rain, wind, cool, temps 8
We need the rain here, so this is great. Canadiens lost last night - so they're out of the play-offs. The great thing about sports is that there's always next year.
Will write this morning then head, about noon, down to Colchester, Vermont, for my 2pm event at the Burnham library. Thanks so much to Phil for pointing out that my original plan, of going to Burnham, Vermont, was flawed.
We now have 2 ducks in the pond! have named them Rosa and Flora, of course - though we suspect that is also flawed. More like Rosa and Phil probably. We'll see.
As I mentioned in last night's post, I have the very great pleasure of being a friend of Phyllis Smallman - friend and fan (though we've never met, I've read her book). She won the inaugural ARTHUR ELLIS AWARD FOR BEST UNPUBLISHED NOVEL (aka The Unhanged Arthur) last year for her terrific book MARGUERITA NIGHTS.
Since the new Authur Ellis nominations were just announced I asked Phyllis to blog today, and tell us what winning last year has meant to her. Here she is:
Hello Louise,
You were asking what it meant to me to win the Unhanged Arthur from the Crime Writers of Canada. Well, it's the difference between nothing and everything - the difference from having a mystery on my computer and a published book in my hand. A year ago being published was still a dream and yesterday I went into a bookstore on Salt Spring Island and saw my books on display on the table closest to the door. Can you imagine my excitement?
Last April I went to a Mystery Writer's of America conference and listened to a panel of editors and agents. After talking about the difficulty of dealing with all the query letters and manuscripts they receive, one of the editors said, "The problem is there are just too many people writing books." Not what I wanted to hear. No editor will look at an unagented manuscript so the slush pile has moved from the publisher's office to the agent's office and now the average agent gets 75 to 100 query letters a week. That's just a letter to say, "May I please send you my manuscript?" How many of those letters do you think actually get read? The Arthur Ellis contest for unpublished manuscripts is a real chance to be seen and maybe published.
I'm very grateful to you, not only for getting the idea, but for carrying through with your vision. Most of us don't follow through with our good ideas. Without you there wouldn't be an Unhanged Arthur award and I'd still be sending out query letters to add to the slush pile.
Last Wednesday I was on a panel at the Vancouver library. We were there for the announcement of this year's Arthur Ellis finalists. Every person on the panel opened an envelope to read out the short list for each category. When William Deverell read out your name I nearly stood up and cheered. My emotions were a strange mix of pride, delight and completion, although why I should feel pride in an accomplishment that is yours alone I'm not sure. So what does it all mean to me? The earth and the moon and the stars and a dream come true. Not much.
Phyllis
Oh, Phyllis - thank you. You talked about 'completion'. I know that feeling. it's how I felt when you not only won, but were picked up to be published my McArthur. I felt my obligation to the Gods of Mercy was done. I'm so happy for you, and I'm happy for me. And for Michael, who is the co-founder of this award, lovely man - and the CWC - GREAT organization!
I almost took the paragraphs out where Phyllis thanks me. I didn't want any of you thinking that was the purpose. I really debated, and had my fingers on the delete buttons...but then I realized this was Phyllis's voice, and not mine. It wouldn't be appropriate to decide for her.
So, thank you Phyllis - and congratulations once again to this year's nominated books in the Best Unpublished Catagory....
Best Unpublished First Crime Novel: the Unhanged Arthur (cash award from McArthur & Company)
Patricia Flewwelling, Mummer’s the Word
D.J. McIntosh, The Witch of Babylon
Amy Tector, The Paris Letters
Kevin Thornton, Condemned
Good luck to all!!!
Showing posts with label Phyllis Smallman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Phyllis Smallman. Show all posts
Sunday, 4 May 2008
Saturday, 3 May 2008
Flushing the Canadiens
Overcast, spitting, cool, highs 12
windy today, and rainy. Really not all that cold for Quebec at this time of year, but the combo of rain and wind, well it gets right into you.
Had a fun day today. Woke up to Trudy and her stinky stuffed toy in my face. I whispered, 'Where's Daddy?'. That gave me a few more minutes sleep.
Wrote all morning - moving toward the end - though still about 25 thousand words away. Would love to be finished this first draft before we head back to England at the end of the month.
I like deadlines. Gives me structure and certainly gives me purpose. But I'm a bit of a maniac about deadlines. I actually get my books in months ahead. While I love having them, and need them...and when I was writing STILL LIFE without a contract I realized I needed to give myself deadlines. Something to shoot for. The downside is that I feel so stressed by a deadline I just drive myself, way beyond what could be considered reasonable.
But, I also want the summer off - to relax. So this is my plan: Finish the first draft by the end of this month. Go to CrimeFest in Bristol then BookExpo in Toronto. Return home by mid-June. Work on second draft through June. Finish that before going away at beginning of July. Polish through July. Get it to my agent by the beginning of August...and take August off. Except for the promotion events at Wolfe Island, Ontario and in Michigan.
There's some stress, but it's all manageable. And really, what else would I rather be doing? this really is a dream come true.
I asked Phyllis Smallman, whose wonderful book Marguerita Nights has just come out, to write a blog for me. I specifically asked her to write about her experiences with the Unpublished Arthur Ellis award - she won last year and as a result her first book is now in the stores - published by McArthur and Co.
Like me, she got her break through a contest for Best Unpublished Crime Novel. If you're a mystery writer, please consider checking out the CWA Daggers, the Malice domestic/St. Martin's Minotaur contest and the Crime Writers of Canada contest. They work!
Anyway, back to Phyllis. she wrote the most beautiful blog and I'd intended to put it up immediately, but had to go out, and I don't want to put it on for only a few hours. So I'll put it on the site tomorrow. Please look for it here. And look out for her book in the stores and on Amazon.
I'm off to Colchester, Vermont to speak at the Burnham library tomorrow at 2pm - I might see some of you there.
The duck and goose are still at the pond. Very friendly too. I swear to God we're going to have a new species in a few weeks.
Michael is watching the Montreal Canadiens playoff game. I can hear it in the background. He just reported...Philadelphia has scored 3 goals in 5 minutes. Unbelievable. But we should have known. Michael's good luck charm, bought in New Zealand, fell into the toilet. That can't be good. Frankly I'm glad if we have to have bad luck, it's with the Canadiens.
Yikes, I can barely stand the sound of the game - so stressful!!!
Well, I'm off. Dogs to be let out and given their evening treats. Thanks for reading - and I'll put up Phyllis's post tomorrow.
windy today, and rainy. Really not all that cold for Quebec at this time of year, but the combo of rain and wind, well it gets right into you.
Had a fun day today. Woke up to Trudy and her stinky stuffed toy in my face. I whispered, 'Where's Daddy?'. That gave me a few more minutes sleep.
Wrote all morning - moving toward the end - though still about 25 thousand words away. Would love to be finished this first draft before we head back to England at the end of the month.
I like deadlines. Gives me structure and certainly gives me purpose. But I'm a bit of a maniac about deadlines. I actually get my books in months ahead. While I love having them, and need them...and when I was writing STILL LIFE without a contract I realized I needed to give myself deadlines. Something to shoot for. The downside is that I feel so stressed by a deadline I just drive myself, way beyond what could be considered reasonable.
But, I also want the summer off - to relax. So this is my plan: Finish the first draft by the end of this month. Go to CrimeFest in Bristol then BookExpo in Toronto. Return home by mid-June. Work on second draft through June. Finish that before going away at beginning of July. Polish through July. Get it to my agent by the beginning of August...and take August off. Except for the promotion events at Wolfe Island, Ontario and in Michigan.
There's some stress, but it's all manageable. And really, what else would I rather be doing? this really is a dream come true.
I asked Phyllis Smallman, whose wonderful book Marguerita Nights has just come out, to write a blog for me. I specifically asked her to write about her experiences with the Unpublished Arthur Ellis award - she won last year and as a result her first book is now in the stores - published by McArthur and Co.
Like me, she got her break through a contest for Best Unpublished Crime Novel. If you're a mystery writer, please consider checking out the CWA Daggers, the Malice domestic/St. Martin's Minotaur contest and the Crime Writers of Canada contest. They work!
Anyway, back to Phyllis. she wrote the most beautiful blog and I'd intended to put it up immediately, but had to go out, and I don't want to put it on for only a few hours. So I'll put it on the site tomorrow. Please look for it here. And look out for her book in the stores and on Amazon.
I'm off to Colchester, Vermont to speak at the Burnham library tomorrow at 2pm - I might see some of you there.
The duck and goose are still at the pond. Very friendly too. I swear to God we're going to have a new species in a few weeks.
Michael is watching the Montreal Canadiens playoff game. I can hear it in the background. He just reported...Philadelphia has scored 3 goals in 5 minutes. Unbelievable. But we should have known. Michael's good luck charm, bought in New Zealand, fell into the toilet. That can't be good. Frankly I'm glad if we have to have bad luck, it's with the Canadiens.
Yikes, I can barely stand the sound of the game - so stressful!!!
Well, I'm off. Dogs to be let out and given their evening treats. Thanks for reading - and I'll put up Phyllis's post tomorrow.
Tuesday, 13 November 2007
No? No? I must be mis-hearing
I asked Phyllis Smallman to write something about her experiences trying to get published. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, Phyllis won this years Arthur Ellis Award for best Unpublished Novel - given out by the Crime Writers of Canada. And - the GREAT news is, she's going to be published in Spring 2008 by McArthur and Co.
Here's what Phyllis wrote:
Back in the early nineties I announced to my nearest and dearest that I was going to become a writer. Big mistake! They went from "Oh yeah?" to polite, "So, how's the writing going? Published anything yet?" Those first four historical romances are still sitting on the computer.
I always wanted to write mysteries but thought they would be far beyond my abilities but anyone can write a romance right? Wrong. I don't seem to have a romantic sensibility and they kept slipping over into comic mayhem and death with any physical contact more likely to involve knives and blunt instruments than kisses. No one was sure quite what they were except unpublishable. One agent who asked to see the first 50 sent me a two page reject telling me just how much she hated protagonist. I made a huge paper mache bowl with the rejects. The summer of 2002 I threw in the towel on love and began MARGARITA NIGHTS. As I told my shocked son, "This is about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on."
Finally I had a voice and a place I could identify with a little better than England in the year 1297. In the summer of 2004 I entered it in the Debut Dagger in the UK and made the shortlist. Whoopeee! This will surely get me published right? I sent out dozens of query letters to agents, working my way diligently through the alphabet of agents. This past January I received a bulletin from the Debut Dagger saying that Louise Penny had begun the Unhung Authors with the Crime Writers of Canada. The deadline was in 10 days. I also received a call that day that my mother was very ill. I had my printer going like spit as I packed my bag and we dropped of the manuscript at the post office on the way to the airport.
I had also entered St. Martin's Press's Malice Domestic Contest for the Spring of 2007. I made the short list for both contests. I wonder if I've finally set some kind of record, short listed in 3 countries for exactly the same kind of award without getting an agent or a publisher. More query letters went out. Everyone knows you can't get published without an agent. After a long long summer of waiting I finally heard in Nov. that McArthur and Co. are going to publish MARGARITA NIGHTS in the spring of 2008. I've never been very good at math but isn't that about 17 years of rejects?
And by the way, I still don't have an agent.
That was from Phyllis Smallman. Now - if that isn't inspiring I don't know what is! And quite similar really, to my own experience. I always figure the only real difference between me and an unpublished writer isn't talent - it's a combination of luck and perseverance. And, as the old saying goes, the harder you work, the luckier you get.
Speak to you all tomorrow - be well.
Here's what Phyllis wrote:
Back in the early nineties I announced to my nearest and dearest that I was going to become a writer. Big mistake! They went from "Oh yeah?" to polite, "So, how's the writing going? Published anything yet?" Those first four historical romances are still sitting on the computer.
I always wanted to write mysteries but thought they would be far beyond my abilities but anyone can write a romance right? Wrong. I don't seem to have a romantic sensibility and they kept slipping over into comic mayhem and death with any physical contact more likely to involve knives and blunt instruments than kisses. No one was sure quite what they were except unpublishable. One agent who asked to see the first 50 sent me a two page reject telling me just how much she hated protagonist. I made a huge paper mache bowl with the rejects. The summer of 2002 I threw in the towel on love and began MARGARITA NIGHTS. As I told my shocked son, "This is about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on."
Finally I had a voice and a place I could identify with a little better than England in the year 1297. In the summer of 2004 I entered it in the Debut Dagger in the UK and made the shortlist. Whoopeee! This will surely get me published right? I sent out dozens of query letters to agents, working my way diligently through the alphabet of agents. This past January I received a bulletin from the Debut Dagger saying that Louise Penny had begun the Unhung Authors with the Crime Writers of Canada. The deadline was in 10 days. I also received a call that day that my mother was very ill. I had my printer going like spit as I packed my bag and we dropped of the manuscript at the post office on the way to the airport.
I had also entered St. Martin's Press's Malice Domestic Contest for the Spring of 2007. I made the short list for both contests. I wonder if I've finally set some kind of record, short listed in 3 countries for exactly the same kind of award without getting an agent or a publisher. More query letters went out. Everyone knows you can't get published without an agent. After a long long summer of waiting I finally heard in Nov. that McArthur and Co. are going to publish MARGARITA NIGHTS in the spring of 2008. I've never been very good at math but isn't that about 17 years of rejects?
And by the way, I still don't have an agent.
That was from Phyllis Smallman. Now - if that isn't inspiring I don't know what is! And quite similar really, to my own experience. I always figure the only real difference between me and an unpublished writer isn't talent - it's a combination of luck and perseverance. And, as the old saying goes, the harder you work, the luckier you get.
Speak to you all tomorrow - be well.
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