Sara J. Henry's Blog, page 19

Wherein Troy Chance Makes It into a Tournament - and You Can Vote for Her

I'm a bit surprised to see that Troy Chance, the main character in my novel, Learning to Swim , made it into Jen Forbus's fictional amateur sleuth tournament - okay, yes, I think I nominated her, but you apparently had to have at least two nominations to make it in, so I wasn't the only one!



So this is round 1 of voting, and if you like, you can go vote to keep Troy in the tournament - she's in category #18 against one Gervase Fen. And yes, if she makes it through, I'll be nagging you next we...

Wherein Troy Chance Makes in into a Tournament - and You Can Vote for Her

I'm a bit surprised to see that Troy Chance, the main character in my novel, Learning to Swim , made it into Jen Forbus's fictional amateur sleuth tournament - okay, yes, I think I nominated her, but you apparently had to have at least two nominations to make it in, so I wasn't the only one!



So this is round 1 of voting, and if you like, you can go vote to keep Troy in the tournament - she's in category #18 against one Gervase Fen. And yes, if she makes it through, I'll be nagging you next we...

Things I Have Learned About Interviews

Arrive early, because undoubtedly otherwise you will make a wrong turn and have to stop at a car dealership for directions, or there will be a sudden snowstorm the moment you arrive in town, obscuring all the street signs.



Eat something before you go in, whether or not you think you are hungry, because the moment you step in the door, you will be.



And returning to the newspaper where you started your writing career is a wonderful experience. 



More book news:

I blather on a bit in an...

I Have Fallen in Love ... with a Chair

I stopped by the Vermont rest area in Guilford the other day, on the off chance to see if my friend Bevan, who works there, was in. I wandered around and saw a rocking chair, and made the grand mistake of sitting in it.



I'm in love.



This chair is not only gorgeous, it is absurdly comfortable. It's handmade, of course, with mortise and tenon joints. Mmmm. 



It's called the Vermont Folk Rocker, made by Jim Geier in Starksboro, Vermont. And it's just about the most marvelous piece of furnitu...

You Don't Learn to Be a Good Carpenter by Building One Bad House After Another

 Today I'm over at Writer Unboxed, talking about "Learning to Rewrite":

Forcing myself to fix the flaws in this novel stretched me farther and made me a better writer than I had thought possible. You don't learn to be a good carpenter by building several bad houses – you learn by building a good one.

Yet Another Sighting ...

This one from Steve Weddle, who spied it in a Barnes & Noble in Centreville, Virgina.

Maybe This Is Me Being Stupid, But ...

... my novel was released two days ago. How are there "used" copies with shelf wear already for sale on Amazon?

Today I'm Guest Hosting #litchat, 4-5 pm EST

Okay, this is a bit new to me, too, but basically you pose questions or comments on Twitter, with the hash tag #litchat, between 4 to 5 PM EST. I just set up a program called TweetChat that makes it easier to manage - but in TweetDeck you could set up a column for #litchat so you see the ongoing discussion. (Here's more info.)



Topic: intuition - When is the wrong thing to do the right thing? If the wrong thing makes everything work out fine, was it the wrong thing to begin with? How does...

I Know You're Tired of Hearing About This Book - But a New Review from Jedidiah Ayres

A compelling set up is important, but the real pleasure of Henry's book is the constant surprise of the character. It's an increasingly rare experience not to see every turn of plot and logic coming around the page, and the ability to sell the reader on the character's logic without shortchanging them on surprise is no small feat. Sara J. Henry pulled it off. -Jedidiah Ayres, "Dogpaddle"

Sometimes Procrastination Pays Off - and Other People Write About Your Book Launch for You (Quite Nicely)

Sara looking professorial
Instead of writing about my book launch last night, I can just steer you to Clare Toohey's lovely blog post, "Book Party for a Pal: 7 Morsels of Wisdom," about the event at Partners & Crime in NYC - where, in part, she says: "I was reminded how many friends I've made at conferences and those chance meetings that can end up being so important." And says that my ginger snaps are just as good as promised (a big surprise was former Rodale editor Ed Claflin showing ...