‘Twas the Night Before Christmas – On the Reef

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the reef Every creature was swimming, with fervent belief That an afternoon feeding would surely appear, Every seahorse was on Santa’s “good list” this year. Emo the clown nestled snug in his host, An Anthelia coral grown larger than most. And Flappy and Jet called a Christmas-Eve truce, While Cygnus cast eyes on “his” Christmassy spruce. From the back of the tank there arose such a clatter, I sprang from the desk to see what was the matter. I flew to the tank, started looking around, To determine what made such a

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An Interview With Dana Gynther

Please help me welcome Dana Gynther, author of the recently released historical novel CROSSING ON THE PARIS (Gallery Books, November 2012) Dana Gynther was raised in St Louis and Auburn, Alabama. After college, she lived in France for eighteen months, then returned to the University of Alabama to get an MA in French Literature. In 1994, she and her French-speaking Spanish husband moved to his hometown, Valencia (Spain), where they work as teachers and translators. They have two daughters and two cats. A November 2012 Indie Next Pick, Crossing on the Paris … has the feel of a riveting miniseries

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2012 in Review

This is the final Wednesday post of 2012.   In 2013, I’m starting an exciting new series on contracts and negotiation – be sure to tune in on Wednesdays for more publishing legal advice!   But now, let’s take a look back at 2012.   From my perspective, this year saw an increase in author self-education about the publishing business – a very positive trend that I anticipate will continue in 2013.   The more publishing changes, the more authors need to be informed about the industry, their rights and the best way to interact with the increasingly in-touch and

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A Pause to Appreciate Those We Love

It’s hard to turn on any media without seeing a discussion of last week’s horrific events in CT. I’ve deliberately kept my silence – partly from respect for those involved and partly from a need to process (and mourn) the situation in my own way. I am deeply attached to the things I love, though I might not always show it as openly as I should. Cyg and Ceti couldn’t care less about appearances. If they’re within touching distance, they do, from holding tails at dinnertime: to swimming together: to the occasional moments when I think Cyg might rather not

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Monday Blog Game: Favorite Words

Today’s edition of the Monday Blog Game invites everyone to blog (or comment – comments are open) about a “favorite word.” What’s yours? Is it serious? Funny? A little of both? Blog about it and link back here, or hop into the comments and tell me, I’d love to know! Today, I’m hosting a guest-post on the topic by Marci Jefferson, and I’ll post my own entry later this afternoon. (Edit: 4:00pm: Marci has said this so nicely, I think I’ll let her entry stand alone for this week.) And so, here’s Marci! Monday Blog Game: Favorite Words Susan’s Monday

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A Review: Crossing on the Paris

Review: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Last Saturday I spent a happy afternoon reading Dana Gynther’s new novel, CROSSING ON THE PARIS. The novel follows three woman – a first-class passenger returning to New York after decades abroad, a second-class traveler going home to Massachusetts after an unsuccessful attempt to persuade her Bohemian sister to leave Paris and come home to help with their ill and aging mother, and a young French woman who has accepted a job on the Paris, a luxury liner starting her maiden voyage across the Atlantic. The novel switches between the three characters’ points of view but never

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The Return of the Monday Blog Game

After a brief holiday hiatus, the Monday Blog Game is returning as a permanent feature starting this coming Monday, December 17. What’s the Monday blog game? Simple. Every Thursday, I’ll post a topic on my Facebook page. Anyone interested in playing along should pick up the topic and either post on the topic the following Monday or leave a comment here on my Monday blog post giving an answer to or thoughts about the topic. (You can do both, and you can also blog at your own blog and leave a comment here with a link so readers can find

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Marking Time by the Sun

Sometimes life seems to move at the speed of snails blazing a trail through freezing molasses. It’s hard to see progress or movement or growth. At times like that, I’m glad I’ve taken regular photographs of the aquarium in my writing office. They offer time-lapse evidence that life is moving, even when it seems to have stalled completely. I set up the tank two years ago next weekend, and added my first corals a few weeks later. Among the first was an orange sun coral – a moderately difficult specimen that I fell in love with partly because of its

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An Open Letter to Authors Who Hear a “No”

Many of you know that I’m acting as a mentor in Brenda Drake’s Pitch Wars contest, in which authors seeking representation pitch projects to mentors who then pick one (and, to my dismay, only one) project to work with in preparation for review by a panel of agents in January. I’ve made my selection, and also chosen two alternates (projects I’ll work with if the one I’ve selected obtains representation before the agent review) – and I can say, with total honesty, that I envy agents and editors even less today than I did before making the choice. Their job

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