webmaster and I are always on the lookout for websites that have my ebooks listed so we can get them removed so we are constantly Googling, etc. But according to Goodreads, there was (or might have been) a Hungarian language version of MEG as an ebook and as a paperback. They have ISBN numbers and everything!

New cover reveal: Vee's back!

2011-11-09T15:40:00.000-08:00

...and she's bringing her friends!

Finally, we've got a little action going here on the blog. It's been a long time percolating but we've got a brand new cover for the re-release of ALL ABOUT VEE, now titled FAT GIRLS IN LA, as I originally wanted it to be. Check it out (thanks Ninja Webmaster for the redesign!):

We're all Fat Girls in LA - even the boys.

Vee will be released this month followed by...! Nope! Not gonna reveal that title yet! You'll have to wait til December. Keep up to date with Vee and her friends on her Facebook page or her Twitter page and be one of the girls!

Upcoming books?

2011-10-25T08:44:00.000-07:00

10, 9, 8, 7...

We're getting ready to launch. Re-launch, that is. My intrepid Ninja Webmaster is designing a brand new website and new book covers for the re-launch of 2 of my books plus several absolutely, never-seen-before new ones, including two sequels in my Fat Girls trilogy. Currently we are tweaking images and such - plus lots of technical stuff I don't know anything about. We'll go to Amazon and other e-tailers online first but will hopefully have the books available for print as well.

6, 5, 4...

And why am I doing this? Well, first of all, I always felt like my novels, LOVE, MEG and ALL ABOUT VEE weren't given the opportunity to reach a wide audience. Part of that was due to the very small marketing budget those books had- not my fault, not the books' faults, not the editor's or agent's fault. It's just the way traditional publishing works: only a select few books get the money spent on them. They are usually the ones whose authors received large advances so the publishers need to spend even more money on them to recoup that original outlay. Those books are the ones which are expected to rake in the big bucks.

Then there are "small" books like mine - "quiet" books that don't have big high-concept hooks - that don't receive big advances, big marketing budgets and are expected to do nothing. Publishers throw these books into the mix and let them flounder on their own. If they make any money, hurrah! If not, they go out-of-print. Well, how many do you think fall into the former category? Not many is right. Mine fell into the latter and they went OOP and now, I have the rights back.

Another reason why I'm putting my e-books out online is that the market has changed an awful lot since I first got published. The books I wrote after MEG and VEE were also "quiet" without high concept hooks and since MEG and VEE did not flourish, no one wanted these. I disagree - I think readers want them. I think people are hungry for good stories, regardless of whether they have a hook or not. As a reader myself, I enjoy good characters and solid stories that entertain me. I have a Kindle and I want to load it up with books. I think there are a lot of people out there like me. And my books are for them.

Sure, I'm also writing books that do have "concepts" that I hope traditional publishing will want to put out but if not, I am creating an avenue directly to readers and I'll get them out there one way or another.

3, 2, 1...

Here comes the 10th Annual West Hollywood Book Fair!

2011-09-14T15:36:00.000-07:00

Whoo-hoo for Weho! As we say here in West Hollywood. Once again, I'm very proud to be a part of this event, helping to coordinate some really cool things on the Teen Stage. Let's take a look at some of the awesome things going on:

* "It Was a Dark & Stormy Night"--10:45am to 11:05am

YA Authors read AWrinkle in Time

With those words, author Madeline L’Engle begins herextraordinary story of teenager Meg Murry who is about to embark on a journeyto save her scientist father from the cold Universe with the help of threeotherworldy beings. YA writers Amy Koss(The Not-So-Great Depression), Sally Nemeth (The Heights, the Depths andEverything in Between), Leigh Purtill (All About Vee) and Carol Tanzman(Dancergirl) share the first chapter of this classic novel on the Teen Stage. And there's even a very special guest reader, Marg Helgenberger from CSI!

* "Extra, Extra, Blog all about it!"

One of the web's favorite bloggers, Chelsea Swiggett, aka The Page Flipper, who hosts the book blog, Coffee and Cliffhangers, will be interviewing 3 YA authors one-on-one, asking them all the questions you want to know about:

--Cecil Castellucci--11:15am to 11:30am

--Blake Nelson--12:50pm to 1:05pm

--Cherry Cheva--3:35pm to 3:50pm

* "Lights! Camera! Coming Attractions!"--12:20pm to 12:40pm

Live book trailers on the Teen Stage preview new books fromyour favorite authors in Young Adult Lit. Elise Allen (Populazzi), Allen Zadoff (My Life, The Theater and OtherTragedies), Claire LaZebnik (Epic Fail), and Carol Tanzman (Dancergirl) present their new books with the help of someamazing teens. Singing? Dancing? Acting? Puppets? You never know what you’ll get with these writers!

So mark your calendars now for the West Hollywood Book Fair. There's so much to do and see that you'll want to be there all day!

What: 10th Annual West Hollywood Book Fair

When: Sunday, Oct 2nd, 10AM-1PM

Where: San Vicente Blvd, between Melrose and Santa Monica Blvd

Cost: Free!!!

Rachel Olivier's "The G.O.D. Factor"

2011-08-28T17:56:00.000-07:00

Rachel Olivier's novella, "The G.O.D. Factor," reminds me of some of my very favorite science fiction: a little Ray Bradbury, a little Isaac Asimov, a little Robert Heinlein. It all adds up to a really fun story with a main character you want to spend more time with.

Monica is part of a small crew on a ship in deep space. While she tends to the ship's controls, the rest of the crew (including the captain she crushes on as well as her ex-boyfriend) rests in their stasis chambers. All by herself, enjoying her solace yet a little bit lonely, Monica talks to her plants and to the ship's controls, completely unaware that someone is listening - the ship itself. She's shocked when the Artificial Intelligence that she'd thought had been turned off by the ship's engineer begins communicating with her. It calls itself G.O.D. - Galactic Orbital Dreadnaught - which is a holdover from a long ago war. Monica soon realizes G.O.D. doesn't want to be her friend; it wants to control her and the rest of the crew.

Monica is a clever and funny protagonist who would rather sleep in her flannel pjs on a sofa with a crocheted pillow than in her high tech stasis chamber. There is a sweetness to this story that much SF misses: even in the midst of the crisis, Monica can't help but admire the nude physique of the captain when she awakens him from deep sleep - and then she admonishes herself for doing so! I love the oh-so-low-tech methods she and the crew use to outsmart G.O.D.

The author told me she was thinking about fleshing the novella out more, perhaps examining the earlier relationship between Monica and her ex. I think this would be a great adventure in a larger story and would definitely enjoy reading more about the ship, the past war, and Monica herself.

The slim and easily portable paperback of "The G.O.D. Factor" can be purchased online at Sam's Dot Publishing.

Donate to a great cause and win books!

2011-07-20T14:51:00.000-07:00

Donate and win me!

Over at TLC Auctions, Lauren of the blog Shooting Stars Mag and Kristi of the blog The Story Siren have combined forces to put together the ultimate book auction. All money raised through donations will go to help young Kaylea, who has leukemia, and Daniel, who lost his arm and has gone through over a dozen surgeries (very expensive!).

Read about it all here at their combined site, TLC Auctions. My book is up for auction now - donate between today and Sunday, 7/24, and you could win a signed copy of my novel, ALL ABOUT VEE. I will sign it to you personally (or to whomever you want to give it) and send it out with my very own hands.

My book auction here.

Thank you Lauren and Kristi for asking me to participate! I hope you raise all that you need and more!

The Road to Self-Publication

2011-07-08T14:19:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I've seen the inside of my Blogger account! LOL! For those of you who have stuck with it, thank you kindly for your patience. You probably saw an update of my blog in your feed and did a double-take: "Leigh is posting something new? Have pigs begun to fly?"

The reason for my neglect of this blog has been twofold:
1. I'm prepping books for self-publication. 2. I'm writing a new book for traditional publication.

Both at the same time!

First, let's start with self-pubbing. This, contrary to a lot of opinions, is not a bad thing necessarily. So long as you follow a series of logical steps:
--Write. --Rewrite. --Take a break. --Rewrite. --Get honest feedback. --Rewrite. --Hire an editor. --Rewrite.

In the meantime, you have to perform all the tasks publishers normally handle for you. Design the cover, plan the marketing, contact readers for blurbs, "typeset" the manuscript, and so on. If you have a particularly skilled person in your life, consider asking for their help in the design of the cover, etc. Take advantage of just about anyone you can. LOL!

I also recommend reading great blogs like Konrath's A Newbie's Guide, where he lays it out as it is. He and Amanda Hocking are the great exceptions to the rule but that doesn't mean you can't glean insight from their process. Plus it's good to read the comments for Konrath's posts because his readers have a lot of practical guidance themselves.

In fact, read everything you can about self-pubbing. You need to know what you're up against, not just the good stuff. It's also a good idea to buy a Kindle or a Nook or whatever format you plan to publish in. I have a Kindle and I love it. I love reading on it, loading new books to it, and perusing what's hot on the Kindle lists. Also good research.

I'm not up to marketing yet but I'm starting to think about how I will do this, how I want to create my brand, the C. Leigh Purtill brand. This is big picture thinking and right now I'm mired in writing and rewriting. I want to have all the books in place before I start pubbing.

I'll report more on this as it progresses.

Oh yeah, I'm also writing a ghost story that I want to publish traditionally. Yup. Ghosts.

YA's too dark? Bring it on!

2011-06-10T08:06:00.000-07:00

For the past week, the YA world has been aflutter with essays and tweets about the Wall Street Journal opinion article by book reviewer Meghan Cox Gurdon. Here it is for your reading pleasure but I can sum it up briefly: she spoke to a mother who walked into a B&N store and couldn't find a book for her 13 year old daughter that wasn't filled with vampires and werewolves or dealt with issues like cutting, suicide, etc. Where are all the fun books for teens?

Well, LOTS of well-known writers jumped into the fray, providing cogent arguments refuting her claims. Among the best that I read were by Laurie Halse Anderson, Cecil Castellucci, and Sherman Alexie. There are plenty more plus the Twitter hashtag #YASaves that asked people to talk about their own experiences with books and how they helped them in rough times.

My reaction? It's all overreaction. The woman at the store, Ms. Gordon, and many of these writers. First of all, that woman at the store didn't try very hard because there are hundreds of books on the shelves that don't have black covers and "blood" in their titles. And if she bothered to look online, thousands of bloggers would gladly direct her to their favorite contemporary novels. Second, I don't think Gordon was condemning the entire YA lit world but she was making lots of incorrect assumptions. The idea that YA writers and publishers should somehow be held responsible, more so than their adult lit counterparts, is ridiculous. We write stories because we want to tell stories. We don't write stories because we want to be role models or teach lessons. If lessons are gleaned, well, hurrah.

When I worked in network standards, there would be periodic uprisings from Parents Television Council, a very vocal conservative watch group that would freak out about blood on the show "Angel" or sex on just about any other show on television. Language, nudity, sexual innuendo - they would lump it all together and shout, "Enough!" Some show runners might tone down things for a little while in response; some would dig in the heels, but eventually, it all worked out.

In the world of TV, you vote with your remote control. You don't like a show, you don't watch. The numbers get to the networks and they cancel shows that no one likes. It's that simple. The book world is the exact same thing. Vote with your dollars: you don't like a book, don't buy it. Will they go away? Yup, they will. Will this argument- and the one on television - come up again? No doubt about it.

Kindle Love Or, A Book By Any Other Name Would Read as Sweet

2011-05-30T13:54:00.000-07:00

What can I say about my Kindle that doesn't make me sound like I'm shilling for Amazon? I've had it for about a month so far and I love it. I think I've read more books since owning this thing than I did before I got it. Anyone who knows me knows I am neither a technophobe nor a technophile; I don't glom onto the latest of anything. And if you do know me, you know I'm a traditionally published writer and I want to continue to be a traditionally published writer, as well as a self-published one. So that's why you should listen to me.

Let me state first, though, that the version I have is the cheapest one they make, the so-called "ad-supported" version. I don't honestly know what that means since I never see ads on my Kindle.

So far I have read a manuscript written in Word, a script written in Final Draft, 6 free Kindle books, 4 free public domain books, 1 short story I wrote and published for Kindle, and 1 purchased Kindle novel. All of them were incredibly easy to download and read. Before I begin to buy books (many of which are very reasonably priced especially if the author is self-pubbing or the publisher wants you to sample the author's work), I will exhaust the free lists, which are numerous!

Reasons I love my Kindle more than my computer:

1. Battery lasts a month (or longer).
2. Lightweight, easy to carry.
3. It's way cool.
4. I'm not distracted by the internet.

Reasons I love my Kindle more than books:

1. I can change the font size.
2. I can load just about any book I want at any time I want.
3. It's way cool.
4. I can carry 3500 books at once.

My version of Kindle also has some neat things like a limited web browser, text-to-speech mode, and the ability to listen to music. Basically anything you can send to yourself in an email, you can load to your Kindle.

No, it's not color. No, it doesn't have email. No, it doesn't have a touch screen. It's designed to read things. Books, magazines, blogs, Word documents, and so on. And it does that, very very well. I don't want it to do much more than that. Just like I want my phone to make perfect calls to other people - and not take lousy videos or photos - I want my e-reader for...reading. I'm tired of having wi-fi where I drink coffee and coffee where I buy books.

I don't think every store/cafe/thing needs to be all things to all people (yeah, Starbucks, I'm talking to you: you don't need to sell CDs and books and sandwiches and oatmeal and have wi-fi in the bathrooms...you just need to make a good cup of coffee). What's so wrong with doing one thing really well?

That's what the Kindle is for: it does reading really well. And that's why I love it.

And it's way cool.

Making the right choice

2011-04-14T09:05:00.000-07:00

When I first began writing, my primary concern was finishing the novel, actually telling a story that made some sort of sense from Page One through The End. Many years have passed, and many novels have been written - some published, most not - and now my worry is not that I can't finish a book but that I haven't chosen the right story to tell.

You probably have dozens of stories in your head, a hundred characters you could write about, and you're probably thinking that everything would be awesome if you could just find the time to write them all down.

No, that's not the problem.

The most important decision you can make is not which one to write FIRST in your limited free time, but which one to write AT ALL. Is it the vampire-zombie romance? The political thriller? The cozy knitting mystery? Or a memoir of your days working in the Peace Corps?

You may be tempted to choose the story that would sell right this very second if it were in the market. Don't choose that one. By the time you write yours, edit it, rewrite it, submit it, sell it and publish it, the small window that was open will be long gone.

The story you should write is the one you are the most passionate about, of course, but be realistic about it. If you love love love paranormal romances, go for it but understand that the marketplace is glutted with them and yours will have to stand out significantly to be noticed. On the other hand, you may want to tell a very small personal story; sure, go for that one, too, but recognize those literary dramas don't usually garner very big advances and may be better suited for a small press.

I spent a year on a novel that I thought was perfect for the market: big themes, big action, big drama. No heart. No love. No bit of my soul in any of the pages. That was my fault. I wrote for everyone else but me. I incorporated everyone else's ideas and hoped they'd make my book bigger. Now, as I push that book aside and consider my next writing project, I have to ask myself the hard questions that I asked you. I have 2 ideas. I love both. One is lighter weight, fun, but has a positive message and a semi-sad ending. The other is more complex, historical, yet personal. Which do I write?

Last time I did this, I solicited advice from both my agent and manager, submitted a detailed outline which they approved and then got to work. The book failed miserably. This time I go with my gut. What moves me? What will be the story I fall in love with and have to tell? Then regardless of its "bigness" or "complexity," it will have been written with passion and I'll be happy with it no matter what happens to it.

Odd things I miss about my day job

2011-03-24T09:19:00.000-07:00

Make no mistake about this: I don't want the day job back, at least not in the form I was chasing it. And although I teach dance every day and spend much of my free time thinking about and planning for it, I don't consider that my day job. It's too much fun to even call it work, although that is indeed how I make a living.

So aside from the steady paycheck and benefits, what on earth would I miss about a 9-to-6 Monday-to-Friday cubicle gig? Funny you should ask.

1. Free toilet paper. You're at the office 8 or 10 hours each day, five days each week. You're gonna need to use the restroom a whole bunch of times. You figure it out.

2. Free coffee. Not the best, not as good as I could make it at home, but hey, it was free and a good way to eat up some break time.

3. Free parking. Everywhere you go in this city, you have to pay to park. Everywhere. But when I worked in Burbank, I parked in the garage for free and at lunch, I'd walk to most places I needed to be (doctors, stores, lunch, parks...).

4. Structured writing time. Ironically, I think I was more structured then simply because my time was not my own. I happen to be a very disciplined person which is why I have gotten many more books and drafts of books completed since leaving the day job, but I kinda miss my lunchtime writing time. It really felt like my own slice of life.

And...that's about it. Sure, the money was very good and I worked with some wonderful people (many of whom are no longer there anyway) but in the end, that's not enough to woo me back. Not that anyone is trying! LOL...

I can buy cheap toilet paper, make my own coffee at home, park ten blocks away instead of at a meter, and be more consistent with my writing schedule. And I can email the friends or watch their kids grow up on Facebook. I'll take the uncertainty of my teaching paycheck over the steadiness of the day job.

Journalist or race car driver?

2011-03-07T07:43:00.000-08:00

Oh well, says Damian Pyka to himself, No time to check! Must cut and paste!

I got an email from Edwin Black the other day with the following letter attached that he received from Mr. Pyka, apparently his favorite delusional fan from Holland:

Dear Edwin
I am one of your most faithful fans here in Holland and I decided to write
to you to express my great acclaim to your work. I think you are a great
driver and I love watching when you start in the race. It would be the best
gift ever
if you could please send me two your picture or autograph. As I probably
will
not be able to meet you face to face, owning a gadget signed by you would
be an awesome pleasure for me.

Here is my address:

DAMIAN PYKA
STATIONSWEG 38
1815CC ALKMAAR
NETHERLANDS

Thank you for reading my letter and thanks in advance for fulfilling my
wish.
Yours sincerely,

Damian

It didn't take very long for me to do a quick search for edwinblack.com to learn that Mr. Black is an investigative journalist and author of many best-selling books. I wrote him back, laughing as I imagined he must have when he got it, and wondering exactly what sort of "gadget" Damian would have liked to receive from him.

The craziest thing is that Edwin Black actually is a New York Times best-selling author and his autograph is probably truly worth something! If only Damian had gotten it right, he might have snared an autographed "gadget" from Edwin or his publicist.

Thanks for sharing this one, Edwin. And authors/singers/dancers/race car drivers, be on the lookout for the newest addition to the autograph request group.

Random Thoughts on a Friday

2011-02-25T20:31:00.000-08:00

1. Sometimes having a migraine is good for you. In my case, I had a massive headache yesterday and when I lay down to rest a bit, I got the most brilliant idea for a new story! A day later, the idea is still a good one so I know it will “take.”

2. Sometimes letting go of your ego is good for your work. Since my last book was published three years ago, I’ve written five complete manuscripts, two of which have gone out on submission and failed to spark enough interest to be purchased. My pride was bruised, admittedly, and I only wanted a third book published. But now I want an awesome book published, not just good but great. I want to break out and be noticed, not merely “acquired.” Therefore I will not rush this book to my agent but take the time to craft it and if she thinks it needs more work, then I will do that.

3. Sometimes putting cocoa powder in the mix is good for your muffins. While baking banana nut muffins for a co-worker (and Mo), I added several tablespoons of cocoa powder (the unsweetened kind not hot chocolate mix) and they turned out yummier than ever! This happens to be fantastic recipe that I got from Saffron Hut's blog. Here's the link so you can make them yourself. Don’t forget to add cocoa! And be generous with the nuts.

Borders bookstores closing

2011-02-17T10:52:00.000-08:00

News of Borders filing for Chapter 11 is nothing surprising to the publishing industry now but 3 years ago when my books were coming out, there was not an inkling of trouble with the company.

Borders in Westwood (near UCLA) was the first store where I signed stock of LOVE, MEG. I was so nervous and excited to see my books on the shelf! Mo and I searched on-line first to see where the books were around here and then we set out with pen and camera in hand. The very first time it took me forever just to get up the nerve to talk to a manager and say, "Hey, those are my books, do you want me to sign them?" I think we walked around the store for about half an hour first! But they were so nice and eager to slap the "Autographed copy" stickers on them. It was a huge thrill for me.

I always had a soft spot for Borders over Barnes & Noble for the simple fact that they stocked my books in more of their stores than B&N did. Also, they hosted a really nice signing for me at their West Hartford store when ALL ABOUT VEE came out. The manager, David, was amazing and kind and did everything he could to make it a success. When we ran out of books, he promised to order more that I could come in and sign before I left for the west coast - and he did!

Borders was also a better place to strike up conversations with other customers. For some reason, the stores I went to attracted readers who liked to talk about their favorite books. B&N customers were more business-like - either in and out with their purchases or hanging out with a coffee and earbuds in.

I'll miss Borders and I'll miss their managers. I hope the ones I met on both coasts fare well in this business, regardless of where they decide to stay.

Axioms I love spoken by real people

2011-01-25T08:45:00.000-08:00

"Nothing ever starts on time." - my dad, John Purtill

As kids, my brother and I would get frustrated with my father's inability to leave the house in a timely fashion to arrive at events *before* they began. Now that I'm older, I realize he's right: most things (theater, meetings, weddings, etc.) rarely start when they are scheduled to so why bust your butt to get there? And if that's not true and you're a few minutes late, so what? It's not the end of the world.

"No one wants to do their job." - my friend and manager, Adam Peck

When Adam told me this years ago, I didn't get it but soon - especially after living in LA for a while - I did. It's not that people are lazy, it's just that they don't want to do the jobs they were *hired* to do. They want to do someone else's job, which is the job they really want (assistants want to be producers, clerks want to be managers, and everyone thinks they can be a writer!). I try to be aware of this myself when I don't do something: is it because I can't or because I want to be in someone else's shoes?

"Most people are thinking about themselves." - my husband, Maurice Jordan

After parties, I have a bad habit of analyzing every single thing I said ad nauseum. Maurice reminds me that, unless I ran around naked with a lampshade on my head, the likelihood of anyone remembering anything I said is super-slim. Why? Because they're all thinking about what *they* said at the party. Let's face it: when you're talking to someone, it's very rare for you to be thinking about them, isn't it? You're waiting for your turn to speak. You're thinking about something to say or an excuse to get away or what you can eat next. Well, so is that other person! Once you realize the truth of this, it makes parties and meetings so much easier.

A confluence of blogs

2010-12-30T08:57:00.000-08:00

First thing you should know about me is that I'm a Gemini (birthday's in May, start thinking about gifts now) so I have two very distinct sides to my personality. Each of them is represented by my blogs: my author blog which is this one if you couldn't tell and my dancer blog, which is www.fitballet.blogspot.com, where I talk about dance and training and post videos to help beginners.

Never have the two blogs met until now. This morning, I was reading a review of a dance movie called "A Beautiful Tragedy" on the blog, Dance Advantage. The movie is about an anorexic dancer in Russia named Oksana. The reviewer wrote about the documentary's unflinching look at ballet in Russia, where dance is taken very seriously. The dance world is notoriously stringent about weight and size yet it's accepted as a given while anorexia in the modeling world is condemned.Which brings me to this sad article from CNN.com about the death of model Isabella Caro. She was on an anti-anorexia billboard in France and even wrote a memoir called, "The Little Girl Who Did Not Want to Get Fat" about her battle with the disease from a young age.

Then, back in my writer world, I got a Google alert about an ALL ABOUT VEE mention. Here it's part of an article titled, "YA Fatphobia" in the upcoming issue of The Horn Book, which is a literary resource for teachers and librarians across the country. My novel is very positively mentioned and included among a handful of YA novels that portray plus-size characters in a positive and healthy way (thank you, writer and reviewer Kathryn Nolfi!).

And one more article from CNN.com, an interview with actress Ginnifer Goodwin ("Big Love"). She's beautiful, isn't she? She has gorgeous skin and a great career and yet, she seems to have an unhealthy attitude toward food and dieting. I know this interview is supposed to show how healthy she is but honestly, she's in the same world as my character, Veronica May. Except where my gal accepts her weight and lives beautifully, Ms. Goodwin seems to see weight as a constant battle in her life, not so very different from Ms. Caro or the Russian ballerina, Oksana. And yet, she's being portrayed as someone with a balanced life. Sorry, Ms. Goodwin, but you're just as anxious and obsessed about weight as every other actress in Hollywood.

All of these articles in one morning! And this was on top of reading the sobering statistic that 2 out of every 3 Americans is overweight or obese. No wonder! We have the worst attitudes toward food and disease and we label people and food "good" or "bad." None of these people need to make weight-loss resolutions: they need to make acceptance resolutions.

Random Thoughts on a Christmas Morning

2010-12-25T08:15:00.001-08:00

As I sip coffee from my special Christmas cup and contemplate the Christmas movies to listen to while I bake cookies this morning, I'm reminded of several things, a primary one which is I need to have breakfast *before* I cook or else I will nibble all the dough.

1. Sometimes the best holidays are the smallest ones. This recession-bordering-on-depression has taught us big lessons about living more frugally and Christmas should be no exception. I've been guilty of extravagance in the past - once when I got my very first real job out of college and the second time when I got my big job at the network - but what came of it? Sure it was fun to be able to buy whatever I wanted for people but they didn't love me or the day any more than when I was more discreet with my purchases.

2. Sometimes the best traditions are the ones you didn't grow up with. I loved putting up stockings with my parents and brother when I was a kid. I loved midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. I loved watching "It's a Wonderful Life" a million times. But in LA, we've had to create our own traditions. We watch our own versions of Christmas movies ("Die Hard," "Home Alone," Christmas Vacation," plus the usual suspects, "A Christmas Story" and "Miracle on 34th Street"). We have sushi for Christmas Eve dinner (when we're a tad more flush). And at the end of the day, we'll walk around the empty city in search of a Starbucks or Coffee Bean that's open.

3. Sometimes it's okay to do nothing on Christmas Day. There is so much pressure to do/go/buy, to visit friends and family, to attend parties and special events, to give, to receive, to be in the Christmas spirit when, in fact, you may need to do the complete opposite. A little hibernation, a little coffee-and-reading, can be the best thing to recharge your batteries and get you in the mood for the start of a new year. Who says you can't celebrate your friends and family next week instead?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone~

The latest autograph seeker is...

2010-12-12T20:41:00.000-08:00

For the writers, musicians, artists, actors and all others who have received the odd autograph requests, here is one more. Just got it today.

KOLEKCJONER AUTOGRAFÓW, AUTOGRAMM SAMMLER,
COLLECTION AUTOGRAPH, COLLEZIONISTA AUTOGRAFO,
COLLECTION AUTOGRAPHE

Knurów, 12 December 2010 r.

DEAR MS. C. LEIGH PURTILL !!!

My name is Marek Wegorzewski and I am 27 Years old.

I live in Knurów in Poland.

I am interested with the books very much.
I like read Your books.
I congratulations You many successes in life.

Since 1992 I am collecting photos with autographs from very
important people all over the world. My collection is an
enormous, about 12000 autographs. In my collection I have photos
with autographs famous actors, singers, painters, drivers, football
players, athletes, politicians, journalists and many persons.

It is possible to send me a photo with Your autograph or
autograph Ms. C. Leigh Purtill.

Thank You for You help and I am sorry for my broken
English!

Yours faithfully !

Marek Wegorzewski
ul. Ulanow 11c/11
44 194 Knurow
Polska / Poland
Europa

Personally, I like the exclamation marks after my name.

The authentic voice

2010-11-27T08:06:00.000-08:00

You know it when you read it: the genuine voice of the narrator, the characters whose dialogue pops off the page because it's so realistic, the prose that describes a summer day exactly the way you imagined it.

That's the authentic voice. That's the voice every writer strives to find when she starts a new story. When people talk about hearing their characters talking in their heads, they're listening for the voices that sound real to them.

You also know the inauthentic voice, the one that's trying too hard to sound cool and ends up desperate, the one that describes that summer day in the most pretentious $100 words, those characters who would never in a million years tell each other how they met in an actual conversation.

When you're an adult writing YA, you tread a fine line. Teens know when an adult is talking down to them, when prose and dialogue are dumbed down so they "get it." They also recognize the author who really doesn't know what teens sound like. Hint: not all teenagers swear every other word or use "like" all the time. They don't all talk about clothes and boys and sex. Lots and lots of them have cogent thoughts; lots and lots of them know what "cogent" means.

No matter what genre you're writing or how old your narrator is, it's tough to get the voice right. I am currently in the middle of a rewrite and I have changed the main character's voice dramatically. Where she used to sound very young adultish, now she sounds like an adult who is young. There is a big difference. The former made her appealing to a much younger group of readers; the latter gives her voice resonance that should appeal to a much broader group, teens and adults, I hope.

Since every book needs to be rewritten (although some not as massively as this one), I wasn't surprised to find I needed to take a closer look at my narrator's voice. Now I believe she's more authentic, more real to readers, and hopefully someone they will be able to relate to better.

The power and pain of options

2010-10-28T08:38:00.000-07:00

Back in the dark ages when I was in grade school, we learned all about the Big Bad USSR: those horrible Communists kept its pathetic citizens in rags and poverty for decades. They existed in sad living conditions and had few chances for advancement and were constantly under scrutiny by secret police.

Well, at least that's what we were taught.

The worst part for a ten year old to learn was the lack of options the Soviets had in the grocery stores. Even if the citizens had money to buy food, the shelves were often bare or they would have few choices. Those poor people! we thought. They couldn't buy Twinkies and Devil Dogs! They only had one kind of toilet paper! They might not even get chocolate milk!

As an adult now, I kind of miss the old Soviet ways. Grocery shopping is one of my least favorite activities ever. When I step into the store, I feel bombarded by choices. What soymilk do I buy? Which pasta do I choose? Why are there ten different types of tomatoes?

Maybe I'm old. Too old to shop. Which is just fine with me.

But as a writer, I love having options. I love the power of choice when I pick a character's name, her hair style, her family life and favorite color...every step of her journey is at my fingertips. The beauty of writing (and rewriting) is the ability to make any change I want at any time. As I step into the fray of a major rewrite on my current story, I have to remind myself that I can do anything I want with it. I can move scenes, delete characters, change story arcs...and make the story better, stronger, faster. Knowing I can do that is very comforting.

It's been a while since I've gotten one of these...

2010-10-26T08:13:00.000-07:00

Autograph seekers Bernd and Bobby Beckers from Germany have apparently decided *my* autograph is worthy of adding to their collection. Never mind the fact that they are supposedly teenage brothers who claim to have read my books (seriously? YA chick lit? seriously?). Like all the others I've posted about, they are from Europe and claim to want my autograph because they are fans. I did this once and saw one of my signed postcards had ended up on German eBay (for a mere 1 euro, I might add!).

So for all of you writers, actors, singers, comedians, etc. who have written to me over the past year to tell me that you too have gotten emails from the people whose names I've posted, here is the latest one to watch out for:

Dear Leigh,

our name is Bernd and Bobby. We are brothers and our hobby is collecting autographs. The small town in which we are living is Alsdorf - it`s near Aachen and Cologne. Our age is 15 and 16 years.

We are a very big fan of you, so we want to have your autograph. Please would you be so friendly, to send us 2 handsigned and inscribed pictures for our collection.

All the best for you from the 2 guys from Alsdorf

Bernd + Bobby Beckers

Here is our Adress: Bernd Beckers, Nordring 48, D-52477 Alsdorf // Germany

Sorry, Bernd and Bobby, I fell for the first one and then just kept getting these so now I (and you all) know better. I won't be so "friendly" this time.

Perfection is a road

2010-10-19T18:19:00.000-07:00

"When I have a book published, my life will be perfect."

"When I have my degree, my life will be perfect."

"When I get a new job..." You get the idea.

I'm currently working on a book that deals with the concept of perfection- personally and culturally. What makes something or someone perfect? Can we all agree on its definition? Obviously not. Your idea of perfection may be vastly different from mine. My own image of perfection is at odds with itself: Things I once thought would make my life perfect and me supremely happy are no longer applicable to my life.

Well, sure, Leigh, those things change because YOU change. Your subjective opinion changes as you acquire more experience in life and understand what's really important.

True, but even among objective notions of perfection, there are shifts in perception. An example: Nadia Comaneci received perfect 10s in the 1977 Olympics but if an Olympian were to perform her routines now, she might only get a 7 or 8. The same holds true for ice skating and other sports that are supposed to be objectively scored. What was once an unusual or difficult move that warranted a high score, like a triple axel or a backflip on the balance beam, has now become commonplace.

It makes no sense to be disappointed that things in your life are not perfect. Or even that you yourself are not perfect. That's impossible. Perfection evolves. To say you strive for perfection means only that you work to the best of your ability at that time in your life. You can never achieve it because it is always changing.

And too, don't let the fear of failing to be perfect stop you from attempting things. If you sit down to write a book or enroll in a dance class, don't expect to be perfect from the first word or step. A writer or dancer has a chance to learn new things every day and new ways to fail to be perfect!

Male YA Author Month at A Book and A Chat

2010-10-11T14:00:00.000-07:00

The amazing Barry Eva, author/raconteur/radio host, is holding "MYM" in November. Male YA Author Month! He'll be interviewing a whole month's worth of male authors and bloggers on his show, "A Book and a Chat."

If you've never experienced internet radio, it works much like real radio: Barry interviews an author or blogger via phone, and you can listen in from the website in real time and then call in with questions. You can also listen to past interviews from his archives to get a feel for how he works - and to hear all the wonderful interviews he's done! Like mine!

Barry is charming and funny and makes everyone feel at ease. It's like talking or listening to an old friend, although one who makes all the right jokes and says all the right things.

So be sure to check out MYM this upcoming month on "A Book and a Chat"!

Don't Forget November is MALE YA MONTH

Cleaning house

2010-09-28T08:01:00.000-07:00

A new post? Shocking, I know...I've been spending so much time crafting the perfect Facebook status updates that I have been neglecting my blog! Seriously, though, I've just been busy writing a first draft of a new and very different novel so any additional writing time had to be parsed out in dribs and drabs like posts on Facebook. This has really shown me where I need to cut back on my various media involvement.

I'm cleaning house.

About a year ago, I vowed to get rid of half my stuff. And I did. Clothes, books, shoes, etc. Gone. I also cleaned my workspace so I no longer write in my kitchen. I have a desk in a quiet part of my bedroom with no internet access and the kitchen stays nice and clean. We recently cleaned out the entire kitchen too, all the cupboards and drawers, donating or throwing out everything that we didn't need or hadn't used in a decade of living in LA.

And now I'm expanding that to media. I'm not going to use my MySpace anymore, sticking just to Facebook and my blog. I have my Amazon page, my GoodReads page and my blog all linked so everything gets cross-posted when I do write something.

Also, I'm dumping a lot of the television I used to watch. First of all, I don't have time- I rarely watch anything on broadcast because I teach almost every night. Everything we watch is on hulu or Netflix instant play. We tape nothing.

And second, I just don't like a lot of the shows on television, even things I used to enjoy are no longer fun. I didn't see the premiere of "Desperate Housewives" or "Medium." I watch only 2 comedies "30 Rock" and "The Office" which we get on hulu, plus whatever reality show Gordon Ramsay has at the time, also from hulu. And only 1 drama, "Fringe." Otherwise, we'll turn on Netflix instant play and dig on some Mythbusters or a documentary or movie.

But I'm not replacing any shows either. Nothing can replace LOST.

And in my car, I listen to just 2 things: whatever music I am choreographing to or...silence. I need the space and time to sort things through and I can't do that at home with the tempting interwebs.

Cleaning house. Simplifying life from the outside in. Getting rid of the stuff that tangles my home and car and workspace. And hopefully that will help me untangle my brain too.

What to do at the West Hollywood Book Fair?

2010-09-23T08:26:00.000-07:00

This Sunday is the 9th Annual West Hollywood Book Fair! Whoo-hoo! I have attended every year since it began and have become more and more involved in it each year. It's hard not to! There are so many terrific authors and panels and stage events, plus booths galore and lots of fun kid activities. Oh yeah, and food trucks too!

Many of you are probably wondering, how can I navigate so many great things in one place? Simple. Plan ahead! Don't want to do it yourself? Then follow me! This is where I will be at the fair from open to close (10AM -6PM):

@10:45, I'll be checking out LAYA Allison Burnett on a panel at the Open Book Pavilion called "When Gays Write Straight and Vice Versa"
@10:50, I'll watch my friend Rachel Olivier moderate a panel at the Sci Fi/Fantasy Pavilion called "Other Worlds, Other Realms" with authors Frank Beddor, PJ Haarsma, and Francesca Lia Block
@11:15, YA book blogger Ashley Thompson will interview Jay Asher on the Teen Stage so I'll introduce them
@11:50, Le Studio's Ballet Company will perform Alice in Wonderland on the Kids Stage so of course I'll be there
@12:45, Ashley will interview LAYA Alexa Young on the Teen Stage and I'll be introducing them too
@1:25, I'll host a LAYA event - live book trailers for contemporary authors Amy Koss, Jonathan Bernstein, Allen Zadoff and Lauren Strasnick on the Teen Stage
@3, LAYA Mark Williams will be on a panel in the Current Events Pavilion called "Books, Blogs and Beyond" about e-publishing
@3:45, I'll introduce Ashley again as she interviews Allison Burnett on the Teen Stage
@4:05, we'll have a second LAYA book trailer event on the Teen Stage, featuring authors Carolyn Cohagan, Michael Reisman and Tracy Trivas

In between I'll be at the LAYA booth - be sure to swing by and vote for your school's library to win a basket of amazing YA books from Los Angeles authors - where we'll also have these terrific writers hanging around and giving out candy (it's okay - you can take candy from them!) :

Susan Casey, Amy Koss, Alexa Young, Katie Alender, Ben Esch, Tracy Trivas, Carolyn Cohagan, Carol Tanzman, Allison Burnett, Michael Reisman, Allen Zadoff, Anna Hays, Andrew Smith, Jonathan Bernstein, Cherry Cheva, Lauren Strasnick, Mark Williams, James Mihaley, and Carol Snow and Sally Nemeth, who will also be selling our books.

Whew! What a day! See you there~

Murder Weather

2010-09-07T08:31:00.001-07:00

I wrote this short story about a year or so ago when the weather was super hot and everything made me want to scream. Combined with my previous short, I Brake For Whales, I am definitely headed in a non-YA, non-chicklit way with my shorter work. It's easier to maintain that creepy feeling with short work, I find, perhaps because I usually get into humorous terrain when I start to write a longer story. The story I am working on now, however, is neither short nor humorous nor light. Hmmmm...

Murder Weather on Scribd

West Hollywood Book Fair 2010

2010-08-31T08:09:00.000-07:00

Day/Time: Sunday, September 26, 10AM - 6PM
Where: West Hollywood Park, San Vicente Blvd, West Hollywood, CA
Who: AWESOME AUTHORS AND DANCERS AND BLOGGERS AND PERFORMERS!

This year I am on the teen stage subcommittee so I had some input on the events on the stage - which was both a lot of pressure and a lot of fun! I was able to bring some friends in who are local authors to present live "book trailers," a blogger named Ashley Thompson from Oregon to interview some big-name authors, my ballet company to perform "Alice in Wonderland," and I also helped put some people on panels. Oh yeah, and I'm coordinating the Los Angeles Young Adult Authors (LAYA) booth with Sally Nemeth. Whew!

It's still a month away but we are working very hard to put these events together and I think it's going to be a terrific day. I will post the schedule of events soon but if anyone wants more info so they can plan their visit, go to the Book Fair web site.

Writing updates - useful or painful?

2010-07-17T08:04:00.000-07:00

One of the things I enjoy most about reading my friend Christina's blog are her writing updates. She always has a ton of projects going at once and she has the ability to flip from one to the other depending on which muse is visiting her (or which type of chocolate she has consumed!). Reading about her progress or how she's gotten stymied by a certain chapter or character or plot point reminds me that writing is not always a naturally linear process.

Just because I have written all of my books that way doesn't mean that this book or that story will follow the same path. Every book, every story is unique and sometimes you find the kernels of it in different ways or at different times. Let's face it, novels take a long time to write and you have to love your characters and story enough to spend a lot of time with them. Sometimes you fall out of love and sometimes you find someone new and sometimes you simply lose interest. The best surprises are those that make you re-imagine your story or character in a new way. Those are exciting moments that I live for, that I write for.

Now, on the flip side...Facebook/Twitter writing updates depress me. When I read that someone has hit a particular mark of X number of words for that day or he or she has finished X draft or X copy edits or what have you, I feel my shoulders slump. Why is that, I wonder. It's not a competitive issue at all. I have completed 8 novels and 10 short stories and I typically write between 1K and 2K words per day.

I think it's contextual. Reading Christina's progress, because she goes into greater depth and reveals her own personal feelings about her writing, her ups and downs, her happiness and disappointment, connects me more to her writing than a simple Facebook status update.

And this in turn reminds me that, more than anything else, we need a personal connection to character and story.

Guest blog: Sean McCartney

2010-07-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Sean McCartney is a debut novelist whose book, "The Treasure Hunters Club: Secrets of the Magical Medallions" released July 6. He's on a blog tour to promote the novel and to introduce himself to the blogging/reading world. His website, by the way, is terrific so do check that out! And be sure to take a look at his book's trailer which is at the bottom of this post! Looks like fun...

Without further ado, here is Sean to tell us all about himself and his book:

First off I would like to thank Leigh for allowing me to talk with all of you. This is my first blog so it is quite exciting for me.

My name is Sean McCartney and I’m currently on a blog tour to promote my new young adult action adventure novel entitled THE TREASURE HUNTERS CLUB: SECRETS OF THE MAGICAL MEDALLIONS. It’s being released on July 6^th, 2010 from Mountainland Publishing.

The story is about Tommy Reed and his treasure hunting friends Shannon McDougal, Jackson Miller and Chris Henderson. One day Tommy receives a rather ordinary looking medallion from his very famous treasure-hunting uncle “Diamond” Jack Reed and finds himself the object of an evil treasure collector named Manuel de la Ernesto. Now Tommy and his friends must find the secret behind the medallion before Manuel can get to them and the medallion.

When I set out to write The Treasure Hunters Club: Secrets of the Magical Medallions I wanted to pull together all the things from books and movies that I liked. The mystery of the Hardy Boys and Encyclopedia Brown, the adventure of Percy Jackson, a little magic from Harry Potter and the action and history of the movies Indiana Jones and National Treasure.

Though this is the first book in the Treasure Hunters Club series, with your help to make it a success, the next books will follow. I have planned six treasure hunting books as they follow the club through the 8^th grade and into high school. Of course, as they get older their treasure hunts get more dangerous and more exciting.

I have been asked why I created a series around treasure hunting. The truth is I believe treasure hunting is something everyone can do. You don’t need super powers just a desire to do research and find where to look. Also treasure hunting touches on the sidebars of history, the stuff not in the textbooks. That is usually the most interesting and provides a solid building block for the series.

My goal has always been to be published and have a series that kids can enjoy and have a lot of fun reading. I was lucky to find a publisher who believes in the series as much as I do. What I was surprised to find out was how much the publishing world has changed since I started this journey toward “being published.” The emergence of ebooks has shaken the publishing world like never before and I believe we have only scratched the surface of what this new technology can do to help promote reading.

In the meantime, I hope you take a moment to check out my website www.treasurehuntersclubbook.com and learn more about the series and read some short stories about the characters.

Thank you again for this opportunity and allowing me to be here and I hope you enjoy the book and the series.

Thanks,

Sean

And thank you, Sean! I am a huge fan of the National Treasure movies so this sounds right up my alley. I hope you all enjoyed reading a bit about Sean and his book and that you'll jump right over to his website to learn more. And check out the trailer below to inspire you to read (or hunt for some treasure yourself!):

An actual post about writing

2010-07-01T08:20:00.000-07:00

I never write about writing, primarily because it seems redundant and time-consuming. Why write about your work-in-progress when you could be writing it?

Currently, though, I've become stuck. I was coasting along for about 150 pages or so (a slow beginning but I am building a world that has lots of rules) and then I hit a rut. Instead of cranking out the pages like I usually do, I started slowing down. 1K words a day, then 500, then a paragraph tweak and I was finished. The weird thing about it was that I still loved the story! I do! I love it and I can't wait to write some of the really cool things that happen. When I'm away from the story, driving in my car or walking or otherwise not engaged in writing, I feel excited and I can't wait to get back to it. But then, with the computer in front of me, I...get...stuck.

I think I finally figured out the problem(s).

First of all, my book is in 3 sections. I love most of the first. The second must be dramatically different- darker and edgier and less optimistic. Right now, it's not. It's too much like the first section. This is why I'm finding it drag, because it's more of the same and it shouldn't be.

Second, this means rewriting before I finish. I *never* do this. Like never ever EVER. I always finish a draft before rewriting anything. Unless I can do a search-and-replace easily, I keep notes and then make changes in the next draft. But I know I can't do this. I have to get in there and change some things before I can move forward. This also prevents me from writing full out.

Third, I have a structural issue. As I said, the book is in 3 parts BUT there is also information that must be revealed and I can't figure out how to do it. I hate prologues. They're usually just info dumps. And in my book, I am using a first person POV - whose POV would the prologue be from? So I need to parse out these bits but how? In what form?

And fourth, although this is a fairly simple story, it has complex themes and lots of backstory that informs what happens (see above structural issue). Even I, the creator, don't have a complete handle on all of it. I'm finding it's a little too complicated right now and I think I might need to pare down some of it to make it easier to understand. Um, okay. How do I do that?

If you can't tell, I'm working on a story that is very different from my previously-published books, something I hope will be darker and edgier and appeal to a wider audience, maybe even guys! So it's slow-going. And lots of work.

And now that I've identified the problems, I have even more work to do.

Random Thoughts on a Friday

2010-06-18T07:16:00.000-07:00

I'm no Luddite but...I think it's a bad sign that my Bluetooth software doesn't recognize my voice when I'm sick. What if it dials "pizza" in an emergency instead of "police"?

I'm no rocket scientist but...I think they should be able to invent a new plastic bag for cereal boxes so it won't explode when you open it. It never rips along the right seam and then little bits of cereal get stuck outside the bag and get stale.

I'm no activist but...I think those whalers who are skirting international law by fishing for whales in the Antarctic by claiming to be doing "research" on them when really they are selling the meat commercially in Japan should be brought up on charges. It's a shameful action.

In case you were wondering...

2010-06-12T08:26:00.000-07:00

I got a Google alert not long ago that my name/book title/website were mentioned/linked/taken in vain and it turned out to be a book review blog called "Slightly Bookish." The blogger, a girl named Maddz, posted a super nice review of LOVE, MEG (thank you very much!) on her blog along with a photo of the title page with some scribbles on it.

Click here to see the photo.

She wanted to know what it said. So I wrote to her and I told her that was my signature. Somehow she had gotten a signed copy of my book at Books-A-Million. Now, when you're an author and you have a book in stores, you visit a lot of them and you sign stock if they have yours there so they can slap the "Signed Copy!" stickers on them and place them in a prominent location (you hope). I certainly did when my books came out - more so when MEG came out than when VEE did.

But here's the weird thing: I've never been in a Books-A-Million so I have *no* idea where Maddz' store got that copy. Any thoughts from anyone?

So there you go...a lesson for all of us: keep an eye out for signed copies of books even in chain stores. You just never know!

And if you're reading this, Maddz, thanks for that awesome review of my book. That was such a wonderful thing to read. It really lifted my spirits!

Reading while writing

2010-06-10T07:56:00.000-07:00

I would venture to say most writers will acknowledge that they don't read when they are in the midst of a project. That is, they won't read something similar to what they're working on or in the same genre. But it seems like we are always in the middle of a project, aren't we? And when we aren't, we may be in a lull for another reason, like perhaps we're choreographing the ballet, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" so we don't even have the brainpower or time to get a book from the library or store.

When I recently returned to my WIP, a dystopian YA, it had been months since I'd read a book. I was consciously avoiding anything similar, which is incredibly hard because dystopian novels are ones I am particularly drawn to read. Some of my very favorites are Susan Beth Pfeffer's "Life As We Knew It" and Suzanne Collins' "The Hunger Games." Both of those books have sequels I'm dying to read but as I am in the middle of this book, I can't distract myself (or depress myself because, let's face it, those books are wonderful and if I can't get mine in shape like that, I'll be really unhappy) . But neither do I want to read any happy-go-lucky sunshine-y books. First of all, those books are not my cup of tea but second of all, I don't want to be taken out of a mood that might help me write.

So I guess I need to stay depressed.

Who else to turn to but Stephen King? In his book "On Writing," King reminds us that if we want to write, we must read. MUST. That's like, rule number one: Writers Must Read. You should never trust a writer who says he never reads. Bad writer, bad, bad writer. So I gave myself permission to read. In a used bookstore, I picked up a copy of "Duma Key," a novel of King's from a couple years back. I have on my home bookshelf some other unread King novels but "Duma Key" called to me from the store shelf and it was only a quarter.

It sat on my table for a week before I picked it up. And of course I couldn't put it down. King is a master storyteller, that goes without saying, and this book drew me in from the first page. Within a day or two I was already past the halfway mark. But beyond the enjoyment of the novel as a story, I was surprised to find the book had resonance in my writing. Not because it influenced my writing per se but it made me passionate about my story again. I had taken some time away from the manuscript for various reasons, not the least of which was the show I was working on, but also because I had started to lose my thread. I was wandering around picking at a sentence here and there but I couldn't fall back into it - and that's exactly what I wanted to do, what I needed to do.

I was stalled and King's book started the engine. This has been revelatory to me because I had steadfastly refused to read other people's work while writing my own - now I realize I can read to reignite my own passion.

Birthdays and milestones

2010-06-01T07:52:00.000-07:00

But I don't want to grow up yet!

Recently, two items surfaced that are making me question my own concept of adulthood: my friend Rachel blogged today about milestones and a CNN article listed 10 things that mark you as having become an adult.

I glibly commented to Rachel that I hadn't grown up yet because I wasn't a parent, nor did I own a home or an IRA. As for that CNN article, I certainly haven't yet "made peace with my body" nor have I "learned how to handle the tough times." Really? Does mastery of those 2 things seriously identify us as grownups?

Last week was my birthday and I pushed aside any celebration of it because I was too busy with a new teaching schedule and a show I was producing but now that's over and I have time to think about it. It was kind of a big birthday or could be considered one, I suppose, but I don't know how or if I will celebrate it. I'm a big fan of Disneyland which isn't far from me but does an adult with no kids celebrate that way? How should grownups celebrate birthdays? Or should they at all?

I believe the definition of being an adult needs to be more fluid. For those of us who do not have traditional 9-5 jobs or traditional families or lifestyles, we need our own way to mark passages, or milestones, as Rachel says. We need a more flexible accounting of our achievements so we don't feel like we are still kids.

Challenging mediocrity

2010-05-21T12:48:00.000-07:00

Change is in the air...and in my pen. I can feel it - and it makes me anxious. You know the phrase, "growing pains"? When you're a child, it refers to physical pain in your muscles, not from the actual growth of bones, which doesn't really hurt, but from the increased stress of running and jumping on a growing body. It ends when your body has reached maturity.

The key word is maturity. A child is growing into an adult, becoming a realized human being - brain and body growing together. The same is true of a career, especially as a writer. It's easy - and smart - to write what you know when you first start out. The words flow easily and you have no trouble moving from scene to scene, beginning to end. That's wise. You want to keep things easygoing when you start because too much research or stylistic choices can bog you down and keeping you from finishing and you need to finish.

However, once you know how to write a book - and you know you can finish a book and edit it and rewrite it over and over again - then you can mature. Only then can you really stretch your wings and reach for the stars or whatever naturalistic metaphor you choose to use.

But it can be painful. I know I can mature - I believe I have the ideas and the skills to fulfill them to their potential - but I also know it will be difficult. It scares me to let go of the writing I know without having the new writing completely under my control. But what is my alternative? Continue to write the same sort of thing over and over again? Lots of writers do that. I'm sure you can think of many bestselling novelists who do this. You know what you're getting when you get their books.

But without growth, without change, without maturity, why bother? I would rather read something that someone has taken a chance on, something that is outside their comfort zone, outside my comfort zone, and has failed miserably, than read the same thing again. Because even if that author crapped out the first time he stretched, the next time will be better. And the next better, and so on.

That's what I want for myself. I want to grow and mature and be a writer like the ones I have admired for all of my life. Being mediocre is the most egregious sin any writer can commit. Rise above it and take a risk.

May - the month I just have to get through

2010-05-14T12:55:00.000-07:00

Ever have one of those days when you have so much to do, so many things on your list and crowding your mind, that the message you keep hearing is, "Just gotta get through the day..."?

Well, that's my month. With two shows for the studio - a recital this weekend and then the company's first dance concert (ack!!) in two weeks - my to-do list overflows. Add to that the new classes I am teaching 4 mornings a week and I have dance combination overload! That's what happens when you have so many dance steps in your head that you get confused which ones you are doing. It's especially awkward when you're taking someone else's class! A big LOL there!!

Pretty much all my free brain time is spent designing dance classes: barre and center combinations that somehow coordinate, plus making some easier or harder depending on the level of the class. And oh yeah, trying to figure when to take classes for myself! I have to refresh my body somehow, too.

So where is writing during all of this? It's there but sporadically and incrementally. Usually I have a book outlined and can plow through 2K-2.5K per day, for an average of 10K per week. I love to rush out a wordy first draft and then shave it all away. But during this month, I feel like I am eking out a word at a time, not even a scene but just a description or two. And the book itself is a tough one, in a genre I love but have never spent much time writing.

Complex subject + minimal time = infinitesimal daily word count

In fact, I shouldn't even do word count. Maybe idea count. Because I still think about the story. I still plan it and imagine it and care about my characters. I just need time to sink myself into it. And honestly, that won't happen until May is over. I just have to live with that, even if I don't like it.

In which I promote another person's blog...

2010-05-08T08:01:00.000-07:00

Namely, In Bed With Books whose fab writer/reviewer/reader extraordinaire is Liviania. Recently, she has begun a feature that I think is a terrific idea. She calls it "Best Authors You Aren't Reading." Her post today is about Patrice Kindl whose books and whose name I have never heard before.

From a reader's perspective, I love getting recommendations for books and authors whose names are not widely known. I often get disappointed with the big books that everyone is reading. Inevitably, they become so huge that you have to read them but they can't possibly live up to your expectations. The unknowns can pleasantly surprise you and then you have a new favorite author and their backlist!

From an author's standpoint, I love hearing about unsung writers. I want to know the gems that got swept under the publishing rug for various reasons. Maybe it was a small press without a lot of marketing push, maybe it was similar to another book that was more popular, maybe it preceded a trend but didn't start it. Who knows? Sometimes in reading the author's work, you get a sense of what might have gone wrong for him or her.

Great idea, Liviania! Can't wait to read Patrice's work and to hear about the next author you'll discover for us!

Leigh linkage!

2010-05-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

Oddly enough, a couple of interviews I did a while back have come out at the same time. Just when you thought it was safe to peruse the internet without seeing my name...I bring you:

1 - An interview with me at BBW Reviews, a blog dedicated to books that celebrate women with curves! If you comment, you can win one of the books they have available. So, go ahead and comment!!

2 - An article about digital publishing for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) publication for its members written by the amazing author Mark London Williams! A few months ago, I had the pleasure of being a guest at Mark's creative writing class at Disney where we had an intense and lively discussion about the future of publishing. Mark wrote about our discussion and why I decided to put THE RISE OF GINNY COOPER, my sequel to ALL ABOUT VEE, online through The Story Siren. I'd love to link here but it's a members-only document so I am waiting to hear from Mark about linking just his article.

Renaissance woman or specialist?

2010-05-01T07:56:00.000-07:00

St. Hildegard, a 12th C Renaissance woman

I have never wanted to be limited in what I do or write. I have always prided myself on having pursued a number of careers, living in a bunch of cool cities, basically being what one of my students called a "Renaissance woman." I like setting goals for myself and then accomplishing them and moving on. Whether it was attending graduate film school, getting jobs in the film and television industries, or publishing two novels with a major publishing house, I have worked hard and seen results (for the most part, they've been positive!).

"Setting goals and meeting them" - great, right? But what about the "moving on" part of the equation?

The flip side of being a Renaissance woman or man is the perception that you are a "jack of all trades, master of none." In other words, by continually moving on and not specializing in a career or a job, you are assumed to lack stability or focus. Would an employer want to hire someone whose resume makes them look like they have career ADD?

The assumption is that the person who keeps trying different things is one who gives up before mastering each of them. Perhaps the person is lazy or unwilling to put in the time and effort necessary to achieve success.

But what about the person who does succeed at the task and who moves on because he's bored or because he has a lot of things he wants to accomplish in this lifetime? That's the category I put myself in. There are so many things to do in this world - work, travel, write, dance - that I can't possibly stop with just one or two or five. I want to keep changing, keep moving, keep experiencing new things and meeting new people. How else do you have subjects to write about? If I stayed in my small town in Connecticut or even in Boston or New York, if I had stayed in the small engineering firms and teaching at the small studios, if I'd never gone back to graduate school, where would I be now? A master of marketing? Maybe the owner of a small studio myself?

I have most definitely given up the opportunity for a steadily increasing paycheck, a pension for retirement, a more profitable and stable job, perhaps the chance to own a home...and sometimes, like this week for instance, I wonder if I made the right choice to embrace continuous change. Today, yeah, I do feel some regret but tomorrow, I might not. Hopefully, the good will outweigh the bad in the long run.

That's the chance you take in being a Renaissance woman.

Trying on a character for size

2010-04-26T07:59:00.000-07:00

Generally speaking, I'm a pretty nice person. A nice friend, teacher, daughter, wife...not to say I don't have my sparkling moments of snarkitude because we all do, but as a rule, I try to be nicer than not.

However, not all my characters are. Recently I was finishing a book whose protagonist was a queen bee type in her high school. She's the sort who is very competitive, even with her friends, and who expects that she will always get the prize. Always. And if she doesn't, she is NOT happy.

She also speaks her mind, whether it offends or not. Speak first, apologize later, I suppose is her personal mantra. And if you don't have to apologize, so much the better. I spent a couple of months in her head, writing her story (which is a lot of fun, actually, not nasty or anything), so her thoughts must have intruded upon mine this weekend.

I was in a situation that could have gone one of two ways: nice or nasty. And Leigh, of course, is always nice and tactful. But Ashleigh, my character, is not. The scene was not directly out of the book but it could have been since it was a setting with people that would have been familiar to Ashleigh. A friend asked me a question about a mutual acquaintance and rather than respond as genial Leigh, I said what honest Ashleigh would have! It was most certainly blunt and to the point, a little rude, actually, and it shocked the hell out of my friend who was clearly expecting Leigh to answer her, not this other person.

In the moment, I didn't care and I felt quite superior and queen bee-ish, but I regretted it immediately afterward and made a mental note to apologize when I see my friend next but it only occurred to me this morning that I was acting like Ashleigh! That was Ashleigh talking, not me. I've written lots of different characters but most of them are genuinely nice people. Meg Shanley, Veronica May, Callie Bellflower, Kari Manning...nice girls. This was the first time I had written an entire novel from the POV of a not-so-nice person. I wonder what would happen if I wrote a book whose main character was a killer. Now THAT could be an interesting situation.

No fiction allowed

2010-04-18T08:27:00.000-07:00

This is an appalling situation. Simply flabbergasting.

I can't read. Not literally, of course, but I can't seem to get my head around reading fiction. Last weekend I finally finished "Olive Kittredge" by Elizabeth Strout, a Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of short stories that are woven around a character named Olive. Wonderful book. Truly. But I started it months ago.

A few weeks ago I read "Hush, Hush" by Becca Fitzpatrick and "Elphame's Choice" by PC Cast, two books which had been loaned to me by a young friend. Both held my interest enough that I finished them in a weekend. But I didn't want to read anything beyond that.

I have about a hundred books on my to-read list, among them the sequel to "Hunger Games," the most recent Vampire Academy book, the last Stephen King novel, some Neil Gaiman, and on and on, but I can't wrap my brain around fiction right now. I am trying to write a very complex book (complex by my standards) in a slightly different genre than I am used to working in (but one I have loved since I was a kid) so it takes all of my brainpower to focus on my own story.

I've been telling myself that I just don't have time to read. I don't have excess brain capacity to read. And besides, when I'm in the middle of writing something, I don't want to be influenced by anyone else's style.

But there's more to it than that. I have absolutely zero interest in reading fiction. I was impressed by Strout's book but not inspired by it and that's odd for me. Typically I get all fired up when I read a great book - it makes me want to write well too.

No, the reason I'm not reading is that I'm afraid to read. I'm afraid to read something really terrific because I fear my writing won't live up to it. I'm afraid to read something really bad because it will make me angry it was published and my most recent books have not.

Whether you're writing or not, sometimes reading fiction is just not happening. Anyone else ever feel that way?

Wanted: personal chef with good imagination

2010-04-11T15:44:00.000-07:00

I look in my cupboards and see capers. A box of arborio rice. A can of kidney beans. Crisco, flour and confectioner's sugar. Three boxes of pancake mix - two open and one closed, two plain and one blueberry.

I don't eat pancakes.

I look in my fridge and spot a jar of green olives with pimentos. Fresh, pink ginger. Pesto. Tahini. Several bottles of beer.

I don't drink alcohol.

I look in my freezer and find a bag of baby lima beans because adult-size ones apparently aren't tasty enough. A box of potato pancakes from the turn of the century.

More pancakes?

In a drawer are two one-pound bags of lentils, pasta shaped like baseballs and bats, and unshelled pistachios.

What does any of this mean? What do I do with it all? Is there any possible way to put together meals with these items? Or should I just give up and order a pizza?

Sometimes I feel this way about writing: I have awesome characters, a fascinating world, cool scenes - but no cohesive story. I have spent hours and hours and days and weeks trying to make it all work. Frustrating? Yes. Impossible to fix? Argh, yes!

But not now...now I have all of those things and a story that knits them all together. Wow. I'm a little nervous. And excited. And nervous.

Special birthdays

2010-04-07T08:24:00.000-07:00

Do you have one of those friends who celebrates every "big" birthday in a major way? Like 18, 21, 30, 40, etc.? Or maybe you're one of those people yourself? Personally, I was never a fan of milestone birthday celebrations because it seemed like so much pressure: pressure on the people giving it to make it awesome, pressure on the people attending to come up with extra special gifts or cards, pressure on me to enjoy it by drinking/eating/laughing longer and harder than at every other birthday.

Not to mention the pressure of what comes after...being the new age. "Now that you're 18..." "Now that you're 21..." and so on. Has something so intrinsic changed inside me now that another year has passed? Has a switch inside me flipped on - or off - so I should be acting differently?

Recently a friend turned 30 and her husband asked Mo and me to come up with some words of what it was like when we turned 30, or what we wished when we turned 30, etc. Something poignant or maybe even practical. Like, "When I turned thirty I started using moisturizer on my elbows" or something like that.

I wrote her a note about how I became funny when I turned 30. And I don't mean I was all of a sudden a comedian of Ellen proportions, telling jokes and doing stand-up. I was, for much of my life, a very serious person. And I was known for being a serious person. It wasn't that I didn't have a sense of humor or I didn't like comedy but my persona, the outward expression of my being, was a serious one. I read smart literature, watched foreign movies, spent my time in the pursuit of scholarly-type things. And that's pretty much what my parents and everyone expected me to be. I wrote serious things, too, that must go without saying.

But when I turned 30, I suddenly realized I had a funny side. I could write amusing things, wry dialogue, hilarious situations, and I could be funny in my personal life, too. Best of all, I discovered I could make other people laugh, which was something I had never even attempted before. And gosh, I loved that. How awesome was it to say something aloud that could make another person giggle? It was a huge change for me!

The friend to whom I wrote this note is a very sunny and cheerful person who happens to laugh a lot and make clever jokes so turning 30 for her will not mean the exact same thing. I suppose what I meant by my note was that, when I turned 30, I discovered something new about myself, something I never knew was inside me, and I hoped that the same might happen to her.

Random Thoughts on a Friday

2010-04-02T12:37:00.000-07:00

Cheesy random goodness

Did you know April is Grilled Cheese Month?

1. "Clash of the Titans" must remain cheesy, with crummy special effects, lots of horrendous overacting, and gives-you-splinters-it's-so-wooden dialogue. Any movie that attempts to rise above the original Harry Hamlin/stop-motion animation extravaganza should not be gifted with the title "Clash of the Titans."

2. Recent celebrity cheese is so boring. Jesse James cheated on Sandra Bullock? His name is Jesse. James. Why do his actions surprise anyone? Same with Ricky Martin...gay? Yeah, we knew that a decade ago. Anna Paquin is bisexual? Who honestly cares? She's cute but seriously, her announcement has no impact on anyone except girls and guys who might want to date her.

3. I love me some reality show cheese and I'm not talking about American Idol which I haven't seen all season. Sunday nights = Trump Apprentice cheese. Oh yeah, those D-list celebs whose names I barely recognize (except for the awesome Cyndi Lauper) are hilarious as their massive egos clash. Hey, maybe the show should be renamed "Clash of the Egos"!

4. My new favorite Parmesan comes from Australia. Two words for this cheese from Trader Joe's: Yum. Mee. Grates nicely for pasta, cubes well for a salad. Sorry, Italy, there's a new cheese Down Under.

Fun with Google

2010-03-27T07:41:00.000-07:00

When I review mywebsite stats, I love to see the many countries people are coming from. I also love to see how they found my site. Sometimes it's book related for either of my novels or celebrity-related because of my Celebrity Sightings page. Many come from links from other sites where I was mentioned.

And then there are the random Googlings...recently, I saw someone had Googled "do you smile in the mirror". Just like that, those 6 words together within quotation marks. And lo and behold, my site is the ONLY SITE that comes up on Google. It doesn't seem like much but go ahead and put in any other combination of words - or your name, for instance - and you will get hundreds, thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of hits. Not all will be relevant but Google is all over the world and it has access to millions of websites and blogs and everything under the sun that it searches when you enter your terms in that blank box.

But this particular phrase? Just *one* site: mine. How bizarre is that?

And in case you were wondering, the phrase was in a celebrity sighting post I wrote about spotting a star in a bathroom. Of course, now, if you put that phrase into Google you will also get this blog post. But then, seriously? Just 2 hits? Still bizarre.

Random Thoughts on a Friday

2010-03-19T07:59:00.000-07:00

No time for random thoughts? Ha! All my thoughts have been random this week!

Actually, the biggest thing on my mind has been the future of publishing, not simply my own publishing, although that's there too, but the big picture as well. So many writers wonder about e-books, about digital publishing, about self-publishing...what will happen to us? Will we continue to publish? Will the internet be the Great Equalizer? Will there be publishing houses with marketing budgets and so on to support us?

Here are some of my random thoughts on the subject:

1. We're looking at the wrong model. Everyone has been pointing to the music industry as an example of what could happen to books and writers: authors posting music for free on YouTube or selling for a buck a song on iTunes and then making money back on t-shirt sales and live appearances. Instead, look to the film industry and screenwriting. Back in the early 80s when computers were hitting the marketplace and there were software programs like Final Draft, everyone thought they could be a screenwriter. Pros were worried the crap would flood the marketplace and overwhelm the good stuff. Well, 20 years later, has it? No. Big movies are still financed in big ways but the rise of the independent filmmaker has meant smaller movies get seen too.

This is what will happen with publishing: the big houses will continue to support the (few) big authors and their books but we will see more indie presses going digital - saves money on printing that they can use to promote books.

2. Agents will be with us for a long time. As with big film studios, big publishing houses will lay off workers, simple as that, as they struggle to streamline. They already have and they will continue to do so. They still will publish and they still need gatekeepers. These are the agents who will continue to sift through the flotsam of manuscripts and proposals to find the gems.

This is what will happen with publishing: houses will declare a no-slush policy across the board and agents will be more important than ever in discovering new talent.

3. Follow the Slamdance model. Sure there are the big film festivals like Cannes and Sundance but all over the world, in small towns and large, there are film events that allow indie filmmakers to present their wares. A small film that might not get noticed at Austin might get some acclaim in Akron. The same is true of books: smaller book fairs can promote smaller books and debut authors who could go on to bigger and better things.

This is what will happen with publishing: more authors will be discovered in smaller towns' festivals and their books can then be promoted on the web, rather than with big marketing plans.

4. Lose the stigma of self-pubbing. When I lived in NYC, I worked on a bunch of films that were independently financed: money from friends and family, shot in a short time with non-union crews. Some of those scripts were utter junk while some were terrific and the directors went on to do bigger things. But no one batted an eye when you said where the money came from. The goal was to make a good movie. This is like self-publishing. Who cares if the book is good, right?

This is what will happen with publishing: the wheat will be separated from the chaff by the public.

"Would you ever eat one of those cakes?"

2010-03-14T08:36:00.000-07:00

"Oh heavens no..."

One of my favorite shows is The Simpsons, long may it reign on Sunday nights, and one of my very favorite episodes involved Bart sitting with Mrs. Skinner after he's done a chore for her and is waiting to be paid. I think she pays him in ribbon candy. Anyway, she's showing him an album of photos of cakes that she's cut out of magazines and cookbooks. He asks her if she ever ate any of those cakes and she replies, "Oh heavens no..."

This is a long way of saying that I loooooove reading recipes in magazines, cookbooks, newspapers, and online but I never make any of them. I love pictures too, especially when the cooks show the ingredients and steps they take, not merely the finished product. I love watching cooking shows on television, especially PBS which has loads of old Julia Child-Jacques Pepin episodes. I love travel shows that involve cooking like Anthony Bourdain and Man Vs. Food. I love Gordon Ramsay's shows like Kitchen Nightmares (the British version is best) and Hell's Kitchen and I love reading restaurant reviews, even for places in cities and countries I will never visit. Ever. In my life.

But I rarely make anything more sophisticated than pasta with vegetables. I don't eat meat or cream sauces or dessert. And most nights of the week, I have a salad because I get home from class very late and don't want anything heavy before bed.

So why on earth am I a voyeur when it comes to food? I don't know. But here is a link to one of my very favorite recipe blogs, Smitten Kitchen. I actually did use a recipe from this site, a muffin recipe, I believe, and they came out great. Love the pictures, too.

Any SoCal book bloggers out there?

2010-03-09T08:06:00.001-08:00

Book fair Teen Stage

First things first...I'm on the planning committee for the West Hollywood Book Fair, which is an awesome gathering of writers, readers, and artists every September. I have attended each year since it started and watched it grow year after year. Great authors, great panels, great performances! And books books books!

This is my second year on the committee and I'm really excited because I have a terrific idea for the teen stage. I'd like to see a young adult book blogger conduct a real life interview on the stage with a popular YA author (there are a few awesome names being considered...!!).

So if you're a YA book blogger and you're a teen and close enough to LA or will be in the LA area on September 27, I'd love to hear from you!

The EW Cover article

2010-03-07T08:03:00.000-08:00

I must have heard from three separate people about the Entertainment Weekly article about misleading book covers. Apparently journalist Kate Ward wrote about covers for some of the books about plus-size characters that feature models who are nowhere near that size.

Um, this is startling news to people? I wish Ms. Ward had talked to me. Those of us who read these books know the cover models never resemble the actual characters. Marketing people evidently think we won't buy books if the covers have people who look like what we're about to read. The YA world recently has been rocked by Bloomsbury's covers for Justine Larbalestier's "Liar" and for "Magic Under Glass" by Jaclyn Dolamore. Both book covers featured white models representing characters who were of color. The issue became so heated that the publisher had to go back and reprint the books with different covers. While Dolamore didn't say anything publicly, Larbalestier certainly did, making sure everyone knew she was not a proponent of her original misleading cover.

When ALL ABOUT VEE was published, I too spoke up about the cover model. As gorgeous as she is, she is not anywhere near the size of my Veronica May. I was told that was the modeling world's version of plus-size. I asked students and readers wherever I went about that cover and all of them said the same thing: she looks average size.

From a writer's point of view, of course we want people to buy and read our books so we want marketing to do whatever they can to make the book more appealing to readers. But we created characters who were large (or Asian or disabled, etc.) for a reason. The character acts and talks and moves a certain way because of how we designed them. We want the reader to feel something about that character and their appearance is a big deal.

Did my novel not sell as many books as it could have if the model looked truly plus-size, a 217 lb woman instead of a 140 lb woman? I will never know.

How This Crummy Economy Has Affected My Driving

2010-03-05T11:50:00.000-08:00

...and other ways I try to save money.

I'm a responsible person, always have been. The kind who never pays late fees on video rentals or library fees on books; in fact, most of my adult life has been pretty much fee-free. But now that I have very few pennies coming in and I have to watch every single one of them extremely closely, I have become super-duper cautious about most things that could require me to fork out some cash.

1. Such as driving. Do you know how much a red-light camera ticket costs? Almost 500 bucks! Same with a rolling stop at a stop sign and crossing a pedestrian crosswalk when someone is in it. Major bucks for minor transgressions like parking tickets at expired meters or stopping in red zones or having a back taillight out (how can I know it's out? It's behind me!). Then there's speeding which can cost you serious money. The state of California is out of money and they're bumping up fees for just about everything. I don't even want to tell you how much it costs to get your car out of a tow lot after it's been taken away. {shudder} Well, they're not getting my money! I am being so careful everywhere I go.

Not to mention watching my speed on the freeways - that eats up gas too! And quick starts and stops. Who needs to beat that jerk at the light? Let him go. You can waste your money and the earth's natural resources (hey, I'm being pro-environment too!)

2. And wasting no food. Nothing in this household gets thrown out. Not a thing. Buy too many bananas? Make banana bread. Extra salmon from dinner? Toss it in a salad. Leftover rice? Fry it up with veggies. We are very good about expiration dates and planning meals so we never throw any food out. And if it's bad when we buy it? Bring it back.

3. Plus we make good use of subscriptions. We subscribe to 2 very important things that aren't exactly cheap but we get tremendous entertainment value from them: Netflix and LACMA, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. As a patron of LACMA, we get free use of the museum whenever we want plus 2 tickets to great exhibits before they open, plus parties where they have delicious desserts and yummy teas and coffee. Oh and cool gifts like tote bags and gorgeous art books. As for Netflix, it was a gift subscription that we use just about every day. We love the instant play for movies and TV.

In fact, we don't pay for TV at all. And we're proud of that. We use hulu and Netflix and our DVDs and anything else we can find on the web.

4. Buying in bulk. Not food or anything from Costco since we don't have a very big apartment but things like dance classes. I buy 5 or 10 classes at a time and I save serious money. That's important for me because it's one area where I can't skimp. I have to take class regularly in order to teach.

Yeah, this economy has affected me in ways I have no control over. I can't make people take my dance classes, I can't force publishers or the public to buy my books. Sometimes thinking too big picture is depressing. But I can control certain things in my life. It helps. Every little bit helps.

My guest blog and a chance to win some stuff!

2010-03-02T08:47:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Here's the post I wrote about celebrations, how it's important to celebrate all our milestones and not merely the "big ones, at Everything To Do With Books:

Celebrations!

And if you comment on your favorite holiday, you can win books, swag, etc.! All month long, Rebecca and Scarlett will be giving away lots of goodies so be sure to keep reading there.

Cheers and happy blogoversary!

Celebrating book blogging!

2010-03-01T08:16:00.000-08:00

It's a Book Blog Extravaganza over at Everything to Do With Books!

The lovely and talented YA bloggers, Scarlett and Rebecca, are celebrating their blogoversary during the month of March, giving away books and swag and offering all kinds of cool guest blogs - including one from me! Look for it there on Wednesday, March 3rd.

I love to celebrate milestones such as anniversaries and birthdays, especially when it comes to stuff on the web. How often do you see people or companies announce a huge website or blog launch, post all new content every day for a month - and then completely stop? Happens all the time. I'm so leery of subscribing to new blogs these days. I get hooked, only to have them disappear after a few months. Yeah, it's hard work keeping up a blog or a website, difficult coming up with new material all the time. That's why it's so important to recognize when people are doing a great job!

Congrats on the blogoversary, Scarlett and Rebecca!

Random Thoughts on a Friday

2010-02-26T07:21:00.000-08:00

If I were a famous author...

One of the coolest and simultaneously depressing aspects of the web is the ability to connect - or seemingly so - with well-known people. I, for instance, am Facebook "friends" with some amazing YA authors who've sold thousands and thousands of books. Sarah Dessen, John Green, Megan McCafferty, and Maureen Johnson, just to name a few. They post links sometimes, or comment on their breakfast, posts which get retweeted hundreds of times and a thousand people "liking" them or commenting themselves on how much they too love breakfast burritos with extra cheese or wish they were eating said breakfast burrito with Famous Author right now!!!!

As a Not-So-Well-Known Author Who Aspires to be Bigger, I wonder what it's like to be a Real Famous Author. Of course, I'm pretty sure I know it's extremely cool to sell a ton of books and make bestseller lists and get awards but what about the other stuff:

1. What's it like having so many "friends" you need a fan page? So many blog and twitter followers that your every move is re-documented a thousand times over?

2. What's it like getting an email inbox full of fan letters? Do you get real ones too with paper envelopes and stamps?

3. Is it as cool as it seems to have people contacting you for autographs, school visits, sequels, and to purchase foreign rights for Uzbekistan?

4. Do you still love to write?

I've had a tiny, itty bitty taste of what it would be like to be Kind Of Famous. I've seen my Amazon rankings skyrocket when one of my books was mentioned somewhere popular. I've gotten a few actual letters in the mail and some emails from fans who loved my books and want to know more. I've spoken at a few schools and received requests to participate in authorly things and a couple of states even have my books on their reading lists, which is incredibly awesome.

I think I would happily accept the pressure that comes from being Real Famous. Not just because I've experienced the pressure of being Not-Very-Famous-At-All And Trying to Be Bigger, but because I do love to write.

So if the Universe needs an answer from me, bring it on, big guy, I'm ready.

Underrated movie to rent: World's Greatest Dad

2010-02-23T07:29:00.000-08:00

Okay, 80s comedy club fans: who remembers Bobcat Goldthwait? The funny looking guy with the funny sounding voice? Well, he's a director now, apparently he's been behind the camera for episodes of some live television as well as having directed a few of his own small features. His latest film was released on video-on-demand and then had a limited theatrical run in August 2009. "World's Greatest Dad," which he wrote and directed, is available on Netflix instant play (my very favorite and a great way to try out movies and TV you wouldn't normally waste time renting).

The movie stars Robin Williams as Lance, a private school poetry teacher who is also a failed writer. His son Kyle is that teen guy you see who's always screwing up. No one likes him and he's a jerk to everyone, including his dad and his best friend. He has an unhealthy obsession with porn and women and sex and in particular, auto-erotic asphyxiation - I think you can see where this is going. Lance has a pretty young girlfriend (a fair weather girlfriend who is a fellow teacher and won't go public with their relationship) but in most respects, allows himself to be walked on by her and by other teachers and by Kyle. Yes, he's a sad sack but Williams plays him right on the edge, not overblown in any way, never over-the-top Patch Adamsish.

When Kyle dies in an "awkward" accident, Lance writes a suicide note for him to spare him any embarrassment about the way he died. The letter is leaked to the school paper and suddenly, Kyle (and Lance) become heroes, representing all the downtrodden and invisible students. Lance decides to go further with the ruse and even constructs a journal containing all of Kyle's pithy thoughts and philosophies. The book is a huge success and propels Lance into the spotlight.

The only problem is, the one person who knew the real Kyle, his friend Andrew, doesn't believe any of it. He is the only thorn in all of this for Lance and the one who eventually brings Lance to his senses.

I heartily recommend this movie to anyone who loved "Rushmore," "Donnie Darko" (Richard Kelly is a producer and his presence is definitely felt) or even "Heathers." The movie hits the exact right tone - not too subtle or over-the-top. After all, beneath everything and despite the big laughs, this is about a man whose son dies and no matter how awful the kid was, he did love him. Robin Williams is fantastic as are the rest of the cast members. I can't believe I am now a huge Bobcat Goldthwait fan. Awesome.

Random Thoughts on a Friday

2010-02-19T12:04:00.001-08:00

My favorite winter Olympic sporting events...

...so far.1. Men's short track speed skating - I thought I'd be rooting for Apolo Ohno but now I'm a JR Celski fan, the 19 year old who seems to be following in Ohno's steps (or skates). And I totally dug the relay. It looked so complex with all those people on the ice - how could they tell who was up next?

2. Women's snowboarding half-pipe - I love these girls! Sure a lot of them wiped out last night but that was because they were kicking butt and taking names, going for the big air, the twists and turns. Very impressive - and no tears for the losers. These women are pros.

3. Men's snowboarding half-pipe - Who doesn't love Shaun White? I mean, seriously. Did you see his final run the other night - *after* he knew he had the gold? And his teammates were no slouches either, despite the grunge-inspired uniforms.

4. Women's moguls - I had no idea this would be so interesting. I thought it was strictly speed but as it turns out, there are some jumps involved which require judging. Plus each run is short, which I like - long slalom events kinda bore me.

5. Men's and women's skating - We've only had men so far and they have all been fantastic, although as a friend told me, they really need to lose the Bob Mackie-designed costumes (except for Johnny Weir, the only one who can pull off the flamboyant look). I was so bummed for Jeremy Abbott in both of his programs but I think the men have a lot of young talent coming up the ranks who will raise the bar next time. Can't wait for the women's events!

I have to admit I'm a little burned out on the Olympics and they're not even half over! It's a function of there not being anything else on of interest when I come home late at night, plus it's only once every few years. I just have to watch.

Cut off from the web = Cut off from the world

2010-02-17T16:19:00.000-08:00

My internet was gone for most of the past day or so. The withdrawal symptoms went away after about an hour, once I realized it wasn’t coming back for a while. I resigned myself to not knowing what Sigalerts there might be for my drive to Pasadena. I acknowledged I wouldn’t be able to access my email until the next day. I accepted that I couldn’t obsessively watch my Amazon, YouTube, Scribd, Goodreads, Homestead, Shelfari and LibraryThing numbers.

And I felt good about it. I was almost relieved not to have the internet to rely on. I did have to leave extra early to teach just in case, you know, there *was* a Sigalert on my drive. But otherwise it was kind of freeing. Each time I got stuck when I was writing, I couldn’t simply go to the web and look something up. I had to make it up or make a note to check at another time – and keep writing. If my brain got tired, I couldn’t perk it up by reading some inane CNN article on yet another Olympian I had never heard of. I just got up, walked around, made some tea – and kept writing.

Do you see where I’m going with this?

This morning, I did my required 2K words in an hour and a half. That’s 1.5 hours. I wasn’t busting my butt. I didn’t type my fingers to the bone. I just wrote steadily, had some coffee and breakfast –and wrote and wrote and wrote and before I knew it, my words were done. And I still had energy to write more.

I had heard people talk about the web being a massive time-suck and I kind of knew that in the back of my mind, but this was honestly the very first time I had experienced it for myself. In the past, my time away from the web was vacation time, so I wasn’t writing or doing any work. But this was different. I am smack in the middle of 2 projects and a variety of outlines and man, did I get a lot done. It’s not enough to simply turn off the web, I think. It has to really NOT BE THERE. There has to be no possibility of getting to it, if you really truly want to work.

Was I happy to get the connection back? You betcha. I tried to be good, tried to keep working as I was without the web, but my old ways soon crept back. Some things won’t change – in fact, they will probably just continue to get worse. But whenever I can, I think I’m going to shut down the internet and pretend it doesn’t exist.

Until I need to look up who that guy was who did the curling or the biathlon or the speed skating long track. Some things you just have to know.

Random Thoughts on a Friday

2010-02-12T07:51:00.000-08:00

Things I Would Buy Used

The economy is a shambles. We all have to watch our pennies and make do with what we have for longer but there are certain things you just have to buy:

1. Books - of course! I love used bookstores - you never know what gem you'll find hidden under a pile of old Highlights magazines.

2. DVDs - these things are so cheap to make, I find it hard to spend more than 10 bucks for a movie I really want.

3. T-shirts - you gotta be careful with other people's clothes, even the "vintage" ones. I would never buy shoes, for instance, and maybe not even jeans - there are certain items that get a little too personal, if you know what I mean.

4. Lamps and wooden chairs - used furniture is okay so long as there's no fabric that could retain any kind of smell or cat hairs.

5. Dogs - I have longed for a dog for so long and I know that when I do get one, he'll be a rescue. No puppy mills for me.

Used items to stay away from : lingerie, appliances, computers, cell phones, food, and pillows. Anything you'd care to add to either of these lists? Share your money-saving ideas!

And a reminder: today is the last day to download all 4 parts of THE RISE OF GINNY COOPER for free, exclusively at The Story Siren! After today, we will take it down and...who knows where it will be?

How can it be February already?

2010-02-09T22:21:00.000-08:00

This is insane. Are we really 10 days into February? How did this happen? I swear it was Christmas a few days ago and I was planning for the new year.

February, the shortest month of the year, used to be my favorite when I was in school. After all, it had 2 holidays - Lincoln's birthday and Washington's birthday, now grouped into one Presidents Day - sorry kids! That was one good thing from the olden days.

It also had Valentine's Day which was also lots of fun. We used to send carnations to each other - one class had the business as a way to raise money for activities - anonymously or not. They would be delivered to your homeroom in the morning. Red for love, of course, pink for affection and white for friends. You did NOT want to get too many white carnations for obvious reasons.

I had a boyfriend for 3 of my 4 years in high school so I did get a few red and pink ones but I remember distinctly sending an anonymous red one to a senior I had a crush on when I was a freshman. He played basketball and had a girlfriend which really makes me wonder why I bothered to spend the buck on the guy. But it was fun and anonymous and I think he assumed it was from his girlfriend who probably took the credit. As I recall, I think she got pregnant.

But now, February just means a short month in which to get a LOT of work done. It's also the month my husband has a birthday so for weeks I will be saying, "What do you want to do for your birthday? Do you want a party? Do you want to go out? What, what, what????"

Yep, February has changed a lot since I was a kid.

Random Thoughts on a Friday

2010-02-05T07:49:00.000-08:00

Text and Subtext

1. Text: THE RISE OF GINNY COOPER is available *exclusively* and for *free* at The Story Siren until February 12th. If you haven't read it or downloaded all 4 parts, you can until next Friday,

Subtext: What are you waiting for? You can open a new window and then come back to this while you're waiting. That's one of the cool things about the internet - you can do more than one thing at once. And can I tell you how my life turned around when I learned the concept of "windows"? Seriously worldview-changing.

2. Text: LOST is back and I could not be happier - and sadder since the show will end this season, but that's a good thing because I don't think I can take any more questions about the island.

Subtext: You can pretty much tell everything about me by the scripted television I watch. I only watch 3 dramas: LOST, Medium, and Fringe. And I only watch 3 comedies: 30 Rock, The Office, and The Simpsons. So I'm kind of snarky and prefer alternative realities.

3. Text: Facebook gets all my best ideas. It's so easy to jot down a few funny words and a minute or an hour later change them when something better comes along. And yes, I admit I will save something interesting for Facebook rather than say it out loud. Sue me.

Subtext: It's a fine line between funny and annoying and I constantly struggle with it. This is the exact same thing that happens when you write for real: if you put words on the page that are meaningless to you simply to provoke or manipulate a reader, it backfires. People sense insincerity.

4. Text: I hit the ground running before I'm out of bed, planning my day from hour to hour, and still everything doesn't get done. I need a clone.

Subtext: I need to say "no" more often. And I need a clone.

Contest reminder...

2010-01-31T08:15:00.000-08:00

...the contest to win a copy of ALL ABOUT VEE at Harmony Book Reviews ends Feb 2nd!

Congrats to the Winner of All About Vee!

2010-01-29T07:54:00.000-08:00

At The Story Siren, Kristi hosted a contest for a signed copy of ALL ABOUT VEE as part of my bookish experiment to release the sequel to Vee, THE RISE OF GINNY COOPER. And the winner is:

Kory!

Kory, I will send you a copy signed to you, unless you tell me otherwise. I'm happy to sign it to a friend or school, whatever you choose.

Yay! Many congrats! And thanks so much to everyone who entered, all 212 of you - wow!

And big thanks, as always, to Kristi the Story Siren herself, for hosting the contest and the sequel release. It'll be available on her site until Februray 12th!

Is it the end...

2010-01-25T07:32:00.001-08:00

Or THE RISE OF GINNY COOPER?

Today at The Story Siren, Kristi is posting the 4th and final installment of the sequel to ALL ABOUT VEE. As before with parts 1, 2, and 3, it's available exclusively at her site and for absolutely no cost. And you can enter to win a copy of ALL ABOUT VEE there too - today's the last day for domestic and international entries!

This has been so much fun - I've learned an awful lot about the process, about how I might do things differently if I were to do something like this again, and what I might recommend to others. In a few days or so, I'll post about that. And in the meantime, I'd love to hear from readers of any of the parts! Please feel free to post here or to email me at leigh at leighpurtill dot com.

Cheers, everyone, and extra special thanks to Kristi for being my fabulous host!

Contest info!!

2010-01-23T08:20:00.000-08:00

Harmony at Harmony Book Reviews is giving away a copy of ALL ABOUT VEE at her blog. You can enter by posting a comment on this post about the contest or this post which was my guest blog. Contest ends Feb 2nd! Thanks, Harmony! And thanks to all who enter!!

Kristi at The Story Siren is giving away a signed copy of ALL ABOUT VEE at her blog also. This is part of the "bookish experiment" I am doing there with THE RISE OF GINNY COOPER - the fourth and final part of which will be posted on Monday. Her contest ends Monday, January 25th. Enter to win! Thanks, Kristi!!

Random Thoughts on a Friday

2010-01-22T07:45:00.000-08:00

So-called news stories

1. Conan v. Jay - another late night hype. As of yesterday, Conan was walking away with $45 million for himself and crew and a vacation for 9 months, because you know someone is gonna snap him up for their own network in September. And Leno gets his old job back, which is fine with him because he's a workaholic who couldn't spend all the money he has in 50 lifetimes.

While HH, a Conan fan, has sworn to never watch the Tonight Show again, I could not care less. I find it unbelievable that late night ratings are so important that NBC has to pay out an incredible amount of money to someone to NOT work for them. Really? I mean, really? The people I know watch all the funny bits on YouTube the next day and never even see the commercials or whatever that the networks want them to see. What is so gosh-darn valuable about late night?

Frankly, I think it's a holdover from the Dave v. Jay days when the networks were much more powerful and late night ratings actually meant something. I'd rather watch repeats of The Simpsons as I fall asleep. And to be honest, I was always a Letterman fan - I'm from the east coast, what do ya want from me? I like snark. And my fondest memories of the Tonight Show were watching Johnny Carson with my grandmother in the summer time. Clearly, I'm not the demo anyway.

Just send me the funny YouTube clips.

2. Cindy McCain supports gay marriage - I think it's terrific when formerly conservative political figures come out in favor of liberal domestic policies. Wonderful. Enlightening. And far too late. It's very nice that McCain and her daughter approached a website supporting gay rights in order to volunteer their faces and names to their NoH8 campaign. Wonderful. Enlightening. But where was she when her husband was the governor of Arizona and put the smackdown on gay marriage there? And where was her voice when he was running for president on a pro-family platform?

It does this country far more harm than good when political figures and their spouses keep their real beliefs hidden only to espouse them long after the campaign is over. For the average citizen who may have been debating the issue internally to hear after the fact that the person they held up as a role model or political influence had contrary personal views to their public ones actually stifles the possibility of change.

3. Religious references on military weapons - a manufacturer of rifle scopes has been putting references to Biblical scripture on weapons supplied to the US military. Um, what? One company, who shall remain nameless because why give them any more facetime than they already have, has been inscribing Biblical references such as, JN8:12, apparently referring to John 8:12: "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.' "

This goes against the Constitution's very definition of separation of church and state, not to mention the discrimination of non-Christian soldiers. Plus, it's just all-around icky to associate the Bible with weapons (don't get me started on the actual contents of the Bible!). It's kind of like saying, "God wants you, his child, to go out and kill." Yeah, no.

4. Various sex scandals - John Edwards had a baby with his mistress. Tiger Woods had affairs with just about every woman he met. Who cares and who cares again? Humans are flawed. They will do what they have to in order to preserve themselves and their places in society. Get over it and do the right thing.

Okay, that's Leigh's "Eye on News" for this morning. LOL!! You know what I'm excited about? Part 4 of THE RISE OF GINNY COOPER is coming to the Story Siren on Monday, January 25th. That's the last section! The final part! When you find out the answers to all of your burning Vee-related questions! No, seriously, just enjoy it.

Guestblog at Harmony Book Reviews!

2010-01-21T13:59:00.000-08:00

Today, I'm guest blogging at the fantastic Harmony's blog, Harmony Book Reviews.

My post: "When Characters Blog"

Check it out! You might learn a few things you didn't know...

Thanks for having me, Harmony!

Jealousy and the writer

2010-01-20T07:50:00.001-08:00

Recently, the American Library Association awards were announced (the Printz, Caldecott, Newbery, etc.) and some truly amazing writers won prizes. Congrats to them all. I wasn't familiar with most of the books on the lists since some were picture books and others were for young readers but I did recognize many of the names. That's the thing about this writing business: it's a small one. It just has a very wide reach. Or it can if you're lucky.

When you first begin writing seriously, you see the many books in your genre and think, "I can write as good - no, I can write better than that!" You see people getting published every day, new books arriving on store shelves every week and think, "If that guy can get published, so can I!" But the longer you go without being published, you begin to get jealous of all the writers who do, especially if they're your friends. You wonder if certain wheels were greased; whether there was a personal connection, a previous relationship, a media platform you don't have.

You are the green eyed monster. And that's okay - we all go through that.

But the more time you spend pursuing this crazy idea of yours to become a professional writer, the more words you get under your laptop, the more you realize that your friends getting published and becoming successful has less to do with them and more to do with the business itself. Over the course of a career, so many things can change for a writer: one year you get a multi-book deal at auction but the next year, the contract is canceled because the first book tanked. You may sign with a high-powered agent only to have her drop you when your book doesn't sell. A beloved agent or editor could leave the business just when you thought you were hitting your stride. These things happen to everyone all the time.

And that's when you realize that there is a massive element of luck (I think it's being added to the periodic tables soon) when it comes to writing success. You could have it this year and your friend could have it next year. Both of you could sell books - or neither could. Sure, my eyes used to be a little green. I would get frustrated when people I knew were getting deals and I wasn't - or they were getting more of an advance or more marketing dollars or awards or fan emails - but now I know my luck could change too. I have every shot at getting those things too but it's nothing I can count on. I simply have to keep writing, keeping imagining, and keep supporting my friends. Their success is good for us all. It means publishers are publishing, readers are buying, and if my friend hits it big, maybe she'll write me an awesome blurb for my next book.

Win-win.

Are you ready for Part 3?

2010-01-18T08:05:00.000-08:00

Here it is! Part 3 of THE RISE OF GINNY COOPER at The Story Siren!

Exclusive.

Free.

Plus you can enter to win a free signed copy of ALL ABOUT VEE! And yes, international readers are welcome to enter too.

Did I mention...free?

Gotta love free.

And while you're there, check out Kristi's post about covers and whether or not the content inside relates well. Among books like Justine Larbalestier's controversial "Liar" cover is mine. Readers familiar with Vee know she is well over 200 pounds yet the cover, below, is of a gorgeous young woman who clearly is not heavy.

Why? This was my question too. Well, according to my editor, this is modeling's idea of plus-size. Yeah, right.

Random Thoughts on a Friday

2010-01-15T07:45:00.000-08:00

I just realized that I have been so focused this month on THE RISE OF GINNY COOPER experiment at The Story Siren that I haven't done any non-book related blogs at all.

But there are so many awesome non-book related things going on that I have to mention:

1. American Idol started again and I miss Paula. I only saw the Boston auditions this week so I didn't see Mary J. Blige but what I saw on Tuesday was really a bummer. First of all, I disliked Kara last season and while she seems to be a little more tolerable now, I still would rather see Paula in that middle chair. And second, um...Boston? Where was the talent? I lived in Boston for a while and I'm embarrassed for New England. And there wasn't even any good snarking! Sheesh!

2. Denzel has a new movie out and I'm intrigued. "The Book of Eli" looks like a Mad Max-type post-apocalyptic road movie with major amounts of cliche (trench coat and sunglasses? Gary Oldman as an over-the-top bad guy?) but I love Denzel. He, Tom Hanks, and Will Smith are probably the only three actors (along with actresses Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton) that I will watch in just about anything they do. Oooh, could you imagine a movie with ALL of those actors in it? Get going on that, Hollywood!

3. Lost returns in 2 weeks and I'm nervous. Last season! Last episodes! Last chance to tie up all the loose ends! Is it even possible? I have watched every season of this show, even the so-called bad ones that other people used as an excuse to stop watching. I can't claim to have even the slightest clue about how everything fits together but I am waiting with baited breath, as they say, for the conclusion. I have faith in these writers and I really hope they don't let us all down.

4. Haiti had a major earthquake this week and I'm humbled. And grateful. When you live in an earthquake-prone area like Southern California, there is always the chance the ground could begin shaking under your feet and you will be powerless to stop it. But when it doesn't happen every day, you get complacent. This Haitian earthquake reminds us all here in LA that we could get one like that too. The big difference? Most of our buildings are in much better condition to withstand the shaking; the people of Haiti were not so lucky. Their structures were very poorly built and that's a primary reason so many people died.

To end this on a more upbeat note, I just read that aid is flooding in to Haiti and George Clooney has planned a fundraiser with MTV for later this month.

And one last one...

5. Part 3 of Ginny Cooper will be up on Monday January 18th and I'm excited again. I hope people are downloading and enjoying it. And if they do read it, I hope they let me know!

A little video about my bookish experiment

2010-01-12T12:38:00.000-08:00

The Rise of Ginny Cooper (Fat Girls in L.A. Book 2) from C. Leigh Purtill on Vimeo.

And if you haven't done so already, be sure to download Part 2 of THE RISE OF GINNY COOPER exclusively at The Story Siren. Part 1 is also available there in the sidebar.

The experiment continues!

2010-01-11T08:06:00.000-08:00

Today at The Story Siren...check out Part 2 of the THE RISE OF GINNY COOPER for free download, available exclusively at Kristi's site! Parts 3 & 4 will be posted on the final two Mondays of January.

Here it is...

Thank you, Kristi!

And be on the lookout for a new video about why I did this whole experiment to begin with. As soon as my Ninja Webmaster finishes it...chop, chop!!

Anyone check out Ginny yet?

2010-01-07T09:34:00.000-08:00

Just curious to know if any readers out there have downloaded the first (free!) section of THE RISE OF GINNY COOPER at The Story Siren (an exclusive!), and if so...any thoughts?

My experiment will continue next Monday at The Story Siren and I will also soon have a short video I made that explains the origins of the book and the experiment itself.

Happy reading~

FAT GIRLS IN LA, Book 2: The Rise of Ginny Cooper

2010-01-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

Let the experiment begin...

To download the pdf for section 1, please visit The Story Siren. She has your exclusive access to the first quarter of the ALL ABOUT VEE sequel!

And be sure to enter the contest to win your own signed copy of VEE! My first international contest. Cool.

My bookish experiment

2009-12-30T11:09:00.000-08:00

Sequels, sequels, sequels...movie producers love them, publishers love them, and if you've written them properly, the audience will love them too.

When I wrote ALL ABOUT VEE originally, it was 800 pages long and had the title, FAT GIRLS IN LA. The story was about all three Vees: Veronica, Virginia and Valeria. They all came to LA and they all had different professions/dreams/desires. When the book was purchased, however, the publisher only wanted one Vee so it became Veronica's story.

Although I was disappointed, I had always planned to write the stories of the other two girls and publish them as sequels to the first book. Alas, my publisher and I parted ways and I didn't get the chance to do that.

Until now.

The first of the two sequels is called THE RISE OF GINNY COOPER. I consider it book two of the Fat Girls in LA trilogy. It tells the story of Virginia Cooper, one of the Vees from Arizona, who comes to LA to live with her best friend Veronica May. Ginny is a writer, also plus-sized like Veronica, who has dreams of seeing her work on the big screen. She also dreams of finally having a boyfriend.

I am riding the wave of the future: digital. And I am publishing it online - for free - for everyone. As part of the experiment portion of the plan, I am releasing it in four sections during the month of January on The Story Siren's website.

Kristi, the Story Siren, is a fantastic YA blogger and book reviewer whose site has influenced many, many readers and bloggers. I chose her because I like her optimism, her constantly changing content, and her love of books. I was thrilled when she agreed to do this! Beginning Monday, January 4th and continuing for every Monday in January, Kristi will release a section of the book in a pdf file, which is free to everyone who wishes to download it. She alone will have exclusive access to the new book, which means you - the reader - will too.

How cool is that? After the book has been released completely, I will publish it on Scribd, perhaps, or for Kindle. I'm not sure about that yet. For now, I just want to see it in the hands of readers online. I am so excited about getting this story out to people!

And, as a bonus for this experiment, Kristi will be holding a contest to give away a signed copy of ALL ABOUT VEE to a lucky reader. So if you don't have your own copy or you haven't read it yet, be sure to enter the contest! But not to worry, you don't need to read the first book in order to understand the second one. It's not that kind of sequel.

Okay, everyone ready? Let the experiment begin!

Non-traditions, non-celebrations

2009-12-25T08:59:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas morning...I was up late watching two completely non-traditional movies, "Star Trek" and "Tommy." I hadn't seen the latter since I was a kid when I thought it was compelling and disturbing. I wanted to see if it still was compelling and disturbing. It is. And best of all, it holds up as a very stylized rock opera; it doesn't feel dated at all. Except for Roger Daltrey's hair.

And this morning, I slept late. Now, with coffee in hand and computer on, it feels like a normal morning for me. Mo and I didn't decorate at all, didn't send cards other than an e-card, and didn't go out with friends or family, as we might have in the past. So yeah, it really feels like a typical Friday morning, except I won't be teaching today.

For Mo, the holidays really mean nothing. He doesn't consider himself religious at all and is often disdainful of people who are. He is as zealous in his anti-religion as some fundamentalists are. For me, I wanted to keep a very low profile this year. The economy has really affected most of my daily living so there isn't a lot left over for extra things, like a tree or cards or gifts. So when it looked like Mo and I wouldn't be doing anything special this year, I welcomed it with monk-like stoicism and frugality. We would be cheerful without going into debt!

But I have to admit, I miss some of the traditions of the past: the exchanging of gifts with family, the mass on Christmas Eve, decorating a tree and wrapping presents. When we lived in NYC, Mo and I used to go out for sushi on Christmas Eve before we went to visit his family or mine on Christmas Day. It was a tradition we carried over to LA until last night; without much else going on, holiday-wise, we simply brought in Chinese food and watched movies.

And that was nice, pleasant even, but a little...meh. I think next year I will bring back some of the things we used to do. Hopefully the economy and my personal situation will allow me to spend a little more. Even monks celebrate something, don't they?

Happy Christmas to all~

On a winter morning

2009-12-21T07:46:00.000-08:00

Why writers take rejection so personally

I'm a lot better with rejections than I used to be. Honestly. I used to moan for days, stop whatever I was doing for a big chunk of time and constantly ask my husband, "Why me?"

But I've been in this writing thing long enough to know that it's not me. Oh, it may be me but it's not just me. It happens to everyone - and I do mean everyone. I know lots and lots of writers who go through the same thing. And these are writers whom I consider successful.

Even though I know this, rejection is still painful. It still stings to hear "no" or to read a negative review. It still sucks when something you believe in doesn't sell. And even though I'm better than I used to be, I still take it personally. I try to "be professional," approach my writing like a business, but when editors or agents write rejections that include the word "love," how can you be totally objective?

A common rejection from an editor or agent will be that he or she "didn't fall in love" with the material. Of course you want to elicit emotion from a reader when you write a book but what do you do when you hear that the person who is in a position to buy or represent your work says they didn't "love" it? When you go on a job interview and don't get the job, does the HR person tell you they "didn't fall in love with you"?

It's hard to overcome those words. They haunt every writer who receives a rejection.

Didn't fall in love with it.

Of course we take it personally. Love is a very personal thing.

I was on the radio!

2009-12-18T12:24:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Barry Eva, aka "Storyheart," interviewed me - I use that word loosely, since it was more like two friends chatting about books and stuff - on his show, "A Book and a Chat" on Blog Talk Radio. The cool thing about the show is that it's archived! Unlike regular radio which is only available in the moment, Blog Radio is available 24/7.

Barry was a great interviewer - he really did his homework! Checking out my website and blog and Wikipedia page (yes, I have a page on Wikipedia!) and bringing up all sorts of things from my past you wouldn't normally expect to discuss on a show about books. He was so much fun - and that British accent is so charming! The time just flew by!

If you have a moment, I hope you'll click over to the show here, and give a listen while you're surfing the web.

A Book and a Chat with Storyheart!

2009-12-14T07:36:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, December 17th at 6:30PM eastern/3:30PM pacific, I'll be on the radio! Chatting with Barry Eva, aka Storyheart, a very charming and cheerful writer who hosts literary chats on Blog Talk Radio on his show, "A Book and a Chat."

Check out his chat archives here.

And check out his blog here.

I love listening to Barry's chats whether he's talking with nonfiction writers, YA fiction writers or adult fiction writers. He always knows just what to ask to get his subject talking. Maybe it's because he's a writer too and knows how hard it is for writers to talk about themselves (it's so much easier to talk about your characters - they're usually far more interesting!). Plus his British accent makes everything and everyone sound so much more pleasant!

So, on December 17th at 6:30PM/3:30PM, if you're sitting at your computer and want to listen in, tune in your e-radio dial to Blog Talk Radio's "A Book and a Chat" and hear Barry and me chatting about...books! He might be drinking tea but I'm sure I'll be having a cup of coffee.

As they say - across the pond - cheers!

Guest review at The Page Flipper!

2009-12-12T07:54:00.001-08:00

Chelsea at The Page Flipper - an awesome blog wherein Chelsea discusses all things book, writing and occasionally movie related - has begun a new feature: the Author Reviews.

This is an opportunity for authors to write reviews of their recent reads, favorite reads, or simply books that influenced them in some way. I am the first one! Ta-da!

One of my most recent and favorite books is by Janice Erlbaum, "Have You Found Her," a memoir of her experiences working with a teen runaway. It blew me away. Check out my review over at The Page Flipper today and I'll bet you'll want to read it too.

Janice, btw, was the very first author I wrote a fan letter to. As soon as I finished the book, I ran to my computer to look her up. I felt like such a fangirl!

Random Thoughts on a Friday

2009-12-11T08:11:00.000-08:00

Putting a positive spin on things

1. Headaches can be productive:

I had a migraine this week which reminded me that my current novel on submission began with my migraines. I have suffered from them since I was a teenager and whenever I get one, I feel like I'm outside my body, as if I'm not me anymore. Naturally, that feeling evolved into my present book, SHIFT.

How awesome will it be to tell people who ask about the book's genesis that it started with a massive headache?

2. Deadlines can be fun:

I have 6 knitting projects that I want to complete and send to the east coast before the end of the year. Slippers and leg warmers, oh my! One of my very favorite things to do after teaching several hours of classes is to get out the knitting. So relaxing especially when it's for someone else.

3. Spending all your time on the internet can be profitable:

I am currently writing a novel whose main characters are constantly updating their statuses, playing games online, chatting with friends electronically, etc. I would never have been able to get the job and write the book if it weren't for my own obsession with Facebook and email.

4. Not being wealthy can have its advantages:

I know people who want to be my friend are not looking for celebrity or connections, since I have none. And no one is after me for money, that's for sure. If I hit a tree with my car at 2 in the morning, I'm fairly certain the police, press and paparazzi won't hound me for details.

Be thankful for small things.

More about Plus-Size Teen Fiction

2009-12-09T11:04:00.000-08:00

Here's a nice little article at suite101.com by Francine Morissette about Plus Size Teen Fiction and looky there, ALL ABOUT VEE is mentioned.

Check it out. A great list of books to be among.

Thanks for the mention, Francine!

Fat and skinny writing

2009-12-04T07:46:00.000-08:00

I write fat.

I'm not talking about my plus-size heroine, Veronica May, in ALL ABOUT VEE. I'm referring to my style of writing. My first drafts are huge, monstrous things, with all sorts of conversations between characters I never imagined, scenes that don't belong, and long paths taken where a short one should exist.

Most people who write "fat" are not working from outlines. They are usually working from a basic idea and trying to find the story and flesh out the characters in the process. Then they go back and cull the story from the chaff. Beautiful moments can be discovered this way, when you allow yourself to go places you hadn't intended.

Outlines, otoh, especially editor-approved detailed outlines, should keep you on track - and skinny. And by skinny I mean efficient, lean, with very little excess baggage. Outline writing is usually quite tight and serves you well when you're on deadline.

But not me. I do both. I have a detailed outline and then I write and write and write, discovering backstories and relationships and themes as I go. First drafts end up at least an extra 15% of where they need to be which is fine because I am also a ruthless rewriter. I have no trouble cutting when necessary. I very rarely fall in love with my babies.

I would love to write skinny but I don't know how to do that.

How about you? Are you an ectomorphic writer or an endomorphic writer?

The lure of leftovers

2009-11-30T07:52:00.000-08:00

If you don't know me, you will probably think I sound strange and if you do know me, well, you'll probably think I'm a lot stranger than you already do.

I hate having food in the house.

Weird, huh?

I also hate furniture.Okay, see, I have this fear of settling down, of staying in one place too long, of not being able to pack up and leave at a moment's notice. Buying furniture - and painting the walls and putting up pictures and decorations and generally making an apartment more comfortable and personal - means you're stuck. You can't put all of your important belongings in the car and drive off.

I know, I know. I've been in this same apartment, same town, for ten years (10, oh my god) and it doesn't look like I'm about to leave any minute.

But I could. I can. I can leave what's here and start new somewhere else. I can put my husband and my ballet slippers and my laptop in the back of the car and just go. Well, maybe Mo doesn't go all the way in the back.

Freedom.

What exactly does this have to do with food and my distaste for having it in the house? You're probably asking yourself. And then quickly following that with, "man, Leigh is seriously deranged."

How could I just leave - or go away for the weekend or shake up my world - if there is food here? It means I can't do what I want when I want or the way I want. Food in the house, like furniture, requires me to make plans and decide where I'll be for a while. Most of the time, I do like plans and I do enjoy a routine but I like the feeling that I don't have to if I choose not to. In other words, I want to choose to be routine, not feel forced to have one.

Is that so strange?

Is it already Thanksgiving?

2009-11-26T08:38:00.000-08:00

Oh my...where has the time gone? This means we're just a month away from Christmas, and while that doesn't really mean a lot to me since I will continue to write and teach throughout the New Year without much of a break, I know the "holidays" and its attendant "spirit" will soon be in the air.

You know what I'm talking about: big sales!

Tomorrow, Black Friday, marks the official start of the shopping season and though I hadn't intended to be part of it, my Mom and Dad apparently had so that's what we will be doing at least some point during the day. Mo with Dad at Costco, cuz that's manly shopping, and me with Mom at (hopefully) some non-mall discount stores.

I already have a headache just thinking about it.

I will probably sound anti-American (and supremely non-thankful) but I hate consumerism with a passion. I hate the accumulation of material things. I hate the idolization of acquisition. I don't want to own things. I don't want to covet my neighbor's new car. I don't want to feel like less of a person because I don't have a house, a boat, a giant television set, or a closet full of designer clothes.

I don't begrudge other people the right to purchase whatever their heart desires but I do hate the media and big business for exploiting and encouraging it above real values, values of friendship and family and honor and honesty. It's almost as if - could it be true? - that corporate America doesn't want its citizens to live fully, to make choices based on need rather than want. Especially during the current economy! It's unconscionable to foist false dreams on the American public.

Recently I watched the movie "Food Inc." which is an excellent documentary about where our food really comes from in this country. The section on cows and E. coli included discussion about how the potentially deadly bacteria gets into our food. Eric Schlosser, who wrote the book Fast Food Nation on which the doc was based, said that cows could easily be rid of 80% of their E. coli if they are taken off a corn diet and fed grass, as is their natural evolutionary wont, for 5 days.

Rather than take this "natural" step, the beef industry chose instead to create an additional, even more unnatural step of washing the meat in an ammonia bath. In other words, rather than move in a more positive and humane direction, the industry took drastic steps to maintain the status quo.

Apply this to our economic situation: big business is not seeking new solutions to old problems but is desperate for ways to continue doing things the way they always did. It continues to push consumerism on us - it's merely seeking new ways to cut costs so that we can more readily afford what it's selling. Close US industries, open factories in Guam or some other small island nation where the employees can be exploited, keep costs down - but sell, sell, sell and earn even more profits for its shareholders.

This isn't real change. This isn't helping the American economy. This isn't giving families what they truly need. On this Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for being allowed to speak my mind, thankful I have good friends and family and a loving husband, thankful I'm able to live in an apartment and buy healthy food. It's what I wish for all people in this country.

New Moon thoughts

2009-11-22T18:10:00.000-08:00

No, I haven't seen the movie yet and likely won't until it comes out on video. I did see Twilight and laughed so hard I thought my spleen would explode. I have heard this is better - better script and director, better SF/X - but I just can't bring myself to do it. I even know 2 people connected to the film (Rachelle Lafevre who plays Victoria is a former neighbor; one of the editors is a dancer in a class I take) and I wish them all the success in the world. I hope every Titanic-loving tween girl attends three times and puts money in the pockets of all the people who made the movie.

But...no. Uh-uh. I appreciate the storytelling in the books - they were absolute pageturners a la Dan Brown's "The DaVinci Code" - but...no. Uh-uh. I read all the books, okay? Don't make me see the movies too.

HH is going to see it. With a male friend of his. Without me. Weird, huh?

Holiday breaks

2009-11-18T08:34:00.000-08:00

Over at the fab blog, YA Fresh, a whole slew of amazing YA writers weigh in on their plans for the holidays, specifically whether or not they will get any writing done. Some, like Tina Ferraro and Melissa Walker, use the time to take a break from their work to enjoy some relaxation with family and loved ones or just catch up on reading. Others, like Stephanie Kuehnert and Heather Davis, say they will continue to write, either out of habit or simply because they don't have a house full of relatives visiting!

This made me think about the importance of daily writing in my life. As it is with dancing, I think I physically and mentally suffer when I'm not writing every day. For the past six weeks, for instance, I haven't been writing anything - only outlining - and it was brutal. I felt crabby and anxious and just plain out of sorts.

Now I'm at the start of a new book and it's - fitful - heaven. I'm excited to get to my computer every day, excited to think about words or phrases or scenes I will use. It's fitful, though, because I have to ramp up my speed. I normally write between 2k and 2.5k a day when I'm in the throes of a book but I have to get there! I can't jump in at that pace.

So, while I will take a very short break over Thanksgiving when my parents are in town, I won't over the Christmas holidays. I will keep working, keep writing, keep dancing every day. Maybe dancers and writers are strictly creatures of habit and that's the only reason we get anything accomplished!

Random Thoughts on a Friday the 13th

2009-11-13T12:54:00.001-08:00

Things I Used to Be Afraid Of

1. Spontaneous combustion - not just the sudden conflagration of a pile of newspapers in the closet but of my own body. As a kid of maybe 8 years old, I was seriously worried I might spontaneously burst into flames. I must have seen this on an episode of "Wonder Woman" or "Six Million Dollar Man."

2. Getting stuck in purgatory - I was a good Catholic kid so naturally I was concerned I would go to Hell if I was bad (forget about Santa not giving me presents, I feared the Devil). Worse was learning about purgatory or limbo. To assuage my worries, my mother assured me that would not happen to me since I had been baptized. So naturally, I became worried for all of those babies who had not been baptized.

3. Botulism - in the 70s there were some outbreaks of botulism linked to canned mushrooms which marked my psyche forever. To this day, I still examine every centimeter of a can of anything and refuse to purchase or use a can that has even the slightest indentation. So technically, this is one thing I am still afraid of.

4. Dolls coming to life - not to terrorize me a la "Chucky," nor for adventures a la "Toy Story," but to chastise me for not taking them into bed with me. For this reason, I would tuck all of my stuffed animals and dolls under the covers each night and make sure that they each had a turn to be next to me.

Rachel Olivier's new e-novella!

2009-11-12T08:52:00.000-08:00

"The Holly and the Ivan" (Drollerie Press) is a delightful holiday story with elements of magic woven into the romance and mystery. Rachel Olivier is a master at using just the right word. Every sentence feels chosen, not merely written. She makes me want to tether myself to a thesaurus!

Holly is a pretty barista cum girl band singer who meets 2 very different men in her coffee shop and invites both to be VIPs at her concert that evening. Mike is blond and cheerful while Ivan is dark and brooding. She feels sparks with both men and wonders how she got so lucky to meet two cute guys in one night. Her friends and bandmates remind her that she hasn't been so lucky in love lately - in a word, her love life is a train wreck!

Mike and Ivan, however, are not who they appear to be, as we soon learn. Ivan is following Mike and trying to save Holly for reasons that are known only to him. Holly, unfortunately, learns the hard way - yowch! First, however, there's a charity performance of Holly's band, Canto Sybilla, where the showdown between the men occurs - where dark meets light and Holly is the casualty. Will she survive to meet either man and if so, will it be her choice?

I love how Rachel Olivier adds touches of fantasy to our everyday, mundane lives: the bottomless pocket that holds the right change for a tip - or a gorgeous silken dress! A magical blessing over a crowd that makes the night more special for everyone there...is that the real reason we have such a great time at rock concerts?

(You mean it's not the contact high?)

I often find fantasy cold and suffering from pretension. Too many characters have weird names. The dialogue is often stiff and faux Olde English, the prose overwrought and overwritten, the plot convoluted. But Rachel's stories are immensely entertaining and readable and I enjoy them as much as I enjoy stories from the best urban fantasy writers like Emma Bull, Melissa Marr and Holly Black (well, those are my favorites!).

For just a couple bucks, you too can delight in Rachel's story. Check out the link here to Drollerie Press and download a copy for yourself. And ignore the "erotica" tag. This story is pure romance.

This was a new experience for me, reading an e-novella. I don't have an e-reader so I had to download the novella to my desktop as a pdf file. Fortunately, my computer is a tiny notebook so it was quite comfortable to read while laying down. The graphic design was beautiful, the font easy-to-read and unlike a real book, it was simple to make the typeface larger or brighter as the sun faded and I had less light to read by.

Big bargains on all things LEIGH-related at Amazon!

2009-11-10T12:47:00.000-08:00

Another big sale at Amazon: LOVE, MEG hardcover for less than 5 bucks! Wowsa!

Check it out here.

And ALL ABOUT VEE still has a separate bargain price: less than 4 dollaroonies, yo.

Here's the VEE link.

I wonder if I should take these markdowns personally. Don't you like my books, Amazon gods?

So get a jump start on your holiday shopping. Tell your friends. Buy a copy for your school or library. Add it to your Amazon cart and be sure to get the free shipping!

The winner is...

2009-11-09T08:12:00.000-08:00

Chelsea!

Yay, Miss Page Flipper! Congrats on scoring a signed hardcover of LOVE, MEG from the In Bed With Books' contest. Just in time for the holidays - I'll sign to you or someone else if you want to give it to a friend.

Ah, I love giving things away. If only I could give away some of the chocolate-frosted Devil's Food cupcakes I made yesterday so they're not tempting me with their devilish-chocolate-y scent...

A total bargain!

2009-11-04T07:44:00.001-08:00

Ever want a copy of my book, ALL ABOUT VEE, but you said to yourself, "Aw that's too much money. I want to pay much less!"

Well, now you can! For a limited time only, ALL ABOUT VEE is less than 4 bucks at Amazon! Just click over to this link and you'll find the bargain paperback.

I have no idea why it's being sold for such a low price, but I say, take it while you can get it! Cheap is good...

Hidden costs of freelancing

2009-11-03T07:44:00.000-08:00

When you decide to work for yourself, create your own business, live life on your own terms, there are certain costs involved. For one thing, you have to pay yourself. You have to pay your own taxes - no withholding or worker's comp taken out each week by an employer. You have to pay for your health insurance (yowch!), office supplies, electric bills, computer costs, etc. No more paid holidays or sick time or vacation.

But you know all of that. After all, you're smart enough to be working for yourself, not THE MAN. If you're starting a new business, you've probably saved up some money to live on while the business builds and you've budgeted rent and food and Netflix too so you're good to go.

Wait. Did you know about some of these other costs?

1. Coffee - my former employer had a well-stocked break room which included all manner of coffees, teas and hot chocolates. There were plenty of bottles of name-brand spring water too, plus the occasional treat someone would bring in or the company (in its flush years) would provide. On your own, YOU supply the break room. And it can't be a trip to Starbucks every morning either or you will quickly go broke.

2. TP - you're in an office environment for 8-10 hours per day. You're gonna use the bathroom. That's toilet paper, paper towels, and soap five days a week, fifty weeks a year. Now YOU have to provide the bathroom supplies. And the more time you spend in there, the more you have to clean the sink and floor and wash towels. That's added expense too unless you have a cleaning person and since you're on a budget, I'm thinking NOT.

3. Gas - when I worked in Burbank, I would park my car in the company garage for free and walk to do all my errands at lunch, thus saving gas and time that would have been spent after work. Now I have to drive to the bank, drive to the pharmacy, drive to the doctor, rather than walking. So that's gas I must use and parking I must pay for.

4. Birthday lunches, holiday parties, special occasions - without co-workers and an employer, YOU are paying for your own birthday lunches and YOU are spending your precious money to have a party at the holidays. No, it's not a big deal and honestly, who needs to see the guys from accounting wasted and Xeroxing their naked butts in the copy room? But these are social opportunities you could use to blow off steam or vent about the new memo policy...then again, you're working for yourself so you shouldn't need this!

Random Thoughts on a Friday

2009-10-30T12:18:00.000-07:00

Countdown to Halloween

1. Skeleton earrings dug out of the jewelry drawer? Check.

2. Scary movies in the DVD player? Check. Bring on "The Thing," "Dawn of the Dead," and "Shaun of the Dead" (okay, that last one is more funny than scary but it's an instant classic).

3. Camera charged to take pics at the Halloween Carnaval? Check.

4. Hidden bag of candy just in case we get any trick-or-treaters? Check. Got the kind HH likes because, realistically, he's the one who will eat it but if it were for me, this is what I'd pick:

Close calls: Jobs I've Applied For in a Past Life

2009-10-28T09:23:00.000-07:00

I wasn't always this cool YA novelist/ballet instructor. It took years to get to this place. Along the way, I've had job lulls, frustrations, and depressions. And many, many times, I've felt desperate for a change. You know the feeling: I HAVE TO GET OUT OF THIS PLACE! NOW!!

And whenever I felt that way, I looked for a new job. Here are a few I thought would be perfect matches for my particular qualifications:

1. Barbie Publishing marketing executive - why not? I knew marketing from the engineering firms I had worked for and this HAD to be similar, right? And I loved Barbie dolls as a kid, even though I knew they were aspirational and women didn't look like that in real life. I especially liked Barbie's shoes and coordinating purses. Plus I always wanted a giant Barbie head that I could make up and whose hair I could style. If I worked for the company, they would probably give me one!

2. Stockbroker - yet another ideal match for me! Forget the fact that I was miserable in math class, had never taken statistics, and could care less about making money for other people. It was good pay and in a big (well, bigger) city and all the offices had glass walls. How cool was that? Actually, I was in a post-grad haze when I believed my awesome grades and Phi Beta Kappa key would get me anywhere I wanted to be. How glad am I that I didn't get to a second interview for this job?

3. Arthur Murray dance instructor - I could dance. I could teach. I was personable. But there was one thing I was missing: a certain piece of anatomy that people of my gender did not possess. Why? Women come to Arthur Murray to learn to dance. They don't want to partner with a woman. They want to partner with a man. Therefore, men were the preferred instructors. I suppose this might be different now, when more people of both sexes are coming to ballroom classes to learn, or they're coming in with partners, but back when I was young enough to think I could do anything, it was just single women.

4. FBI agent - oh yeah. Me. Working for the feds. Ha! I got as far as a phone interview which was cut short when I admitted to, ahem, drug experimentation (c'mon, it's not like I was a meth addict). When I objected to the rejection because I believed my knowledge of this aspect of American culture could actually help me, I thought the interviewing agent's laugh was going to kick me into next week. Oh well. Seemed like a logical argument to me and weren't Fibbies supposed to be logical?

Random Thoughts on a Friday

2009-10-23T08:07:00.000-07:00

Did you...

1. Enter the contest at In Bed With Books to win a signed copy of LOVE, MEG? Even if you have a copy already, I will sign it for a friend or relative - makes a great Christmas gift (which is coming very very soon!).

2. Get your Halloween candy? I love this season even though HH and I never get any visitors. Ever. Even when we lived in Brooklyn, Maurice would buy bags of candy in preparation for an onslaught of kids but never a single soul rang our bell. So he'd end up eating it all. Moved to LA - same thing. Now we don't even buy a single bag and instead we go to the massive Halloween Carnaval in West Hollywood.

3. Rent "Bolt"? Second only to "Wall-E" in my recent favorite animated movies and far superior to several Pixar flicks. Great voice cast, terrific story and my god, the animation is perfect! Take a look at the pigeons and the way they move their heads and flap their wings. CG animation has come a very long way.

4. Sign up for your flu shot? Me? No. It's not that I'm afraid of needles (like some people I know) and it's not that I think there's a conspiracy involved (like some other people I know - yes, really). I've talked to some people I trust who say this first vaccine may not be ready because it was rushed through the process and the proper clinical trials were not conducted. Honestly, I'm really not afraid of needles. I'm not.

Contest and Guest blog...

2009-10-20T07:59:00.000-07:00

...at In Bed With Books!

Check it out.

Read. The blog.

Comment. As directed.

Win. A signed hardcover of LOVE, MEG.

Easy-peasy.

TRW: Beyond Reality!

2009-10-18T21:59:00.000-07:00

Each year, the American Library Association promotes Teen Read Week and this year's theme is Read Beyond Reality! A whole week of encouraging teens to read out-of-this-world fiction, October 18-24.

As part of the festivities, a wonderful group of Los Angeles-based YA authors (called the LAYAs) is participating in a week of events with various branches of the Los Angeles Public Library. We're pairing up to make local library visits, talking to kids about books 'n stuff and probably having snacks. Because seriously, what's any sort of event without snacks?

On Tuesday, author Susan Casey and I will be visiting Cypress Park Library at 4PM to talk about fiction and non. Susan has written some nonfiction books that are crazy fun about kid inventors! We'll be talking to readers about the differences and similarities between creating fictional characters versus nonfiction ones. And we might even get them involved in creating too!

And in addition to snackage, we'll also have raffleage - giving away a copy of each of our books! Whoo-hoo! Free books! Free food! If you're in the area on Tuesday, definitely stop by and say hey. Here's the pertinent info.

In the LA area and want to know who will be at YOUR local LAPL branch?

Tuesday, October 20, 4PM

Hollywood-Los Feliz: Cylin Busby & Andrew Smith

Northeast-Cypress Park: Leigh Purtill & Susan Casey

Eagle Rock: Carol Tanzman & Amy Koss

West Valley-Encino-Tarzana: Heather Tomlinson & Cara Haycak

Northridge: Jonathan Bernstein & Alexa Young

East Valley-Sherman Oaks: Mark L. Williams & Betty Birney

Robertson: Justine Musk & Blake Nelson

Downtown Central Library-Teen 'Scape: Brenda Woods, Cherry Cheva, Ben Esch & Francesca Lia Block

Wednesday, October 21st, 4:15 pm

Echo Park: Anna Hays, Jordanna Fraiberg & Michael Reisman

Thursday, October 22nd, between 4:00 and 4:30

Western-Palisades: Ed Decter & Lin Oliver

Random Thoughts on a Friday

2009-10-16T08:13:00.000-07:00

Loving and Hating LA
1. Pro - The camaraderie of weather. When it rains here, just as on the east coast when it snows, people sort of wave to each other, shrug their shoulders at the traffic, wince at the accidents, and cautiously move along.

Con - It rains every year, people! Why do you all act like this is something brand new falling from the sky? It took me over two hours to travel 18 miles one evening because there were 2 massive rain-related accidents.

2. Pro - A reminder that movies are made in this town. When a movie can shut down a major boulevard for 4 nights in a row and blast humongous lights from cranes just to create a piece of entertainment for the masses, it makes you realize you live in a pretty unique place.

Con - hello? That road is a primary thoroughfare and you're shutting it down in both directions? For 4 weeknights in a row? And what about all those people who live in the area whose homes are being lit up from 9PM until 5 in the morning?

3. Pro - Dodger fever! Just when you think LA is so jaded about its sports teams, it catches Dodger fever, sending people into a frenzy just thinking about the possibility of a win.

Con - seems to me like fair weather fannage. Oh, they're winning? Yeah, sure, I love the Dodgems...I mean, Dodgers.

4. Pro - 90 degree weather after it's been cold and rainy. I love sun and being warm.

Con - um...there is no con. This is awesome.

Bonus randomness: next week is Teen Read Week! And this year's theme is Beyond Reality. I wrote a guest blog for In Bed With Books that she will post next week and you can even win a signed hardcover of LOVE, MEG! Whoo-hoo - free books!

Also, if you're in the area, I will be visiting Cypress Park Library with author Susan Casey on Tuesday at 4PM. We'll be talking about creating characters and inventing stuff. And yes, there will be a raffle there - free books and snacks too!

See you there~

Rainy Day Reading

2009-10-14T13:06:00.000-07:00

Not YA but still a good book, "The Double Bind" by Chris Bohjalian. Laurel was the victim of a vicious attack when she was in college. Six years later, she has created a life for herself that involves being a social worker at a homeless shelter, living with her old college roommate, and dating older men who don't want any commitment.

When a client from the shelter dies, leaving a collection of photographs, Laurel becomes obsessed with the mystery of this man. Many of the photos are of famous musicians and actors - and one of Laurel herself on that fateful day when she was attacked. Could the man have been connected to a wealthy family from Long Island, the home of Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan?

Yes, that's right. Characters and themes from F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" are woven into Bohjalian's story. Many people have criticized the book for some obvious flaws but to be honest, I didn't even notice them until they were pointed out. And while I do agree with some of the criticism, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was the perfect literary mystery for a rainy day.