The Divining Wand

On March 4, 2010 The Divining Wand’s post presented, Our Authors’ Spring/Summer Book Releases. Now, at the July 4th mid-summer break, let’s review those books you may have missed and belong in your TBR tote bag.

MARCH

Presenting Debutante Sarah Pekkanen and The Opposite of Me

Jenny Gardiner and Winging It

APRIL

Kristy Kiernan and Between Friends

Holly LeCraw and The Swimming Pool

Matthew Quick and SORTA LIKE A ROCK STAR

MAY

Lauren Baratz-Logsted and Marcia’s Madness

Meredith Cole and Dead in the Water

Presenting Debutante Joëlle Anthony and Restoring Harmony

Barrie Summy and I So Don’t Do Makeup

Presenting Debutante Emily Wiinslow and The Whole World

JUNE

Allison Winn Scotch and The One That I Want

Tish Cohen and The Truth About Delilah Blue

Allie Larkin and Stay

Carey Goldbergy, Beth Jones, and Pamela Ferdinand with Three Wishes

Trish Ryan and A Maze of Grace

Robin Antalek and The Summer We Fell Apart

Of course there are more books to come, including Alicia Bessette’s Simply from Scratch debuting on August 5th and Kristina Riggle (Real Life & Liars) second novel The Life You’ve Imagined releasing August 17th. Yet for a lazy, hazy holiday break, there’s more than enough great reading here. Enjoy!

Announcement: The winners of Robin Antalek’s The Summer We Fell Apart are Keetha and Jenny.

Congratulations! Please email: diviningwand (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address, and the book will be sent out promptly.

Enlightening or entertaining, what type of blogs would our authors favor on a daily basis? Of course it’s a bit of both and you might enjoy following along with:

Katie Alender (Bad Girls Don’t Die YA):

~ Unclutterer – http://unclutterer.com/

~ Post Secret – http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

~ Sew, Mama, Sew! – http://www.sewmamasew.com/

~ Sew at Sea, by my hilarious friend Laura – http://sewatsea.blogspot.com/

~ Pub Rants – http://pubrants.blogspot.com/

Trish Ryan (He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not: A Memoir of Finding Faith, Love, and Happily Ever After, A Maze of Grace: A Memoir of Second Chances coming June 22, 2010):

~ Gretchen Rubin offers a great mix of practical and personal tips that guarantee me a smile, every time I click on her blog.

http://www.happiness-project.com/

~ Brilliant writing advice from a wide array of authors.

http://writerunboxed.com/

~ It’s like People Magazine with a focus on the spiritual adventures of celebs.

http://blog.beliefnet.com/idolchatter/

~ A bunch of Borders employees are trying various resolutions found in books. The one I like best is the guy going for the adult version of the President’s Physical Fitness Challenge. I didn’t know that was an option, but I want my badge!

http://bordersblog.com/resolution-solutions/

~ One of the first blogs I followed, and still one of the funniest. I’ve met “Swishy” and she’s every bit as great in person as she is online.

http://swishygirl.blogspot.com/

~ I met Amy Julia at a writer’s conference. Her perspective on faith, family & life makes me think…and feel.

http://amyjuliabecker.blogspot.com/

Kristy
Kiernan (Catching Genius, Matters of Faith and Between Friends):

~ GalleyCat http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat (industry news)

~ Backspace http://www.bksp.org (writers’ discussion board $40/year)
~ The Divining Wand http://www.thediviningwand.com (no, really!)

~ A Good Blog Is Hard To Find http://southernauthors.blogspot.com (southern authors rotate blogging)

~ Toastiest http://toastie.st (personal blog of David Seidman that I used in my research for BETWEEN FRIENDS and came to care about)

Kristina Riggle (Real Life & Liars and ) The Life You’ve Imagined coming August 17, 2010):

~ Obviously, the Debutante Ball!

http://www.thedebutanteball.com

~ Literary Mama, where I’m co-editor for fiction, which features really exciting, fresh work by mother-writers.

http://www.literarymama.com

~ My agent’s blog, Pub Rants.

http://pubrants.blogspot.com/

~ GalleyCat, an industry blog which combines great information with a biting wit

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/?c=rss

And a non-writing blog, Generation Xpert, by my friend Suzanne Kart. Speaking of biting wit, she uses hers to blog about Generation X.

http://genxpert.blogspot.com/

Lauren Baratz-Logsted (most recent Crazy Beautiful YA, Sisters 8 series Book 5: Marcia’s Madness, and The Education of Bet YA coming July 12, 2010) :

~ Backspace: http://bksp.org/

~ Book Balloon: http://bookballoon.com/

~ BiblioBuffet: http://bibliobuffet.com/

~ Teen Fiction Cafe: http://teenfictioncafe.blogspot.com/

~ Read Short Fiction: http://www.readshortfiction.com/

Wendy Tokunaga (Midori By Moonlight, Love in Translation):

~ The Book Deal: An Inside View to Publishing by editor Alan Rinzler – this guy really knows his stuff.

http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/

~ Internet Movie Database (whenever I see a film, I look it up here afterwards to get the scoop on the actors, trivia, awards, etc.)

http://www.imdb.com

~ Nathan Bransford – Literary Agent – Nathan works for Curtis Brown and always offers useful and cutting edge info on getting an agent, the publishing industry, the editorial process, etc.

http://blog.nathanbransford.com/

~ Yahoo News – I find this site the easiest as far as layout and content to quickly keep up with the news of the day as it changes by the minute.

http://new.yahoo.com

~ Perez Hilton – Yes, it’s cheesy gossip, but I admire how Mario Lavendeira (aka as Perez Hilton) built a highly successful website from humble beginnings with only a laptop and an “office” at the local Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Cafe. He’s also an amusing writer.

http://www.perezhilton.com

Announcement: The winner of The Sisters 8 Series is Susan. Congratulations! Please email diviningwand@gmail.com with your mailing address and the books will be sent out promptly. This is definitely an occasion where I wish everyone could have won but thank you ALL for entering!

Today Lauren Baratz-Logsted (most recent Crazy Beautiful YA, The Education of Bet YA coming July 12, 2010) — along with her husband Greg Logsted (Alibi Junior High, Something Happened YA) and their daughter Jackie — add Book 5: Marcia’s Madness to the Sisters 8 Series for ages 9 – 12.

In other words this series is about a family, written by a family. Lauren told the backstory of the Sisters 8 when writing her April 6, 2010 guest post, Lauren Baratz-Logstead’s Love of Writing:

“The idea for the series about octuplets whose parents go missing one New Year’s Eve came to us in December 2006 when we were snowbound in Colorado. There was no TV where we were, and there weren’t any other children around, so what choice did we have for entertainment but to begin writing a series of books?”

And continued with:

“One thing we have strived to do with The Sisters 8, since all three of us our huge fans of Roald Dahl, we’ve tried to emulate him to the extent that we do the best to make the quirky humor work for readers of all ages in addition to the targeted audience of 6- to 10-year-olds. We hope we have succeeded.”

Please visit The Sisters 8 website to read:

The Story Begins

Okay, so that’s how it begin. How does it end? Enter the world of Sisters Eight to find out…

How could any age reader resist that invitation? Yet there is more on the Sisters 8 Books page:

The Sisters 8 Series

It’s a good old-fashioned mystery with missing (or dead) parents, nosy neighbors, talking refrigerators, foul-smelling fruitcake (is there any other kind?), and even a little magic. Eight little girls, eight cats, and one big mystery—let the fun begin! Read the Series Prologue.

Judging by the enthusiastic Reviews only a young reader could write, this family of authors has a hit on their hands. It is a collaboration, though, so how does it work? According to Lauren, the process is simple:

“It all goes pretty much as it has since the beginning when we first brainstormed the general idea for a series about octuplets. We all discuss what needs to go into each book plotwise. Then, like Curious George, I sit down and begin to write. We call me The Pen. After each chapter, I read it to my other two cohorts, we discuss what needs to be changed in that chapter and add new ideas for the next chapter. Rinse and repeat until each book is completed. Oh, and after each book is completed, we go out for a celebratory lunch. These inevitably turn into editorial lunches with the other two peppering me with ideas for the next book. I beg them to stop, not wanting my head to explode, but they never listen. So yes, I do all the physical writing, which is why it’s billed as “Lauren Baratz-Logsted with Greg Logsted and Jackie Logsted,” but there’d never be any Sisters 8 without all of us. I could certainly never think up all this craziness on my own and of course the other two are authors in their own right. Greg is the author of one YA novel, Something Happened, and one middle grade novel, Alibi Junior High, while ten-year-old Jackie likes to write plays. Oh, and she’s also working on her own novel. Solo, this time.”

Charming, clever and fun, the Sisters 8 introduces Book 5: Marcia’s Madness with the following synopsis:

Wherein the fifth-born sister, Marcia, the sensible one; Marcia, the reasonable one; Marcia, the one who would never do anything crazy, begins to act in a most unusual way.

Oh my…Marcia, Marcia, Marcia! Read the First Chapter, meet the sisters, and discover why they’re concerned about Marcia.

Are you thinking summer vacation? How perfect to surprise a young reader with the five books of the Sisters 8 series. In fact, that’s exactly what The Divining Wand will do this week. Anyone leaving a comment on this post will be entered into a random drawing with the winner receiving ALL five books! The deadline for this giveaway is Wednesday, May 5, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. EDT with the winner to be announced in Thursday’s post.

Lauren Baratz-Logsted with Greg Logsted and Jackie Logsted have created a delightful family story. It’s age-appropriate intrigue, whimsy and irony encourage and promote reading. Seriously, is there anything better than that? Remember Book 5: Marcia’s Madness is available in bookstores now.

Today’s post is the continuation of how authors responded to a recent question posted on The Divining Wand’s Q & A page:

Here’s another question for your authors: What is the word count of most of their novels?

I know that we here all sorts of estimates of what a novel should be, 70,000 to 100,000 words. But what is the actual count for the novels featured here, and do your authors think about word count as they’re writing?

Also please welcome The Divining Wand’s latest about-to-become author, Allie Larkin, who leads off with:

Allie Larkin (STAY coming June 10, 2010):

“The final version of STAY is around 100,000 words. The first draft was just short of 70,000, and then grew through the revising process, as the story became more layered and I developed the characters further. I don’t think word count should be a concern in the first few drafts of a book. Those drafts are about creating the framework of the story and getting to know the characters. Obviously, there are ideal lengths for books, but I think reaching an ideal word count should be more of an organic process than a goal to meet. You never want to add words just for the sake of adding them. So, even if it’s necessary to add 10-20,000 words to make the book a marketable length, I think the focus should be more about figuring out a way to grow the story and grow the characters, than trying to hit a certain number.”

Melanie Benjamin (Alice I Have Been):

“This is a good question. Before ALICE, I always aimed at 80,000; my earlier contract, for my 2 contemporary novels, stipulated that should be the approximate word count. When I moved to historical fiction, however, I found that there’s more leeway, and ALICE came in at around 100,000 words, and nobody blinked an eye. That’s the word count I have in mind for my next historical novel, too.

“However – word of advice. Let the story develop as it needs to and try not to obsess about the word count until it’s finished. Revisions always change things. If you finish and you find you’re way under the typical word count (which is, yes, anywhere from 70,000 to 100,000, depending on the genre as I said above), then you may have to decide whether or not the work would be better off as a short story. If you’re way over, you can edit and perhaps divide the work into 2 novels. So – try not to obsess while telling the story, but at the end of the day, word count does matter.”

Judy Merrill Larsen (All the Numbers):

“Ooh, I definitely think about word count as I’m writing . . . my novels tend to be in the 75,000 word range, which is a bit on the short side. And I NEVER get to that in my first draft. My goal in a first draft is to get to 65,000 words because I know that in revising (which to me means mostly adding and rearranging), I’ll get in that magical realm of 70,000-80,000 words.”

Holly LeCraw (The Swimming Pool):

“Mine is about 80,000 words. I didn’t think about word count as I was writing, but assumed I would come in at 300ish pages. As it turned out, mine is 307. I tend to like books that are tightly constructed and not overlong, although there are always exceptions.”

Lauren Baratz-Logsted (most recent Crazy Beautiful YA, Sisters 8 series with Book 5: Marcia’s Madness coming May 3, 2010):

“Since I write for pretty much every age group imaginable, I’m all over the place on this. Each volume in The Sisters 8 series for young readers comes in at about 22K. My one middle grade was 35K. My adult novels range from 70-100K. Even within YA, I’m all over the place, with most coming in at 45-50K while The Twin’s Daughter (due out on Aug 31) is a whopping 96K! It all depends on what the individual book demands, how long it takes to tell the story right.”

Shana Mahaffey (Sounds Like Crazy):

“Sounds Like Crazy weighs in at just over 105,000 words. I wrote without regard to word count and was lucky enough to have my book published under an imprint that believes a book should be as long as it needs to be to tell the story.”

Maud Carol Markson (When We Get Home, Looking After Pigeon):

“I don’t have the exact number but I believe Looking After Pigeon was just around 80,000 words. The novel I’m working on now is about 85,000 words.”

Sarah Pekkanen (The Opposite of Me):

“The Opposite of Me is 105,000 words (give or take a few). My second novel is about 90,000 words. I do think a little about word count as I write, knowing it would be much harder to sell a book that came in at 60,000 or 200,000 words.”

Kristina Riggle (Real Life & Liars and The Life You’ve Imagined coming August 17, 2010):

“I had to look this information up. REAL LIFE & LIARS was 85,498 in the pre-copyedited version, and THE LIFE YOU’VE IMAGINED is a little longer at 91,171. My work-in-progress will end up about the same. Since I measure my daily progress in first drafts by word count I suppose I do think about it as I write, but only as a handy way to measure productivity. I do feel very pleased when I hit the big round numbers divisible by 10,000. It’s arbitrary, but it does feel like a milestone and since writing a first draft is so solitary it’s nice to congratulate myself on leaping those hurdles. No one else is going to throw me a party.”

Allison Winn Scotch (The Department of Lost and Found, Time of My Life and The One That I Want coming June 1, 2010):

“All of mine hover around the 85k mark. I do think about WC as I’m writing – I think about the book in a series of acts, and I know when to begin each one (generally), so I can time the action – and the necessary arc of that action – to the word count.”

Barrie Summy (I So Don’t Do Mysteries, I So Don’t Do Spooky and I So Don’t Do Makeup coming May 11, 2010, Ages 9 – 12):

“My novels (tween mysteries) are 52,000 to 55,000 words. Do I think about word count while I’m writing?

“Yes. Yes. Yes.

“I’m a HUGE plotter, and I know where I should be word-count wise for the major plot points, darkest moment, the resolution. This is how I keep the pace up.

“And also how I keep my sanity. I promise myself treats all the way through the first draft. For example, when I reach the first plot point, around 13,000 words, I get to have a package of licorice as a reward.”

Wendy Tokunaga (Midori By Moonlight, Love in Translation):

“I believe that my word counts come out to be around 85,000. I never think about this when I’m writing, though. I just write as much as I need to tell the story and it always seems to work out okay in the end.”

Therese Walsh (The Last Will of Moira Leahy):

“My publisher, Shaye Areheart, likes books to come in right at about 90,000 words, which is the word count for The Last Will of Moira Leahy.

“I keep tabs of word count using Word, but I don’t stress about it much while drafting a story. I tend to trust that the word count will fall near the right mark in the end. Word count definitely becomes more important during editing, though. I find it easier to edit a “fat” story down to size rather than add new beef.”

And a final word on just the facts….

Randy Susan Meyers (The Murderer’s Daughters):

“According to fictionfactor.com, ‘”Most print publishers prefer a minimum word count of around 70,000 words for a first novel, and some even hesitate for any work shorter than 80,000. Yet any piece of fiction climbing over the 110,000 word mark also tends to give editors some pause. They need to be sure they can produce a product that won’t over-extend their budget, but still be enticing enough to readers to be saleable. Imagine paying good money for a book less than a quarter-inch thick?”‘

“That said, there is much back and forth on this issue. I think the topic is very well covered by agent Colleen Lindsay in her blog, the swivet.”

If you have a question for our authors feel free to post it on the Q & A page or email: diviningwand@gmail.com

ATTENTION: This site’s rather exclusive sidebar has a new addition under the category of Must See. ArounderTouch is an iPhone app from Arounder.com. The virtual reality site — featuring gorgeous 360-degree panoramas of the world — is what I frequently used on Seize A Daisy’s “Friday Getaways.” It’s a first-class ticket for your travel plans or imaginary flights of fancy, please check it out.

Announcement: The winners of Quick’s debut YA novel, SORTA LIKE A ROCK STAR, are Keetha and Beth. Congratulations! Please send your mailing addresses to: diviningwand (at) gmail (dot) com, and I’ll have your copy sent out promptly. Many thanks to everyone who entered.

Two weeks ago, several of our authors/friends shared words of wisdom that help guide them through the writing process. And, in today’s post, those who have yet to be heard from, respond to:

What is the best advice about writing that you’ve received/read AND put to use?

Emily Winslow (The Whole World coming May 25, 2010):

“Things have to HAPPEN.

“My natural inclinations are toward character, premise and theme. I resisted plot. I hated limiting everything that could possibly happen to one measly thing that does happen.

“But it must be so. Things have to happen. Once I got that through my head, things started to work out for me.”

Kristina Riggle (Real Life & Liars, The Life You’ve Imagined coming August 17, 2010):

“My critique partner and friend, the talented British writer Eliza Graham (PLAYING WITH THE MOON, RESTITUTION, upcoming JUBILEE), advised me to sometimes hold off on a revelation and increase the tension by making the reader wait for the whole truth. I used to have a tendency to raise a question but then immediately answer it. Much more dramatic — and realistic — to let the answer emerge gradually.”

Lauren Baratz-Logsted (most recent Crazy Beautiful YA, Sisters 8 series with Book 5: Marcia’s Madness coming May 3, 2010):

“Nora Roberts says something like, ‘”I can edit a lousy page but I can’t edit a blank one.”‘ Even before I heard it, I was living it. Putting one foot in front of the other, or one word after another – it’s what being an author is all about.”

Jessica Barksdale Inclan (Being With Him, Intimate Beings, The Beautiful Being):

“I took a couple of classes from Anne Lamott, who wrote Bird by Bird, one of the best writing books ever. She told both classes, ‘”300 words a day, and in a year, you have a novel.”‘

“That’s it. 300 words a day, and maybe it’s a draft, but it’s done. And 300 words are completely do-able, and I most often find myself writing more.

“Simple and it works.”

Eileen Cook (Unpredictable, What Would Emma Do? YA and Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood YA):

“Before I was published I took a writing course. I was worried about sending my writing out into the world because I was worried about rejection. The teacher sat me down and said. ‘”What do you have to lose? You’re already not published- the worst that will happen is that you still won’t be published.”‘ It was then I realized that I had more to lose by not trying than I did by giving it a shot.”

Carleen Brice (Orange Mint and Honey, Children of the Waters):

“The best advice I received was: ‘”Stop writing. It’s time to send the book out into the world and let it take it’s lumps.”‘ That was the best advice because I would probably still be “polishing”‘ my first manuscript otherwise!”

Robin Antalek (The Summer We Fell Apart):

“Write beyond the closed door.

“I think for every one of us who sits down to write – there is a little voice that says: what if my mother/father/boyfriend/grandmother/husband reads this? What will they think about me? When we do that the scene stops. It’s like we reached the closed door at the end of the hallway and said, okay. It’s locked. I give up.

“To really write honestly we have to open the door and write the scene that makes us squirm even if it doesn’t end up in the final draft – you still have to allow yourself to go there. I think I did that in The Summer We Fell Apart and that’s what made the difference. I opened myself up fully to those characters knowing that in some ways they would be very controversial. The best thing about that? I’ve received wonderful letters from people who share their stories with me because they’ve experienced something similar to what the characters in the book have experienced. That is an AMAZING feeling.”

Announcement: The winners of Eve Brown Waite’s memoir, First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria, are Suzanne and Trish. Congratulations! Since you’ve both won in the past, your mailing addresses are on file and the books will be sent out promptly. Many thanks to everyone who entered.

At first glance, Lauren Baratz-Logsted and her successfully diverse writing career (with the most recent books Crazy Beautiful YA, and Sisters 8 series with Book 5: Marcia’s Madness coming May 3, 2010) is likely to pose the questions of why different genres/ages and which is her favorite? In today’s guest blog post, Lauren literally explains.

Back in 1994, when I left my day job of 11 years to take a chance on myself as a writer, I assumed like many a writer before me that the first book I would create would be the Great American Novel. Also as with many before me, it didn’t turn out quite like that. The first novel I completed? A comedic mystery. Never sold. My first published novel, The Thin Pink Line in 2003? Classified as Chick-Lit, and we all know that can’t be the Great American Novel, plus it was set in Britain.

By the end of this year, I will have had 19 books published. That kind of boggles my mind, even if it doesn’t boggle yours. And have any of those books qualified as the Great American Novel? Well, no. But they have been many and they have been diverse.

Agents and other publishing professionals often advise writers that they shouldn’t sell meat in their fish markets, that everything’s about the branding and the platform these days. But it turns out the only brand I’ve got is that I’m diverse. So just what have those 19 books consisted of? You may well ask. They are, as follows:

5 contemporary comedies, aka Chick-Lit: The Thin Pink Line, Crossing the Line, A Little Change of Face, How Nancy Drew Saved My Life, Baby Needs a New Pair of Shoes

1 anthology: This is Chick-Lit

1 literary novel set in the Victorian era with erotic and suspense undertones: Vertigo

5 young adult novels: Angel’s Choice (contemporary serious), Secrets of My Suburban Life (contemporary seriocomic sort-of mystery), Crazy Beautiful (fairy tale re-visioning), The Education of Bet (Victorian seriocomic; forthcoming), The Twin’s Daughter (Victorian suspense; forthcoming)

1 middle grade novel: Me, In Between

6 books for young readers: the first six volumes in the projected nine-book series The Sisters 8

Phew! That’s a lot to list! I’m certainly impressed with me right now. As you can see, even within a subheading like Young Adult, I’m all over the place in terms of time period and tone.

Two questions naturally arise here: Why do I wear so many different writing hats? And which type of book do I enjoy writing most?

I’ve got easy answers for you here, so step right up.

I wear so many different writing hats because I love writing, period, and I love taking on new challenges. I would never knock writers who start in one area and remain there throughout their careers but I can no more write in just one genre than I could read in just one; I read eclectically as well. So will I sell as many books or have as big a career as I might if I were to brand myself as just one type of writer? Who’s to say? All I know is, I’m happy doing what I do and I even manage to make something resembling a living at it.

As for the second question, while I do love writing it all, if I had to pick a favorite to work on, it would be The Sisters 8 series for young readers that I conceived with my novelist husband Greg Logsted and our 10-year-old daughter Jackie and now write with them as well. The idea for the series about octuplets whose parents go missing one New Year’s Eve came to us in December 2006 when we were snowbound in Colorado. There was no TV where we were, and there weren’t any other children around, so what choice did we have for entertainment but to begin writing a series of books? Working on these books with our own daughter, brainstorming together, doing book-signings together, getting fan mail that comes addressed to all of us – I think I can safely speak for both Greg and myself when I say this has been the greatest single joy of our writing lives. I wish it could go on forever.

One thing we have strived to do with The Sisters 8: since all three of us our huge fans of Roald Dahl, we’ve tried to emulate him to the extent that we do the best to make the quirky humor work for readers of all ages in addition to the targeted audience of 6- to 10-year-olds. We hope we have succeeded.

So what’s next for me? You may well ask. I may well ask. The answer? More of the same. More of the different. I’ll tell you one thing: As my career goes on, I seem to be writing for ever-younger audiences so I’ll project that the very last book I’ll ever write will be one of those counting books. There’ll be just a single word on each page, beginning with Ten and descending to One on the last page. And then I’ll be done with writing, free to turn up my toes, happy with a job – hopefully! – well done.

Thanks for listening.

Book Giveaway: The Divining Wand is giving away a copy of The Swimming Pool in a random drawing of all comments left on this post. The deadline is Wednesday, April, 7, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. EDT with the winners to be announced here in Thursday’s post. If you enter, please return on Thursday to possibly claim your book.

Lauren Baratz-Logsted is a writer for all ages, just take a look at her Amazon book pages. However you may know her best for the critically acclaimed 2009 YA novel, Crazy Beautiful, or the SISTERS 8 series for youngsters. In fact this series adds yet another addition with the upcoming release of Book 5: Marcia’s Madness on May 3, 2010.

The Divining Wand is scheduled to present/review Marcia’s Madness on Monday, May 3rd but, in the meantime, “meet” Lauren by reading her “official” bio which is quite extensive until it ends at 2006:

I was an independent bookseller and buyer for 11 years before deciding to take a chance on myself as a novelist. While trying to sell my books, I worked variously as a Publishers Weekly reviewer, a freelance editor, a sort-of librarian, and a window washer. My first novel, The Thin Pink Line, about a woman who fakes an entire pregnancy, was published by Red Dress Ink in 2003 as their own first-ever hardcover. They’ve since published two more of my books, Crossing The Line (a sequel) and A Little Change Of Face. In September they’ll publish a fourth: How Nancy Drew Saved My Life, a comic gothic that’s equal parts Nancy Drew, Jane Eyre and Chick-Lit. 2006 will also see the publication of two other of my novels: Vertigo, a literary novel set in the Victorian era with erotic and suspense undertones, from Bantam in October; and Angel’s Choice, an earnest YA about teen pregnancy from Simon & Schuster in December. I’m also a contributor to the Jane Austen fiction/nonfiction anthology Flirting With Pride & Prejudice and editor/contributor of the anthology This IS Chick-Lit, due out from BenBella Books in the fall. I live in Danbury, CT, with my wonderful husband Greg and my equally wonderful daughter Jackie.

It’s time for an update and what could be better than this revealing one:

Q: How would you describe your life in 8 words?
A: I am the luckiest person in the world.

Q: What is your motto or maxim?
A: The only person who can ever really take you out of the game is you.

Q: How would you describe perfect happiness?
A: Doing just about anything with my ten-year-old daughter and coauthor Jackie.

Q: What’s your greatest fear?
A: I never used to fear death but now my greatest fear would be dying before my daughter’s old enough to no longer need me. Thanks for depressing me!

Q: If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A: New York City. Thanks for cheering me up!

Q: With whom in history do you most identify?
A: I’m convinced that Princess Diana and I were switched at birth.

Q: Which living person do you most admire?
A: Hillary Clinton. I know she’s a polarizing figure for many people, but I intensely admire her resilience.

Q: What are your most overused words or phrases?
A: I have a problem with the word “that,” such that you could say I am that-dependent.

Q: If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
A: Singing well would be nice, also the ability to make money like a human mint.

Q: What is your greatest achievement?
A: Raising a happy child.

Q: What’s your greatest flaw?
A: Just one??? I’m hard on myself. And sometimes I’m not hard enough on myself. Do you see my point?

Q: What’s your best quality?
A: Resilience.

Q: What do you regret most?
A: Spending too much of my life worrying about losing weight. I think if women stopped expending so much time and mental energy on that, we could take over the world.

Q: If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
A: A cat. Spending my days sleeping in the sun and my nights running around the house like a maniac sounds curiously appealing. Also, except for cat-haters, everyone would love me and admire my fur.

Q: What trait is most noticeable about you?
A: My nose. It enters the room before I do.

Q: Who is your favorite fictional hero?
A: I refuse to pick one. Jo March, Jane Eyre, Phineas from A Separate Peace and Jay Gatsby, swimming pool notwithstanding.

Q: Who is your favorite fictional villain?
A: Iago, but that could be just because I like saying “Iago.”

Q: If you could meet any athlete, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
A: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I’d thank him for all the joy he gave me watching him shoot in sky hook after sky hook.

Q: What is your biggest pet peeve?
A: Intolerant people.

Q: What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
A: Reading.

Q: What’s your fantasy profession?
A: Outside of writing? Mayor of Danbury.

Q: What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A: Honor, humor, resilience. Do you sense a theme here?

Q: If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
A: Having recently discovered shrimp pizza, I’m going with that.

Q: What are your 5 favorite songs?
A: “Lonely No More,” Rob Thomas
“Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner,” Warren Zevon
“The Way You Look Tonight,” Frank Sinatra
“The Numa Numa Song,” O-Zone
“Listen to Your Heart,” DHT
Ask me again tomorrow and this might change.

Q: What are your 5 favorite books of all time?

A: Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
A Separate Peace, John Knowles
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
Memoirs of Cleopatra, Margaret George

No need to ask me again tomorrow. These won’t change.

Whether on not Lauren changes her mind on music, books, or anything else, she’s a fascinating author to follow on Twitter and friend on Facebook!

Book Giveaway: The Divining Wand is giving away two copies of Between Friends in a random drawing of all comments left on this post. The deadline is tonight at 7:00 p.m. EDT with the winners to be announced here in tomorrow’s post. If you enter, please return tomorrow to possibly claim your book.

When the following thoughtful question was posted on The Divining Wand’s Q & A page — rather than select a few authors to answer this query –, it was sent out to everyone.

I wondered, what do your authors read in the way of writing books? Do they have favorites they refer to again and again? Do they read the classics like, Bird by Bird, or Writing Down the Bones, or do they favor books on craft like, Save the Cat?

Reading (and writing) minds want to know!

As might be expected there were duplicates mentioned, however the authors’ overall choices are impressive for any writer’s library:

Jessica Barksdale Inclan (Being With Him, Intimate Beings, The Beautiful Being):

“I am sure you will get a slew of the best book titles, but my true fav is the Scene Book by Sandra Scofield — wonderful for fiction and narrative writers of all kinds.”

Sarah Pekkanen (The Opposite of Me):

“I have my writing bibles up on my website under the “Writers I Love Link” and I also did a piece for NPR’s “All Things considered” on the 3 books that helped me learn to write a book – it’s on the main page of my website.”

Lauren Baratz-Logsted (most recent Crazy Beautiful YA, Sisters 8 series with Book 5: Marcia’s Madness coming May 3, 2010):

“My favorites over the Years: Forest from the Trees, Betsy Lerner; On Writing, Stephen King; The Mythic Journey, Christopher Vogler; The Art of Dramatic Writing, Lajos Egri.”

Ad Hudler (Man of the House, All This Belongs to Me, House Husband):

“I might be in the minority here, but I never read books about writing. Instead, I learn by critically reading other writers’ novels and essays and memoirs. If I like something I say, “‘Now … what makes this work so well?” And if I don’t like it I say, “Now … why didn’t this work? What’s wrong with it?’” But writing books per se? Nah.”

Joëlle Anthony (Restoring Harmony YA coming May 13, 2010):

“I’ve never been that big on books about writing, although I’ve read a few – Bird by Bird comes to mind. However, I like craft books. Ones that tell me what to do, like how to plot a mystery or write comedy or edit the first five pages. My favourite one, and the only one I really turn to over and over, is Donald Maas’ workbook that accompanies his book WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL. While I don’t have dreams of being the next Dan Brown, this book and workbook has taught me so much about the craft of writing. And I use some of his exercises when I teach writing too. It’s a must-have for every writer’s library, if you ask me. No matter what your genre or aspirations.”

Therese Fowler (Souvenir, Reunion)

“My personal go-to books are the following:

By John Gardner: On Becoming a Novelist and The Art of Fiction
Stephen King’s On Writing
Janet Burroway’s Writing Fiction (the best instructional book I’ve found)
Robert Olen Butler & Janet Burroway’s From Where You Dream

Each fills a different need. Gardner’s books are a bit dated, but his clear-eyed assessments and advice have always spoken to me.”

Maud Carol Markson (When We Get Home, Looking After Pigeon)

“Stephen King has a wonderful book, On Writing. But for me — the best way to learn about writing is to read (over and over again) the books that I love. I try to absorb what these writers have done with characters, dialogue, plot, voice, etc. Then I write and write and write.”

Jenny Gardiner (Sleeping with Ward Cleaver, Winging It: Twenty Years of Caring for a Vengeful Bird Determined to Kill Me coming March 16, 2010)

“Loved Bird by Bird and Stephen King’s On Writing. I think Save the Cat is a fabulous book that anyone who is putting pen to paper to tell a story should
read. Blake Snyder was a wonderful, smart, and generous person who shared so much great
information for anyone and everyone. I was so sad that we lost him so young. And really bummed because he was to blurb my book and I know it would have been a lovely one.”

To be continued…

Announcement: The winners of Sarah Pekkanen’s debut novel, The Opposite of Me, are Janel and Kristen. Congratulations! Please send your mailing address to diviningwand (at) gmail (dot) com and I’ll get the books to you as soon as possible. Thank you for playing everyone.

Have you heard, new books are coming? That’s been my refrain throughout the winter but it’s only the truth. And the new releases begin appearing next Tuesday when Sarah Pekkanen (hmm, ever heard of her?) debuts with The Opposite of Me.

Rather than tell of all the others, let me show you what will soon be in bookstores as well as here on The Divining Wand.

March 9, 2010:

Sarah Pekkanen debuts with The Opposite of Me

March 16, 2010:
Jenny Gardiner (Sleeping with Ward Cleaver) launches her memoir, Winging It: Twenty Years of Caring for a Vengeful Bird Determined to Kill Me.

April 6, 2010:
Kristy Kiernan (Catching Genius, Matters of Faith) gifts us with her third novel, Between Friends.

Holly LeCraw debuts with The Swimming Pool.

May 3, 2010:Lauren Baratz-Logsted (most recent Crazy Beautiful YA, Sisters 8 series) adds to the SISTERS 8 with with Book 5: Marcia’s Madness.

May 11, 2010:
Meredith Cole (Posed for Murder) gives us more chills with her second mystery, Dead in the Water.

Barrie Summy (I So Don’t Do Mysteries, I So Don’t Do Spooky) has yet another detective case for preteens with I So Don’t Do Makeup Ages 9 – 12.

May 13, 2010:
Joëlle Anthony debuts with Restoring Harmony YA.

May 25, 2010:

Emily Winslow debuts with The Whole World.

Thaisa Frank (A Brief History in Camouflage, Sleeping in Velvet) offers a gem with Heiddegger’s Glasses.

June 1, 2010:
Allison Winn Scotch (The Department of Lost and Found, Time of My Life) assures us that her third novel is The One That I Want.

June 8, 2010:
Tish Cohen (Town House, Inside Out Girl, Little Black Lies YA) tells The Truth About Delilah Blue.

June 22, 2010:
Trish Ryan (He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not: A Memoir of Finding Faith, Love, and Happily Ever After) shares more of her life with A Maze of Grace: A Memoir of Second Chances.

July 12, 2010:
Lauren Baratz-Logsted (most recent Crazy Beautiful YA, Sisters 8 series with Book 5: Marcia’s Madness) returns to YA with The Education of Bet.

August 5, 2010:
Alicia Bessette debuts with Simply from Scratch.

August 17, 2010:
Kristina Riggle (Real Life & Liars) promises another “a la Anne Tyler” novel with The Life You’ve Imagined.

All of these authors will be revealed and their books presented, in addition to a few surprises. Remember, it begins this Monday with The Opposite of Me!

[Note: This information will be archived on the Debuts page.]

Although pre-empted by yesterday’s Olympic post, here is the continuation of our authors’ favorite love stories.

Katie Alender (Bad Girls Don’t Die YA):

“My favorite love story is ‘”Pride & Prejudice.”‘ Nobody can do it like Jane Austen! And one of the great things about loving that book is that there are umpteen movie versions to choose from when you need a girls’ day on the couch with some popcorn and a glass of wine! (The audiobook is also great for sewing along with.)”

Melanie Benjamin (Alice I Have Been):

“Pride and Prejudice; I just swoon over Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. I think the very end of that novel is the most romantic ending ever.”

Eileen Cook (Unpredictable, What Would Emma Do? YA and Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood YA ):

“I think it was the summer I was 13, my mom gave me her copy of Gone With the Wind to read when I complained about being bored. I was completely swept up in that story. I still re-read it from time to time.”

Tish Cohen (Town House, Inside Out Girl, Little Black Lies YA, The Truth About Delilah Blue coming June 8, 2010):

“Favorite love story is still Anne Tyler’s Breathing Lessons — a day in the life of a very real couple. No heaving bosoms, no chiseled jaws. Just a scatty, interfering wife and a gruff, fed-up husband who bicker and sweat and even hate each other at times. This book is a testament to the kind of love that matters–love that endures.”

Jessica Barksdale Inclan (Being With Him, Intimate Beings, The Beautiful Being):

“While most of the love is thwarted in this story, the longing in The Mists of Avalon always bowls me over. Love that they reach and reach for and never get who or what they want–but they still love. This same longing and imagery in The English Patient, at the end.

“The love of a father for his daughters in Animal Dreams. So heartrending. So amazing.”

Lauren Baratz-Logsted (most recent Crazy Beautiful YA, Sisters 8 series with Book 5: Marcia’s Madness coming May 3, 2010):

“Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez”

Shana Mahaffey (Sounds Like Crazy):

“I don’t remember the title, but I do remember the book quite well. It was one of those mass market bodice rippers where you have the eighteenth century Helen of Troy, whose somehow fallen on hard times and is enslaved to some purported evil, albeit devilishly handsome landowner with a the rakish cowboy who has nothing but is ready to whisk Mary off into the sunset on the back of his horse thrown in. I stole it off the pile of books next to my mother’s bed during the summer of my thirteenth year. What makes this book so memorable (forgotten title notwithstanding) is that it’s the first book I stayed up all night to finish. My cousins still talk about getting up around nine in the morning and finding me on the couch where they’d left me the night before, nose still buried in the book. Nothing against Judy Blume, but getting Forever after a Bodice Rippers is akin to my first opera experience: I saw the La Boheme dream team—Pavarotti and Freni—from row F center—nothing else will ever compare.”

Ivy Pochoda (The Art of Disappearing):

“God, who doesn’t love a juicy Jane Austen love story! They’re all fantastic.”

Kristina Riggle (Real Life & Liars):

“I feel like I bang on all the time about BREATHING LESSONS by Anne Tyler, but it is about love and is one of my favorite books. Not only did it influence me as a writer, but I think it was illuminating for me to read as a young woman, demonstrating that a married couple can bicker, chafe, get so infuriated they can barely look at each other, and still be fully in love.

“In order to vary my answer to these questions a bit, I adore THE GREAT GATSBY which I guess is not a love story in the “happy ending” sense, but it is a romantic story in the sense of romanticizing a person, and how dangerous that can be.

“In a more classic “love story” sense, I did very much enjoy DELICIOUS by Sherry Thomas! Yum.”

Therese Walsh (The Last Will of Moira Leahy):

“This is a tough question! Anyone who knows me knows my favorite novel is The Time Traveler’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger), but I don’t know that I’d call it my favorite love story. Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale might be my favorite. Kinsale is a masterful storyteller with great voice, and FftS offers unique but authentic characterizations, a riveting plot, and a pitch-perfect resolution. It’s a definite keeper.”

Emily Winslow (The Whole World coming May 25, 2010):

“My favorite couple is Sam Vimes and Lady Sybil in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, beginning with the book “Guards! Guards!” “She smiled at him. And then it arose and struck Vimes that, in her own special category, she was quite beautiful; this was the category of all the women, in his entire life, who had ever thought he was worth smiling at. She couldn’t do worse, but then, he couldn’t do better. So maybe it balanced out. She wasn’t getting any younger, but then, who was? And she had style and money and common-sense and self-assurance and all the things that he didn’t, and she had opened her heart, and if you let her she could engulf you; the woman was a city. And eventually, under siege, you did what Ankh-Morpork had always done–unbar the gates, let the conquerors in, and make them your own.”