Guess what!? This morning I received a Facebook message from Barry Smith, the author of Only Milo! He said he had actually read my review of his ARC and appreciated it so he's going to send me a signed copy of the full length book! I can't wait to read Only Milo again and to let you know what I think!
So how cool is that? For him to get in touch with me and to OFFER to send me a signed copy is really awesome. It just reminds me that writers are real people.
Actually, that reminds me of something I totally did not blog about previously because I was so embarrassed about it. I also met Debbie Macomber at BEA. Ms. Macomber is a hugely successful and beloved women's fiction author. I was mortified when my friend dragged me over to her, knowing this and yet never having read one of her books. My friend introduced me and told her I was a writer. Now at that moment, while I was blushing and cringing I imagined that she herself was trying to repress the urge to roll her eyes and run far far away. Instead she smiled and asked me what I wrote.
"Urban fantasy," I managed to say.
Her eyes lit up. "That's very popular right now," she said, "you should come by my booth at around 10 AM and I'll introduce you to my editor."
Clearly Ms. Macomber was going above and beyond here. She was very genuine and nice and just seemed like the kind of woman you could have lemonade and lots of laughs with but also the woman who, when out to brunch with her girlfriends, might surprise everyone by ordering a gin and tonic, thereby inciting everyone else to do the same.
Of course I did NOT take her up her generous offer, for two stupid reasons. 1. I was concerned that her publisher would be more interested in paranormal (I just typed paramoral by mistake! A forthcoming Christian/Fantasy subgenre, prehaps?) romance than urban fantasy. I envisioned a very awkward moment in which they asked me to summarize my plot and then were visibly disappointed when they realized that there's only a bit of romance and no sex.
2. I had been strictly told that I was to report to my book pimping post at 10 AM. This was my first day and I was convinced that if I didn't do well they would throw me out and send me packing. I don't think I was totally paranoid, seeing as I was told on numerous occasions to be more aggresive and the two times I sat down to rest my injured knee I was firmly told to get 'back out there.'
It was very stupid of me to make assumptions about what an editor would or wouldn't want and I probably managed to offend Ms. Macomber in the process. So, Debbie Macomber, if you read this: I'm sorry for over thinking everything. I really did appreciate your kindness.
To wrap this all up into some sort of cohesive post, published authors are people, too and--in my limited experience--are very awesome, generous, smart people at that.
That is absolutely awesome of Mr. Smith.
ReplyDeleteNow, this might sound weird, but I'm beginning to suspect we share at least a small percentage of brain. [So begins a long story explaining why. Sorry for the length.]
I had gone to an archaeology lecture, required of a mythology class taught by an archaeologist, with my dad my freshmen year of college. My professor mentioned that he knew Kate Elliott, and said she'd be there. So he introduced me and my dad to her. Before this point, I'd admitted to my dad that I recognized her name (after countless library visits, I could picture the cover of Prince of Dogs wth her name on it on the shelf), but had never read her work.
Cut to the introduction, and my dad tells her that. I was so embarassed. I thought it an unspoken insult to talk to an author without having read one of their books. But she was so friendly, and offered to read my work (I never mustered the courage to send her the novel I was working on at the time), did an interview with me for my college newspaper, and this summer, critiqued a short story I'd written.
Experiences like this and yours amaze me, in a very good way. Plus, I'm also writing an urban fantasy with some almost-romance and no sex.
In the highly likely case that we do in fact share a percentage of brain, I vote that we take turns having full custody of said percentage for the time being. That way we'll be more likely to finish our current projects and be on our way to international literary *stardom*.
ReplyDeleteAlso, hurray for urban fantasy novels with a dash of romance and the gorgeous, genius authors who write them...(I'm talking about us!).