Jennifer Niven's Blog, page 556
January 30, 2012
Behind the Book — The Copy Edits
It never fails. As soon as I start building up momentum (the research, the story, the outlining) on the new book– Velva Jean #4– I'm summoned back to Velva Jean #3– Becoming Clementine. Friday afternoon I received the copy edited manuscript of Clementine, which is due back to my editor February 6. Just to recap [...]
January 26, 2012
Behind the Book — The New Title Revealed
I promised in Tuesday's post to reveal the new title of the third Velva Jean book. But first a little about the book itself: Velva Jean Hart has taught herself to drive and taught herself to fly, and by 1944, she has earned her wings as a member of the WASP. As her third adventure [...]
January 25, 2012
Behind the Book — Naming a Book
Book titles are tricky. Sometimes they come to you naturally and easily and sometimes (most of the time) they're more evasive. John Steinbeck said, "I have never been a title man. I don't give a damn what it is called." But I do. I think titles are important. Tennessee Williams said, "The title comes last." [...]
January 23, 2012
Why I Love Book Clubs
Sometime last April, months before Velva Jean Learns to Fly was published, I received an email from a woman named Linda Newby, a travel agent in Anaheim, California, telling me how much she loved the book. Through a good friend with ties to Penguin, Linda had come across an advanced reading copy (we call them [...]
January 19, 2012
Behind the Book — What it (Sometimes) Looks Like to Write a Book
To be honest, if I'm going for pure historical accuracy, most days I'm working like twelve dogs pulling the Iditarod, racing against the clock to get everything done. But, even so, there are those other days– the darker ones– when the ideas don't seem to come no matter how long you sit at your desk. [...]
Behind the Book — The Author Photo (part 2)
About an hour ago, I sent my new author photo off to New York. Unless the good folks at Penguin want or need to change it for some reason, here is the winning photo: What do you think? Would Velva Jean approve? (After all, I am wearing red lipstick.)
January 18, 2012
Behind the Book — Tangents
I have always wanted to be a private detective, ever since the days I collected Charlie's Angels cards and pretended to be Kelly Garrett on the playground of Westview Elementary School. Once, a few years ago, I even looked into some part-time detecting work, in an attempt to realize that long-ago dream. In my work [...]
January 17, 2012
Behind the Book — How to Quilt a Story
A well meaning interviewer once said to me, "It must be wonderful to have endless, uninterrupted hours to just write and write." I replied, "It must be. I hope to experience it sometime." Today is one of those days that drives a writer (or any person) crazy. Every time I start on a task, something [...]
January 14, 2012
Behind the Book — My Modern-Day Quill Pen
When I was finishing up the first draft of the third Velva Jean book, a terrible thing happened: Microsoft Word self-destructed. Right before my eyes, every letter turned into an asterisk, one by one by one, until the entire document was gibberish. (Apparently, more than one person has experienced this problem with Word for Mac.) [...]
January 13, 2012
Behind the Book — The Seven Things I Need When Writing
As I'm writing this next book (and any book), there are several things essential to my creative welfare. In no particular order, they are: 1) Daily exercise. If possible I exercise as many days as I write, which, right now, is five, sometimes six. I do it in the morning after breakfast, before I begin [...]
