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I've decided that I will sell my fourth book after I've finished writing it, rather than from a partial. I sold the Magic or Madness trilogy from an outline and the first three chapters of the first book. That is, I sold the idea of three books and then had to turn around and write them to pretty tight deadlines. Now I want to try writing one at my own pace and not try to sell it until it's as good as I can get it.
I've done this before. My very first novel was written that way. I had a lot of fun writing it and I'm proud of it, too. But it hasn't sold. That's the huge risk, of ...
Posted by Justine at 22:58, July 27th, 2006 under How To Ditch Your Fairy, Magic or Madness trilogy, Writing life |
A dear, dear friend of mine, Yvette Christiansë, will be publishing her first novel,
Unconfessed, later this year. I just realised that I've known Yvette for more than fifteen years now and have been admiring her writing for even longer. (My first coming across her brilliant poetry is a long story that I'll reserve for Unconfesed's official publication date.) Anyways, I've been waiting for her first novel for ages and now it's almost here.
While we wait for November to roll around, the 1 August issue of Kirkus Reviews has a starred review of Unconfessed, which drips with praise, culminating in this fabulous pull quote:
A gorgeous, devastating song of freedom that will inevitably be compared to Toni Morrison's Beloved. But ...
Posted by Justine at 16:52, July 25th, 2006 under Praising, Reading |
Posted by Justine at 0:05, July 24th, 2006 under Daughters of Earth, How To Ditch Your Fairy, Liar, Vainglory |
A contribution to
International Blog Against Racism Week:
One time white me was out on the town with a black friend. We were wearing our very bestest clothes and looking very fine indeed. Especially my friend who is gorgeous no matter what she wears.
We needed a cab. She, being the seasoned New Yorker, stepped out onto the street with her arm out while I futzed about with my bag. Several cabs with their lights on zoomed by.
I looked up wondering why there were so many off-duty cabs at a non-off-duty time of night. More empty cabs went by. Not one had off-duty lights on. What the hell? I thought.
"Okay," my friend said. "You try."
We switched places. Seconds later. I kid ...
Posted by Justine at 8:54, July 19th, 2006 under Bloggery, New York City/USA, State of the World |
I haven't been reading much lately (on account of Magic's Child eating my brain), but I had a quick squiz at my friend
Diana Peterfreund's very first novel,
Secret Society Girl, and before I knew it I'd read the whole thing. Oops! (And lost hours of valuable writing time! Curse you, Diana!)
SSG hits the stores today. It's a read-in-one-gulp hoot. Perfect for summer. Enjoy!
Here's the debut novelist and her new baby. Aren't they adorable?
Posted by Justine at 10:00, July 18th, 2006 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Praising |
I've swiped the following announcement from Oyceter, coffeeandink and Rachelmaninja over in livejournal land. If you want to take part here's what to do:
Announce the week in your blog.
If you have an livejournal account you can switch your default icon to either an official IBAS icon, or one which you feel is appropriate. To get an official IBAS icon, you can make up of your own or ask
oyceter to do so as she has agreed to be the Official Iconmaker of the Revolution, or hop over to her LJ and pick up one of the general-use ones she's put up.
Post about race and/or ...
Posted by Justine at 15:00, July 17th, 2006 under Bloggery, Praising, State of the World |
You are correct that I have not been blogging much or responding to comments like I usually do or even responding to email a whole lot.
The reason is that I'm on a deadline (yes, the same one, yes, it was moved again, yes I really have to meet this one) and am working my arse off. (Oh, how I miss my arse!)
In the meantime I think you lot should entertain me. Here are some questions:
Does anyone have any recs for best brunch place in NYC?
Who's going to be the first Australian to win the Tour de France (no, it doesn't have to be this year)?
What's the best book you've read lately?
I just read
Out by Natuso Kirino. Loved it. ...
Posted by Justine at 11:18, July 16th, 2006 under Basketball, Bloggery, Excuses, Fashion, Food, Frippery, Magic or Madness trilogy, New York City/USA, Praising, Reading, Sport, Tour de France |
Julie Phillips has a brand-spanking new
gorgeous website to promote her forthcoming unbelievably brilliant biography of James Tiptree, Jr. Go check it out! And order that book. Seriously it's one of the best biographies I've ever read.
She'll also be reading here in NYC:
Date: Wednesday, July 26
Place:
KGB, 85 E. 4th St., NYC.
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 pm
I'll be there. Hope you all can come too.
Posted by Justine at 14:46, July 13th, 2006 under Praising, Reading |
Posted by Justine at 0:02, July 9th, 2006 under Scott's books, Writing life |
In New Orleans I saw men in orange jumpsuits being watched over as they worked by a man wearing a blue coat with the word Sheriff on the back.
Today's New York Times
explains what I saw. Turns out that Louisiana is the one state in the United States that allows private citizens to use prison labour:
At barbecues, ballgames and funerals, cotton gins, service stations, the First Baptist Church, the pepper-sauce factory and the local private school—the men in orange are everywhere.Many people here in East Carroll Parish . . . say they could not get by without their inmates, who make up more than 10 percent of its population and most of its labor force. They are ...
Posted by Justine at 15:11, July 5th, 2006 under New York City/USA, State of the World |
Remember the anthology I published a couple of months ago?
Daughters of Earth?
Well, at long last, it's
been reviewed and the review's a lovely one.
Here's what Nancy Jane Moore at
sfrevu has to
say about Daughters:
In Daughters of Earth, eleven feminist science fiction scholars look at eleven feminist science fiction stories. Given that the field of science fiction scholarship is a small one, it is a joy to find eleven very good feminist scholars among them. Combining the microcosm of each story with the macrocosm of the Twentieth Century, these scholars provide us with a depth of experience we can't get just reading the stories themselves.
A ridiculous amount of work (tracking down ...
Posted by Justine at 10:13, July 5th, 2006 under Daughters of Earth, Vainglory |
Okay, so Italy beats the Ukraine 3 nil, then Germany 2 nil to make it to the finals. Makes us Aussies look pretty good, eh? We kept them to 1 nil. Plus that one goal was from a penalty kick awarded for a flop.
I'm just saying . . .
Posted by Justine at 17:42, July 4th, 2006 under Sport |
Posted by Justine at 18:58, July 2nd, 2006 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Scott's books, Writing life |
Okay, I got nothing against France. They
publish my books after all, and it's where some of my ancestors are from, but I love the Brazilian football team, have done for ages, and I really, really, really wanted to see them in the final.
I'm bummed.
Yeah, yeah, France played better. Yeah, yeah, I have the consolation of England being knocked out. But it's depressing knowing it's going to be an all-European final with not one team from the rest of the world.
Poo!
Oh, well, maybe we'll be able to take the Tour de France. Are there any Brazilians in the Tour? Ghanaians? Japanese? With all those drug expulsions surely my Aussie boys Cadel Evans and Michael Rogers are a shot?
Right ...
Posted by Justine at 17:05, July 1st, 2006 under Sport, State of the World, Tour de France |
