No O'Abby this week...

Apologies to our readers, but O'Abby has COVID and has not been able to put together a post for today.

She will be back next week when her brain is less foggy and she's not dealing with three sick family members as well as her own symptoms.

If you're looking for writing advice, there are plenty of O'Abby columns that might meet your needs.

Until next week...

X O'Abby

Jacquie Bloese answers #13Questions (14! 🏳️‍🌈) in OA's Debut Author Spotlight

13 Questions shine Operation Awesome's Spotlight
on this
2022 Debut Author

The French House by Jacquie Bloese

1- What is your most important tip about fictionalising a real person from history?

Use biographical details to inspire and imagine, rather than restrain

2- Would you please, in 160 characters or less, give a #WriteTip ?

Have a clear sense of the general direction of your novel.

3- What emotions do you hope your book will evoke for the reader?

Curiosity & empathy.

4- Why did you pick Guernsey for your setting?

I grew up on Guernsey & both my grandparents lived through the German Occupation.

5- Would you share a picture with us of your book?



6- How do you support your fellow debut authors and have any of them supported you?

I buy & recommend their books & RT praise so they don't have to!

7- Time to double-down on social media! What's your Twitter handle, and do you have two or three writer friends on there to shout-out to for #WriterWednesday ?
Also, can you please recommend a favorite #bookstagram account profile?

@novelthesecond Shout outs to @BraunGabriella @kristenloesch & @novelisttim
Bookstagram - dems_book_den

8- What is your favorite creative non-writing activity to do?

Writing takes up a lot of my time but I'd love to learn to play the piano!

9- In what ways are the main characters in your book diverse? diversebooks.org #WeNeedDiverseBooks

Without giving too much away, one of my characters is forced to hide their sexuality.

10- What's the biggest writing goal you hope to accomplish in your lifetime? #WriteGoal #BucketList #WriterBucketList

I'd love to see one of my books made into a film or TV series.

11- What was the query process like for you?

Fairly swift for this book, more perseverance required for my first (unpublished!) novel!

12! 🏳️‍🌈June Bonus Question: Rainbow Book Month™ is a nationwide celebration of the authors and writings of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, pansexual, genderqueer, queer, intersex, agender, and asexual community. 🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQIA+ literature What author might you suggest reading to celebrate this month?

The unparalleled Sarah Waters!

13- Would you please ask our audience an intriguing question to answer in the comments?

Which 'real life' person, past or present, would you most like to fictionalise & why?

14- Anything else you would care to share about your book and yourself?

Blurb -

In Nazi-occupied Guernsey, the consequences of making the wrong decision can be deadly. And when the lives of estranged lovers Émile and Isabelle become entwined with Schreiber, an enigmatic German officer, loyalties are blurred, and dangerous secrets are forged.

Bio:

Jacquie grew up on the island of Guernsey. Her fiction has been shortlisted for the Good Housekeeping First Novel Award, Caledonia Novel Award, and the Mslexia Novel Award. She lives in Brighton, where she combines writing with her job as a freelance ELT consultant, editor & author.
https://www.jacquiebloese.com/
@novelthesecond


The French House by Jacquie Bloese

July 2022 Pass or Pages Query Contest Agent Reveal

Here's the agent who will PASS on query letters, or request PAGES, and write a critique so we can learn the reasoning for the five chosen query letters in the July Family Dynamics/Family Saga fiction contest.

Ann Leslie Tuttle

@AnnLeslieTuttle

Literary Agent 

@DGandBTweets ; specializing in women’s fiction/romance/thrillers and Middle Grade/YA.  

Former editor.

Ann Leslie Tuttle joined DG&B in 2017 after working for 20 years at Harlequin Books where she worked on an extensive and varied list of bestselling and award-winning titles in romance and women’s fiction.  She received her B.A. degree from the College of William and Mary and an M.A. from the University of Virginia. Helping to grow the careers of established and debut writers has always been Ann Leslie’s passion.  Ann Leslie is especially seeking women’s fiction (e.g. relationships, family sagas, historical fiction and psychological thrillers) romance (e.g. romantic comedies, medical romance and contemporaries) and Southern Gothics on the adult fiction side as well as Middle Grade fiction and narrative nonfiction.  Ann Leslie lives in New York City with her husband and young daughter, who is just discovering the magic of books and writing.

This fantastic agent also took part in May 2019.

The genre for the July 2022 Pass or Pages is...

Family Dynamics/Family Saga fiction

Any age audience

Here are the important dates for this round:

July 4-8: Entry window

July 25-29: Feedback shared on blog

For a recap of the rules and links to previous rounds, click here. 

This genre was voted for by 39 people in April and May.
Thank you to everyone who voted!

July is Read an Almanac Month!

Friday is July 1. And July is Read an Almanac Month.  I love reading dictionaries and encyclopedias and almanacs.  What about you?

Almanac #1

On the tab for this site is “Old Farmer’s Almanac” but the home page just says Almanac.

I’m typing this post on Sunday June 26.  Per this almanac – Today is Day 177 of 2022.  The word for today is Myrmecophobia.  Do you know what it means? [see end of this post]

This almanac has sections for calendar, gardening, weather, astronomy, food, and an about section.  I could easily spend hours on this website!

Almanac #2

The tab for this site says Farmers’ Almanac and so does the home page.

On this almanac home page are sections for editor’s picks, weather, astronomy, gardening, fishing, food and recipes [mushroom coffee?], and helpful hints.  Today’s helpful hint is – Dry Skin? Add some milk powder to your bathwater.

Do you like reading almanacs?  Let us know in the comments!

[Myrmecophobia means fear of ants.]

Dear O'Abby: Tell me about sensitivity readers

 Dear O'Abby,

My publisher recently mentioned that as a company, they were using sensitivity readers more regularly as part of the editorial process.  This is a term I've heard a few times in quite a negative context and I was wondering if you knew anything about them and their process.  I have a book on submission with my publisher at the moment and am a little concerned about the impact a sensitivity reader might have on the story.  I don't want to offend anyone or be cancelled, but I have written a book that I believe only I could write because of my unique experiences and identity.

Do you know anything about this process?

Best wishes, 

Sensitive

Dear Sensitive,

I understand your concerns, but they should be unfounded.

I know there is a lot of fear out there, particularly in kid lit, about sensitivity reads and cancel culture and how the "woke" love to pile on books, sometimes even before they are published for their perceived mis-representation of certain groups.  Is it any wonder that publishers, who hold the financial risk in this situation, are taking steps to mitigate that risk?

A sensitivity reader is basically someone from a community represented in your story who isn't there to cancel you, but to ensure that the representation of that character is authentic.  For example, if you have a Taiwanese character in your story, your publisher may get a Taiwanese reader to do a sensitivity read to make sure the culture is represented in a realistic way.

Obviously people from all cultures and communities are different and have different experiences of being a part of that community, but having a sensitivity reader doesn't have to be scary.  In fact, having a person with a different experience of that community can add additional depth and nuance to a character by giving you a different perspective. And if you are writing outside your community, it is a way to ensure you are not portraying that community in a way that is inauthentic or offensive.

It's important to remember too, that the editorial process is a collaborative one.  You don't have to accept every suggestion your editor makes.  The same goes with sensitivity readers.  If a suggested change doesn't resonate with you or contradicts your own experience, you don't need to make the change.

Hopefully that helps allay your fears! 

X O'Abby

Kenny Boyle answers #13Questions (14! 🏳️‍🌈) in OA's Debut Author Spotlight

13 Questions shine Operation Awesome's Spotlight
on this
2022 Debut Author

The Tick and The Tock of the Crocodile Clock by Kenny Boyle

We have a star of screen (Lost at Christmas) and now of page in our spotlight this week.


1- Overall, which character has gotten the most support?

Hello Operation Awesome! I think one of the things I aimed to do most in writing The Tick and The Tock of the Crocodile Clock is to create characters who are flawed! So our main character, Wendy, is likable but also there are times when she drives you crazy with her almost Hamlet like inability to do things rather than just think about what might go wrong if she tries. Cat – the Louise to Wendy’s Thelma – is compassionate and caring towards Wendy, but has a temper. Kevin, the book’s biggest villain, often frustratingly makes very sensible and good points. Freya, the mean girl who bullies our hero, is insecure and taken advantage of. I think the most support still goes to Wendy and Cat but this isn’t a book of good and evil or of heroes and villains, just people with all of their quirks and nuances.

2- Would you please, in 160 characters or less, give a #WriteTip ?

Write what you know, but no one else does. I’m from Lewis and when I write about what it was like for me growing up people are fascinated because it’s unusual. Think about what makes you unique, and write about it.

3- What emotions do you hope your book will evoke for the reader?

Laughter, relatability, sadness, beauty, concern, hope… in that order more or less!

4- What was it like staring in a holiday movie?

Ah! How do I sum this up! It was incredible, and it’s an incredible movie. It has everything I love the most: Scotland’s incredible scenery, people, culture and humour. Christmas spirit. Love. Loss. And an ending Hollywood would hate! The funniest thing about it is everyone keeps on saying things like “they’re meant to be cold and we can’t even see their breath! Why aren’t they cold?” and I’d like to take this opportunity to assure everyone that we were in Glencoe, in Winter, in the snow… we were FREEZING. If you can’t see our breath it’s probably because we’d become too cold to waste energy on breathing.
It's a good movie! And it’s got Sylvester McCoy in it, who played Doctor Who and Radagast the Brown. Check it out… after you read Croc Clock of course.

5- Would you share a picture with us of your book at a local bookshop?

Quick story about this picture: this is in the Baltic Bookshop in Stornoway. When I was a child I’d do a 60 mile round trip from my wee village to here, taking 6 buses, to buy books. I come from a very rural island. Seeing this in the window of the bookshop is absolutely mindblowing, I can’t even express it.


6- How do you support your fellow debut authors and have any of them supported you?

Firstly, I’ll happily share any tips or hints I may have with anyone who asks, I’m very much in favour of passing it forward and I hate it when people are successful and pull the ladder up. It’s not a zero sum game, you know? Other people’s success doesn’t dull yours!
As well as that I’m in chat groups with other 2022 debut authors and they are the most supportive group of people! We share advice, get each other through the hard times, celebrate the good times, retweet for each other, read each other’s books. It’s lovely.

7- Time to double-down on social media! What's your Twitter handle, and do you have two or three writer friends on there to shout-out to for #WriterWednesday ?
Also, can you please recommend a favorite #bookstagram account profile?

Twitter: @kennyiboyle Facebook and insta: KennyBoyleOfficial –
Shout outs, the first has to go to Liz Hyder @londonbessie who has given so much of her time and energy to helping me out and who’s own novel “The Gifts” is nothing short of SENSATIONAL. Secondly Kate S Martin @katemartin100 who is incredibly generous in her support of others and who’s book “Are You Okay, Eliot Hart” is just so so important and vibrant and, two for one, Claire Alexander @ClaireAWriter and Charlie Roy @dayinspace who are not only incredible writers but who were on my very first live writers panel with me and were wonderful.

Bookstagrams, I can’t pick just one, so here are three: @pageoftea_ @scottiesandbooks @whataimeereads_

8- What is your favorite creative non-writing activity to do?

As you know, I’m an actor as a full time job! I mostly do comedy, crowd pleasing, murder mystery or pantomime style stuff but every so often I like to do a really nice dramatic role you can sink your teeth right into. Acting is such a huge part of me, when I don’t act for a few weeks I start to get droopy like an unwatered house plant.

9- In what ways are the main characters in your book diverse? diversebooks.org #WeNeedDiverseBooks

Neurodiversity! I was diagnosed with social anxiety and depression in late 2019 and, unable to get any sort of therapy or professional care due to the pandemic hitting, Crocodile Clock was sort of my non-autobiographical way or dealing with what I had been going through my whole life, the impact of learning what those divergencies were called, and putting my feelings, good and bad, on paper. Wendy is non-neurotypical in the same ways as I am, and fictionalising my experiences gave me a lot of freedom to talk about my quirky brain. Cat is non-neurotypical in other ways that I personally am not, but I have had and have many friends who are. The book is fun, and funny, but at it’s heart there is a very serious mental health message. I’ve had one reader tell me that they let their daughter read the book to help them cope with, and better understand, losing someone in a similar way to something that happens in the book and knowing that the book can have that role means it’s all worth while.
As well as that I’m a writer from a tiny, rural, Scottish village with a population of fewer than 50. We have to fight extra hard to get noticed even within Scotland so getting a chance to have me voice heard around this world in this book is incredible.

10- What's the biggest writing goal you hope to accomplish in your lifetime? #WriteGoal #BucketList #WriterBucketList

Gang, for real, if Neil Gaiman or Nicola Sturgeon were to read and like my book I’d pretty much consider that mission accomplished on this whole writing thing.
A weird combo? Maybe. But they’re both heroes in different ways.

11- What was the query process like for you?

I was very lucky. I got picked up so quickly. I know that that is pure luck and that some people go for months, years, maybe even decades without finding a publisher. But that’s all it is: luck. Creative industries are so tough, and there is so much competition that not being signed by an agent or publisher isn’t a reflection of your talent, so much as a reflection of how hard it is to stand out among everything that comes across a person’s desk every day. If you want to find a trad publisher the only advice I have is not to give up. It sounds weak coming from me who had it easy, but decades of rejections as an actor before getting anywhere mean I do know how hard it can be, albeit in a different industry.
Here's a picture of my dog, Bramble, just to keep things exciting.

12- 🏳️‍🌈 June Bonus Question: Rainbow Book Month™ is a nationwide celebration of the authors of and novels including the LGBTQIA+ community. What author might you suggest reading to celebrate this month?

Ely Percy. Scottish author, award winning, and their books are all about the LGBTQIA+ community, of which they are a member.

13- Would you please ask our audience an intriguing question to answer in the comments?

In The Tick and The Tock of the Crocodile Clock Wendy and Cat struggle between the need to get “proper” jobs to survive in a capitalist world, versus the need in their souls to make art. Do you think that art is stifled by having to be profitable? What kind of art would you make if you didn’t have to worry about how many people would pay for it?

14- Anything else you would care to share about your book and yourself?

I should tell you a bit about the book!
Here’s the blurb:
An aspiring writer from the Southside of Glasgow, Wendy is in a rut. She tries to brighten her call-centre job by shoehorning as many long words as possible into conversations with customers. But her manager isn’t amused by that and, after a public dressing-down, Wendy walks out.
Jobless and depressed, she finds consolation in a surprise friendship with another disgruntled ex-colleague, wild-child painter Cat, who encourages her to live more dangerously. It’s just what Wendy needs and it’s also brilliant for her creative juices. But a black cloud is about to overshadow this new-found liberation, as well as to put Wendy on the wrong side of the law.

Fresh, insightful and funny, as well as unflinchingly honest about the tougher side of life, Kenny Boyle’s debut novel takes us deep into the psyche of a likeable misfit who treads a fine line between reality and fantasy – and just wants the world to see her true self.

And here’s a little bit about me:

I was born in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, and I trained as an actor at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. I also hold a degree in English literature from Strathclyde University. I’m the star, alongside Natalie Clark, of Ryan Hendrick's multi-award winning short film Perfect Strangers (2015) and of the same director's feature-film version Lost at Christmas (2020). My plays include Playthrough and An Isolated Incident, my debut radio play The Knock of The Ban-sithe will be on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds in August of this year and in 2021 I received a New Playwrights Award from the Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland. The Tick and the Tock of the Crocodile Clock is my debut novel.

Twitter: @kennyiboyle
Facebook and insta: KennyBoyleOfficial


The Tick and The Tock of the Crocodile Clock by Kenny Boyle

Pass or Pages #Query Contest Genre Reveal July 2022

 

The genre for the July 2022 Pass or Pages is...

Family Dynamics/Family Saga fiction

Any age audience

Here are the important dates for this round:

June 28: Agent panel announcement

July 4-8: Entry window

July 25-29: Feedback shared on blog

For a recap of the rules and links to previous rounds, click here. Stay tuned for our agent panel reveal next week!

This genre was voted for by 68.4% of voters in April and May.
Thank you to everyone who voted!

June 23 - Anniversary of the typewriter patent

Typewriter Patent – June 23, 1868, patent number 79265.  This patent was sold to Remington & Sons, which then manufactured sewing machines.  The Remington typewriter was manufactured in 1873 using the QWERTY keyboard, which is still in use today.

Library of Congress

Was the typewriter patent application hand written?

A brief history of typewriters

History of IBM typewriters – published by IBM in 1949

Nine “striking” facts about the history of the typewriter
[Who was the first author to submit a typed book manuscript?  Learn here!]

I learned to type in high school on a state-of-the-art typewriter

The IBM Selectric typewriter revolutionized typing

Now hardly anyone uses a “typewriter” but pretty much everyone knows how to type with a QWERTY keyboard.

Do you still use a typewriter?  Tell us in the comments!

Flash Fiction Friday

 

Flash Fiction Friday

 

It's Flash Fiction Friday! For this week's contest, go to HuffPost's Weird News page and write a short piece based on a headline! 

Catching my eye this week is

Read all about it here.

Is it a shapeshifter? Did the man wake up in an alternate reality? Does he have sudden memory loss?

Or feel free to choose any of the many lovely offerings.

Length: 2000 words
Deadline: Sunday, June 19th , 2022, 2am Central Standard Time

Leave your entry in the comments, please. As always, the winner will get a badge and bragging rights!

Dear O'Abby: Is this real?

 Dear O'Abby,

I recently received an email from a major film studio saying they're interested in my book.  Obviously this is really exciting news, but something feels off about the email.  They're asking for some quite personal information and also for some money for a special kind of copyright.

So, before I reply, I just wanted to check if this kind of thing is normal?  And is it legit?

Best,

Suspicious

Dear Suspicious,

You are 100% correct in being cautious here.  This is not the way studios go about optioning books, and you should never expect to pay for the privilege.  They should be paying you!

This is a scam and one that has been ongoing for some time - the name of the production company changes from time to time, but the wording of the email and the basic premise remains the same.  Writer Beware has blogged about it a couple of times, here and here.

It is very unlikely that any legitimate publishing industry professional will contact you out of the blue for any reason, so any time you're contacted in this way, be suspicious.  Most editors and agents are far too busy with their existing and querying clients to be cold-calling authors they have no connection to, so it is unlikely that an offer that comes in like this is anything other than a scam.

So, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but better to know before you get scammed, right?

X O'Abby

Jinny Alexander answers #13Questions (14! 🏳️‍🌈) in OA's Debut Author Spotlight

13 Questions shine Operation Awesome's Spotlight
on this
2022 Debut Author

Dear Isobel by Jinny Alexander

1- There appears to be a well-used outdoor bathtub over a fire (Poor Man's Hot Tub) on your cover. Can you give us a heads up as to what that image might mean?

Dear Isobel is mainly set on or around a farm, and a lot of the story happens outside in fields and the forest. Many small farms use old bath tubs as drinking troughs, but this didn’t feature in the original draft of the story. Then I saw that photo on a friend’s timeline and knew it was the perfect image to encapsulate my entire book, so I wrote in a new chapter in which cheating farmer Charles creates a hot tub from an old drinking bath, and begged my photographer friend to allow me to buy the photo to use for the cover (Melany Hunt, https://letoi.co.nz ).

2- Would you please, in 160 characters or less, give a #WriteTip ?

Writing groups or writing courses are invaluable for getting feedback and inspiration and thickening skin. Join a good one! Also, write what you want to write.

3- What emotions do you hope your book will evoke for the reader?

I wanted to create a character who, despite being ‘the other woman’, readers could empathise with and come to understand how affairs can happen to anyone. So many people are affected by infidelity, and most of them are ordinary people, probably someone any reader knows. I hope the book helps people who relate to any of the four main characters and their actions (actually, reviews show that this is already happening).

4- On average, how many book reviews do you write in a year?

I’ve been included in a couple of really supportive debut groups since I signed my book deal, and have been trying hard to read and review as many of their books as I can. I’ve realised just how crucial reviews are, especially to debut authors, so now I try to review everything I read. I’ve probably reviewed about 50 books in the last year, maybe more.

5- Would you share a picture with us of your book with any of your animals?

Cats:
Pale ginger = Dashi
Tabby = Clementine
White and black = Miso
(Hens, unnamed)

6- How do you support your fellow debut authors and have any of them supported you?

As mentioned in question 4, I’m part of a couple of debut groups. The one I am most active in is mostly UK and Ireland-based authors, and we have a very active Twitter chat group for the highs, the lows, the tears, and the celebrations. Just knowing that whatever we are experiencing, someone else in the group is probably going through too, is so supportive as it reminds us we aren’t alone. I try hard to promote their books as often and honestly as I can, and have made some great friends in the group. For me, being with a small publisher, I often feel like the small-fry, but I have learned to much from them all and am incredibly grateful to be included.

7- Time to double-down on social media! What's your Twitter handle, and do you have two or three writer friends on there to shout-out to for #WriterWednesday ?
Also, can you please recommend a favorite #bookstagram account profile?

My Twitter handle is CeramicFairy: @CeramicFairy
I’d love to share so many of the @2022Debut authors, but to narrow to 2-3… hmm… these have been particularly supportive to me and I love their books too: @elissa_soave
@AmandaGeard
@amitaparikh
@ClaireAWriter
@sarahbonner101
and, look, it’s still five and not 2-3, oops.

On Instagram, I have found @22debuts great at promoting this year’s newest books. Also @shellymackbooks is lovely to chat to and does fun interviews with authors every Wednesday.

8- What is your favorite creative non-writing activity to do?

I’ve a massive garden, so that takes a lot of my time. I also spend hours walking my dogs in the forests, or out across the bog (I live in the middle of Ireland). That isn’t strictly non-writing though, as I get my best ideas when I’m walking my dogs.

9- In what ways are the main characters in your book diverse? diversebooks.org #WeNeedDiverseBooks

This is a bit tricky for me in regard to Dear Isobel, as the novel is set in a tiny, rural Irish village, and only features four main characters. The majority of rural Ireland is still very white, very English-speaking, largely Christian, and not openly queer, and the characters in my book do reflect that, as the inspiration came entirely from people around me and the village I live in.
I am making sure to add a lot more diversity into my other books, as part of my mission to bring better inclusiveness to rural Ireland. The main sidekick character in my cosy mystery series is Chinese/British – I work as an ESL teacher and most of my students are Chinese, so I’ve great access to help with getting this right. I’ve also been reading lots of books by Nigerian authors this year, including the wonderful Coconut by Florence Ọlájídé, in effort to better understand my own family history. Florence has also helped with my accuracy in the inclusion of Irish/British Nigerian characters in my cosy mysteries.
I’ve just started a new novel and the MC is shaping up to be 70-year-old gay man who owns a bookshop. (Bit of a surprise, as he started out as a very minor character. I’ve been researching the Windrush era too, for one of the other characters, who I think is a nurse who immigrated to Britain around the 1960s.
In terms of what I’ve been reading, other than Coconut, I also highly recommend The Butterfly Assassin by Finn Longman as fantastic YA book by a queer author featuring an asexual main character, and Cielo by Jane Markland with its gay main characters, both these authors are from within the debut 2022 group. The Moth Girl by Heather Kamins is another great YA book – it features a teen coming to terms with discovering she has a chronic illness.


10- What's the biggest writing goal you hope to accomplish in your lifetime? #WriteGoal #BucketList #WriterBucketList

This is a bit sad – I want to secure a deal that gets me hardback copies, with spredges, and lots of lovely proofs, and to be put on display in a physical bookshop. That’s enough! I’m with a small US-based publisher and we only get paperbacks, but I have high hopes for the book I’ve just finished writing to get picked up by a bigger publisher. Spredges. Did I say spredges? (Oh, hang on… Was I supposed to say ‘Booker prize’?)

11- What was the query process like for you?

I secured my deal for Dear Isobel and my first two cosy mysteries through #pitmad, so didn’t really need to send out a bunch of queries. I was extremely lucky in that I was offered a good deal by a publisher who was an excellent fit for Dear Isobel, and I went from writing ‘The End’ to getting the contract in fourteen days.

12- 🏳️‍🌈 June Bonus Question: Rainbow Book Month™ is a nationwide celebration of the authors of and novels including the LGBTQIA+ community. What author might you suggest reading to celebrate this month?

See question 9, above – I have recently read The Butterfly Assassin by Finn Longman and Finn is such a talented young writer I know they will be massive. The Butterfly Assassin is aimed at YA, but I think it has great crossover appeal. Finn writes beautifully and I know they have a LOT more stories to tell. There are also a lot of LGBTQIA+ writers in my MA group, who are immensely talented, but haven’t completed their novels yet. I know when they do, their books will be incredible and I’m honoured to witness to their creation.

13- Would you please ask our audience an intriguing question to answer in the comments?

Oh help… the most intriguing thing about me right now is how I will get my idiotic dogs to pose with my book. (Although you may have noticed that I did bring Wilf along on my author photo shoot. I’m sure he thinks it was all about him.)
So here’s the question… which pet should I get next for easier book promotion and effortless photo opportunities?

14- Anything else you would care to share about your book and yourself?

Writer Bio:

Jinny was first published in Horse and Pony magazine at the age of ten. She’s striving to achieve equal accolade now she’s (allegedly) a grown up. Jinny has had some publishing success with short story and flash competitions and secured a publishing deal in December 2020 for her first three novels. The first of these, Dear Isobel, was released in March 2022. Jinny is currently studying an MA in Creative Writing, has recently finished her fourth book, and is just beginning a new one.
Jinny also teaches English as a foreign language to people all over the world. Her home for now is in rural Ireland, which she shares with her husband and far too many animals. Her two children have grown and flown, but return across the Irish Sea when they can. She quite likes to shut the door on them all and write.

Excerpt from Dear Isobel:

Here’s the leadup to the bath scene:

“Mm-hmm?” I didn’t look up. Too hot, too lazy, I lay my head down on the grass, and, with fingers still hanging over the bank into the stream, I dozed for a while, trying to ignore the sounds of whatever it was he was doing around me. First, the soft footfall of receding boots. Next, a thump of something heavy onto the soft grass, not close enough to make me startle or worry. A swoosh of water—the water trough then; he must be cleaning it out. I opened an eye, and, sure enough, in the gateway of the next field, the old bath lay on its side, its contents already seeping into the dry ground. Strange, I thought, to do it now; that field was long empty of livestock, and as the gate stood open to allow access to the stream, the trough was redundant anyway. I closed my eyes again, and when I woke up, the bath lay empty, forlorn on the patch of bare mud in the shade of the budding trees, like a shipwreck marooned on a dry beach. Charles was gone, and my vest top was dry.

Social media and buying links:

jinny@jinnyalexander.com
https://twitter.com/CeramicFairy
http://facebook.com/JinnyAlexanderAuthor
https://instagram.com/jinnyalexanderauthor
https://linktr.ee/JinnyAlexander



Dear Isobel by Jinny Alexander

June Update on 2022 Goals

  

(Image source)

I posted in December 2021 some of my 2022 writing goals.

Six months into 2022, let's check my progress.

1. Unpack from the move. 

    Hooray! I have some boxes left to unpack. I am still figuring out how to organize my studio, and I have made significant progress in unpacking several stacks of boxes. Any tips on organizing paper? Marie Kondo and Clea and Joanna have been helpful, so I have been working through their systems to get myself organized. Labeling shoe boxes of art supplies was more satisfying than I anticipated. 

2. Get my writing office set up.

    Not exactly what I want my final set up to be, because making rainbow pen holders has been on the list for a while. It is nice to see my fountain pens again and get back into writing letters. It has been much too long.

3. Schedule bi-weekly write-ins with my people.

    Well, I have scheduled some write-ins with my people, but I was definitely not consistent. With the office set up, and adjusting to my new job hours, I hope to have more write-ins in the next three months.

4. Show up to scheduled write-ins.

    I showed up to the ones I scheduled. I have not been able to attend others that my friends have scheduled due to work schedule changes.

5. Sit down and plan what project I will tackle in the new year.

    I am definitely focused on working on my graphic novel project and a Beauty and the Beast retelling at some point this year. I am combing through my old NaNo projects to see what projects I would like to start rewriting and editing. The plan is to work on the graphic novel project during July Camp and then outline the Beauty and the Beast retelling, probably for November NaNo.

6. Plan my next NaNo novel. 

    In the works. My plan is to see what happens in July Camp, and start planning for my November NaNo project. I want to try Save the Cat, StoryGrid, and The Hero's Journey for July Camp, and then make a decision from there of how I will plan my November NaNo project.

7. (Maybe do Camp in April and July).

    Ok, I am going to be doing July Camp NaNo. So I will be working on my graphic novel. I did not participate in April due to switching jobs in April. 

8. Make writing a daily routine. 

    Not quite there yet. It will be easier to dig into a writing routine once unpacking and studio organization is more polished. In the meantime, I will write during the bi-weekly write-ins. 

What are your tips for organizing your writing spaces? Any special ways that you organize/sort/display paper, like writing drafts and rounds of edits?

June 16 is Bloomsday

James Joyce 1915

June 16 is Bloomsday, a day devoted to James Joyce.  What?  You haven’t heard of this?  Well, neither had I until I wrote this post!

June 16, 1904 is the day depicted in Ulysses by James Joyce.  The name comes from Leopold Bloom, the main character in Ulysses.

Ulysses was banned in the US and UK on publication in 1922 because it was deemed obscene.  It’s also listed, along with another James Joyce book Finnegan’s Wake, on many lists of the most difficult books to read.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/louispeitzman/the-25-most-challenging-books-you-will-ever-read
https://dbrl.bibliocommons.com/list/share/1267394437/1302865007
https://bookriot.com/the-hardest-books-weve-ever-read/
https://earlybirdbooks.com/difficult-books-to-read
https://www.hookedtobooks.com/most-difficult-books-to-read/

Ulysses is the story of a day in the life of Leopold Bloom as he travels Dublin and goes about his business. It's also a satire, written as if it were an epic like The Odyssey. Its length and complexity are legendary.  This is an excellent review.
https://leoacookman.medium.com/whats-the-point-of-reading-ulysses-ff6b5d6249ea

7 ways to celebrate Bloomsday
https://www.eventbrite.ie/blog/7-ways-celebrate-bloomsday-different-year-ds00/

Have you read Ulysses?  What did you think of it?

Query Friday: Query Tools- Publishers Marketplace

 Hello my querying friends.

Today I want to talk to you about a tool you may or may not have heard of...

Publishers Marketplace 

Or, maybe you have heard of it, but have you thought how to use it in streamlining your agent search? Seeing what the market is for what you've written? Or, looking for comp titles?

The truth is that there is a great deal of information out there if you are willing to look for it. You can look at Manuscript Wish List, Twitter, Agency sites, and even individual agent pages. All of this information is great...

But it also beneficial to have an idea of what agents sell. Maybe you've written a New Adult Suspense and want comp titles, or to see who has had success selling that niche. You can search for that in Publisher's market place and it will give you full details on the premise, Author, who it sold to, and the selling agent.

                                                                                                                                  (details deleted from image above)

Awesome right?

Looking for comp titles for that spicy children's horror? 

 

 There are 112 possibilities.

 

It may also be valuable to know when the last time a succubus romance sold. Could be time for a resurgence....right? Right.

However you use it, Publishers Marketplace can make a valuable addition to your tool box. It's $25 dollars a month, but if you are not going to be using it continuously, you could opt to purchase a Quick Pass.

 

My advice for this is get organized first, and take notes. 

You can also subscribe for free to get the Publisher's Lunch Emails. 

In addition to all that Publishers Marketplace has:

It's worth checking out and seeing if those tools can work for you.

So have you heard of it? Used it? Have a new and exciting trick you want to share? Let us know in the comments below!

Happy querying!!!