July 2010
24 posts
July 30, 2010
THE MYSTERY OF THE HARD BACK
Since I published my first novel, I’ve grown wiser about the publishing industry and as I continue to write, I hope to learn more. One practice that baffles me, however, is the continued existence of the hardback book. I heard or read somewhere that hardbacks bring in the biggest profits for a publisher, but I don’t see how. I buy a hardback (unless it’s a fine arts...
July 29, 2010
ERUDITION AT THE DOLLAR STORE
Monday, I went to the Mall on an errand. As I walked back to my car, I noticed a sign in the Dollar Store window that read: “Martha Grimes and other books for $1.00.”
As I am a Grimes fan, I hurried in on impulse. In the corner several works were on display but no mysteries. I’m not surprised. Grimes is a popular writer and I’d no idea how long the offer had been...
July 28, 2010
THE BAROMETER OF BOOKS
On Saturday, I did the unthinkable. I turned down the armload of books a friend offered me when we met for coffee. She’s a reviewer for a small newspaper so she receives a steady stream of new arrivals. I know how quickly new releases can accumulate when a person is in a position to give a book public attention. I used to volunteer as a reader for a PBS radio station that...
July 27, 2010
QUICK THOUGHTS ABOUT SLOW MOVEMENTS
Saturday morning, I took my walk in the park nearby my home. The temperature was forecast to rise above 90 degrees, so a number of people were exercising or walking their dogs while it was cool. Under a stand of trees, a group had gathered to practice Tai Chi and as I walked a little further, I came upon a horseshoe tournament. Pausing, I noticed a smattering...
July 26, 2010
AS FORD WENT SO GOES THE PRINT NEWSPAPER?
A lot of debate is going on about the future of print newspapers. People aren’t reading them as much anymore and revenues are down. The electronic media is blamed because TV and online news are free. Rupert Murdoch, the media mogul, wants to change that with a “pay for view” online version of some of his newspapers and others publishers are standing in...
July 23, 2010
A SKULL AND CROSS BONES DOESN’T ALWAYS MEAN POISON
I added a new link to my section on Writers Resources recently; or rather Mark did at my request (Mark is the brains behind the layout of this blog).
The link I added belongs to a writer named Jack King. His page is called “Spy Writer.”
I don’t know how I stumbled on to him but as he provided a list of small press publishers, I e-mailed the...
July 22, 2010
SELLING PIECES OF MYSELF
On Monday, I went to a bookstore that buys and sells used books. I wanted credit to apply toward a new purchase. It’s a simple commercial transaction but every time I do it I leave feeling uneasy.
Some of the clerks behind the counter behave as though they are bestowing grace instead of conducting business to our mutual benefit. I stand like a school girl in front of them,...
July 21, 2010
THANK YOU MRS. ROOSEVELT
Here’s a story every writer will marvel at and probably everyone else. It’s about a woman called Laura Munson and her struggle to become a published author. During the first twenty years of her career, she produced fourteen books and all of them were rejected countless times. Only once was she given a glimmer of hope. A publisher suggested she cut three hundred pages out...
July 20, 2010
ONE GRAIN OF SAND AT A TIME
I decided to buy a new book last week. I can afford the luxury because I don’t spend much on clothes, my mortgage is paid, I own my car and I’ve done most of the major repairs on the my 113 year old house – I hope. I won’t give away the title of the book as I haven’t read it yet and can’t say whether it’s good or bad. Today I’m ruminating on the process of making a...
June 19, 2010
HOLDEN CAULFIELD ALL OVER AGAIN
I’m sure being a lighthouse keeper ranks right up there with being a shepherd on the list of the world’s loneliest jobs, but writing is probably in the top ten. Even when a writer is in a crowd, a part of his brain functions as an observer. After all, he’s searching for insights. If he isn’t, why write?
This habit of being in the world and observing it at the same...
June 16, 2010
THOUGHTS ON AN ORDINARY LIFE
Tuesday was one of those days when I felt I accomplished little. I’d risen early to squeeze in three hours of uninterrupted writing before my haircut appointment; but we all know what happens to best laid plans. A visitor dropped by to see how I was doing. We stopped to chat as I don’t see him often. He has a busy life: a wife, three daughters ages eleven through...
July 15, 2010
THE ART OF SURVEYS
I almost threw the envelope in the recycle bin as junk mail when my eyes fell across the return address: Arbitron Ratings Media Study. I recognized the name as the company that rates TV and radio programs based on audience surveys. I presumed one of those surveys was inside.
I get a lot of questionnaires in my mail. My health care company sends me one every time I go to the...
June 14, 2010
EVEN CONAN THE BARBARIAN HAD A MOTHER
Last season, a friend recommended a TV series and out of respect for his opinion, I began watching. When a program is new, one should allow time for the actors to build a rapport with one another and for the writers to develop character. Over time, however, the audience expects to see growth and providing that development makes good business as well as...
July 13, 2010
THE JOKE IS ON ME
I got an e-mail from a friend last week that contained good news. She’d convinced her book club to read one of my novels, and she wanted to know where the members could find copies. I gave her the names of some outlets and later remembered the books left over from my tour. They were sitting in my basement. I could provide a discount to the club and move inventory as well....
June 12, 2010
BETTY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS
I had coffee with a woman last week whose friendship I’ve enjoyed for years. Spending time with her is like playing in a room full of champagne bubbles. She makes me laugh and so it’s hard to believe that in a week she turns 80. Good genes are one explanation for her energy; but her interest in all things creative is another. That’s why I shouldn’t have been...
For Carol Thomas Koon
Hi Carol,
Got your message of condolesences and thank you for the thought. I owned two cats before the doctor told me I was allergic, and despite his advice, I kept them until they both died when they reached sixteen. It was quite a wrench and though Mat/Bodacious was not mine in the legal sense, I was his heart and soul. Yes, he will be missed.
June 9, 2010
DON’T MESS WITH GOOGLE
Tuesday, my computer guru dropped by to exchange my ergonomic keyboard for an old fashioned one. He’d decided my fancy device was causing me problems. In his mind, the best fix was to take me a step backward, electronically.
I admit I have difficulty with all creatures mechanical or electronic. For one thing, I’m intimidated by the language one must know to use them. I...
5 tags
Bodacious Scurvy
Caroline, you paint such a vivid picture of Bodacious Scurvy— and his life. Your neighborhood has lost a wonderful friend. My sympathies. - Carol Thomas Koon
July 8, 2010
DEULING MASTERS OF MAGIC
I confess I’m a big Harry Potter fan. At the moment, I’m rereading the final book as a refresher for the November movie release: part 1 of a two part series. It’s been a while since I first read it and I’m discovering how much I’ve forgotten. I like returning to the land of witches and wizards. Settling into this novel is like settling into a warm bath. There’s plenty of...
July 7, 2010
THE BROWNING COMPASS
I finished Dominique Browning’s latest book, Slow Love. It took me only a few days and I enjoyed every minute of it. The story recounts the end of House & Garden, the magazine she edited for a number of years, managing to increase its circulation a hundred fold. Despite her success, her creation was destroyed and her job eliminated, all without warning. Given today’s...
July 6, 2010
A FAREWELL TO MAT,
Bodacious Scurvy is dead. Bodacious is an alley cat that appears in my book, Heart Land. He was my neighbor’s cat in truth, saved from the streets ten years ago. I heard the tears in the woman’s voice when she phoned to say she’d had to put him down. She was grieved by his loss, understandably, as he was a member of her family, and I admit a lump formed in my throat when I...
Happy 4th
Hi everyone,
Wishing you a happy holiday. Commentary returns Tuesday, July 6.
Caroline
July 2, 2010
FOR CHARLES AND ALL THE OTHER BOOKS
I had lunch this week with a former student. He’s in his sixties now, so we go back a long way. I met him when I was twenty-eight and he was a callow youth of sixteen, sprawling his legs under a desk in my English class. I liked his wry humor and was glad to see him two years later, sprawled out again, in my advance placement class for seniors. We exchanged...
July 1, 2010
EINSTEIN AND THE FIFTH DIMENSION
I received a rejection from another agent this morning. She was replying to an e-mail I’d written several months before. So much time had passed, I no longer thought of my query, but today it was on her mind. What I’d forgotten, she was remembering, a kind of relativity, one might say.
I’m sorry she felt obliged to write. Her response was no more looked for than...
