Everything Matters!

Ron Currie Jr.'s new novel is about to be released and--lucky you--you can download and read the first chapter over at his website for free.

Sotto Voce

I am thrilled and honored to have my short story "Thunderstones" appear at Sotto Voce.

And at the end of the story, if you've liked it, you can vote to have it included in the annual print anthology. What a cool idea. Let the readers decide. :)

The Launch!!

No, not the space shuttle--Women Up On Blocks! It may be three months post-publication, but this was the official party to celebrate the launch of my short story collection.

Signing books. There are bright red shoes you can't see, and matching bright red shoe earrings.

The launch started at 6PM. The signature drink--The Red Stiletto--had its own table and looked great: fancy martini glasses (long stemmed, with crooked, blue glass stems), a tub of ice with pitchers of red stilettos and my postcards with the recipe on them. It's a yummy and beautiful drink, garnished with a fresh red raspberry. Recipe here. (Scroll down the page.)

I ended up reading at about 6:30, because we wanted there to be time for desserts and signing. It turned out to be a good decision. The door prizes were well-received. At least one woman yelled "whoo hoo!" and threw her arms in the air when her number was called. :)

Then I read for about 20 minutes. People had to gather in, the chairs were filled, the stairs to the loft were packed with people sitting close together on them, the hearth had people sitting on it, and some were standing. Afterward, there were a number of excellent questions and comments. Desserts were lovely: cake squares, cheesecake, a lovely, fresh trifle, and a silver-tiered stand of various cookies. (I didn't see any of this for quite a while because I was signing books and talking to people.)

Here's the location from the outside, the beautiful, historic Roycroft Campus in East Aurora, NY. A big thanks to Christine Peters, Martha Augate, and their amazing staff for hosting such a lovely event.

It was all over so quickly, I felt like Cinderella not wanting that midnight bell to chime. Wait! Everyone's leaving?? I'm just starting to enjoy myself!

It took a lot of work and planning, but it was worth every minute. Thanks to all those who attended. :)

Oceana and Ted Danson

Oceana is working with Ted Danson to save the world's oceans. CNN reports on their collaboration for World Ocean Day. Full article here.

Search for Downed Plane Highlights Ocean Trash Problem

The tragic disappearance of Air France's Flight 447 has highlighted another, ongoing tragedy: the terrible pollution in the world's oceans. It's awful that it took a disaster of this magnitude to bring this important issue to the world stage, but if something good can come out of such a terrible loss, I'm hoping this is it.

CNN Website

Here is an excerpt:

"The search for signs of the Air France flight highlights what environmentalists say is a pressing issue for the world today: We produce a lot of trash that biodegrades slowly, and too much of it ends up in the ocean. Out at sea, plastics suffocate sea turtles and choke birds, which look at the bits of floating gunk as food.

Endangered sea turtles become entangled in discarded fishing line and also ingest plastic bags, like those from grocery stores, said Bamford.

"They love to eat jellyfish, and when they see a plastic bag it looks exactly like a jellyfish, basically," she said.

Still, scientists say they know relatively little about the scope of the problem and the effects that trash has on ocean life.

Finding answers to those unknowns is among the current initiatives of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said Holly Bamford, director of the U.S. agency's marine debris program.

Enough is known about ocean trash to know that it's time to act, she said.

"It's a global problem. You can go do a collection almost anywhere and you'll probably come up with a piece of debris in your sample. The question is what all is out there and what is it doing," she said. "It's something that needs to be addressed."

Jessica Handler's Notes from the Road

Mary has asked me to guest blog this week, and to talk a little bit about the evolution and execution of my book tour.

Let's start at Gate A 18, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Atlanta; my hometown airport. I'm on my way to New York to participate in an author meet-and-greet to get my book Invisible Sisters: A Memoir considered for a series of book fairs. (Thanks to T. the Terrific Publicist, who got me hooked up with this event.)

My presentation will be timed, like speed dating. I've practiced the presentation with a stopwatch, tested it on friends, driven my patient husband a little crazy. I'm still not happy with my performance. Scrolling through my iPod while I wait to board, I discover that iPods have stopwatches.

I'll bet you already knew that.

This means I can practice on the plane. Quietly.

The playlist for when I wasn't timing and retiming myself?
In flight - Brian Eno 'Ambient.' (I was writing. I need lyrics-free music.)
In the terminal - David Lindley, 'El Rayo Ex.'.

As the April publication date for Invisible Sisters: A Memoir grew closer, I was told that, "The economy being what it is, and me being a new author--"
"Oh," I interrupted. "I understand." No big tour.

Truth is, I hadn't expected one--me being a new author and the economy being what it is...and when I signed the contract with my publisher, my agent advised me to put some money aside for travel. She was right. (She's always right. Seriously.)

T. the Publicist is great at getting my book into the hands of the press, to bookstores, to Websites, and to Book Festivals. But she wanted my suggestions about places where I can read and do author talks.

Places I can drive to.

Last month, M. and I drove to Asheville for an author talk at Malaprop's, about three hours away. We've always traveled well together, and road trips--what my sister Sarah called 'toad rips'-- become our together-time.

Asheville Playlist: Mofro, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sophie Madeleine,
John Lennon, Nichols and May.

Coming up? Winston-Salem. New playlist. New snacks. Call the cat sitter.

Soon? Ohio, Nashville, and more Atlanta events!

Am I tired? You bet. Am I happy? Heck, yeah. Do I know what day it is? Not always.

One of the best things about traveling to promote Invisible Sisters: A Memoir is reconnecting with friends and family all over the country, and making new friends, too. I've discovered how generous people can be. (They want to help you promote your book! They're readers and book lovers! They like to have dinner out!) S. has a big comfy couch and is walking distance to a great coffee shop. E. has a busy, multi-lingual household where I can nap mid-day and stay up late over dinner. J. knows a terrific tiny restaurant in her town that made room for twelve pals.

Friends bring friends to readings. Word of mouth sells books.

So here are my tips for your 'big book tour.'

Get enough sleep. Pack simple clothes. Take photos, draw, keep a journal.
Carry business cards or your book's postcards. Collect receipts for everything. Note your book-related mileage. Eavesdrop for fun. (The best eavesdropping so far? "The food's great at [redacted] but the feng shui is terrible!") Send postcards to your cat or dog at home. Ask friends to tell friends about your book. Buy something at the bookstores where you're reading, even if it's some note cards or a cup of coffee.

Send thank you notes.

Enjoy yourself.

Interview with Jeffery Hess

Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Jeffery Hess, editor of the newly released anthology Home of the Brave: Stories in Uniform.


Mary Akers - Welcome to my blog, Jeff. :) Thanks for taking the time to share a little bit about your project and the processes that brought it to publication. To start with, could you tell us about the book?

Jeffery Hess - Among these stories you’ll find shipbuilders and sailors, pilots, wild dogs, battles—-both physical and emotional--misunderstandings, fistfights, and the wounds of unrequited love. There are parades and hurricanes, people getting high and some merely getting by, as well as the human sacrifices made, the losses endured, the hardships faced because of or in spite of some connection to the military. Each story is different in the way it approaches the lives of these individuals at certain points of the modern era, but each entertained, and challenged, and stayed with me.


MA - How did the idea for this anthology come to you? Did you discuss it with anyone before taking on the project?

JH - I began a writing workshop for military veterans a few years ago with the vision of one day doing an anthology of the students' writing. While at AWP in NYC, I discussed this idea with Sheryl Monks, then co-publisher at Press 53. She later emailed to ask if I’d be interested in co-editing an anthology of military writing with Sally Drumm who runs a tremendous workshop for veterans and their families in South Carolina. Sally had a strong vision for her non-fiction anthology and asked Press 53 if they’d be open to the idea of doing two separate anthologies, one fiction, one non-fiction. They liked this idea and so I was off and running. Sally’s anthology, by the way, is “Milspeak: Stories of Warriors, Veterans, Family, and Friends Writing the Military Experience” and will be released by Press 53 on the 4th of July.

My only prior experience with anthologies was reading and submitting to them. I sought the advice of Pinckney Benedict, who urged me to, “Do it!” He was fresh off of editing the first Surreal South anthology and assured me that I was capable and that I’d enjoy the process. I can definitely attest to the enjoyment I got from putting together this book.


MA - How long did the process take from conception to publication?

JH - The initial online chat was in March 2008, but I was busy adjuncting and running the veteran’s workshop, so I took time off from formal teaching and spent a full year on it until publication in May 2009.

In the beginning--what I call the honeymoon phase--I spent a lot of time reading and assembling a stack of stories. I put out the word to writer friends that I was looking for stories on military themes. When a story I wanted appeared in a book I had, I contacted the publisher. By June and July, I began receiving first drafts. This process was the most rewarding because I filled the role of editor. I say this with a great deal of pride because some of these stories went though nine or ten drafts. This gave me an opportunity to do for other writers what I wish an editor would do for me (rather than simply acquiring). Ushering these stories into the world in this way was tremendously gratifying. I was also very gratified to share the stories with my writing workshop--using several stories as examples.

I continued working on sequential drafts of new stories and contacting agents and publishers for reprint rights on existing stories (and when I say stories, I also mean to imply novel chapters as exemplified by the pieces by James Salter and Robert O’Connor).

The complete draft was due to the publisher on December 31st. This date seemed reasonable and far-distant when I suggested it in March. I wanted to wrap it up in one calendar year. As the date approached, Kevin Watson offered me a two-week reprieve, but I declined, promising to have the manuscript to him on time. If a baby can be conceived and delivered in under nine months, then surely a collection of stories should be.

I spent January to April reading proofs, checking for typos and scanning issues. During this time, I also applied increasing pressure to a few of the less motivated rights holders.


MA - With so many wonderful military stories out there, I imagine you had to establish your own sort of "selection process" from the beginning. Can you tell us what your criteria were? And did that change at all as you began assembling the stories?

JH - My selection process began with a wish list of stories that always stood out in my mind, some of the heavy hitters featured in the book, as well as a few (including your excellent story) from the journals I subscribe to.

Once again, Pinckney Benedict, the patron saint of my writing career, was there for me. In our initial conversation, he offered his permission to reprint his story that appears in the book. My only criteria in considering any story was that it somehow related to the military and that it stayed with me long after I finished reading. As a reader and writer, I’m a strong proponent of the MFA concept of Resonance. As an editor, I demanded it.

As far as changes that occurred along the way, some of the writers who committed were unable to meet the deadline. In other cases, agents or publishers declined permission to reprint. And sadly, I had to reject a number of truly great stories.


MA - How did you decide on story order? I've ordered two of my own short story collections and found the decision to be a mixture of "gut" and "grab." What was your process like?

JH - I had no idea how this book would take shape until I started receiving the first drafts. With America’s vast military history, I had to limit the time period somehow. I figured that readers would be most familiar with and connected to the periods between World War II and the current conflicts.

As the stories came in, I considered first and foremost the era to which they most closely related. Your story, for example, is set in the modern day, but involves a Vietnam vet who has flashbacks during the traumas of a hurricane. Despite the date in which the story is set, I wanted to group it with stories that involved other Vietnam vets. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense to me.

The book begins with a story in the height of World War II and ends with someone going off to join the fight of the current conflicts. That was a great scope for me. A time capsule, of sorts, rather than a strict chronology.


MA - How much input did your publisher have in the shaping of this anthology? Did you enjoy working with Press 53?

JH - I began working on it in earnest in May. Then Sheryl Monks contacted me to say that she was leaving Press 53, and while I understood her reasons, I worried that the book would die on the vine, so to speak. I knew Sheryl from grad school and liked and trusted her, but I'd never met Kevin Watson. From the first time I spoke with him, though, it seemed like we were old friends. He assured me that he was behind this project and instinctively I trusted his word. He worked tirelessly on this book and has been there every step of the way. Plus, he’s designed the best cover I could imagine. I’ll never forget the first mock-up he sent me. I was blown away. He shrugged off my praise, but there’s no denying how thrilled I was.

Kevin was tremendously helpful in all aspects of this project. He even introduced me to a couple of amazing writers I was not familiar with, but who had really great stuff and interesting bios. We didn’t meet in person until the book’s launch a year after our initial online chat, but as he did on the phone so many months prior, he made me feel as if we’d always been friends. That’s a rare skill that I admire and appreciate.

I’m a big fan of small presses and the books they publish. I’m happy to be associated with a quality publisher like Press 53. Despite the challenges of not having a huge marketing budget or major bookstore chain presence, I think a book like this has tremendous word-of-mouth appeal.


MA - A portion of each sale of Home of the Brave will go to USA Cares. Could you give us a brief description of the kinds of work they do and why it's important to you?

JH - Donating a potion of the proceeds is something that I always wanted to do. When I set out, I didn’t have a charity in mind. I’d researched on the internet, vetting all my candidates on a site that lists operating budgets and rates their viability, etc. But one day, while listening to the Dennis Miller radio show, I heard a guest named Kim Moorman talking about USA Cares (a non-profit 501(c)3 organization). She spoke eloquently about the amazing things her organization does for post 9/11 veterans. Back to the computer I went, did a little digging, and was suitably impressed. I sent an email stating who I was and what I had in mind. The reply I received (from the very woman I’d heard on the radio) was more warm and welcoming than I could have imagined. Subsequent phone conversations revealed that both Kim and the organization's director, Bill Nelson, work tirelessly to assist post 9/11 veterans and support veterans of all eras. Good people doing good things. I was sold.

The money this charity raises helps save homes from foreclosure and provides needed funds that allow people who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder to receive the treatment they so desperately need. To date, they have saved over 500 homes from foreclosure and have provided money to cover wages lost during the three-month treatment for PTSD.


MA - You've mentioned your creative writing workshop for veterans. How has that experience affected you personally? How has it shaped your own writing?

JH - Personally, it's been rewarding because they’re all so appreciative of the opportunity to gather and discuss writing. If any of the people in my workshop are reading this, they’ll tell you that I don’t accept compliments or praise very well. It’s not about me. It’s about them. And I enjoy sharing what I’ve been so fortunate to learn over the years.

My writing has been shaped like the old cliché that says the best way to learn something is by teaching it. In grad school, we learn terms and concepts and think we know them by the time we print our theses. But when I began leading the workshop, I gained an appreciation for the difference between cognition and recognition. For the better part of a year, I often drew from some of the fine stories in this anthology as examples to illustrate the points I tried to make. Doing so cemented the knowledge both for them and for me.


MA – This book, your Navy service, and the workshop you lead prove your affinity for the military. Do you also write about the military in your own work?

JH – Absolutely, though sometimes only peripherally. I have a number of short stories with current or former sailors as protagonists, and the novel I’m revising is about a Gulf War Recon Marine who falls into a suicide pact with a damaged woman shortly after his fortieth birthday.


MA – Of the 24 stories in this book, which is your favorite?

JH – My wife asked me the same question. Unfortunately it’s one that I couldn’t answer then, nor can I now. Not because of diplomatic reasons (anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I’m neither smart enough nor PC enough for true diplomacy), but rather because each story in the book is my favorite in a different way. That may sound like a glib response from a parent about his children, but it is the case.

In putting together this book, I was able to select from a “wish list” of stories that I’d read sometimes ten years earlier. I also had the good fortune of assisting writers with the creation of new material. In all cases, I reread each story many, many times which revealed nuances and drew me closer to the characters.


MA – You mentioned earlier that there were reprint rights that you were unable to obtain. Can you elaborate on that?

JH – Yes. There were a couple who shall remain unnamed here, but I will say that the disappointment I’d felt at the time has been supplanted by my happiness with the finished book as it appears.


Home of the Brave: Stories in Uniform is available from the book’s website and also from Press 53 as well as online from all major booksellers. Please also ask for it at a quality independent bookstore near you.


About the editor: Jeffery Hess served six years in the U.S. Navy and holds a B.A. from the University of South Florida and an MFA from Queens University of Charlotte. He’s held writing positions at a major daily newspaper, a Fortune 500 company, and a university-based research center. In addition to corporate publications and websites, his writing has appeared in The Houston Literary Review, American Skating World, Writer’s Journal, and the Tampa Tribune. He lives in Florida where he’s completing a novel and leads a creative writing workshop for military veterans.

Dominica!!

Dominica, my favorite island in the world, where I helped to found a marine ecology school has taken an amazing and brave step forward. For the first time in many years (ever?), Dominica has abstained from the vote to support commercial whaling in the Caribbean. Over the years, they have received a great deal of pressure along with many "gift-incentives" encouraging them to vote with Japan and support commercial whaling. To abstain is a huge big deal for them. Please consider sending a personal note to Prime Minister Skerrit to thank him. You can do that here.

EWN blogs about Home of the Brave: Stories in Uniform

Over at Emerging Writers Network, Dan Wickett talks about the new anthology (which I am proud to be in): Home of the Brave: Stories in Uniform. I'm just reading my contributor copy now and it seriously ROCKS.

Review of Ron Rash's "Serena"

Gently Read Literature has posted my review of Ron Rash's latest novel "Serena."

Five Star Literary Stories

I've got a new review up at Five Star Literary Stories. "Gods for Sale" was an excellent story (written by Patricia O'Donnell) and was a pleasure to read and review.

May is short story month

Over at the Emerging Writers Network. Check it out!

Sylvia Earle

Delivers an excellent TED lecture about protecting the world's oceans. This woman has done so much to protect our ocean environment--love her. And I had the excellent good fortune to meet her in the 90s and even go on a night dive with her (and Hugh Downs) when 60 Minutes was filming on the Aquarius Undersea Habitat. Lucky me!

Review for Women Up On Blocks

Katrina Denza offers a wonderful, generous review of Women Up On Blocks at her blog Illuminate, Ruminate, Create.

Who says high school reunions aren't fun?

You just have to have them in the woods, by a creek, with the coolest people in the world. Then they're fun.

Review of Women Up On Blocks

I am thrilled to have a most excellent review (my first!) appear in the Winston-Salem Journal for my short story collection Women Up On Blocks. You can read it (pretty please?) here.

Yippee!!

Spring? Not in the Adirondacks!

We enjoyed a wonderful eight-and-a-half mile hike today to the Boquet River. Cold, but wonderful.

The Painted Word by Tom Wolfe

The Painted Word is primarily a book about the rise of modern art—and art theory. (It also feels as if it’s a little bit about Tom Wolfe, too, but then, what book of his doesn’t feel that way?) Still, it’s an engaging read, filled with Wolfe’s studied observations and dripping with a detached bemusement toward the twisted subculture of art. Fortunately, The Painted Word is also filled with fascinating character sketches of the artists themselves. One of the most compelling—and oft repeated—arguments in the book is the notion that there are two key components necessary for the artist to attain lasting greatness: 1) The Boho Dance, in which the artist exhibits innovative work and struts his stuff amongst his peers all while showing utter disdain for the culture beyond the doors of his studio and 2) The Consummation, in which the culturati actually select the chosen artists to carry forth the standard of the movement-du-jour and the artist (albeit after some discreet hesitation) accepts the accolades and attention.

Wolfe argues that the artist who gets stuck in a crippling disdain for his audience, who cannot accept the offer to dance when it is made, is doomed to stagnation and will not be revered by history. Picasso, he argues, became Picasso, largely because he navigated the transition from one artistic stage to the other with ease. Perhaps, one is left to surmise, the secret to greatness lies not solely in talent, but in the ability to be gracious and accept the patron’s hand when proffered.

The only frustration for this reader—which may simply reflect my own ignorance of the book’s history—lay in having to wait until the end of the book to discover that I was reading a reissue of a book that was first published in 1975 (copyright page notwithstanding). As a result, no art or movement that has occurred since 1975 is mentioned. No discussion of the ways that the technological revolution will change the face of art history in the decades to come. No theorizing as to the Internet’s effects on broadening the horizons of the cloistered art scene. I kept hoping for that to be addressed, and was disappointed when it was not. Something as simple as Picador putting “Anniversary Edition” or “Heritage Printing” (or some other indicator of its age) on the cover would have saved me the pain of unrequited hope that turning that final page delivered. (Made worse by the fact that the “Epilogue”—hope, oh hope!—speaks about a time twenty-five years hence, in the year 2000. Oy! Give a poor reader some warning would you? An Epilogue, particularly if the edition is a new release and the writer is still alive, should not itself be 34 years out of date. At the very least, Picador should grant its readers this concession: Epilogue, 1975.)

Still the prose is sharp and lively and the vignettes featuring Pollock, Warhol, and Picasso and their benefactors are priceless. The clever chapter titles (would we expect any less from the man who penned The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine Flake Streamline Baby?) and Wolfe’s pen-and-ink drawings round out the entire package in an ironic art-meets-artist-meets-critic-meets-reader-meets-public sort of way.

Lynn Serafinn's Garden of the Soul

Lynn Serafinn's beautiful new book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the self empowers readers to understand fully that all the answers to the questions of our hearts lie within the simple stories of our own lives.

Coming April 7th, 2009

Watch the book trailer below and hear Lynn describe in her own words her reasons for writing this inspiring and entertaining book and what she hopes readers will gain from the experience of reading it.



And remember:

"You are already the hero of your own life."
--Lynn Serafinn

Yesterday, March 11th, the virtual blog tour began with
Debra Shiveley Welch's book announcement on her blog.

Tomorrow, March 13th, the blog tour continues when Katherine Reschke interviews Lynn on her Blog Talk Radio show The Passion Project at 12pmET talking about mindset and discovering one's self. Don't miss it!

Secret Son!!

I can't wait to read this new book by my friend Laila Lalami. Watch the trailer, and then preorder the book! You won't be disappointed.