Names have power. ~ “The Lightning Thief”

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author, barista, book, bylines, CIA, coffee, coffee shop, Names, Rick Riordan, Starbucks, The Lightning Thief

Whenever a barista bellows my name in a crowded coffee shop, I squirm.
Why do I feel so exposed?
I understand the concept: Baristas write the names of customers on cups to speed up lines and ease confusion.
Perhaps I should work at the CIA…
A recent Washington Post article about the CIA Starbucks echoed my uneasiness about the practice. According to a food services supervisor at the Central Intelligence Agency (who asked that his identity remain unpublished for security reasons,) “Giving any name at all was making people — you know, the undercover agents — feel very uncomfortable. It just didn’t work for this location.”
They should use an alias – like me: In December, I may be “Holly” or “Noelle.” By April, I’ve switched to “Iris” or “Bunny.” In July, I become “Summer” or “Sandy.”
I certainly don’t mind seeing my name written on a cup – or printed in a newspaper.
Bylines, blessedly, remain silent.
In fact, most newspaper and magazine readers don’t even notice the names below the headlines. (Mothers and spouses are the obvious exceptions.)
My name is personal and when someone approaches me using it, I’d like to be sure that we’ve actually met – instead of simply having heard it shouted in a coffee shop.
Allow me to introduce myself. Please.

Renee Garrison is the author of “Sweet Beams: Inspiring Everyone Who Lives Under a New Roof,” available on amazon.com.

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Lucky guy – Andrew Gross

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"Nothing to Lose", Andrew Gross, BEA, best sellers, book, Book Expo. author, James Patterson, Le Coq Sportif, Leslie Fay Companies, literary agents, publishers, writing

I had the pleasure of interviewing Andrew Gross, recently. He was promoting his latest book, “Everything to Lose,” a thriller which actually kept me up a few nights as I was reading it.

“I don’t like to terrorize people, but I enjoy creating a feeling of suspense,“ he said, modestly.

In addition to being charming and fairly easy-on-the-eye, I found Andy to be one of the luckiest men I’ve ever met. (Look, his publicist called him “Andy,” so I did, too.)

Not because his father and grandfather ran the Leslie Fay Companies. (Andy worked there, too, before leaving to pursue his own opportunities at Le Coq Sportif, a boutique tennis/ golf brand, and Sun Ice, Inc, a Canadian skiwear manufacturer, the latter, “ending poorly and abruptly,” as Gross says, “and hastening my writing career.”)

Andy is lucky because he finished a draft of his first book Hydra, a political thriller, in 1998. Rejected by dozens of agents and ultimately publishers, the book was never printed. Gross admits “not knowing what my next step in life was, and sitting around my study, wondering what cliff I was going to drive our SUV off of, I received a phone call from someone who asked, ‘Can you take a call from James Patterson?”

They met for breakfast – “The smartest thing I’ve ever done” – and discussed the early concepts for what ultimately became the Women’s Murder Club series. Patterson explained that the head of his publishing house forwarded Gross’s unpublished manuscript to him with five words written on the cover: “This guy does women well!”

The rest, as they say, is history.
Hell, I’d sharpen James Patterson’s pencils if he asked me to.

But Gross, who learned his craft from a master, also had some advice for me: “Have patience. Don‘t rush the process. Most good work comes from the second or third draft. Keep at it until it’s GREAT.”

I plan to, Andy. And when it is, I’d like to take you to breakfast.

Renee Garrison is completing her new Young Adult book, “The Anchor Clankers,” and looking for her own literary agent.

Sign me up

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Architecture, book, Conversation, Design, Family, Home, Homeowner, Houses, Memories

Recently I was asked to do a book signing at an upscale boutique in Tampa, Florida. Emails went out to the shop customers, an exterior sign heralded my name, and items appeared in newspaper columns, announcing the event.

I was a bit uneasy about engaging a lot of strangers in conversation, (“Do you need a house-warming gift?”) but it turns out I didn’t need to be: The people who arrived were old friends – some I hadn’t seen in more than a decade – like Fred Rock (pictured above.) They came to congratulate me, to catch up and be supportive. (One even brought the most delicious donuts to tide me over until I could eat a late lunch!)
I was humbled and happy to see each of them.

Today, few friendships survive corporate relocations, divorces or deaths. Virginia Woolf summed it up rather nicely: “I have lost friends, some by death, others through sheer inability to cross the street.”

But I thank God every day for the lasting ones – the people you call when the doctor says “I‘d like to run a few more tests,” or your child moves in with someone you’ve never much liked or trusted.

Funny thing – I’ve no idea how many books were sold last week. I simply know how many friends showed up. And that means so much more…

“Sweet Beams: Inspiring everyone who lives under a new roof!” is available on amazon.com.

Giving birth to a book

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Architecture, author, book, Construction, Design, Family, Gardens, Home, Houses, Housewarming, Humor, kitchen, Memories

Working with a graphic artist to design a cover for your book is a bit like giving birth to a child: After months of effort, you hope it will be reasonably attractive when it‘s delivered.
I’m a writer (not an artist) who recognizes her design limitations. Trying to convey a sense of contentment, encouragement and happiness at home on an 8-by-5 inch book isn’t easy. The cover has to speak to potential readers…beg them to pick it up and look inside.
I’m delighted to say my new book does just that. After a flurry of emails – both photographs and text – graphic artist Kristin Johnson did an amazing job of selecting just the right image and type font. (Don’t you love finding the authors’ names hiding under the bed?!)
I hope this book and its cover will speak to you, too. “Pick me up…look inside.”

Sweet Beams: Inspiring everyone who lives under a new roof! also is available on amazon.com.