Last Day of 2005
Woo hoo! Another year gone! A fridge full of champagne and yummy food! Who could ask for anything more? (Well, it would be nice if we didn’t both have books due 3 Jan . . . )
I see that many in blogland (and elsewhere) are summing up their year, taking stock, making resolutions for 2006 and etc. I’ve already skited enough about my achievements this year. It’s been a bloody brilliant year personally. I just want it all to keep on keeping on.
I’m aiming to write two books (both of which I’ve already started) in 2006 and sell one (two would be nice, but I don’t want to jinx myself). I also plan to spend the majority of the year in Sydney, cause now that I’m home I just want to stay. And I really, really, really want to get tickets for the Sydney Ashes test. Ideally for every day of play. If anyone has a cunning method of getting said tickets, or is a member of the SCG—I’m am so up for offering you huge bribes! Whatever you want you got it!
Best book I read this year: Walter Mosley’s The Man in My Basement. I just made my parents read it too and they were also blown away. It’s the most powerful, moving examination of evil, of race and gender, and what it is to be human I’ve ever read. But rest assured this ain’t just philosophy and ethics; it’s a scary arse story that’s completely unputtdownable.
Books I’m most looking forward to: The Night Watch by Sarah Waters and Elizabeth Knox’s Dreamquake the sequel to Dreamhunter, and frankly it just can’t get into my hands soon enough!
Hope you lot have a fabby new year, too. And achieve everything you want to achieve. I’m going to get started on the champers now. Happy new year!
Another good review for Magic or Madness!
And of all places it’s in Australian Family Circle (December 2005 issue). A lifestyle magazine filled with recipes and stuff on quilting etc. (or at least that’s what it looks like from the cover) with a circulation of more than 300,000. In a country of only 20 million that’s pretty good going. Here’s what they said:
Reason Cansino has spent all her life in the outback with her mother, trying to hide from her grandmother—a witch. But when her mother falls ill, Reason has live with her grandmother and discovers all is not as she thought. While this is technically a fantasy novel, the very real world that’s created will enchant anyone who reads it.
Not bad, eh? And while some genre fans may objec, I like them pointing out that it will also appeal to non-fantasy fans. Bigger audience = good.
I think this might be the first t time I’ve been reviewed in a place not devoted to books, children’s fiction, or genre. Yay me!
Thanks to Ana Vivas of Hachette Children’s Books for for passing it along.
The Art of the Synopsis
As many people have noted Miss Snark is providing commentary on more than a hundred synopses. If you’re at all interested in a career as a writer or the publishing industry you should definitely take a squiz.
As Scott and me’ll be giving a workshop on writing these buggers in March (in Bologna!) I’ve been following Miss Snark’s critques and the resulting discussions closely. I found Diana Peterfreund’s posts particularly useful, especially her reminder to everyone that even when you’re already a published writer you still have to write ‘em:
I can vouch for that. I sold the Magic or Madness trilogy on the basis of a proposal (including synopsis) and the first three chapters. In the contract I get paid when I turn in the synopsis for each book and then on publication. So, even though I’d already written the synopsis of the whole series I had to write a new one for books 2 and 3.
I nagged and nagged my editors until they let me out of writing a synopsis for the third book. I don’t hate writing them; I’m just lazy. Instead I had a meeting about the book with my editors and we all took lots of notes and gossiped. Much fun. I was feeling very cunning and pleased with myself for having substituted writing a synopsis with a fun gossip session, but then some publishers interested in foreign-language rights for the whole trilogy requested, you guessed it, a synopsis for book 3. Sucked in, Justine.
And because I was three-quarters of the way through writing Magic or Madness 3 when I had to turn around and write the synopsis, I found it very hard going. For me it’s much easier to write the synop first. If I’ve already written the book, or worse, haven’t quite finished it, then I’m all bogged down in the detail and writing a decent synop is agony.
From now on I’ll be writing a synop early on in the writing of each new novel—or, you know, I’ll intend to—because sooner or later someone’s going to want one out of me. And it doesn’t matter if it’s not an exact snapshot of the book—as Diana says quoting one of her teachers: “a synopsis is a sales tool”.
So there you have it: the synopsis is a mostly unavoidable part of selling novels. Live with it!
Andrew Symonds Saves His Test Career
Best oz bowling figures in the first innings: 3/50 which he then follows up with an insanely entertaining 72. Six sixes? Maaaaaaate! Not to mention continuing his genius fielding ways. No way can they drop him now! Nyer nyer nyer nyer nyer, da!
School Library Journal’s Best Books of the Year
I mentioned a while ago that both Scott and me had made SLJ’s best books of the year list. That issue is now available. I was very pleased by their description of Magic or Madness:
In this Australian page-turner, a resourceful teen tries to sort out her contentious family’s secrets and is astonishingly transported to New York City via a portal in her grandmother’s house. A potent mix of mystery and magic with a thoughtful exploration of personal-identity issues and familial relationships.
It also turns out that Scott has not one, but two books on the list: Peeps and Uglies. I’m dead proud. It’s one thing to be prolific, it’s another to be prolific and good. He’s had quite the amazing year, hasn’t he?
Windy Day in Byron
Nothing says author photo like exploding hair . . .
And, no, I didn’t know it was being taken. My sister’s sneaky that way.
Merry, Merry, Happy, Happy
I hope everyone who celebrates today or any of the cluster of days around it—or who’s just enjoying the days off work or school—has a most excellent end of the year. I plan to.
I’d like to adopt the USian custom of giving thanks (yeah, yeah, I know they do it on a different day—whatever!). Here’s what I’m thankful for:
Hope most everything is wonderful with you lot as well.
I’m going to Bologna!
We really are going to the Bologna Children’s Book Fair—the biggest event in the children’s publishing calendar. We have tickets. We’re all booked. We practically have accommodation. I am very excited and hoping to meet my Taiwanese, Thai, French and German publishers. I’m also looking forward to eating lots of amazing Bolognese food. Can’t wait!
Things I Don’t Understand
1. Why the exact same brand toothpaste has radically different packaging in different countries.
2. Why everyone thinks King Kong is the best movie ever.
3. Why no one told me that Lost is excellent genre TV.
4. Why whenever you buy chips in an Oz pub they always come served in a plastic fake-wood bowl.
5. Why cricket isn’t the dominant sport in every country in the world.
6. How anyone could wear gold sandals and not be ironic.
Aurealis Awards Redux
Just back from Byron and it turns out that there are, in fact, five books on the shortlist for the Aurealis Award for best Young Adult book of the year. (Thanks for the heads up, Mr Ben Payne.) The missing title was Isobel Carmody’s Alyzon Whitestar. Can’t wait to read both Alyzon and Anthony Eaton’s Nightpeople.
Byron Bay was beautamous and excellent. More when not knackered.
Off to Byron, Whingeing about Deadlines, Boasting about My Sister, and Some Lovely News (updated)
Sorry about the not blogging of late, especially with you lot being all interesting in the comments (I’ve finally gone through and responded, bless you all). I was kept from it by boring, boring non-internets stuff and the looming deadline. Or rather, panic about the looming deadline. Corey asked of my deadline how soon “scary soon” is: 2 January, which is 17 days away, and I’m about 15-20 thou words short of the end. Also, I’d like to, you know, revise and rewrite before I send it off.
Ordinarily I leave myself a month or more for that, and while I’m revising I send it out to my first readers for comments. There won’t be none of that this time, which worries me deeply. Maybe I can send to first readers at the same time as sending to my editors? Hmmm. Don’t mind my panicking out loud here. Any suggestions for creating time pockets or outsourcing some of the writing are very welcome.
Today we’re off to Byron Bay for almost a week courtesy of my hard-working and very talented sister, Niki Bern, who is so very cool that one of her shots is the current front cover of Cinefex magazine. How amazing is that? Here’s a better look at her shot:
For Niki making the front cover of Cinefex is even better than if I got the front cover and a rave review in The New York Times Book Review. It’s beyond cool! My sister is ubercool! And she’s just hired a house in Byron on the beach for us all to hang out and relax. I ask you: does anyone have a better sister than I do? I didn’t think so. Now, if only I didn’t have to work the whole time I’m there . . .
The lovely news is that Magic or Madness is a finalist for the Aurealis Award for Young Adult novel and so are two (!) of Scott’s books: Peeps and Uglies! Between us we make up three quarters [update: three fifths] of the short list. Most excellent, eh? The other quarter [update: one fifth] is Anthony Eaton for Nightpeople [update: and Isobel Carmody's Alyzon Whitestar] both of which we’ll be grabbing copies of asap. To make the lovely news even lovelier many our friends are also nominated in other categories: Cat, Sean, Rjurik, and Garth, as well as Rob (stories he edited).
Oh, and one last thing: First Test against South Africa starts at the WACA today. Kill ‘em, boys! Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!
Settling in
Slowly, very, very slowly, and not that surely, I’m settling back into life in Sydney. I have some bookshelves, though no where near enough to cope with all my many, many books. But for the first time in almost three years I can sit and gaze at my first editions of Geek Love, Wide Sargasso Sea, Fireworks, Black Glass and The King Hereafter and all my other beloveds and try to figure out which to re-read first. I’m very, very tempted to start with the Lymond books.
Right now a whole bunch of LJers are reading The Tale of Genji. Having just unearthed my never-read copy I’m very tempted to read along with them. So very tempted . . .
Sadly, the third Magic or Madness book is due scary soon and I’m not exactly on top of it. I have fifty thousand words. Remember? Pretty much the same fifty thousand words I had at the end of my San Miguel sojourn. Not good. But maybe The Tale of Genji will be inspiring . . .
Beautiful Clothes
All this talk of fashion and clothes and why some of us love ‘em compelled me to head to Lisa Stack’s shop, Helix (conveniently located in Surry Hills where me and Scott now live). The shop is on Bourke St in what once would have been a corner shop dispensing lollies and milk and newspapers. Now it is filled with gorgeous dresses, skirts, trousers, tops in the most fabulous colours, with luscious prints. No vile pastels or lollipop colours, none of the hippy dippy crap that’s filling most of the shops hereabouts. I wound up buying two of Lisa’s tops and a pair of her silk japanese fisherman’s pants (so very very comfortable—I don’t think I’ll ever take them off again). And a circle skirt by Theresa Jackson made of embossed cotton. It’s shiny and makes me feel like a 1950s goth African fairy princess. Sigh. Much clothes happiness.
Here’s what I love most about Lisa’s shop, not just that her clothes are inventive and beautiful and comfortable, but that I don’t feel like a fool for walking in. In many botique shops I only fit into the largest sizes, and—you’re just going to have to trust me on this—I’m not that big. I’m not particularly tall or fat, and yet in cool shop after cool shop I barely squeeze into the largest sizes. Huh? And the shop assistants make out like this is somehow my fault. Does that make for shopping pleasure? No, it does not.
While I was at Helix three other women tried on clothes. Two of them much older than me, one much younger. One larger than me, two smaller. And here’s the thing: we all looked really good in her clothes. We had fun trying them on. We gossiped and offered opinions on what looked best on each other. It was a gas. I don’t remember the last time I had such a good time in a clothes shop.
And even better, Lisa’s clothes aren’t insanely expensive, are very well made, and last a very long time. What could be better?
Best Quote Ever
Fossicking through my many, many, many boxes of books I found this quote marked:
I once asked a young dissertation writer whether her suddenly grayed hair was due to ill health or personal tragedy; she answered: “It was the footnotes”.
—Joanna Russ, How to Suppress Women’s Writing
Those words bring back my years of PhD thesis research, writing, turning it into a book, and the postdoctoral fellowship that followed it. Not to mention the mighty labours on Daughters of Earth. Footnotes, bloody, buggery footnotes! A pleasure to read and chase amongst; a total pain in the arse to get right. And don’t get me started on bibliographies and indexing. Aaarggh!
So very, very glad I never have to do any of that stuff ever again!
And, yes, I did go prematurely grey.
Whoa, Black Caps!
One of the best onedayers I’ve seen in ages. Last over: Black Caps had one wicket left, one run a ball needed, and then two runouts in the last over. I was thinking NZ were absolutely no chance! But they got so very close. What a match!
Is it just me or have ODIs gotten a lot more interesting in the last couple of years? And how about the Brett Lee reversal of fortune? 3/5 in the last match; 1 for a million in this one. How about that Symmo? And Vincent? And Cairns? And Vettori? And Clarke? And Lewis?
And how happy am I that I can watch the baggy greens v the black caps in NZ; Pakistan v England in Pakistan (yay Shoab Akhtar!); and soon Australia v South Africa here in the land of Oz? Very, very: tis glorious to be home with TV access to cricket all over the world.
Fashion = good, complex, interesting
Lauren McLaughlin in praise of fashion. Sing it, Lauren!
This reminds me of a friend of mine being (verbally) attacked by an earnest young man (e.y.m.) at a party. She was (and is) gorgeous and has always enjoyed playing with fashion, is always well attired, with fabulous make-up and hair. He accused her of dressing to please men. How long, he wanted to know did she spend on such a high-maintenance look? Shouldn’t she be doing better things with her time? Why was it so important to her to have men admire her? Weren’t there more important things in life?
Reader, my friend demolished him. She smiled and pointed out to the e.y.m. that his look wasn’t exactly low maintenance. How long did it take him to shave his head? He opened his mouth, goggled, closed it again. If he cared so little about fashion, she continued, why was he wearing fashionable jeans and a black T-shirt? And trendy workman’s boots? Clearing he was dressing to pick up inner-city chicks. He stammered some more, claimed he chose them because they were comfortable. She countered that if he truly gave no thought to clothes or his appearance he would simply buy whatever was closest and cheapest. She happened to know the jeans he was wearing were only availlable at two different shops and were not exactly cheap. Why not wear no-name brand jeans?
As Lauren says most everyone thinks about clothes and what they’re wearing and what other people will think of them because of their choices. Fashion is a very big deal. Often people can tell how rich or poor you are from what you wear, they form an opinion of your education and politics (though they can be very very wrong), they can decide not to let you into a club, or talk to you, or give you a job because of what you’re wearing. Fashion is a deadly serious (and excellently entertaining) and far-reaching part of all our lives. It is definitely not a trivial matter to write or think about.
A New Movement is Born!
My friend Lauren has invented a whole new genre: SpecChickLit. Most excellent. Anyone out there ready to write Bridjeet Jan’nes on Adabaran III?
ASIF! hits PW
The newly-minted organisation ASIF! (Authors Supporting Intellectual Freedom) has just gotten coverage in the source of all publishing news , Publishers Weekly.
We also now have our mission statement:
AS IF! champions those who stand against censorship, especially of books for and about teens.
I’ve never had a mission statement before. I feel very superhero-y all of a sudden. Yay us! Maybe we need capes?
Lovely Texas and other matters
A few things:
1) I got my intramanet back!! In my very own home. My excitement is beyond words: email! dictionaries! blogs! posts! The whole world at my fingertips!
2) Magic or Madness made its third best books of the year list, the Tayshas reading list put together by the Young Adult Round Table of the Texas Library Association. I’m particularly chuffed about this one on account of I got family in Texas—that’s where my in-laws hail from and my uncle-in-law is the principal of a high school in Houston. Also there are many very cool books on the list. Not just Scott’s Uglies, but the work of at least two other Aussies: Fiona McIntosh’s Myrren’s Gift and Marcus Zusak’s I Am the Messenger. Very pleasing.
3) In our new flat we can go out onto the balcony and watch the nightly exodus of flying foxes from the Tannie gardens. I love them.
4) The nothing changes convo continues (so fab to see the nattering continue without me—I love youse guys!) and is taken up by David Moles and a cast of thousands on his blog. All fascinating stuff. Oh, and Claire & Lauren? I’m so with you on Ghost World. I was double plus unthrilled by that movie. Especially cause the Bollywood music opening sequence was luverly.
Still no internet
AAAAAaaaaaaaarrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhh!!!!!!!
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