Jessica Knauss's Blog, page 33

Book Debut and Interview: The Fiery Alphabet by Diane Lefer

More than a year ago, toward the end of my time in Tucson, Diane Lefer sent her novel The Fiery Alphabet to me at Fireship Press. I loved it for all the reasons the COO didn't: It's smart, it's not formulaic, and it tells a story most women today can sympathize with. When my colleagues and I all left Fireship for various personal reasons and got together to found Loose Leaves Publishing, I wondered if that crazy wonderful novel was still looking for a home and, with my new partners' blessing, I asked Diane about it. (Insert incredible amounts of work and joy here.) 

I'm inestimably proud of this book and the wonderful response it's already received from reviewers. The Fiery Alphabet makes its official debut tomorrow, September 5. 

Diane Lefer: Thank you for the introduction, Jessica. When I sent you The Fiery Alphabet, I didn't dare admit the manuscript had been making the rounds of publishers for 26 years. I thought, who on earth would want to publish a book that had already racked up so many rejections? Well, you did. You know, years before, I had drinks with a prominent editor in New York. She said, "If I used my own taste, I'd be betraying the trust the company has in me." That's why I have such love and appreciation for small independent presses like Loose Leaves. You get to use your own taste and judgment. And I hope my experience can encourage other writers to never lose faith or give up.
JK: That's exactly what Loose Leaves aims to do: give good books a chance in this bizarre new publishing milieu. What happened during the intervening 26 years?
Diane LeferDL: I had agents, I lost agents, I fired agents, and I tried to place the manuscript myself, but the policy in mainstream publishing changed and all of a sudden even editors who knew me weren't allowed to read work I sent directly.
Even before that, The Fiery Alphabet had a long gestation period. It's a book I'd wanted to write since I was a kid and saw a TV show about the occultist Cagliostro. I wasn't that enthralled with his magical powers but very impressed with the idea that a person could be an actual historical figure – even a famous one – and yet shrouded in mystery. Like Shakespeare. As a kid, I loved Shakespeare because he wrote about witches and ghosts, and this unlikely pair became the creative polestars of my youth: Shakespeare and Cagliostro.
Then, in the early 1970's, I was in Brazil during the brutal dictatorship. People were being detained, tortured, disappeared. Any gathering of students was dangerous and forbidden but what happened was, if you sat down in a cafe with a book, a student would join you, hoping for a good conversation. That's how I met a young writer, Mauro Costa, who had just read Jung's Psychology and Alchemy and was eager to discuss it. Unfortunately, I had never read it. I hadn't even heard of it, but I sought out a copy as soon as I returned to the US and the book awakened an interest in the Divine Feminine – the archetype with such beautiful names: Queen of Heaven, Rosa Mystica, Star of the Sea –  and reawakened my desire to write about mysticism and Cagliostro. I learned his real name was Giuseppe Balsamo: one mystery about him solved. But another ten years passed before Daniela presented herself to my consciousness and I began to write.
I worked on the manuscript for several years. Once I started sending it out – and by the way, I avoid using the word "submit." I think it was Muriel Rukeyser who said offer your work, but don't give up your power. Never submit! – there was a lot of discouragement. The very first rejection began with the words, "Daniela is a passionate creature, but her passion is for learning. Intellectual women aren't interesting." As though there's something wrong with being curious about the world and wanting to know and understand and experience as much as you can – which for Daniela definitely includes love and sexual desire. I took the criticism very personally because I came of age during an era when girls weren't supposed to be smart. Some adults actually expressed their sympathy as they assured me I would never fit in and my life would be very hard. A few took a more optimistic view of my future: they said I might get to marry a doctor. Of course, in the novel, Daniela's intelligence lands her in more trouble than mine ever did. But the manuscript (and I) finally lucked out to find a smart woman editor who had the authority to make an offer without having to sneak it past the gatekeepers.
Though I did a lot of research, I didn't really think of my novel as all that high-brow. Several years before I began writing it, I was broke and had to borrow rent money. A nonfiction book project I was working on for which a contract was supposedly being drawn fell through. I ended up getting out of debt by writing two Regency romances, that is, romances set in nineteenth-century England during the time King George III was too mad to rule and his son, the Prince Regent, ruled in his stead. (The books were published under a pseudonym because the editor said, "Diane Lefer isn't a romantic name.")
Writing those books was a great experience. Getting paid for my work? What a concept! But also, I admit, my orientation as a writer had always been to concentrate on my characters' inner lives. I was not very observant of physical reality. The Regencies, however, had to be written to a formula which went so far as to specify not only when the romantic encounters were to occur (and how far they could go), but also how often descriptions of food and clothing and furniture had to appear on the page. This was excellent training for me. Of course, in The Fiery Alphabet, I wasn't writing to formula and didn't include quite that much sensory detail. Most of the novel is in the form of Daniela's journals and a person writing a journal takes much of her world for granted and doesn't describe everything the way an outside observer might. But the Regencies taught me to pay attention to the world of the senses.

Diane's Artemis of EphesusJK: What first drew me in to The Fiery Alphabet was the fictionalized Translator's Preface, in which you have a subtle adventure in Turkey. Tell me about the research.
DL: I went to Turkey to visit the harem and the archaeological sites associated with Goddess worship: çatal Hüyük, the world's most ancient city; Ephesus with its temple to Artemis. I brought home a small statue of the goddess and one day, trying to get all the dust off her, I made the mistake of washing her. The statue started to melt. I saved most of her!
In order to immerse myself in Daniela's world, I tried to read everything she would have read, though often in translation as, unlike Daniela, I don't know Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. I read Casanova's memoirs – useful but boring. I needed special permission to access eighteenth-century obstetrical manuals. I stared at Piranesi's etchings of Rome until I could dream myself into them. So, OK, I knew there was a lot of ... erudition in The Fiery Alphabet, but I believe I'd also learned a lot about just telling a good story.
JK: Did you revise much during the 26 years?
DL: At some point I changed the title. The manuscript first made the rounds as "Ardent Fire," which is actually a phrase Balsamo quotes from St. John of the Cross, but people thought it sounded like the title of a romance novel. Daniela does fall in love with Balsamo, but editors who expected a more familiar romance novel were disappointed. Marketing isn't just about ads and blogs and reviews. I understand now it's about a cover and a title that don't mislead potential readers, that help a book find the readership that will most enjoy it. I've been happily stunned by all the positive reactions to the cover Loose Leaves designed and I appreciate the way you all wanted my input.
Over the years, I did some revising and cutting. I found myself simplifying the manuscript – without, I hope, dumbing it down. For example, in the original draft, Daniela writes two journals. One she leaves lying around hoping Balsamo will find it and read it and love her for it. The other is private and in it she writes what she really thinks and feels. Then A.S. Byatt published the novel Possessionwhich also features a public and a private diary. I was afraid people would think I'd stolen the idea from her so I very reluctantly rewrote the novel. Daniela has only one journal now. And though I still think there's psychological truth in the original concept, I ended up happy I made the change. The revision does make a somewhat complicated novel more readable, easier to follow. After all, we got that review from ForeWord calling the book "complex and thoroughly satisfying" – which sure beats someone saying it was too damn complex to read.

JK: That issue of ForeWord is out now in Barnes and Noble and many other venues. Johnny Depp is on the cover! Thanks for coming by, Diane.

Find Diane's website here. If you want to know more about The Fiery Alphabet, take a look at these additional discussions:

Eliza Gales Interviews
She Writes

The soft cover is available here, from Indiebound, and anywhere fine books are sold, and directly from Loose Leaves. The e-book editions will be available in time for the debut on September 5 and I will include links here when they're ready.

Author Interview: M. C. Muhlenkamp with Giveaway

Today we welcome author and Jill-of-all-trades M. C. Muhlenkamp, author of Markram Battles. She's offering one lucky reader a copy of the first book in the series, Markram Battles: Genesis of an Uprising in either MOBI or PDF format. See the end of this post to enter!
JK: Tell us a little about where you grew up and what you do or have done besides writing. 
MCM: I was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, and lived there until I moved to the States to attend college at the age of eighteen. I graduated in 2008 with a degree in Latin American Studies. I’ve done a variety of jobs in the past including, Sandwich Master, Library Media Center Consultant, Visitor Center Go-To girl, Meeting and Event Planning Assistant, and more recently Data Management Specialist. I also pride myself in making awesome pies.
JK: What is your series about? 
MCM: Markram Battles is a serialized collection of YA sci-fi stories. It is set in a post-apocalyptic future where an evolved species of humans with supernatural powers has taken control of our planet. In this world, Earth is a conscripting sector where recruiters, also known as unit leaders, come to enlist human survivors to participate in the Battles, a blood-sport tournament for the entertainment of the masses.
The Markram stories follow Seven, one of the unit leaders trained in the Imperial Army to fight in the Battles. Seven’s goal to win the Battles, and subsequently his own freedom, has been his only objective for as long as he can remember. But after recruiting Thirteen, one of his human prisoners, everything changes. Her mere presence puts at risk everything he has worked so hard to achieve, and threatens to destroy everything he believes about himself. Together they must fight for survival, freedom, and eventually each other, even if their triumph can only mean their ultimate downfall.
The collection is geared toward readers of YA fantasy and science fiction, but I think readers of other genres would enjoy it as well. The diverse intertwining themes in each story aim to explore and test the boundaries of human culture, as seen through the eyes of this new world.
JK: How does real life affect your fiction? 
MCM: My mind works like a big bucket, where everyday things, even if I think them insignificant, get collected. Everything I see, hear, or experience has an effect and goes right into that mental bucket, only to be used later on, consciously or subconsciously. I believe stories in general, no matter how fictitious in nature, carry fragments of real life, whether the writer means it or not. For me it can be something as simple as a song I listen to that sparks an idea, or a social trend I notice that shapes part of a plot, even the general mood of my day can influence the feeling of my stories.
JK: What is your favorite book?
MCM: To be completely honest, I don’t have a favorite book. There are just too many out there to choose from. If my life depended on answering this question I would probably die.
JK: I know, right? I'm not sure why I ask that question. What other things influence your work?
MCM: I love to use music as creative influence. I tend to collect songs that I think would be fantastic for a certain scene, character, or story. Music just has a way of entering my brain and sparking my creativity like nothing else will. I also like keeping a folder of pictures that remind me of whatever it is I am working on. I am a very visual person, and one picture or set of pictures can create a snowball effect of ideas.
JK: Do you have a favorite word? How do you use language to differentiate your characters? 
MCM: That is an interesting question, one I had never thought of before. After thinking about it for some time I realized I actually do have a word that I love. Adamant. I am not sure why I like it so much. Maybe I just like the sound of it. I did some research on the history of the word and found that it derives from Latin and Greek words meaning “unbreakable, untamable, invincible.” It was also used to describe hard metals, and even diamonds at one point. After learning this I think I like the word even more. There is something subtle about the word adamant, even though its definitions and origin suggests a stronger meaning.
Using language to differentiate my characters and settings was very challenging with Markram Battles, mainly because I was dealing with evolved humans from a militaristic empire with a completely different belief system. I tried to maintain expressions and description language, as well as a lack thereof, very specific to whatever point of view I was writing, trusting that my beta readers and editor would call me out if I slipped.
JK: In general, what is your inspiration? What was the specific inspiration for your most recent project?
MCM: There wasn’t one specific thing that inspired Markram Battles, more of a combination of several ideas. I’ve always been fascinated by the scale and scope of warfare in ancient civilizations, such as Romans and Greeks, and how that lifestyle affected their society and culture. I tried to picture how those same beliefs would translate using a world much more advanced technologically than theirs, taking special interest in the history of gladiatorial games in ancient Rome. To that you add my childhood obsession with X-Men, and more recently Heroes (the TV show), and you can see how the ideas began to take shape.
JK: How much time a day do you devote to fiction writing? What is your work area like? Do you have any methods that might seem unusual or inspiring to other writers? 
MCM: I have to laugh at this question. My husband would have you believe that I spend every waking moment devoting my time to fiction writing, and though I do spend quite a substantial part of my time in front of the computer, it doesn’t always mean I am writing every second of it. I’m an early bird. Early mornings mean uninterrupted writing time before daily responsibilities catch up with me. On a good morning I can get as much as two hours uninterrupted writing time. On a bad morning I might not get any time at all. My office is a mess. I have toys all over the place, projects dispersed throughout the room, books piled up everywhere, scattered notes I write to myself, and a TV playing some kid show or another at any given time. Like I said, a mess. But that is just the nature of my office, and I’ve accepted it. I love listening to music when I write, not always though, and nothing with lyrics, which would be too distracting. I am a big fan of several film score composers, and I love using their orchestrally oriented scores to shape the flow of a scene or story line.
JK: When and why did you get started writing?
MCM: I don’t think I can remember a time when I didn’t write. I’ve always done it, though it has taken many shapes throughout the years. I have to admit however that I never really thought of sharing my writing and stories with others until more recently. I had somewhat of an epiphany some years back when I realized I just really loved writing and creating new worlds inside my head. Before that, I knew I liked it and it was fun, but I didn’t take it seriously, especially knowing that English was my second language. But after I came to terms with myself (and my love for writing), things changed. I began researching my way through the writing world and even took a writing course at the beginning of the year to help me get started.
JK: What characteristics from your first efforts survive today?
MCM: Most of my early book drafts were pure garbage. But I don’t think any effort, no matter how mediocre we think it is, is really wasted, because every time you write you learn something new. Looking back now, I realize how differently I approach writing in comparison to when I first began. I’ve learned too much for those early characteristics to survive unscathed.
JK: What kind of feedback do you get? Do you have a definable fan base? Are your family and friends supportive?
MCM: There are definitely quite a few people I rely on for feedback. Some are friends, some are fellow writers, and some are total strangers. Every one of them is fantastic and I love the variety of feedback they give me. I am not sure about a definable fan base yet, since I just got started. Only time will answer that question. My family and friends are the drive behind what I do. Their support and enthusiasm mean everything to me.
JK: Thank you so much for dropping by!
If you would like to know more about Markram Battles, you can find bonus materials, history of the Markram Empire, and characters’ profiles at M. C.'s website. She can be found on Twitter @mcmuhlenkamp and Goodreads, and she loves to Pin about her writing projects and other stuff at: http://pinterest.com/melimuhlenkamp/ 
Find Makram Battles on Amazon here.

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment on this post with your email address. Please specify which format you'd like if you win: MOBI is for Kindle and Kindle app users and PDF is for computer/iPad. Your email will not be used for any other reason than to contact you if you win! Earn an extra point for following this blog on GFC or via email, liking my Facebook author page, or following me on Twitter. The entries will be drawn and the winner notified on September 9, 2013, so get yours in soon!

Clear Your Shelf Blog Hop Giveaway Results

Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by and entered the giveaway! It was a resounding success and I'm so excited to have so many new followers, both on GFC and email. I appreciate it so much. I hope I can come through for you with more good content. Next week, there will be another giveaway, so I guess that's a pretty good start!

Both winners have been notified and their books will be sent to them in the net couple of days. I hope they enjoy The Longings of Wayward Girls and Accidents Happen as much as I did!

When You Can't Explain It, Sing It!

I'm loving this song right now because it expresses poetically the way my husband is feeling. Here's my inadequate translation:

"Provincia de Río Negro" 
Manolo García

I’ve seen the province of Río Negro reflected in your lake system gaze. I’ve seen the flight of the white shadow, a chain that moors a traveler who doesn’t want to go home. Your Basque grandfather was a shepherd in Patagonia.I’ve touched your meadow hair, I’ve held your copper-colored thatch hands.Hung up on sheepskin fleeces, trembling tendrils on golden fields, on the windy, soft afternoon of the earth. Like foam on the crests of some earthen wavesshimmering in your sea of pampas grass. Ooh, I’m leaving now. Ooh, here I am.
When I come back, I find myself frozen stiff with nostalgia on this impossible highway. Under the private smoke from the thousand chimneys of the new development on the edge of the city, we move along at infernal speedson machines with wheels — and I can’t get used to it —to come together like a plague of locusts at the same times, in the same places.So I feel I’m wasting my life here,that I only want to hold your copper-thatch hands in mine.Ooh, I’m leaving now. Ooh, here I am.Hung up on sheepskin fleeces, Trembling whiteness on golden fields on the windy, soft afternoon of the earth. Like foam on the crests of a few eternal waves shimmering in a sea of pampas grass. Ooh, I’m leaving now. Ooh, here I am. Ooh, I’m leaving now. Ooh, here I am.
Put simply: my husband knows there's something better out there. Even more simply: he's fed up.
Call it a mid-life crisis. Call it 30 years of bouncing around doing work that vexes his soul. Whatever it is, I think we're on the verge of a life-changing decision. I'll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, the Clear Your Shelf giveaway hop is still going on, so get your entries in there while you can! 

Clear Your Shelf Giveaway Hop — Books Galore!

This hop is hosted by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer and Bookhounds. I have two wonderful books in my possession that I need to clear away because there's just not enough space in this hotel room. (Yes, we're still in the hotel!) They were both highly enjoyable publisher ARC's.

The first book is The Longings of Wayward Girls by Karen Brown. I did a review in the last post. Both my mother and I read this, so it has a couple of signs of wear, but it's still suitable to keeping forever on an attractive shelf (if you're into that kind of thing).

The second book is Accidents Happen by Louise Millar. It has a little bumping on the front, but just a little.

RULES:

1. Enter by leaving a comment on this blog including your email (written out to avoid spam if you desire). Email will be used for winner notification only.

2. Extra entries can be earned by following this blog by Google Friend Connect or email (see sidebar); by liking my Facebook author page; or by following me on Twitter. Let me know in your comment so I'll be sure not to miss it!

This giveaway is open to US residents. Entries begin now and end August 27th at 11:59 pm EDT. Two winners will be drawn and notified on August 28 and prize books will be shipped on August 31.

There are a lot of other books that need new homes! Check out all the other blogs on this linky list to enter their drawings — you could get quite a library going!

The Longings of Wayward Girls

The Longings of Wayward Girls by Karen Brown

This book made me uncomfortable for long stretches. The discomfort came from the terrible decisions of some of the characters. I could hardly bear to read about what they were doing, and at the same time, I couldn't bear to put the book down, in the hope that they would come to their senses soon. Whether or not you agree with some of the things Sadie, for example, gets herself into, the masterful writing will make you turn the pages again and again. The novel is crammed with characters, so their development is done with small details that only suggest their full stories. More or less what the author has done is build an entire world full of mystery, and I'm in awe.

The novel's complex layers reiterate the theme of loss or disappearance. People who vanish out of their loved ones' lives for no known reason, people who disappear because they're searching for something they already have, others who run away to escape secret horrors no one would guess at, most who lose something and then lose their way... Everyone in the book is just as haunted as the scary forest presentation, "Haunted Woods," the children put together every summer. Debating the reasons everyone acts they way they do could fill a lively book club session, and makes me think this book is a prime example of the way reading fiction can train readers in empathy.

Aside from all that heavy stuff, this book may help people who grew up in the '70's remember some details of daily life. I'm not the same age as the main character (close), but I was amazed at all the small things the author included to make the readers feel they've really gone back in time. A memorable book for so many reasons.

Tune in tomorrow (or later today, depending on your time zone) for the start of my giveaway of this great title!

Rhino Calendar Madness!

It's coming straight at you!
The 2014 Rhino Conservation Calendar! This year, my husband and I submitted photos to the International Rhino Keepers Association calendar. Please go to the preliminary survey and vote for your ten favorite rhino pictures! Our snapshots are numbers 30 and 31. All the photos are so great, it's hard to decide on just eight others!

After the survey, no one will bother you again unless you voluntarily sign up for calendar updates.

There are pictures of all the species except one: the Javan rhino is missing, that rarest of creatures. I would probably vote for a blurry camera trap photo of one of them, just to include them with their relatives.

The twelve most popular photos from the survey will find their way to the months of the calendar. Voting has started already and ends August 25, so hurry!

All calendar sales will support the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, and it will become available for pre-order September 1 at the IRKA website.

Remember: you especially like 30 and 31...

The Carolina Writers' Networking Luncheon

On Sunday, my husband and I drove for two and half hours to a spot in North Carolina that only took my Loose Leaves colleague Jan an hour and half to get to from South Carolina (why does that happen every time?). There, we met a large percentage of active writers and editors in the Carolinas at the Carolina Writers' Networking Luncheon, which was put on by editor and author of Don't Sabotage Your Submission, Chris Roerdon.

Here's the always necessary book table. The Boxcar Grill didn't anticipate so many wonderful offerings, and many authors sat with their books all afternoon, which was a more personal experience. Notice the Loose Leave mini-catalogue flier standing up at left.

Loads of networking and good fun took place before and after a delicious lunch in the cramped quarters.

Chris Roerdon ends the afternoon with acknowledgments. I don't know if I'm the only one, but I left with the feeling that I'm not alone as a writer in the South. We're everywhere! The gentleman on the right is editor and proprietor of Pisgah Press, A. D. Reed.

And a moment of glamour. We have to mark whenever the disparate members of Loose Leaves manage to occupy the same space. The used a swamp cooler at the restaurant, so my hair is frizzing out, so it's just as well the picture is blurry!

I hope all the attendees found this luncheon as interesting as I did! I love a chance to get out and mix with other writers and editors!

Five Fascinating Facts about Spain's History as a Melting Pot

Today I have a post at Unusual Historicals about just five of the countless cultures that have criss-crossed Spain's land throughout history. As they say, En lo puro no hay futuro — There's no future in purity. Mix it up!

Enjoy!

More Rhino News

It's my birthday on Friday, and my husband and I have saved up to eat at a Spanish restaurant in the area.

I really don't feel I ask for a lot, but here's an example of what I would have wished would NOT happen, if I'd been able to imagine it at all. Why do these things have to be so complicated? Either save the animals or don't. Saying you're helping conservation by allowing slaughter and gaping loopholes in idiotic, illegal horn trade is hypocritical, at least.

Why would hunters want to shoot at fish in a barrel, anyway? That seems to be the way this works. As I've mentioned, I like a gentle approach, but sometimes you just have to call stupidity stupid.

In happier rhino news, I've entered the rhino calendar photography contest at the International Rhino Keeper Foundation. I'll let you know when you can vote for my photo at the North Carolina Zoo!

And keep enjoying the happy rhinos in my post from Monday! It's your personal birthday present to me. Thank you!