Gigi Pandian's Blog, page 5

My Evolving Path to Publication from 2012 - 2014

Next week, I'm attending Left Coast Crime, the west coast's big mystery convention. One of the panels I'm on is "Leap of Faith: Writers Who Took Alternative Paths to Publication." I love this topic, because the more I talk with other authors, the more I'm convinced that nobody's path to publication is the same. It's a road of unexpected twists and turns, and if you don't speed too quickly and rush the process, it can lead somewhere great.

In 2012 I self-published my first mystery novel (details ...

Pirate Vishnu Book Launch Party Photos

Last night, fabulous independent bookstore A Great Good Place For Books hosted the book launch party for Pirate Vishnu. Thank you to the dozens of you who braved the rain to come to the party! Everyone who knows me knows I prefer the rain to sunny weather, so it was the perfect dark and stormy night to launch for my newest mystery.


To keep the formal part of the program entertaining, Juliet Blackwell interviewed me. 

I love throwing a good party, so in keeping with the spiri...

The End of My Sabbatical as a Full-Time Writer

100 days ago, I began the grand experiment of being a full-time writer. I was eligible to take a sabbatical at work, so I took the opportunity to finish writing The Accidental Alchemist. 

Last week, I turned in the novel. Whew!

Finishing a novel: laptop, coffee, notebook, research books,
critique reader notes, printed copy with scribbled notes, another notebook...
And yesterday, I went back to my day job!


I'm so excited about this book, but even more excited to go back to my normal life bala...

My Surreal Life: An Agatha Award Nomination!

Earlier this week, the list of 2013 Agatha Award nominations was released. My locked-room mystery short story "The Hindi Houdini" has been nominated for an Agatha!

Thank you to everyone who has congratulated me this week on the nomination! The whole thing is a bit overwhelming (I'm still pinching myself), so I didn't take a step back and post the news here on the blog until now. Here's the scoop:

The Agatha Awards are given out at the Malice Domestic mystery convention that takes place every...

Pirate Vishnu: The Treasure Hunt Begins in One Month! In the Meantime, Fun is Afoot

Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery #2, Pirate Vishnu, hits shelves in exactly one month, on February 11. Leading up to the launch, here's some fun: two giveaways, a free short story, and a book launch party two days before the official book release!

Two chances to win one of two signed copies of Pirate Vishnu along with an India wall-hanging that has a pocket to hold letters or magazines. 

Chance #1: Sign up for my email newsletter by February 10. All subscribers are automatically entered.

Ch...

A Look Back at 2013

If 2011 was the year of cancer and 2012 was the year of recovery, 2013 was the year of seizing the day. I was looking over the blog, and wow did I jam a lot into 2013. Some highlights:

January: Showed my agent a book proposal for a new mystery series, a paranormal mystery featuring female alchemist Zoe Faust and her sidekick, a gargoyle accidentally brought to life by a French stage magician.

My own gargoyle: stuffed animal Dori.

February: Received my first royalty check from Henery Press (for...

The 2013 Night of Writing Dangerously Write-A-Thon

I didn't know if last year's Night of Writing Dangerously could be topped, but this year's National Novel Writing Month write-a-thon was a great night. The event raised money for the Office of Letters and Light, which funds literacy outreach like the Young Writers Program. 

In addition to being a good time for a good cause, the evening turned out to be surprisingly productive! In between catching up with other writers and dining on the tasty vegan dinner and donuts (don't worry future NO...

15 Days in France

I kicked off my sabbatical with 15 days in France. I wasn't playing hooky from my 100 days of being a full-time writer. True, I'm definitely still in post-cancer seize-the-day mode. But in addition to being a fun vacation, the trip also served a practical purpose as part of my sabbatical: it was a research trip for two books I'm working on right now.

Jaya Jones Book 3 takes Jaya to several destinations in France, a country she's never been to before. And in The Accidental Alchemist, the first...

A Full-Time Writer for 100 Days

My life has some big changes coming. Tomorrow I begin a 3-month sabbatical from my day job. For 100 days, I'm going to be a full-time writer!

I hadn't originally planned on using a sabbatical to write. My current work/writing schedule works for me. It isn't, however, conducive to writing both the next Jaya Jones book and finishing The Accidental Alchemist with the deadlines I agreed to. I want to both have fun with the books and give myself the time I need to make them good. Thus the...

Post-Chemo Hair Update: The Last Three Months

My last hair update was August 1, so it's time for a new one. When my hair was beginning to grow out after chemo in the spring of 2012, it made sense to take weekly photos so I could keep track of what it looked like at each stage, to remember if I liked a particular length. But now that it's getting longer, I can no longer observe changes from week to week, so I've been taking monthly photos instead. Here's August, September, and October.