Vicki Lane's Blog, page 521

Texture

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At Last!

After weeks of bone dry weather, on Saturday night we had a half inch of rain and yesterday another half inch.
The brown pastures have already begun to green a bit; the fall garden is rejoicing; mist was rising yesterday evening . . .
 A welcome reprieve -- and more on the way!

A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi . . .

Back when I did a post on the perfect tomato sandwich,  a few days later, Vagabonde emailed me to say that she had been inspired to create her own special sandwich with the wonderful heirloom tomatoes that are available just now. 

I've tried it (twice now) and can say that Vagabonde's creation is a winner.
It's nothing more than pimento cheese on toasted bread (Vagabonde used whole wheat; I used a ciabatta,) some mayo,, slices of a really good tomato (these are red and green zebra tomatoes -- the green are ripe, believe it or not,) and some fresh basil leaves for what Vagabonde calls "that certain je ne sais quoi..."
Don't omit the basil! Truly, it lifts a simple sandwich into the realm of cuisine. 
Vagabonde used a gourmet four-cheese pimento cheese from the deli. I make my own  --pimentos, grated sharp cheddar, mayo, minced onion, a splash of Worcestershire sauce, and a bit of Sriracha hot sauce. Heavenly! A wonderful lunch or supper.

The Dragon in the Sea, on the other hand, wasn't at all my cup of tea. I loved Frank Herbert's Dune but was less fond of those that followed. This is one of Herbert's early efforts, from 1956, which was probably re-published to take advantage of Dune's continuing popularity.  

The book's about four guys in a tiny nuclear submarine at some time in the future. The world is at war and oil as the ultimate prize (sound familiar?)  There are only four guys and it looks like one is a traitor. . .

While it was interesting to see what an early Herbert novel was like, the novelty quickly palled and I did not finish. Way too much technical info for my taste -- what I'd characterize as a 'guy book.' I guess it just lacked that certain je ne sais quoi. . .

I did finish the sandwich, however.

Garden Weirdness

Back to scorching weather and still no rain. I was in the garden early, virtuously watering and doing a little maintenance, and my virtue was rewarded with the sight of some rather unusual vegetables.
 
I don't know the name of this variety of giant plum tomatoes... but surely they should be called Witches Tits. The green one is especially fetching.
I decided to dig in our small bed of sweet potatoes to see what I could uncover for dinner.

I seem to have interrupted these two in the middle of something ...

Silent Sunrise

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School Days and Fashion Notes

For weeks now, the stores have been full of Back to School displays and the big yellow buses are already rolling but when the calendar hits September 1, I am always overwhelmed with memories of the first day of a new school year -- a clean new notebook, a thick pack of blue-lined paper, shiny yellow pencils, an ink pen with those handy cartridges, a ruler, maybe a protractor, and some fat, pink erasers, all zipped snugly into the plastic pouch that fitted inside the three ring notebook.

And maybe a new dress and shoes to start the new school year -- my doting maternal grandparents, with only two grandchildren to spoil, often were the ones to take me shopping for school supplies and by the time I was in high school, those supplies had stretched to include not only a new dress but new lipstick and matching nail polish. ( I can hardly believe it but I can remember kinda lusting after a shade of nail polish called Persian Melon.)

Perfume too -- the names and even the scents come back to me -- Tweed, Wind Song, Jungle Gardenia (a misguided experiment during my senior year of high school that had John rolling down the car window in order to breathe.) And my favorite Maja -- a perfume from Spain, the purchase of which involved a trip to Ybor City -- Tampa's Latin Quarter.

All of these purchases were in pursuit of a new beginning -- new teachers, new classes, new clothes, new me . . . and the giddy expectation that this might be the year Something Wonderful happens.

Of course, soon the notebook was worn and dirty, the pencils chewed on, the erasers hardened and useless. The new outfit would turn out to be not quite what the really popular girls were wearing.

Oh, the conundrum of fashion! It was a password you had to get right. Do you wear your bobby socks rolled or folded down, folded over a foam rubber ring (for that oh so desirable fat sox look,) or do you wear them pulled up . . . or do you not wear socks at all?

It's a wonder I learned anything academic in high school. I was evidently busy studying the changing fashions of the Fifties. Lanz dresses and Capezios defined the so-called nice girls while tight black skirts and shirts with the collars turned up at the back was the uniform of girls who, it was whispered, were not nice, girls who dated the guys known as 'hoods.'

But, oh, the watershed day when one of the cheerleaders came to school, her full skirt hanging limp around her legs, un-poufed by the crinolines that had been de rigueur until that moment.
Heads turned, jaws dropped; it was shocking, it was unbelievable, it was . . . sexy.

By the end of the week, crinolines were a thing of the past -- gone to fashion's scrap bag to join the poodle skirt, the cinch belt, the sack dress . . .

This is a re-post from September '08 -- I think that Pat in TN was my only reader back then. I am the Girl Scout in the first picture and the other pictures are of my brother and 
me on two different Easters
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Morning Miscellany

Pastels. . .
One pear tree branch thinks it's Spring. . .
Plumbago aka Leadwort Blushing Autumn Joy Sedum And Eddie . . .

FAQ - What's the Big Deal?

After writing yesterday about Amanda's Major Deal, I thought I'd revisit some of the realities of publishing and remind you that  Major Deals and seven figure advances are NOT the norm. If only.

(To review – advances are what the publisher offers before publication – an advance on royalties. The author doesn't get any royalties until the book has 'earned out' – sold enough copies so that the royalties cover the amount of the advance. That can take a while, depending on the size of the advance. On the other hand, even if the book doesn't sell well enough to earn out, the author still gets to keep the advance.)


The size of the advance  signals the publisher's expectations for the book (s) and how much 'push' the publisher is likely to put behind the book(s).  The size of the advance is of interest to booksellers deciding whether to order the book and in what quantity and t0 reviewers and others in the industry.
But people don't like to talk about money  -- at least, not in precise terms.  So they say things like seven figures (or five or six -- I don't think anyone crows about a  two or three figure advance.)
Publishers Marketplace has a handy series of code terms that are widely understood in the industry and leave a pleasant uncertainty as to whether that 'nice' deal is at the high or low end.

"nice deal" $1 - $49,000
"very nice deal" $50,000 - $99,000
"good deal" $100,000 - $ 250,000
"significant deal" $251,000 - $499,000
"major deal" $500,000 and up 
When I told a friend that I had a contract with Bantam Dell for two books, the first thing he said was "Are you going to be rich?" 
The short answer is no. My advances have been right in the middle of 'nice.'  Pleasant but probably not even minimum wages.
Very few authors are well paid.  The average advance from major publishers is $5,000 (less 15% for agent.)


A quote from an unknown source: "As far as making money at this business, I agree with those who say the few who do are in the minority. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts out an annual list of income by occupation. I remember one year seeing "writer" listed directly above the lowest paid occupation on the list--migrant farm worker."
Of course, most writers dream of becoming one of the few -- like Amanda.  Her story will fuel the dreams of many a struggling novelist.
As well as leaving a few of us just a bit green with envy.

The Stranger You Seek

Amanda Kyle Williams is living the dream. After several novels published with a small press, her mainstream thriller The Stranger You Seek, caught the attention of the folks at Random House. And caught it in a big way --  what they call a Major Deal. Amanda scored a three-book, seven figure contract for her Keye Street series.
I didn't know all of this when my editor (Herself) sent me an Advance Reading Copy of TSYS back in January.  Herself asked if I'd read it and, if I liked it, provide a blurb -- one of those enthusiastic recommendations that appears somewhere on or in the book. I'm always wary about providing blurbs -- some books just aren't my cup of tea. But I pretty much trust that if it's one Herself is editing, it will be good.


And it is!

Keye Street is a terrific protagonist -- a Chinese-American, adopted by white southern parents as a child, a  former FBI profiler whose career was cut short by alcoholism (she's a Diet Pepsi drinker now) -- Keye's a salty, funny, risk-taker whose work as a private investigator chasing bail jumpers and serving processes, puts her in touch with some of Georgia's less savory individuals. 
But the serious trouble comes when Keye is unofficially hired by an Atlanta police lieutenant, her best friend and secret crush,  to find a particularly awful serial killer who is leaving a bloody trail through Atlanta.  Things get personal when the killer begins sending notes to Keye.
There's lots of wonderful description of summer in Atlanta; there are some terrific, funny scenes with Keye and her family; and there's a plot that will truly keep you guessing. I really enjoyed getting to know Keye Street and will be looking for the next in this series. You can read a really interesting article about Amanda HERE.   It sounds as if this success couldn't have happened to a nicer person.
The Stranger You Seek hits the shelves tomorrow, August 30.  If you like fast compulsive reading and a gutsy, semi-flawed protagonist, along with a Southern noir atmosphere, you need to meet Keye Street.

Hints and Allegations

Hurricane season signals the coming of Fall in my part of the world.  We are about 300 miles from the coast and have felt no effects (not even rain, drat it) from Irene as she makes her way north. 

I hope my blog friends at the coast are all safe -- Jean and Pepper come to mind. Bouncin' Barb has put up a post saying that she is fine.  

We have a  sailor friend visiting and he's been on the phone with folks at the NC coast, hearing stories of flooding, downed trees, and boats in places boats don't belong.  At the moment he thinks his boat (which is also his home) is okay.
Here on the mountain, after Friday's sullen heat and oppressive humidity, our air is drier and slightly cooler and the evenings are delicious -- another sign of the season.  The wood piles that John and Justin have been working on all summer are looking serious and the maples are beginning to send colorful reminders floating down.  


There'll be plenty more hot days but how pleasant to feel that the worst is over!