The third installment of Tod Goldberg's Gangsterland series was released about six months ago on 9/12/23 and has been accumulating some exciting praise and recognition, including: Amazon, A Best Book of the Month Sept. 2023 The Washington Post, A Most Anticipated Title Deadly Pleasures Magazine, A Best Book of the Year CrimeReads, A Notable Book of 2023 Book and Film Globe Favorite Books of 2023 Today we want to share some of the best reviews here on the blog and encourage you to click over to Counterpoint's website where you'll find even more press coverage and information on how to buy the series. This is a unique contribution to crime fiction that you won't want to miss! On to the reviews: BooklistThe third installment in the Gangsterland trilogy (Gangsterland, 2014; Gangster Nation, 2017) opens with a lengthy flashback to 1973, during Dark Billy Cupertine’s final hours alive. Sal, Cupertine’s son and the trilogy’s central character, was a Chicago hitman forced to assume a new identity as a rabbi and relocate to Las Vegas. Set in 2002, the trilogy’s final book finds Sal with a lot of problems. His identity is cracking. His enemies are getting closer. His family is hidden away in a witness protection program but nevertheless in danger. And Peaches Pocatillo, a Native American kingpin who has taken control of the Chicago mob, is hot on Sal’s trail, determined to get revenge for a past slight. No spoilers here, but the opening flashback proves vitally important to the plot and to Sal. Perhaps the most well-written of the trilogy’s installments, Gangster’s Don’t Die has a great story, exciting characters, and a few nifty surprises. Publishers Weekly - Starred Review!Goldberg concludes his Gangsterland trilogy in style, following up 2017’s Gangster Nation with a mesmerizing comic noir that’s fully accessible to series newcomers. After killing several FBI agents in 1998 Chicago, mobster Sal Cupertine hid in the back of a meat truck and reemerged in Las Vegas, where he assumed the identity of Rabbi David Cohen. In time, Sal grew into the role, providing genuine succor to his congregation and finding some satisfaction in doing so. But by 2002, the walls are closing in on him. Hospitalized after being assaulted—an attack that’s undone the plastic surgery he’s used to conceal his true identity—Sal is targeted by Matthew Drew, a former FBI agent who’s been framed for murders in Portland, Ore., and Peaches Pocotillo, a Native American gang lord who’s looking to take over Sal’s operations. Drawing his foes out to the desert, Sal prepares for a final showdown that will either end his life or free him for good. Goldberg keeps readers guessing whether Sal will again outsmart his foes and injects humor throughout (“The problem with being on the FBI’s Most Wanted list, Matthew Drew realized, was the lack of dining options”) to keep the proceedings from growing too grim. This is a stellar end to one of the most inventive crime series in recent memory. Agent: Jennie Dunham, Dunham Literary. Jim Ruland, Los Angeles Times"Goldberg is charming and sharp, with a quip for every occasion . . . Although each book stands on its own, taken together, the Gangsterland novels read like a single sweeping story with a large cast and numerous storylines, which Goldberg compares to the slow-developing character arc over the course of several seasons of shows like Game of Thrones and The Wire. This gave Goldberg a great deal of latitude to tell the story in an emotionally satisfying way . . . Goldberg’s success in this anti-heroic mode is rare in the world of crime fiction. Where many writers emphasize the violence in their stories, Goldberg pays equal attention to its psychic aftermath."
The full article in the LA Times: The real spiritual journey behind Tod Goldberg’s fake-rabbi desert antihero We know there are many things that you just have to “learn as you go” as an author, and it’s especially difficult to think strategically when you are encountering every step of the process for the first time. It can feel like the publishing industry swirls with inscrutable mystery, but it really does get easier with experience. Seasoned authors and agents continue to learn new things every day too, and that’s part of the fun! We want you to begin 2024 feeling prepared and motivated, so we took time in January to impart some simple truths about publishing via our social media accounts. We’ve given advice that is practical, but potentially impactful, and in today’s blog post we’re including the complete collection of tips from January 2024 for your convenience. We hope you find them helpful! 1. Slow and steady wins the race.When that “final” draft is complete, it can be tempting to rush off and send it everywhere all at once, but building your career as an author is a long game. It’s good to pace yourself. Making small, measurable goals and then proceeding with intentionality and some prudence will give you the space you need to learn from your mistakes and pivot when necessary. Find that beta reader, curate your list of agents, build your social media platform and writing community. And don’t forget that a career is usually built on more than one book, so keep writing! This year, remember that the publishing industry isn’t going anywhere! Take your time, plan ahead, and produce your best work! 2. We all have the same, very limited, 24 hour days.You’ve probably heard it before – agents are swamped. We wish it was an exaggeration, but agents (and editors) are truly faced with an overwhelming number of submissions. The volume of manuscripts crossing our desks in a given week or year is exponentially more than we could accept even if it were possible to fit more work hours into the day. We get 24 hours and really do better overall when some of those are dedicated to eating, sleeping, and spending time with loved ones. Take encouragement from this! The waiting is normal, and most importantly, a “rejection” from one agent is not necessarily a reflection of your manuscript’s potential. It is a reflection of the difficult decisions we have to make about what we can afford to take on to our already-full list of responsibilities. 3. Platform matters. More and more often agents are hearing no-thank-yous from editors along the lines of, “The manuscript has potential, but I’m afraid that the author’s platform is not where it would need to be to help us with marketing.” It’s just the unfortunate reality that there are not enough people or hours in the day for publishers to give every book a robust marketing plan, and they are making their decisions in part based on whether or not the author has demonstrated the ability to do some of that legwork themselves. What does “platform” mean today? It can still vary by audience. Where are you likely to meet your readers? Speaking events? Professional organizations? In the pages of trade journals? Or social media? An author website and social media accounts are the most common starting place for connecting with your audience. 4. Response times are slower than ever.As we mentioned in an earlier post, agents (and editors) have seen a massive increase in the volume of submission over the years. Many of us receive no compensation for reading those submissions, but they are an essential part of finding quality projects to work on. Even so, we must prioritize our current clients and projects, and sometimes it just takes a very long time to clear space to consider new one. A long wait does not mean “no,” and it’s a good discipline to try not to read into the reason it’s taking so long to hear back from someone. Sometimes the delay is something as simple as one of us getting a cold that sets our schedule back. You want agents and editors to have the brain-space for your voice, so while waiting is hard it is ultimately worthwhile. And remember that when your book goes on submission with an agent, the waiting will resume – response times from editors are slower than ever. Practice patience now. 5. You need a hook.What makes readers want to read your book? Unless you are already famous, there will need to be something about your manuscript that is unique or unusual enough to grab the attention of readers in a very saturated market. If you can’t identify the thing or things that will grab readers and keep them, then it’s time to examine whether your manuscript is really as complete and creative as it could be. Without a hook you will likely receive feedback that it “feels too familiar” or “won’t stand out” among the competition. But don’t stress so much about inventing something never-before-seen as identifying what is special about what you’ve already created. Even though there is a chance you need to revise, it’s equally possible that you haven’t honed in on the hook in your description/pitch but that it’s there waiting to be found. Each story is unique because each writer is – which perspective, plot element, character detail, or topic is going to make readers stop and give your book a second glance? 6. It pays to plan your queries wisely.Querying can be time consuming, and you may be tempted to streamline by creating an impersonal query letter and sending it out widely. But you need to know that it’s more likely that you’ll find success faster if you research and target specific agents than if you send pitched out blindly and cross your fingers. Your manuscript will not be a good fit for many agents out there. Some do not represent your genre or age group at all. Some have very specific directions on their wishlists or websites about what they want to see (or not see) in a query. Take the time to create a submission plan that includes agents you genuinely feel to be a good fit for you, and then query in batches. You may receive feedback from agents in one round of submissions that affects your future submission practices for the better. It can take time to find an agent who is interested and available, but throwing spaghetti at the wall is little more than a waste of everyone’s time. 7. Unique, well-written books are still getting published and flying off shelves. We’d like to end this series on a hopeful note to remind you why you became interested in this author career path in the first place – good books are still being made! Publishing is alive and well, and there is room for more growth. Like every industry, it changes and adapts, but reading is still a beloved pastime that we think will endure. Create the very best manuscript and submission plan that you can, and stay the course. Your perseverance may reap huge rewards that giving up is sure to cheat you from.
This year we decided to choose a special book for each other to celebrate the holidays. As we’ve gotten to know each other’s literary tastes, it has been fun to make recommendations, and we thought you all might enjoy a little behind-the-scenes look at what we chose for each other and how each was received. Anjanette’s choice for Jennie: PIRANESI by Susanna ClarkWhat Jennie thought about Piranesi The book arrived with a note from Anjanette saying that she felt it would be good to “go in blind” without reading the premise first. Which I never do. So, I did it! I kept trying to find my way with both the character and the story which mirrors how the protagonist feels throughout most of the story. It reminded me of the tv series Archive 81, which I enjoyed, and Jorge Luis Borges, who is one of my all time favorite authors. Often I’m frustrated in stories if I have to spend too much time figuring out where the protagonist is and why, but I realized this was an integral part of the story. The book starts in the fifth month and ends at the end of the eleventh month which to me signals a May-December story in which Piranesi is the youth being guided by the Other. The book ending before getting exactly to December was a signal that the guidance had been interrupted because the Other is not who he initially seems to be for Piranesi. And the albatross, ever present with the calendar, is a symbol of fortune changing and travel. It seemed odd to me that the incantations are made in Celtic, but the world the incantations lead to has the physical geography of the Greco-Roman world. The labyrinth of Greek myth is meant to contain a monster, and so I spent time wondering who was the monster in this story. The reversal was satisfying. I did not expect 16 to have that profession, and I’m surprised and pleased with the patience 16 shows Piranesi. I’m glad that Piranesi builds trust at the end with 16. The story, of course, is partly a metaphor for how we are prisoners in the labyrinth of the mind. It could be a metaphor for mental illness or for how the psyche can be so influenced by outside forces that someone can’t even recognize themselves. It is also the story of how people manipulate others and the worlds they build to carry out misdeeds. But, ultimately, internal forces will encourage a person towards normalcy and there is great hope for recovery. It’s also a story that reminds us that there are still worlds to discover and explore, and we may find them by traveling unexpected paths. Why Anjanette chose Piranesi for Jennie While Jennie’s favorite reads overlap with mine somewhat, I gravitate more toward the fantastical and she toward the literary. It’s nice that there’s plenty of fiction that blurs the lines these days, but it made it difficult to decide on something! I wanted to send Jennie a story that was unusual and thought-provoking, but still a breezy read. Piranesi is fairly short, and I found it almost impossible to put down when I read it because it has elements of mystery that unfold continuously – there aren’t many natural stopping points because the author has paced each revelation so well. I feel that Piranesi is a book that makes the reader ruminate on philosophical and anthropological questions while also offering engaging imagery and the tension of a protagonist we understand to be naïve to the dangers we are seeing as the reader. Jennie’s choice for Anjanette: THE SIXTEEN PLEASURES by Robert Hellenga What Anjanette thought of Sixteen Pleasures It was easy to see why Jennie might send me a bookish book full of nuns and poetry and art. I am, after all, Catholic and a self-confessed lover of fine art and antiquities. It was a little less clear to me how I would enjoy a book centered on the discovery of an old book of erotica that needs to be covertly smuggled from a convent and sold. But one of the things I enjoy about reading books that are recommended to me by others is the opportunity to pick things up that I wouldn’t choose on my own. I would steer clear of this book if I saw it on the shelves, but it was absolutely a worthwhile read. To begin with, the writing is beautiful. Each chapter – especially in the first and third act of the story – feels like a poignant personal essay, but still cohesively moves the plot forward. There were also many references to classic literature and art that I loved (I wouldn’t have expected a book like this to fit in ways to shout out both Lord of the Rings and Emma!), and much more poetry than just the erotic sonnets that the cover copy mentions. In fact, the (historically genuine) erotic manuscript that provides the hook for this bestseller is the least interesting character in these pages, and the spiritual lives of the protagonists was what held my interest. Including a plotline centered on erotica served to signal that there would be nothing too taboo for this author to discuss, and since religion is often just as taboo as sex, I appreciated the attempt at an honest treatment of the various ways sacred relationships and covenants fulfill – or don’t – our human needs and desires. Why Jennie chose Sixteen Pleasures for Anjanette I admit that I read this book a long time ago, but I remember this as a stunning debut for Robert Hellenga. I wanted to share this book with Anjanette because it combines books as treasures, a convent, a foreign setting, and the protagonist’s need to figure out her alliances so she can make a difficult decision and act on it. When I read it, I wanted to jump on a plane to help with the restoration! I thought she’d like the foreign setting in Italy because she majored in a foreign language and likes to travel. Anjanette has strong faith, and I thought that the lives of the nuns would be both relatable with their faith but also captivating because a convent is an insular, almost secretive society which she would join as a reader. The central object is a book about sex, but to the nuns it’s both mysterious and terrifying. And, the story is not about divulging what is in the book so much as it’s about what to do with the book after it’s found. The protagonist is a well-intentioned volunteer trying to restore damaged books so they can be preserved in the libraries, but this one needs to be purged from the library in order to restore the convent. In other words, the story is about returning the convent to purity by removing an inappropriate object. Closing thoughts on choosing books for friendsFrom Jennie: When I choose a book for a friend, I like to pick a book that juxtaposes two or more of my friends’ interests for a premise that will make them want to start reading right away. I think about the protagonist a little bit, but I think about the main conflict in the story more. It’s hard to guess if a friend will like the voice, but I do think about the writing when I’m choosing a book. While I hope they like it, sometimes liking parts and disliking others leads to a better conversation. Then again, it’s always great to get an excited “I loved it!” response as well. It’s great to connect afterwards and hear what parts we both enjoyed as well as what didn’t work or what loose ends we found that we’re still thinking about. A really good book becomes part of our shared history as friends, something we experienced together by talking about it afterwards. From Anjanette: I’m always tempted to send friends a book in their preferred genre that I know they will be excited about receiving, even if I haven’t read it myself. I love to give gifts that show people I’m paying attention and want to make them happy. I’ve found, however, that it’s even more impactful to find a book at the intersection of my interests and theirs, especially if I read and loved it. The gift then becomes multi-faceted – I am not just sending them $20 worth of story that they could have purchased themselves, I’m sending them the gift of shared experience and conversation. Sometimes the conversation will reveal that they didn’t love it as much as I did, but that’s valuable too because it highlights our differences and gives us more to talk about. Now that I’ve spent over three decades working as a literary agent, I’ve taken a few moments to reflect on my time in the business. As with life, the days have been busy and long, but I don’t know where the years went.
Thinking back to the beginning, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after graduating from college. I wanted to work in a creative field, but I didn’t want to be pressured to produce creatively all the time. I was interested in ideas, stories, and perspectives, but I didn’t know how to make a living from those interests. A part time bookstore job and then an unpaid internship at small publisher led to my first full time job as an assistant at a literary agency. In retrospect, what I really wanted was to surround myself with books and the people who create them. When I started as a literary agent, the shelves in the offices where I worked were lined with boxes of manuscripts. Yes, there were shelves of books too, but the boxes took up a lot of shelf space because we used them to submit printed manuscripts. We ordered sturdy boxes separately from other office supplies, and agents used different colors (red, orange, gray) to make their boxes distinguishable from other agencies. I would go to a copy shop to ask them to make 6 copies of a manuscript when I had to prepare a multiple submission. In those days, editors responded by returning manuscripts to agents, and I could tell how many pages an editor read from coffee stains and how many pages were rumpled and how many were pristine. Ostensibly, editors returned them to us so we could submit them to other editors, but frequently the boxes and manuscripts were too worn to submit to another editor. I used to carry manuscripts home to read, and they were heavy. I joked that I made my living in part by lugging around tree parts. Computers were widely in use when I started, but email wasn’t. I spent a good part of the day on the phone talking with editors to pitch manuscripts and follow up on submissions. This was great because I was interacting with people all day and talking about books. Relationships developed and were reinforced with each call. Because of relationships like this, I was able to get opportunities for clients that they may have otherwise missed. Once I even sold a book to an editor who rejected it because I called to talk about the reason for the rejection after I received her response. Email changed the industry because paper manuscripts and boxes were no longer necessary. Editors and agents switched to e-reader devices and no longer needed large backpacks for commuting to and from work with manuscripts. Because email was fast to send, people expected answers right away, and of course, thoughtful, detailed answers weren’t always as fast to generate. At first some publishers and agencies felt that email would make assistants unnecessary, but that was proven wrong quickly although not all employers, who’d been excited about reducing staff and salaries, were ready to acknowledge that assistants still fulfilled essential roles in the process. Once email became standard for the general public, agencies started receiving queries by email as well as regular mail. In short order, the number of submission expanded exponentially. It was easy to send submissions to multiple agencies without going to the post office or paying for postage. Access to the internet made the biggest difference across the board in the publishing industry. Information was suddenly easy to access that had previously only been available by joining groups such as the AALA or looking in Publishers Marketplace, the official tome for authoritative information in the field of publishing. Before the internet, writers either took classes and counted on their teachers’ connections to get representation or looked in guides such as Jeff Herman’s Guide to Literary Agents. With the internet, books could be ordered without leaving the house, and professionals in publishing and readers who didn’t work in publishing could find out information about books, authors, publishers, and agents. With the popularity of blogs and social media, even the standards for reviewing and promoting books changed drastically. While the mechanics of how I receive submissions from writers and submit projects to editors has changed, so much hasn’t changed. The heart of the business is finding new voices that resonate strongly in readers. Readers still love to be entertained, and stories are at the center of almost every type of entertainment. Platforms, applications, and media are just new spins on the everlasting enjoyment of stories. The world is hungry for new perspectives and a fresh understanding of both new and familiar topics, and there are so many stories yet to be told. I look forward to the next 30 years of guiding new writers into the book industry. Jennie Dunham Tomfoolery! Randolph Caldecott and the Rambunctious Coming-of-Age of Children's Books , written by Michelle Markel and illustration by Barbara McClintock released on November 14th! We are so excited for the world to read this special book and enjoy our client Barbara's beautiful illustrations! And we're not the only ones impressed by Tomfoolery! Keep reading below to see what others have said. Click on the graphic associated with each to visit the reviewer's website. School Library Journal (starred review!) Gr 1-3–In a history that gallops along like John Gilpin’s horse, Markel traces the career of a lad mad for drawing, who switched careers midstream from banking to art and after some low points (“Sometimes, on his letters, he draws himself as a sad, frumpled cartoon”) went on to replace the “pretty poses and cluttered scenery” of the Victorian era’s picture books with images still notable for their unrestrained energy and humor. McClintock evokes that energy by incorporating samples of Caldecott’s art (and, for contrast, examples from stodgier tomes) into her finely drawn views of livestock scurrying underfoot or streaming from sketchbook pages. She also dresses up a busy multiethnic crowd of city and country folk first in period dress, then in modern attire to link past audiences to present ones. In end notes the author fills in some biographical details, with nods to Caldecott’s publisher and contemporaries Kate Greenaway and Walter Crane. Readers open to more than just a taste of his distinctive works and sketches of his life and times will find Leonard Marcus’s Randolph Caldecott: The Man Who Could Not Stop Drawing well worth the plunge—but this brief tribute gets to the heart of what makes his work so enduringly appealing. VERDICT If Marcus still rules the roost, here’s a high-stepping alternative for younger readers. Reviewed by John Edward Peters , Jul 01, 2023 Publishers Weekly (starred review!)Randolph Caldecott (1846–1886) was one of the first artists to illustrate children’s books with an eye toward merriment rather than morality, so it’s not surprising that this action-oriented biography by Markel (Out of This World) offers “a hero so chipper he can barely hold still on the paper.” Working in watercolor and pen and ink, McClintock (Vroom!) first shows Caldecott as a bearded young man pulling back an outsize book page to reveal a throng of his drawings come to life. As a boy, Caldecott sketches the animals he loves in motion; as a young man, he confounds his father’s efforts to make him a banker, draws during work hours, and works to improve his skill. Soon, he’s an artist with an offer to illustrate books for children, and “he likes what kids like—action!” Here, reproductions of Caldecott’s own real-life images enter the book as he enjoys his first publishing success. The historical moment of this innovation is captured with verve and verb-forward flourishes in this lively portrait of a person whose illustration style still inspires contemporary picture book creators, some of whose portraits are slipped into a final scene. Characters are presented with various skin tones. Ages 5–8. Kirkus Reviews (starred review!)The career of one of our most famous picture-book artists comes rip-roaringly to life! Why on earth should kids care about the life of Randolph Caldecott (1846-1886)? Because he brought fun to the picture-book page! From the start, readers are promised “frisky animals, sprightly characters, and a hero so chipper he can barely hold still on the paper.” This book is nothing like the children’s books of old, which were uninspired, static, and often downright dull. As a child, Caldecott was delighted with animals, sketching them and their movements. He grew up to become a banker and made a living illustrating magazines and newspapers. Given the chance to illustrate a book for children, he filled the pages with what he’d learned. Infused with the sheer energy and joy of the subject matter, McClintock’s art pops and bubbles on the page. She deftly interweaves reproductions of Caldecott’s own illustrations with her own into a seamless whole, one picture often in play with the next. This is no stodgy biography—Markel’s enthusiasm is well matched by McClintock’s own (and adults may enjoy identifying the nine illustrators, eight of them, so far, Caldecott Medal winners, gracing one of the book’s pages). Markel has crafted a fine companion to her previous bio of John Newbery, Balderdash! (2017), illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. A cacophony of verve and frolic, this is biographical storytelling at its absolute best. (annotations, endnotes, bibliographies) (Picture-book biography. 5-8 The Horn Book (starred Review!)British illustrator Randolph Caldecott (1846–1886) transformed illustrated books for children (“stiff, full of pretty poses and cluttered scenery”) into picture books (ones that featured stories that “tumble[d] forth like life”). Markel briefly covers Caldecott’s boyhood, emphasizing his love of drawing and of the outdoors, the latter despite a weak heart. She speaks directly to readers, telling them to move fast (“Quick!”) or they’ll miss the boy McClintock depicts as racing across the page. As an adult, Caldecott works in a bank but keeps drawing and begins illustrating travel books and, eventually, books for children. Markel emphasizes the artist’s ability to capture action on the page and fills this lively text with bustling active verbs (lunging, strutting, pounce), set off in larger letters and a different font color. Likewise, McClintock’s exquisite, energetic illustrations depict Caldecott at the drawing board, creatures bursting forth from his paper. Several instances in the book reproduce the artist’s drawings, and one stunning wordless spread showcases the illustration from The Diverting History of John Gilpin that adorns the Caldecott Medal. (The book’s abundant back matter includes notes on where Caldecott’s art appears in the book.) Children and/or animals appear on nearly every spread of this exuberant tribute to the illustrator who revolutionized children’s books. JULIE DANIELSON Booklist (starred review!)Who was Randolph Caldecott, and why is there an award named for him? Librarians hear that question every year around awards season. From his childhood in the English countryside, where he preferred drawing animals in motion to studying sums, through his young adulthood, when he worked in a bank but developed his skills as an artist, Caldecott’s life and artwork are effectively linked. McClintock incorporates reproductions of Caldecott’s art into her own visual narrative and includes a key in the back matter to help readers identify which elements are his. Markel’s lively, well-documented text functions alongside McClintock’s innovative black-ink-and-watercolor compositions and design work by Jennifer Tolo Pierce to give the impression of a book within a book, where real people interact with Caldecott’s creations and the time line is both past and present. Details about what makes a great picture book are seamlessly integrated, which could be applied to current Caldecott winners as McClintock also includes portraits of several Caldecott-winning artists. This follow-up to the author’s earlier Balderdash! John Newbery and the Boisterous Birth of Children’s Books (2017) is another excellent resource, one that explains not only who Randolph Caldecott was but also why his approach to illustrating books for children has had a lasting impact. — Lucinda Whitehurst Congratulations, everyone!Such well-deserved praise! And we'll leave you with one more for good measure, from The Wall Street Journal:
"An even more rambunctious tale describes how the picture book as we know it today began with a 19th-century Englishman named Randolph Caldecott. “Tomfoolery!”, to be published later this year, is written by Michelle Markel and illustrated by Barbara McClintock, both of whom bring brio and high good humor to Caldecott’s influential personal story. The book begins by presenting children’s illustration as it was in the staid pre-Caldecott era: “stiff, full of pretty poses and cluttered scenery.” The young Randolph when we meet him has no idea that he will become an illustrator; he simply loves to draw. “It is too much fun. It cannot be helped,” we read. “It can happen anytime he has something to draw on—even his schoolbooks.” From an early age, Caldecott infuses his pictures with movement and, as the years pass, begins placing them in newspapers and magazines. This spirited and joyful account is strong on the excitement of Caldecott’s passion and style but vague on his career particulars; 5- to 8-year-olds (or more likely their parents) may want to check the back matter to find out where Caldecott lived, what books he illustrated and who helped him come to the world’s attention. A tableau near the end of “Tomfoolery!” includes contemporary illustrators who are carrying on the zestful tradition that Caldecott began. Dan Santat and Sophie Blackall are in their midst, as well as the late Jerry Pinkney (1939-2021), master of wobbly-lined watercolors for books such as “The Lion & the Mouse” and “The Little Red Hen.” Reading leads to better writing for many reasons, and National Book Month is the perfect time to highlight some of them! We would argue that books are both the means and the end for writers.
When we read, we engage in a shared culture with our readers. Whether we are reading what is popular on the market, discussed among our peers, or sitting at the top of our genre, we are forming connections that will enrich our writing imagination and our bond with our target audience. In other words, when we read, we grow. But is all reading equally beneficial? You may have heard Stephen King famously say that often “the bad books have more to teach than the good ones,” so you probably already understand that it’s not a waste of time to give a mediocre book a chance, or allow yourself to enjoy a book that isn’t going to win any awards. But there is a way to make the most of your time spent reading. Read like a writer. When you read with intention, keeping your eyes open for opportunities to apply what you are learning to your own writing, you may find that the novel on your night stand is as good a writing teacher as they come. This doesn’t mean that you can no longer read for pleasure, but do consider trying some of the following ideas:
Take advantage of your resources. Reading is market research, it’s professional development, and it is good intellectual exercise. If that’s not enough motivation to pick up the next book on your TBR pile, consider the fact that there is scientific proof that people who read live longer than those who don't! So read widely and often. It makes for better writing! by Anjanette Barr What is your creative process/What does your creative process look like? Ideas don’t come to me easily. I end up ruminating on a character and then trying to find a plot to fit that character and then once that happens, my process involves a lot of eating chocolate covered almonds and drinking espresso. And then once I find the story in my head, it becomes a bit obsessive and won’t let go of me until it’s done. As many of my stories involve bad people doing bad things, it doesn’t always make me a pleasure to be around. What do you think draws readers to your work? I think I tend to write about good people doing bad things. Or bad people trying to be good people. Within that, there’s a lot of wish fulfillment, which is to say that I often write characters who say the things we wish we could have said in any given moment, but due to social mores and/or the desire not to be punched in the mouth, don’t. That’s fun to read. I hope. Outside of writing, what do you like to do? I love to travel, to read, to watch movies and TV, follow almost all sports and get deeply offended when my team loses, and I genuinely like to sit outside with my wife watching the sun set. How did you initially get into writing? It’s the family business. My mother was a journalist, my father was a TV news journalist, my brother is a novelist and TV producer, my sisters write books on art together, my uncle writes true crime, my cousin writes about classic cars… it’s endless! So it was always something I’ve done. Professionally, it’s also always been what I wanted to do. What is a cause you care about? Women’s rights. Book banning. Equal access to education. Voting rights. Equal protection under the law. You know. All the things the Supreme Court is trying to strip from citizens on a yearly basis these days. Could you tell us about authors who have inspired you? The list is long. Perhaps too long for this simple interview. So let me just tell you about one thing. I got to spend a day with one of my heroes, Donald Westlake. Westlake essentially created the genre of crime fiction that has defined my career and so talking to him was like sitting at the hand of God and finding out the secret sauce, to mix metaphors. He was so kind, so open and vulnerable, so filled with practical wisdom, and he gave me the best piece of writing advice I’ve ever received. More than that, though, was that he was just a mensch. There’s nothing worse than meeting your heroes only to find that their capes are made of asshole. What advice do you have for aspiring authors? Read as much as possible and as widely. Don’t be an asshole. Get a really good chair. Don’t scrimp on the chair. Over-pay on the chair if need be. What does your working space look like? What do you need in order to be productive?
All right, let’s talk about what you can see here. There’s always a stack of books or magazines on my desk, things I’m reading or things I mean to read or things I’m in. So over there today we’ve got Matthew Zapruder’s excellent collection of poems Father’s Day, which I’ve been re-reading for inspiration for something I’m writing; Lou Berney’s new novel Dark Ride, which I’m reading out of pure unadulterated jealousy; a copy of Publishers Weekly that has a starred review of Gangsters Don’t Die in it, which I mean to file away, but, you know, STARRED; and the latest issue of Palm Springs Life magazine, which I’m required to have in my home as a resident. There’s two coffee mugs from the LA Times Festival of Books – one holding pens, one holding the memory of coffee. There’s an old box from Italy meant to hold stamps but it holds USB drives – it belonged to my grandfather, so it’s nice to see it everyday. There’s some snow globes of favorite places – the Bay Area, the Hotel Del – and then there’s a tiny leather box embossed with another grandfather’s initials. I keep more USB drives in there. I have a lot of USB drives. There’s a nameplate for myself, in case I begin to disassociate. There’s a copy of my latest book, so I can hold it up in Zoom interviews. There’s my Macbook Pro, my podcasting mic, various bits of detritus. And then over to the left, on an antique table of my nana’s, there’s an old typewriter, some classic photos of Palm Springs, some Jason Isbell paraphernalia, and forty pound book of Shakespeare’s collected work. I require all of this to write books. Talk to us about music. What are your favorite songs for writing? How do you switch it up? Do you have a theme song for yourself as a writing professional? I always listen to music when I’m writing. At some point it becomes white noise, which helps me concentrate. But I also use music to prime me for emotional scenes, to get me in a ruminative mood, to get me ready to have big shoot outs, that sort of thing. So I listen to a lot of different music depending upon what I’m using the music for in my head. I tend to make big playlists for my books and play the songs over and over again, or until my wife Wendy goes absolutely batshit and tells me to pick new music. I tend to listen to a lot of Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, The Replacements, The Hold Steady, the Drive-by Truckers, Lori McKenna, Bruce Springsteen, the Jesus and Mary Chain, Mary Gauthier, Ceschi, Beastie Boys, Lucinda Williams, Tom Petty, Kyuss, and then a ton of old 80s music, gangsta rap, and Neil Diamond, obviously. My theme song? Sure Shot by the Beastie Boys. You can’t, you won’t, you don’t stop… What has it been like working with Dunham Literary? It has been a very productive 25 years! Jennie and I started working together when we were both kids – I was 28, I think Jennie was maybe a year older? – and were both so filled with hope and promise. We’ve had such incredible heights – the New York Times bestseller list! Great reviews for a decade at a time! – alongside tough lows – the book I shouldn’t have written because we both knew it wouldn’t sell, and then, lo and behold, it didn’t! – and then spots in between – losing awards but going out for ice cream sundaes afterward and laughing into the morning – and then all the real life shit that is part of a true partnership. I couldn’t ask for anything more. What are your favorite moments of suspense, happiness, or other in your upcoming book? Oh, there’s a scene in my new book that, when I wrote it, I said to my wife: I think I just wrote one of the most fucked up scenes in the history of American literature. She read it and agreed. I won’t spoil it for you. But the biggest thing, for me, was satisfying for the readers the long wait to complete the trilogy. Everything gets answered. But not everyone gets the ending you might want. What are your favorite jokes and quotes in your upcoming book? I think it all comes down to the very last word in the book: “…mitzvah.” That was the title of the short story that started this 15 year journey with the Rabbi David Cohen and it’s a fitting end. How do you celebrate a book release? Mild panic attacks, a great dinner with my wife, and then I just refresh my Amazon number until I fall asleep in a pool of my own saliva. What have you put in your story that you also look for when writers apply to your MFA program? A thing I learned from the wonderful writer Megan Mayhew Bergman: I try to put something strange or something beautiful on every page. A thing I learned from Elmore Leonard: That even the worst humans deserve some level of empathy. That thing I learned from Donald Westlake: That a story is over when the reader could write the next page. Are your dogs with you while you write or are they too distracting? Always! There’s one sitting beside me right now, licking her foot. Gracie Goldberg, stop! Drive provokes curiosity in readers. “And then what happened?” is the question readers ask to find out what comes next in a story. A story with a lot of drive keeps readers turning pages. Curiosity is such a strong force that people cannot resist. It killed the cat, right? But, despite the sayings, it doesn’t always lead to a bad place. Readers enjoy diving into a book head first to satisfy their curiosity. The more readers want to find out, the more glued to pages they are to find out what happens next. Drive is usually connected to action and events rather than thoughts and feelings. When readers talk about stories, they say “then what happened?” not “then how did she feel?” This doesn’t mean that readers don’t want to know how she felt, it means that first readers need to know what happens and when they do, they expect to find out what she thought and felt as part of the details of what happened. Remember above when I said curiosity doesn’t always lead to a bad place? Well, inside the book, it usually doesn’t lead to good places. Which is precisely why it’s interesting for readers. Characters need to face considerable adversity almost to the point that readers are glad not to experience it first hand. Commercial style books have a lot of drive by definition, hence the term “plot-driven.” A story’s drive relates to the events and actions in the story. Frequently, what happens next isn’t the typical action that readers expect because the joy of finding out what happens next is to be surprised at the unexpected. When a firefighter bursts through the door, readers want to know what happens next. Does the firefighter start putting out the fire? Or, does the firefighter look for trapped people? Or, “Surprise!” is that just Dad dressed in a fireman’s outfit to celebrate a child’s birthday? Surprise indeed. Literary books, which are character-driven, also have drive, but they usually have different types of questions that readers want to find out chiefly related to character exploration. In other words, the reader wants to know not just what happened next but why the character did something seemingly incomprehensible. If a book doesn’t have enough drive, readers stop reading. Loss of engagement means no longer feeling connected to the characters and the story to find out more. In other words, losing curiosity. Because of that, it’s the author’s job to keep the drive going in a story so that readers will want to find out what happens next. If the characters and predicaments aren’t interesting enough, readers won’t care about finding out what happens next. One way to heighten drive is to make sure that the end of each chapter contains a question that makes readers want to turn the page immediately and continue with the next chapter. While chapter endings usually stop at the end of a scene or something wraps up, they must also contain the seed for the next step in the story so that readers have an urge to keep going. And stating a question is a good way to get readers thinking about possible answers. The climax should hold the answer to one of the central questions that has been driving the story. Finally, as the protagonist experiences the biggest challenge of the story, readers find out answers to key questions that have contributed to the mounting tension. The resolution, then, ties up loose ends by explaining unanswered questions related to various characters and subplots. The sense of an ending in part comes from the drive winding down as questions are answered. Drive is the force that compels readers to turn pages. With plenty of drive, readers will wish the book wouldn’t end. by Jennie Dunham One of the most wonderful elements of the author journey is becoming a part of the #writingcommunity. We hear time and again what a difference it makes to have support and feel engaged rather than isolated. Not only will being in community keep you apprised of the changes and challenges in and of the publishing industry, it will give you opportunities to find fulfillment in helping fellow writers. Today we have some ideas to get you started. A great place to begin is by actively and unselfishly offering to be a reader of pre-published works. It can be harder than writers sometimes expect to get people to follow through with reading drafts of manuscripts. Be the friend that can be utilized as an alpha or beta reader that will commit to reading intentionally and providing feedback! And don’t stop at “This book was great!” You know how important empathetic and actionable advice is, and how much you’d like to receive it, so give generously! When you’ve finished a published book that you love, leave a review anywhere readers can find it! Word of mouth remains the very best marketing tool of them all. It's organic and meaningful, and it's the perfect way to support the #writingcommunity. Reading should be part of every writer's priorities, and reviewing or sharing what you've read is a small additional step with a big pay off for the person who write the book. If you love it; share it. Your friends and your audience will thank you for your sincere recommendation! Engage with the online content that your writer friends post on social media and their websites. When you "like," "follow," and "share" your author friends' content, it makes it more discoverable, AND it boosts their confidence that their efforts are worthwhile. Even if you don't have time to comment, members of your #writingcommunity benefit greatly from those quick clicks, and will likely someday return the favor. If you do have time, pay it forward by leaving your kind thoughts for others to see. You might tip the scales to help someone else choose your friend’s book as their next read. Collaborate on social media and promotional efforts with other writers. This is something you can begin long before you are published. One of the easiest ways to gain new followers on social media is to get in front of the audience of a writer friend who is engaging with your target audience. The two of you (or group of you) will naturally have some overlap in your readership, but there will be new people to interact with in your shared circles as well. A successful collaboration might look like a giveaway or contest, or it might be something like a book club, read-along, or special in-person event. Don’t be afraid to put your heads together and have some fun. Give books as gifts! As you read books, make a goal of thinking about the people in your social sphere who would enjoy them. Then pass them on! Or if you can’t part with it or read the ebook/audio, purchase the book for your friend or family member for the next holiday. I know that I am personally much more likely to read a book quickly if it was given to me by someone who read it and knows it’s “my kind of book.” Special editions and signed copies of books also make excellent gifts. And how wonderful is it that you’re actually helping two people – your gift recipient and the author! Join Professional Writing Organizations. Becoming a member of an organization like SCBWI, the Author’s Guild, Mystery Writers of America, or a local writing guild is an excellent way to get to know other writers. It’s also inherently supportive to the writing community as a whole. Your membership dues and your participation allow those organizations to offer robust programming and resources that will benefit everyone involved. As you get to know others in the writing community, you will have more and more opportunity to be on the receiving end of this kind of support. Forming strong bonds with writing friends is the best way to ensure you’ll be on their mind when they are looking for someone to partner with, and that bond often begins with a selfless gesture. We hope this post has inspired to take the first step!
By Anjanette Barr What inspired you to create the Cat’s Cradle Series?
Ironically, it was inspired by a dog! You know those types of gentle giants that think they're tiny little lap dogs? My partner's family had the biggest, sweetest pit bull just like that. He had a habit of flopping down on top of me when I sat on the floor, and then refusing to get up. So one day as I'm lying there pinned to the floor, I plead with him that if he'll just get off of me, I'll take him to the land of giants where he can finally be a lap dog. The thought stuck with me, and over time it grew into this whole story about monsters, friendship and finding your true home. What is your creative process? What does your creative process look like? Do you ever switch it up? Do you have any tips for breaking writer’s (or illustrator’s) block? My stories start like a sprouting seed— one scene that excites me and grabs my attention. Everything grows from there, and my role is like a gardener's in a topiary— nurturing new shoots and pruning others, until I'm satisfied with the shape. The drawing will usually grow alongside the story, as I need to know what my characters look like. If I'm ever stuck drawing, I just sketch loosely until I find something interesting. Writer's block is harder to tackle for me, as I came to writing later than drawing, but I have developed a few techniques that help. If I'm stuck in a particular plot point, I'll sometimes try the opposite of what I originally intended: If I wanted my characters to escape, what if they get captured instead? I send all these feelers out and see if any take root. What do you think draws readers to your work? It's tough to get an outside perspective on your own work, but from the comments I get, I'd say that “charming spookiness” is one of the factors. Even when I try to make a monster downright scary, I can't seem to help making it cute somehow. Outside of writing and illustrating, what do you like to do in your personal time? I love treasure hunts! My own type of treasure that is— mushrooms and fossils. Where I live in the Ottawa region, we're lucky to have some pretty cool fossil deposits, and the trails in my village are full of weird mushrooms if you look for them. What is a cause you care about? Education. Education is so much more than preparing kids for the workforce— it's about making them creative, critical thinkers and good human beings. Could you tell us about authors and illustrators who have inspired you? I have a wide range of influences, from Calvin and Hobbes, to Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials, and Rumiko Takahashi's Ranma ½. Style-wise, I've been hugely influenced by Isabella Mazzanti and Matt Rockefeller. What advice for do you have for aspiring authors and illustrators? Create and share. Start putting your sketches or short stories out there, even if you think they're not quite ready yet. Participate in online writing or drawing challenges to get practice and reach a wider audience. And don't be afraid of trying out techniques and motifs you see in artists you love. When I was younger, I resisted looking at other artists too closely— as if I was "cheating", and that my style had to come purely from my imagination to be my own. But once I gave myself permission to learn from other artists, my style improved in leaps and bounds! Graphic novels are captivating but a lot of work. What do you like best about the graphic format and what are the biggest challenges? Comics are magic— they give the impression of action with just a few key drawings. They're the perfect blend of story and art, where both reinforce the other. The biggest challenge is exactly what you said— they're a lot of work! What does your working space look like? What do you need in order to be productive? Like a Victorian alternate reality, with a mix of thrifted antiques and giant computer screens. I LOVE old objects and paintings— they nurture my soul! And though I'm far from a neat freak, I keep my studio fairly tidy these days, as I find clutter distracting. Talk to us about music. What are your favorite songs for writing? Do you have different favorite songs for illustrating? Why the difference? Do you have a theme song for yourself as a writing professional? For writing I need wordless music, so classical is a first choice, along with some contemporary piano. I don't have just one theme song, but I have music to associate with particular times of the year. My music playlists are divided by seasons, with autumn and winter being more inspiring usually! What has it been like working with Dunham Literary? Amazing! I first met Jennie at a conference and connected instantly! I love her straightforward approach and her genuine love of books and stories. And it's great to have someone who's very organized to keep an eye on me, since I can be scatterbrained when left to my own devices. What are your favorite moments of suspense or happiness in your upcoming book? In the second book I introduce a young thief who's hiding a dark secret from Suri, my main character. I love the tension it creates when the audience knows something the others characters don't! What are your favorite quotes and illustrations from the series so far? I love drawing dynamic scenes and moody lighting. Because much of the action in The Mole King's Lair takes place in a cave, I got to play with colors to my heart's content! How do you celebrate a book release? By getting together with some of my writer friends, and rewarding myself with more books! I love getting books— maybe too much. We have bookshelves in every room and we're still running out of space! |
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