Getting By with a Little Help
Many thanks to Faye for pointing out the gender of all of the editorial gatekeepers of the 2010 Best American collections in this literary news I completely missed. Father Knows Best, anyone?
Another essential gem for writers by Tayari.
Congratulations to my cool friend Naca for having her first, gorgeous book of poetry, Bird Eating Bird, nominated for a Lambda award. I still remember reading it in manuscript and being quietly blown away--before Yusef Komunyaaka picked it for the National Poetry Series. Good luck, Naca! Amelia blogs about the Lammys here.
Big abrazos to Belinda Acosta, who was interviewed here on this blog, for winning the International Latino Book Award for Best First Book for Damas, Dramas, and Ana Ruiz, her debut novel. The sequel, Sisters, Strangers, and Starting Over, is due out this July, and it's already making lists of recommended books and getting good press. Watch for it.
To see all the winners of the International Latino Book Awards, go here. Marjorie Agosín, whose work I have long loved, took home the award for best biography for Of Earth and Sea: A Chilean Memoir.
Good things happening for good people! ¡Órale!
Gentle readers, on Monday I FedExed the new and improved (and improved, and improved) manuscript of THE DESIRE PROJECTS, a literary noir novel, to my agent. My fingers are crossed!
Here's the elevator blurb for it:
When I first conceived the project, I thought it would be cool to try to blend literary writing with the suspense of a thriller and the fun conventions of chica lit. However, no such blending occurred. What has finally emerged is more like a collision between noir and chick lit. A five-car pile-up. Nola, the protagonist, just took over (with nods to Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain, Walter Mosley, Sara Paretsky, Kate Atkinson . . .). We'll see. It wants to be a beach read for smart people. Or a smart read for beach people. I don't know.
Many, many thanks to the good friends who read early versions of the book as it struggled to find its feet: Sandra Scofield, Barbara Brandt, Bryn Chancellor (third one down), Grey Castro, and the Handsome Husband. THE DESIRE PROJECTS has changed so much, you'll barely recognize it!
Speaking of Baby Greyby, we fly out tomorrow to see him graduate from Oberlin. I'm todo excited & Mama-giddy.
Graduation may not be the biggest achievement of his life thus far, but it is by far the biggest achievement of mine--bigger than writing books, or tenure, or anything. Here's why. Grey is a sweethearted, artsy, slacker guy who would much rather skateboard than study, bless his heart (as we say in the South). On the up-side, he breathes, he lives in his body, he's kind and open and thoughtful and non-judgmental--not to mention a great songwriter. All amazing, wonderful things.
For me, as someone who's always been academically driven and ambitious by nature (or perhaps by necessity)--and who's truly had to fight her own judgmental, impatient inclinations--this has been a tough personal challenge. How to accept and support who Grey really is, at heart, while still equipping him responsibly for his future?
If he ends up being able to skateboard and write songs for a living, great. But if not, he'll need a fallback position. It's a parent's job to think about that, however uncool or un-fun it makes us. (And I say this even as a devoted artist. Publishing stories in little magazines was hardly gonna pay the rent.)
Seeing him graduate from a good school at 21, debt-free, with good grades, has been a long haul, people, but he has done great, and we couldn't be prouder.
Or more relieved. At the graduation ceremony, I may faint.
So at the tail end of this graduation season, here's to all the parents. Respect. Solidarity. You've worked so hard, and you've made sacrifices no one will ever see. A good education is probably the second-best gift you can give your children, and it's huge.
Moreover, an ethical, kind, well educated young adult is one of the best gifts you can give to our shared community. So thank you.
*Yes, Cuban history buffs, her last name is no accident.
Another essential gem for writers by Tayari.
Congratulations to my cool friend Naca for having her first, gorgeous book of poetry, Bird Eating Bird, nominated for a Lambda award. I still remember reading it in manuscript and being quietly blown away--before Yusef Komunyaaka picked it for the National Poetry Series. Good luck, Naca! Amelia blogs about the Lammys here.
Big abrazos to Belinda Acosta, who was interviewed here on this blog, for winning the International Latino Book Award for Best First Book for Damas, Dramas, and Ana Ruiz, her debut novel. The sequel, Sisters, Strangers, and Starting Over, is due out this July, and it's already making lists of recommended books and getting good press. Watch for it.
To see all the winners of the International Latino Book Awards, go here. Marjorie Agosín, whose work I have long loved, took home the award for best biography for Of Earth and Sea: A Chilean Memoir.
Good things happening for good people! ¡Órale!
Gentle readers, on Monday I FedExed the new and improved (and improved, and improved) manuscript of THE DESIRE PROJECTS, a literary noir novel, to my agent. My fingers are crossed!
Here's the elevator blurb for it:
The blurb still sounds a little wonky to me, but you get the picture. If you can think of ways to make it more inviting, let me know.During and after the chaos of Katrina, over a thousand released sex offenders (required by Megan's Law to register their whereabouts with law enforcement) went off the grid. Nola Céspedes*, a mouthy young cubana cub reporter for the Times-Picayune who grew up in the Desire Projects of New Orleans, gets assigned a feature story she doesn't want: to explore the human realities behind the statistics on child molesters' rates of recidivism, their rehabilitation, their reception back into the community--just as a seven-year-old girl disappears from the French Quarter.
And then things get personal.
When I first conceived the project, I thought it would be cool to try to blend literary writing with the suspense of a thriller and the fun conventions of chica lit. However, no such blending occurred. What has finally emerged is more like a collision between noir and chick lit. A five-car pile-up. Nola, the protagonist, just took over (with nods to Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain, Walter Mosley, Sara Paretsky, Kate Atkinson . . .). We'll see. It wants to be a beach read for smart people. Or a smart read for beach people. I don't know.
Many, many thanks to the good friends who read early versions of the book as it struggled to find its feet: Sandra Scofield, Barbara Brandt, Bryn Chancellor (third one down), Grey Castro, and the Handsome Husband. THE DESIRE PROJECTS has changed so much, you'll barely recognize it!
Speaking of Baby Greyby, we fly out tomorrow to see him graduate from Oberlin. I'm todo excited & Mama-giddy.
Graduation may not be the biggest achievement of his life thus far, but it is by far the biggest achievement of mine--bigger than writing books, or tenure, or anything. Here's why. Grey is a sweethearted, artsy, slacker guy who would much rather skateboard than study, bless his heart (as we say in the South). On the up-side, he breathes, he lives in his body, he's kind and open and thoughtful and non-judgmental--not to mention a great songwriter. All amazing, wonderful things.
For me, as someone who's always been academically driven and ambitious by nature (or perhaps by necessity)--and who's truly had to fight her own judgmental, impatient inclinations--this has been a tough personal challenge. How to accept and support who Grey really is, at heart, while still equipping him responsibly for his future?
If he ends up being able to skateboard and write songs for a living, great. But if not, he'll need a fallback position. It's a parent's job to think about that, however uncool or un-fun it makes us. (And I say this even as a devoted artist. Publishing stories in little magazines was hardly gonna pay the rent.)
Seeing him graduate from a good school at 21, debt-free, with good grades, has been a long haul, people, but he has done great, and we couldn't be prouder.
Or more relieved. At the graduation ceremony, I may faint.
So at the tail end of this graduation season, here's to all the parents. Respect. Solidarity. You've worked so hard, and you've made sacrifices no one will ever see. A good education is probably the second-best gift you can give your children, and it's huge.
Moreover, an ethical, kind, well educated young adult is one of the best gifts you can give to our shared community. So thank you.
*Yes, Cuban history buffs, her last name is no accident.
Jezebella said:
Seriously, a debt-free high-quality education is a a truly wonderful gift. I would love to meet Greyby Baby (again) some day - he was into Pokemon and barely a tween last time I laid eyes on him.
And, since you asked: "recidivism" is a two-bit word that is too too much for the back cover of a thriller. And a "cub reporter" is by definition "young", so you can take that word out if you're trying to streamline.
May 27, 2010 5:19 PMfayepoet said:
I love the convergence of Gray's graduation & your completion of The Desire Projects. Each event, in its own way, is monumental and sets the stage for the future & the unknown possibilities ahead.
May 28, 2010 2:58 AMGood luck to Grey and to Mamma. After the tears and I hope not, the faint, I hope you and the Handsome Husband will celebrate!