This is it, an author’s Christmas. Signing copies of books for a giveaway. Such an honor. Such a thrill.
Where an author fits in changing times
As an author, my job is to fully inhabit the point of view I write. Whether that person is protagonist or villain, male or female, a doctor or a thief, a black man or a white woman. We can never know what it is to truly live someone else’s life. But we have to try. If we don’t, who will?
A different graduation
My son was a senior in high school this year. I remember being packed into the field house when my daughter graduated, waving to her friends, hugging their parents. This was a very different world. I’m grateful they had a graduation at all. Many didn’t. But what a hard time for these kids. For the world. It’s hard not to worry.
Covid Entertainment at the Girard house
What are you doing to pass the nights at home? Here’s what we did:
Life at a distance
I’m missing hugs. Handshakes. A pat on the shoulder. A hand squeeze. The feeling of someone brushing past. Sitting side by side, shoulder to shoulder. Locking elbows. Holding hands. I am grateful. I’m also lonely. Who knew those one-off touches could be so important?
Reading the reactions
One of my favorite games is to watch people who are out of earshot and try to identify what kind of conversation they’re having, based on their expressions. This can get me in trouble with whomever I’m dining with, but it’s hugely useful in writing. These days, when I go out, people’s faces are half-covered by masks. I miss people-watching. So now I’m trying to decide what my dogs are thinking…. maybe I’ll write a dog book next. Or maybe not.
Tricking my writing brain into action
For me, the hardest part of writing is the idea generation. Not just the plot, which usually comes in consistent fits and starts. It’s the characters that I need, along with the initial premise, to really get going. It would make sense that the voices would come when I’m at the computer, focused on the book. Instead, they’re often obstinately silent in those moments. Lately, I’ve found that the characters come out to talk when I’m working on some other project, something that engages my mind but in a different way. The characters of my new book, Far Gone, seem to like puzzles. So, puzzling it is…
Treating yourself in Quarantine
I will admit, this isn’t the healthiest diet, but this quarantine thing has really turned me upside down. A weird thing for someone who normally spends most days alone in the basement (by choice). But, forced isolation from friends and forced togetherness with family… well, that’s a whole different thing.
Soaking in the sun
Nothing like sitting in the sun with a good book. And this one is wonderful. If you haven’t read Angie Thomas, you really should.
The new world we live in....
We got out of town, leaving behind the cold temps for a week in warm Arizona. It’s a heavenly migration we do every year… only this year is a little different. COVID-19 has just arrived and we’re going to the store only when it’s necessary, wearing a mask and having dinners delivered by Uber Eats instead of going out. It isn’t that we hoped for… but we’re happy.
And the bad jokes are already starting. What goes with Corona? Nachos! Be safe and be well!
Winter Wonderland...where the ideas come
I’m a big believer in getting outside. Don’t get me wrong, I love a couch and a good book as much as anyone, but when I’m struggling with a plot or a scene isn’t working out the way I’d intended, I know it’s time to get outside.
And these crisp, clear Montana winter days are wonderful for helping me clear my head and find my way in a book. These two sweet girls, Lucy and Scotia, help a ton, too!
White Out in its natural habitat
It’s a strange thing to have a cold, snowy thriller coming out in July, but my husband and I took the earliest copies to Yellowstone National Park (which is as majestic in the winter as it is in the summer). Here, we took a long cross country ski and stopped to take pictures of White Out. Beautiful, isn’t she? Oh, yeah, Yellowstone, too. ;)
Circling him while he reads
I’ve been married to this guy for almost 26 years and I trust him implicitly. He’s quite literally my favorite person on earth (children not included).
So, why, when my book is done and ready to go to the world, do I still feel terror when he picks it up? Well, maybe that’s obvious. His opinion means the most. But I also know he would tell me he loved it even if it were god-awful. Because he loves me. Nonetheless, whenever he is reading, I circle him like a vulture, awaiting any little sound or expression that might give me a clue about what he’s thinking.
It was that way with my very first (never to be published) novel and I suspect it will be that way to the last.
Holding it in your hands
White Out is my fourteenth book. That’s a lot. If I had 14 children, you’d all need to be really worried about me. And thankfully, the physical (and mental) wear-and-tear of a book are nothing like a baby.
But there’s a reason that people talk about their books like babies. Like a pregnancy, a book is developed almost entirely by an author in solitude. You put so much into that thing—eating well, exercise, focus, good thoughts…all so that it will be the best it can be.
And then you put it out in the world (to agents, editors and eventually readers) and you still worry about it every day. But on the day the book first arrives on your doorstep, sent by the book storks of course, it’s a magical feeling. Not like the first time I held my daughter or my son, but it’s pretty darn awesome.
This is Christmas for a writer
If you’re a writer, the moment the books arrive is Christmas, your birthday and New Years all wrapped in one. The day the books arrive is like no other and you can watch below to see me act just like a little kid on Christmas morning.
Fun chatting with Pamela on Wine, Women & Writing
A break from Bouchercon, the world mystery convention, to chat with the lovely Pamela Fagan Hutchins.
The biggest compliment...
A gray it’s – about – to – snow day here in Montana. Walked through the living room, talking out loud and my daughter said, “Shh. I’m reading.”
I was surprised.
1) My kids have not yet been the kid of readers to fully devote attention to a book.
2) Middle of the day on a Saturday, they’re either at work, out with friends or napping
3) Wait… I know that book
An hour later, “Mom, you’re a really good writer. Can I have the next one?”
The torture of waiting...
These girls are not allowed on the couch. Ever… Except tonight.
I’m waiting for some feedback on my book… which makes it hard to relax. Being a writer has some very specific challenges. One is that you spend a lot of time alone with your story. Months and months for me and for others, years and years.
During that time, it’s often not helpful to get feedback as you’re still finding your way through your own vision of the story. Or that is how it is for me. But then, the book has to go to someone else. A first reader, your agent or editor… and that is truly terrifying. Like sending your child on the bus to kindergarten for the first time terrifying. And it makes focus on everything else hard, too.
So I cuddled up with these girls and am watching a movie. I think they sensed that I needed a little extra love… Also, my daughter might have encouraged them to climb up…
Have to admit it helped.
What it really takes...
Writing a book is a long (long) process. I used to think of it as the writing part only… you know, develop a story, characters, build the conflict, the plot, work out the twists, the red herrings, the misdirection, the resolution… that last scene with the characters after it’s all over. Yea, that part.
But now I’ve been doing this for a while, it has started to sink in that just when you think a book is “done,” someone sends it back!
After you’ve written a book, a few weeks pass and in comes the editorial letter. Here are the first major revisions -- the slaughter of unnecessary characters, the vanishing of plot lines that detracted, the banishment of bad twists and failed turns.
You tackle those and off it goes again… only to return a few weeks later for developmental edits where you make it all sharper, better, more clever (and maybe even a bit shorter).
Done? Nope! Next it comes back (again a few weeks later) for copy edits. This is where someone who likely majored in English (rather than pre-med/poly sci with a minor in Italian) tells me where the commas are supposed to go. Plus, they catch all sorts of things I’ve missed (though I’ve read the book 100 times and also, uh, wrote it).
And then… it comes back again one last time for page proofs. The last chance to get it all right, to never confuse a left eye with a right or brown sofa with a beige one.
And this process takes (in my experience) about 6 months. And during that time… uh… I’m also supposed to be writing the next book.
I am… of course I am… But really, I’m celebrating this moment as my work on White Out is… (at least I think) DONE!
So, tomorrow, I move full steam ahead on the sequel… can’t wait to share White Out with you!
Lunch of champions...?
This is what lunch looks like when you learn that you have to cut about 75% of the 55k words you’ve written on your new book.
I had a tough call today about my current manuscript.
By my count, this is the 19th book I’ve written and (if all goes according to plan and contract) the 15th book I publish.
But here I am, about a ¼ through the book (many of my initial pages end up in the “out-file”) and realizing, “Ah, shit. This isn’t going to work.”
What am I trying to say? I guess that (at least for me) even being a “professional” doesn’t always mean getting it right.
And certainly not on the first go.
I’m saying that partners in this business are key: critique partners, agents, editors.
And, like it or not, they’re also often correct. The one thing an author never has about his or her book is objectivity.
So today was an ice cream and wine day. Tomorrow, I start a new book, pull in the pieces that still work… and take off again.