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The American Library Association Conference was
the first to be held in New Orleans since Katrina. Everywhere we went people thanked us for being there, for spending our money at their hotels, restaurants, bars, cafes and shops, for riding in their cabs and dancing in their clubs. For the first few days that was the most frequent sign of what Katrina had wrought: intense gratitude that 18 thousand
librarians (and hangers on such as, you know, writers and other publishing types) were in town.
The French quarter is on higher ground and largely looks like nothing happened. Gorgeous wrought iron lace work terraces (looking not unlike Sydney ones) line the narrow streets, and the restaurants ...
Posted by Justine at 17:15, June 28th, 2006 under Cons & Other Gatherings, State of the World, Travelling |
Football is a brutal tying-my-stomach-in-knots game. Aaarggh!!! Especially right now as Australia plays Italy. They're better than us on paper and having watched the first half I can see they're better than us on the field too. But they haven't scored yet . . . on account of two incredible saves from our fab keeper, Mark Schwarzer.
Just forty-five more minutes to endure . . .
P.S. Sorry, Marrije, that was a tough, horrible game with awful ref'ing.
P.P.S. Yes, I should be off at the conference, but you guys didn't think I'd miss this match did you?
P.P.P.S. Sorry about being behind with responding to comments and emails. This conference is crazy frantic.
Posted by Justine at 11:55, June 26th, 2006 under Cons & Other Gatherings, Sport |
American Library Association conference highlights thus far:
Shaking hands with New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin
Meeting many wonderful librarians, especially you, Dawn!
Walking along Bourbon Street and realising that I'm walking along Bourbon Street
Randomly running into Margo Lanagan and her son Jack
Picking up lots of free books, including John Green's latest. Mmmm free books . . .
Meeting someone who's actually talked to Elvis Presley!!!!!
Running out of time so now I go.
Posted by Justine at 12:39, June 25th, 2006 under Cons & Other Gatherings, Travelling |
We're through!! We made it to the second round!!
AUSSIE! AUSSIE! AUSSIE! OI! OI! OI!
That is all.
Posted by Justine at 16:55, June 22nd, 2006 under Sport |
I just saw the line "Sometimes published writers get rejected too" in a
comment thread on
Miss Snark. I nodded at the screen because yes, indeed, we certainly do.
That glorious day when you finally get accepted does not mean that from then on it's all yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. I wish! I don't know a single published author who hasn't had rejections after their initial sale. Mate, I know New York Times Bestselling Authors who've had work commissioned for an anthology and still been rejected:
"You are a writer of great genius, we love your work, write us a story set in a world with butterfly-based technology!" The writer does. The response: "Your story does not ...
Posted by Justine at 22:32, June 21st, 2006 under Bloggery, Whingeing, Writing life |
It's now more than a year since Magic or Madness was first published which means I've been a published novelist for more than a year---something I've wanted since I was a littlie. All sorts of things have happened since then that I hadn't anticipated, and trust me, I anticipated a lot: bestseller status, a multi-million dollar film option, the nobel prize. (Clearly, that's all being saved for later.) I'm not entirely delusional, I also imagined less over-the-top stuff: good reviews, selling well enough that my publisher wouldn't drop me. So far so good: there's a tick beside both of those boxes.
What I didn't anticipate was how having a book out can mess with your writing other books. Once Magic or ...
Posted by Justine at 0:33, June 20th, 2006 under How To Ditch Your Fairy, Magic or Madness trilogy, Whingeing, Writing life |
That sound? Is me running by fast with my wings asingin'
Silence is because I been:
working, working, working on the making good of
book,
seeing Bill Clinton walk down 50th street to the sound of a hundred school kids letting out I-am-near-a-rock-star squeals,
plotting out my liar book,
hanging out with the wondrous
house guests,
seeing the
New York Liberty (mostly) get beaten at Madison Square Garden,
attending the launch of Catherine Gilbert Murdoch's Dairy Queen. How good is this new young adult book? Very very very. It has cows, gridiron, dentistry and true love and the most wonderful first person protag I've come across in an age. I heart DJ.
In the meantime here are some intermanet webby things of great interest:
a ...
Posted by Justine at 21:04, June 17th, 2006 under Writing goals & milestones |
Wow, I'm so pleased by the overwhelmingly positive response to the cover of Magic's Child both
here and in emails. Yay! Nice to not be alone in the liking.
A bunch of quessie were asked in that
comment thread. Here are the answers:
Magic's Child will be out in March 2007 at the same time as the paperback of Magic Lessons.
Magic! Magic! Magic! Oi! Oi! Oi! was never going to be the title. It was a placeholder name until we came up with a title that fits the book (so glad you all agree that Magic's Child is that title). Magic Lessons was also known as M!M!M!O!O!O! until the real title came along.
If one day I write a book ...
Posted by Justine at 19:18, June 14th, 2006 under How To Ditch Your Fairy, Magic or Madness trilogy |
Magic! Magic! Magic! Oi! Oi! Oi! has a name and a cover:
Which means my trilogy is pretty much complete. Here's how all three covers look together:
I loves it! What do you lot think?
Posted by Justine at 9:21, June 13th, 2006 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Praising, Viewing |
Okay, I shouldn't be writing this I have way too much work, but I've been getting quite a few emails this morning asking if I'm happy about Australia's 3-1 defeat of Japan in their first match of the World Cup. Dunno if "happy" is the word. Let's just say there has been much dancing and chanting of Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi! all over the flat.
One more time: AUSSIE! AUSSIE! AUSSIE! OI! OI! OI!
And now I go work.
Posted by Justine at 12:29, June 12th, 2006 under Praising, Sport, Sydney/Australia |
Posted by Justine at 23:15, June 11th, 2006 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Writing life |
Over at Miss Snark's some
folks get all snooty when agents address them by first name. I find their crankiness weird and am wondering if it's a generational thing or because (as another commenter says) I'm Australian and we're less uptight more relaxed than USians.
Personally, I'm more squicked when people insist on using a title with my name. My name is Justine Larbalestier, it's not Ms Justine Larbalestier, certainly not Miss or Mrs Justine Larbalestier and you're risking life and limb if you ever use
Mrs Scott Westerfeld, though FYI Scott adores being called Mr Justine Larbalestier.
If you must use a title the correct one's actually Dr, which I'm not wild about either, but at least I earned ...
Posted by Justine at 10:14, June 11th, 2006 under Frippery, New York City/USA, Ranting, State of the World, Sydney/Australia, Titles & names, Whingeing, Words & Language |
Posted by Justine at 10:09, June 10th, 2006 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Vainglory, Young Adult literature |
Today Scott and me went into the Penguin offices to meet some of the people who sell, market and publicise our books. We ate yummy cheese, humus, tabouli, dolmades, grapes and strawberries, drank good (Aussie) wine and talked publishing.
We writers mostly work on our lonesome but we're actually part of a team. A really big team. I have a lot of contact with my editors, Eloise Flood and Liesa Abrams, and some with the rest of the
Razorbill team (especially Andy Ball and Margaret Wright), but much less with the other people who work on my books. Frankly, I'm not always sure what the folks in the other departments do. So it's fabulous to meet the people from online ...
Posted by Justine at 22:22, June 8th, 2006 under Magic or Madness trilogy, New York City/USA, Publishing business, Scott's books |
Scott just hit his
tenth anniversary as a freelance writer. Congratulations, Mr Hardest-Working-Writer-I-Know.
He shares some cool statistics. Here's two:
in that time he's published well over one million words (gulp!),
and it took him eight years---that's right---eight years (!) before he was earning enough from writing under his own name to support himself.
Eight years is a loooong time and yet most writers don't ever earn enough to (comfortably) quit their day job. Scott has done very good indeed. I'm so proud.
Posted by Justine at 20:36, June 4th, 2006 under Praising, Publishing business, Scott's books, Writing life |
Penguin Australia decided to go with their own cover for Magic Lessons because they found the USian cover a bit too dark. At first I was miffed by this because I love love love that cover (plus they'd used one of my photos on it). Then they showed me what they'd come up with:
All miffage vanished. Isn't it beautiful? Plus the
St Stephen's cemetery photo is by Scott.
The USian cover was designed by
Marc J. Cohen and the Australian one by Cathy Larsen.
Here they are side by side:
Whatcha reckon?
Posted by Justine at 0:40, June 2nd, 2006 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Sydney/Australia |
Posted by Justine at 1:18, June 1st, 2006 under Fans & readers, Vainglory |
