Grrr. I'm in a ba-ad mood. It started with a bad dream about...are you ready? Meeting Harlan Coben.I know! I can imagine what you are thinking: "Joanna, have you lost it?"Um, Coben's coming to St. Louis on Monday, and he'll be appearing at the Mad Art Gallery from 7 to 9 p.m. (Go to http://www.madart.com/eventsexhibitions/publicevents/leftbankbooksandmadartgall.htm for details.) Which you would THINK would make a long time HC fan like me really … [Read more...] about Dreaming of Harlan Coben–and My Own Stupidity
It Could be Raining…(My BIG Plotting Secret)
Celebrating my fun interview with Jean Henry-- http://tinyurl.com/d9mtss --and my dinner tonight with my pal Mary Buckham, who is doing a book plotting weekend here in The Lou, I have decided to post my BIG plotting secret.Are you ready?It can always get worse.Yeah. See...that's how life goes and that's what can happen in a book. No matter how dark it is, no matter how horrible the situation, there's always a moment when you think, "Things can't … [Read more...] about It Could be Raining…(My BIG Plotting Secret)
Cozy Chicks Visit
Pop over to Cozy Chicks to see where all that cutting and pasting led me!http://www.cozychicksblog.com/2009/04/who-knew-where-all-this-cutting-and.htmlAnd yeah, I think I misspelled "chafed" in the article. Drat. … [Read more...] about Cozy Chicks Visit
I'd Rather Be Eating Kibble…Or Why Some Books Are Hard to Take
Every day the Universe conspires to teach me lessons I don't wanna learn. As they say in the movies, "Resistance is FUTILE." And yet, I still struggle.Today, my dog was the teaching assistant. Rafferty decided he didn't want to eat his food. Being a good dog mom, I coaxed. "Ah, come on, Raffie." Then I threatened. "Eat your food." And finally, I resorted to unfair tactics. I poured beef boullion over the kibble.To no available. He licked off the … [Read more...] about I'd Rather Be Eating Kibble…Or Why Some Books Are Hard to Take
Do You Judge a Book by Its Cover?
I sure do.When my acquiring editor Barbara Moore asked me for cover input, I said, "Please tell the artist to go look around in Archivers. I know there's one close to your office. He'll get a strong sense of what's au courant in scrapbooking. I'd really like my book to be a true reflection of the craft. It's very artsy these days."I guess Kevin Brown did exactly that because the cover on Paper, Scissors, Death is sublime. Honestly, Kevin could … [Read more...] about Do You Judge a Book by Its Cover?
The Teacher is Always the Student
We had a totally excellent "Getting Published" class last night at Lewis & Clark Community College. First of all, I love their Edwardsville campus at 700 Troy. It's the conclave of brick buildings that I've been told was a former factory site. The classrooms are spacious, light and well-appointed.But what made the class really cool was the students. We had folks who wanted to write novels, those who wanted to write children's books, and a … [Read more...] about The Teacher is Always the Student
