Contests

Am I supposed to be giving things away here? Ok. Perhaps I shall start. But not today. I know a lot of bloggers are just giving away the store, every day, just win this, and first five commenters that, and one lucky commenter will... and actually I LOVE it.

That reminds me. I have a bar of Green & Black's organic dark chocolate here with a Simon Pulse paper label around it that says "Welcome to Simon Pulse! We're excited to have you- and excited to meet you on Friday!" and it is signed by Anica and Annette, my gifted editors who, in my head only, I refer to as Annettica. Should I give this away to a lucky winner?

I got that in March. I have been saving it, for what? I do not know, nor can I bring myself to eat it. This is how hoarding begins. It is probably stale and gray on the edges by now.

I'm thinking of a contest and with only 25 loyal and intelligent followers, your odds are really good here, folks.

I'm busy getting ready for our splashy Pen Parentis Author Salon on September 14- Jen Eagan and Darin Strauss and... Abby Sher! Rock and freaking roll!

Oh and I'm afraid I am in a weird kind of love with James Franco. Allen Ginsberg. James Dean. Who's next in his repetoire, Abraham Lincoln?

Can these posts be any LESS coherent? Yes. Yes they could.

My Agent

Hardest working agent in the book biz. So glad she is mine!

xxoo, Suzie

Queer Divine Dissatisfaction

I just hit send.

Meaning, I just sent my heavily revised MS to my editor/s. Meaning I am now on vacation for 2 weeks. Meaning I am shitting myself. Meaning I will now take a little nap, awake, and then put together a toy chest from IKEA. Meaning I am very sad that this part of the process is over.

Have I ever been happier? Not really. I loved writing on a deadline. I loved being with Keek every day. I loved that people were waiting for IT, what I was WRITING, with baited breath. I know there's still a ways to go. They might hate it. They might want 400 more pages by next weekend. They might take out my favorite parts. There is work to be done! But still. This part is over and I'm sad and exhausted and am reminded of this:

"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. ... No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others"

--Martha Graham

Truth Has a Name and it is Peter K Steinberg

So I'm working on this book about a girl who is obsessed with Sylvia Plath and The Bell Jar- have I mentioned this?- and I've become an admirer and pal of Plath scholar and champion Peter K Steinberg and his great blog Sylvia Plath Info.

Remember your junior year of high school when you had that English teacher who was tough as nails and would give you an F if your A paper wasn't stapled correctly?

The one who made you pay ATTENTION to commas?

The one who made you make clear and precise arguments to defend your views on great literature?

The one who you loved to mock because she wore bobby pins in the back of her head to keep a cowlick down and you'd sit there in class furious that you wanted to impress her so bad with your amazing English Language Skills?

For me that teacher was Mrs. Cain and it is a great thrill to discover that Mr. Steinberg is of the Cain school of citing and attribution. In a world where media is transient as summer tan lines and twitter is re-wiring our brains and kids in the UK don't get married anymore I am tickled pink that there are a rare and honorable few who know how important words are. And he mentioned my little project here, so. There's that too. XXOO Peter! Keep fighting the good fight! And thank you for paying close attention.

I Should Be... Tweeting?

Writing

Writing

Writing

Writing

Not whatever the hell I think I am doing that is so much more important than writing.

Oh yeah, and I'm tweeting now. Reluctantly. Come! Follow me! Because I am so effin facinating you just can't get enough.

ugh.

@ArlainaT if you are interested.

DEADLINE LOOMS... the art is by Maissa Toulet. She is French. These are from 2008 and I love them.