Ward Wood Publishing, Carol Ann Duffy and You

The new publishing venture, Ward Wood, is off to a running start -- and not only because they'll be publishing my own new novel, A Clash of Innocents, as their first book!  And also not because they have two new wonderful poetry collections lined up for October and November.  Oh no.  That's not enough for the intrepid duo of Adele Ward and Mike Fortune-Wood.  They have also announced a new poetry competition in support of London Homeless Shelters to be judged by none other than the UK Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy.

The Lumen/Camden International Poetry Competition is open to anyone, and the winner will have a pamphlet of their work published and distributed by Ward Wood.  As Adele Ward explains:

I think the contest will attract writers of all standards, and poems will be judged individually and anonymously so anybody could win. Just one poem could be enough to win publication of a 20-page pamphlet, and that's actually quite unusual. The entry fee has also been kept low so that everybody could have a chance at entering. Carol Ann Duffy will be the judge. She's the Patron of the Camden and Lumen Poetry Series and it's wonderful to have her on board to make this competition extra special.
None of us are taking any income from this competition, so, whether or not people win they will have helped the homeless. The winner gets 50 free copies of the pamphlet to keep, sell or give away. More will be printed and sold from the website and at the Camden and Lumen events, and all proceeds from sales of the remaining pamphlets will go to help the homeless.

I think this is a marvelously generous offer and a fantastic opportunity.  I urge everyone who writes poetry, no matter where in the world you live, no matter whether you have been published before or not, to give this a try.  It's for a great cause, it's inexpensive, and hey -- when else can you have the Poet Laureate read your work?  The details of the guidelines can be found here. Do follow them carefully, and good luck!

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Thanks to latimesblogs.latimes.com for the great image.

There and Back Again

Seamlessly, from flight to flight, from continent to continent and back again.  When it works, it works.  So I traveled from Martha's Vineyard to Boston to London to Edinburgh to London to Boston to Martha's Vineyard all in four days.  Crazy, but worth it.  Number 1 Son's show, "Pedal Pusher," was riveting.  Yes, of course he was wonderful -- what else would you expect -- but the entire cast is terrific and it's brilliantly accomplished.  You should see them using plastic chairs as bicycles.  The sheer physicality of it was amazing, and the festival seems to be taking note.  The crowds are regularly around the block waiting to get in.  The run continues for the rest of the festival, all August long.  If you plan on going, do put it on your list.  Not only because it's my son.  It really is a great play!  But don't take my word for it.  Read a great review here and here.

I also had a chance to grab breakfast with the playwright, Michael Hart, whose play No More, Salvator was one of the plays CurvingRoad produced this past June.  It was terrific catching up with him again and hearing about his latest plans.  He also said he'd look into bringing me and my new book up to Edinburgh for a reading or signing or talk somewhere (bless him).  If anyone else out there is in the Edinburgh area and wants to help bring me up your way, let me know.

I know I've begun the long march towards publicizing A Clash of Innocents by asking for help here.  Over the coming weeks there will be more and more interesting (I hope) posts about the book and it's road to publication.  Hope you'll stick with me.

In the meantime, I hope everyone is enjoying these last few weeks of summer.  Here you go with some more travelin' music:

Write Run Fly

I am very excited to say that this week I completed the final edits of A Clash of Innocents.  I read it through one last time, word for word, but this time it was in the typeface and format of the final product. What a difference that makes! Suddenly it felt like I was reading a book, and that was, to be honest, rather terrifying.  One last chance to tell my story.  One last chance to breathe life into my characters.  My editor encouraged me by saying the book was ready and that all I needed to do was tighten it up here and there to get the page set-up and page count as we wanted.  I didn't believe her at first.  Is it true? Could my second novel actually be finished? Well, amazingly enough, the answer seems to be yes.  So now, off it goes to the printer.  The next time I look at the words that tell the story of Deborah, Amanda, Kyle and the kids from the Khmer Home for Blessed Children, they will be nestled between the covers of a brand new book!

From one accomplishment then to another, namely the annual 5k Road Race over the hills of our little island town.  I'm not a big runner.  I run a bit, maybe once a week when the weather isn't awful.  But I've been running this race now every year for 17 years!  I don't really keep track of the time.  And I define the word run rather loosely. But the atmosphere is like a carnival. And there's nothing like doing a final pretend sprint to the finish line as your family -- who had finished so long before you that they had stopped sweating and already eaten their complimentary Italian ice -- cheer you on.  And the fact that you are reading this now means I have lived to tell the tale.

And what next? Well, Tuesday I fly from Boston to London to Edinburgh to see my wonderfully talented Number 1 Son in the play he's brought to the Festival.  Pedal Pusher is about the Tour de France, drugs and obsession, and my boy plays Lance Armstrong.  Maybe some of you saw the segment about it on UK's Channel 4 News?  Very exciting.  So yes -- I may be a writer and even an occasional runner, but I'm first and foremost a mother, so I am swallowing my carbon footprint guilt and doing a 3-day there and back trip so I can see the play and take him and his friends out to dinner.  I'll tell you all about it next week. And then, keep your eyes peeled for more and more info about the book, the launch, pr ideas etc.  And if anyone would either like to host me on your blog or invite me to appear (either in person or on-line) at your book club, let me know.

Yoga: For Me. For You?

I haven't talked much about yoga here.  Maybe I haven't mentioned it at all but that's probably because once I start talking about it, I get all proselytize-y about it.  I know doing yoga has changed me and greatly enhanced my life.  It hasn't hurt my marriage either -- I'm at least a bit less crazy because of it.   So, I tend to think that everyone should do it.  But I should know better.  Nothing is for everyone, no matter what I think.  And perhaps the most important lesson I can learn from yoga is to always keep my sense of humour.  So, namaste (and thanks to my fabulous yoga teacher, Sam Cunningham, for this):

Anniversary in Paradise

It's our anniversary today.  Mr. D and I have been married 28 years. Rather amazing, I must admit.  And every anniversary we do the same thing -- spend the day together here in our own little corner of paradise:

This is the view we drive past on the way to the beach. On a clear day like this, you can see the ocean beyond the hills of the farm.  It might be my favourite view anywhere and I'm sorry the photos can't really do it justice.  Then, we have our anniversary dinner at our favourite island restaurant, The Outermost Inn, also known for it's spectacular views.  Believe me, I know how lucky I am, on many counts.

Dance Your Way to Psychic Sex

Yes, you read that right -- I wonder if I will now have a HUGE surge in followers?

This is actually a novel which a writer-friend asked me to read for a cover quote.  To be honest, if it wasn't for the friendship I may never have picked up this book, and what a shame that would have been.  I would have missed out on a lot of fun, some wonderfully memorable characters, and some thought provoking ideas.
    ...we easily believe what we ardently desire to be true
is the catch line for this novel about magic, mind-reading, sexuality and illusion.  But it could also describe the eventful and sometimes traumatic history of the book itself.  And that's what I wanted to talk to the author, Alice Turing, all about.
Sue: Dance Your Way to Psychic Sex is a fun story full of twists and turns, difficulties and hard-earned resolutions. As I understand it, the story of the book’s publication is just as intriguing. But first, maybe you could set the scene for us. This is not your first published novel, correct?
Alice: That's right. My first novel was published in 2004. I got the phone call ten months after I submitted the manuscript (to 30 publishers and 15 agents), and had given up hope of success. It was the most exciting thing that ever happened to me. Sadly the publisher ceased trading two years after the book was published, but it had reached the end of its life by then.
Sue: How long did it take you to write “Psychic Sex” and what were your first steps towards getting it published?
Alice: I started writing in 2004. I spent eighteen months (which was too long) planning structure, character and plot, then another year writing and rewriting. After that I spent four months looking for an agent (I approached around 40). Several were interested but only one made the final commitment, at which I point I did another rewrite.  There have been two more drafts since then; I'm an inveterate
tinkerer.
Sue: Why did you decide to self-publish?
Alice: My agent spent two years showing the book to hundreds of publishers worldwide, while I tried to make a living as a writer. Random House published Psychic Sex in Germany, but as for everyone else: They liked the book and loved the writing, but didn't think it was commercial enough. My agent and I parted company due to an unrelated matter, and I gave up altogether. I retrained in a new career. I felt very negative about everything writing-related. To put so much work into persuading people you are a commercial prospect and still to have no luck... it can be humiliating. The German deal was exciting at first, but then just frustrating: My book was available to read, but not by anyone I knew. It felt like it hadn't happened. A year after giving up, I still thought of myself as a Failed Writer. This made me sad. Somebody suggested self-publishing, which I rejected at first. It is the death knell for most books, and marks you out as self-indulgent. But the book was good enough for Germany, and would never otherwise be published in English. And I no longer wanted or was able to be a "successful" writer. The pressures of publicity and marketing, not to mention the lack of control over finished products and the fact that you are never guaranteed success or even publication for each successive book... these all combine to make the industry a depressing and stressful place to exist within.
     But what if I moved the goalposts, and made my own satisfaction the primary goal? What if my aim was to produce something beautiful, of a high standard which could be enjoyed by people I knew? What if I stopped jumping through hoops to sell books to readers I would never meet or hear from? What if I didn't have to make money from writing? What if I could just BE self-indulgent? Wouldn't that be lovely?
     It is. It's lovely.
Sue: Alice Turing is a pseudonym, isn’t it? Why did you decide to do that and how did you come up with the name?
Alice: My new career is not compatible with being a published novelist. I sometimes wonder if this was a subconscious act of self-sabotage, but there you go. As for how I chose Alice Turing... I
started with the name of my imaginary childhood friend... but I'd used that elsewhere. So I kept the first name, but borrowed the surname of somebody interesting that I admired (Alan Turing). It
wasn't until later that I spotted the similarity between Alice and Alan - I hadn't intended to end up with a name so very close to his.
Sue: This is a remarkable and important tale that anyone hoping to be in this business should know about. Any last minute lessons you can offer?
Alice: Try to do writing for its own sake. Don't make publication your primary aim. Be aware that whatever your dreams are, the reality is unlikely to match up. Remember that every aspect of being a writer is incredibly hard - tears will probably be shed. And please yourself, not others. My own decision has been to make writing a hobby, not a career. There are many full-time writers who have made it work for them. But as soon as money becomes an important factor, compromises may have to be made and joy may well be lost.

Alice's story of publication is different than most you might read about, and so I really did want to share it with you.  I think she is brave and wise and, clearly, now happy with her choices.  Plus, she has her wonderful book which you can have, too, by ordering it here.

It's August

July here on Martha's Vineyard has been bliss. Beautiful weather for all of us here, and for me, a much-needed sense of balance between work and play, solitude and company. I feel better-rested and less-stressed than I have for a while, and that's good because August here is always crazy.  Fun, but full-on busy.  Chez Guiney turns into a B&B with a steady stream of relatives and friends coming for their annual visits.  It's great, really, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  But relaxing?  Well....

With the big book launch happening in September, there's still plenty of work I'll need to be doing in August, though. And add to it a whirlwind puddle jump over to Edinburgh to see Number 1 Son in his play at the festival -- well, I fear that my blog posts may be more sporadic than usual.  Have you noticed that I blog every Thursday and Sunday? I will still be blogging over this month.  I've already scheduled some fantastic interviews with some fascinating people. But the posts may be more sporadic.  So please keep checking in however you do it -- Google Reader, blog feeds, whatever.  I will continue to post new blogs on my facebook status, so if you're a friend that's an easy way to keep track of me.  And if you're not, what are you waiting for?  Befriend me, please! Same goes with Twitter.

Here's some music to ease you into these dog days of summer.  Carole King and James Taylor have gotten together again for a series of concerts, but here they are as they were in 1971. I love this song, and the lyrics couldn't be more apt: