11-Aug-2004
JERRI CORGIAT’S NEWSLETTER
August, 2004
www.jerricorgiat.com
CONTENTS:
News
Feature Article: LET IT FLOW, LET IT FLOW, LET IT FLOW
Best Book(s) I’ve Read This Month
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NEWS:
MEET THE AUTHOR: If you’re in the Kansas City area Sunday, September 12, I’m appearing as a guest of the Johnson County Libraries as part of their Meet the Author series.
Time: 3:00 PM
Place: Claridge Court, 8101 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS
For More Information: 913 967 8650
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AMERICA CONFERENCE: For five packed days in steamy July, I was in Dallas for the annual RWA convention—where 2000 published and unpublished authors come together to learn, network, and have a grand ol’ time. I even got to meet some of you on this newsletter list—what a treat! I came away with renewed and enthusiastic—as well as exhausted!
HURRY HOME: While I eagerly await seeing FOLLOW ME HOME hit the book stands this November, I’m pleased to say that I finished the third book in the HOME series, featuring the O’Malley family of Cordelia, Missouri. HURRY HOME went to my editor last week—and is currently on schedule for publication in September, 2005.
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NEW CONTEST!
You heard it here first! Visit my web site’s contest page for details on back-to-back contests this month, September, and October. And because my newsletter subscribers are all such a wonderful, supportive group, I’ll be holding a bonus drawing in mid-October just for you! No entry is needed to be eligible to win.
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FEATURE ARTICLE:
LET IT FLOW, LET IT FLOW, LET IT FLOW
(Waa-aay back in May, I launched a requested series on Creating a Novel, and I promise I’ll return to that subject next month. This month, though, I’ll try to keep it brief in the interests of keeping this newsletter to manageable size. I want to save space to tell you about a number of good books that I read this summer and recommend!)
A question I often get is “What do you do about writer’s block?” Actually, I’ve not experienced writer’s block, at least not the way I understand it: a day, week, month, year when an author opens up a blank page, stares at it for hours, and can only muster up enough muse for a single sentence—or maybe none at all.
And, to tell the truth, I haven’t heard too many published writers talk about the topic, either. Maybe simply because—once under contract—we don’t have the time for it!
Writing a book is a process—not just the writing, but then the revisions, the copy-editing, the galley-reading, the “little” things your editor asks you (like, could you get us an excerpt from the book you haven’t written yet to include with the book you just wrote, and, oh, we need it yesterday?), and the promotion. Each book is in production for approximately a year after the final version has been submitted—and authors are working on promotion and appearances for said book for a month or so after publication. At the same time that they’re writing the next book—and deadlines are looming on first drafts and revisions.
Right now for...
SING ME HOME (out in February, 2004): I am still answering fan mail, which has slowed from a (welcome) flood to a mere trickle.
FOLLOW ME HOME (November, 2004): earlier this summer, I proofed galleys. I’m now in the thick of promotional efforts. Lots of ‘em. And all do-it-yourself stuff.
HURRY HOME (scheduled for publication September 2005): My draft was submitted to my publisher last week; revisions will come back right after Labor Day and the final draft will be due back by end of that month.
(WHO KNOWS WHAT) HOME (scheduled for publication in May 2006): The proposal is due November 1, with the first few chapters if at all possible. (Uh, while I know who is in it, I don’t know yet what will happen.)
And, of course, one must leave time for checking the (good) reviews and googling one’s name to get a cheap thrill out of seeing how many times it will pop up.
Now... can you imagine if you told your employer, “I can’t work today. I’m just not in the mood?” Your job wouldn’t last long. Neither would mine. So, who has time to wait on a muse? Who has time to sit and stare at anything?
Not anybody I know.
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BEST BOOK(s) I’VE READ THIS SUMMER:
SEPARATION ANXIETY, by Karen Brichoux
A warm, thoughtful, and touching novel about a young woman’s struggle to find her identity amid the memories of the past. Highly skilled and effective blending of then and now. A true gem.
LEAVING IRELAND, by Ann Moore
I’ve already lauded the first book in this historical trilogy—GRACELIN O’MALLEY. Ms. Moore’s second effort is equally absorbing. Historical writing at its best.
PLAIN TRUTH, by Jodi Picoult
A fellow writer suggested this author, telling me she wouldn’t disappoint. She sure didn’t—this book was a wonderful read: a legal drama involving murder in the midst of Old Order Amish. Fascinating story. Fascinating characters. Fascinating depiction of a not-often-explored way of life. This isn’t Ms. Picoult’s latest, but a bookseller recommended it as a starting point in reading her work.
THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME, by Mark Haddon
Amazingly original and highly engrossing. A mystery and a cultural commentary. Humorous and wise, with an honesty that packs a punch.
THE HONK AND HOLLER OPENING SOON, by Billie Letts.
Ms. Letts brings the same warmth, humor, and eccentricity to this novel about the power of love as she did in WHERE THE HEART IS, the national best-selling book (and later movie). An enjoyable and endearing read.
THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES, by Sue Monk Kidd. There’s a reason why everyone in kingdom come seems to have read this book! It’s that good.
Happy Reading!
Jerri
