The Gold Medal goes to…

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books, Life, relationships, teenagers, writing

J.D. Salinger averaged 20 words a day to finish his 73,000-word classic The Catcher in the Rye over a 10-year span. My novel took six years to get from a legal pad into a binding.

Much of that time was spent sitting alone in front of my computer. On good days, I wondered how a book could be so easy to write. On other days, I struggled – week by agonizing week – wondering if it was worth the fight. Every book has its journey, which may take a month, a year, or even a lifetime.

Probably because they spend so much time alone, authors value recognition from their peers. At the Florida Authors and Publishers Association 2017 President’s Book Awards ceremony, the goodwill was palpable. Winners had been notified that we were finalists in the competition, so when the bronze medal in the Young Adult category was announced, I prepared to stand. I did the same when the silver medal was announced. That’s when I began to fear I’d been notified in error. (I didn’t even hear my name called as the gold medal was announced.) Fortunately, I DID see a six-foot picture of my book cover flash on stage, so I stood and walked toward it.

Turns out that E. B. White, author of Charlotte’s Web, was quite right when he said, “It is deeply satisfying to win a prize in front of a lot of people.”

A Book is Born

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books, ebook, Humor, read, school, teenagers, writing

Publishing a book is a lot like giving birth to a child: You stare at the object in your hands, hoping it looks a bit like what you imagined it would. After laboring over it (in this case, for six years,) the literary bundle finally arrives in all its glossy glory!

I’m thrilled to announce “The Anchor Clankers” is now available for pre-sale at SYP Publishing. Please visit their website and use Coupon Code “ANCHOR” for a $3 discount!

 

Meeting “The Anchor Clankers”

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books, Florida, Humor, teenagers, writing, Young Adult

“Whoa. A real G.I. Joe, that captain,” Tim Russell muttered quietly to Bill Moore as the Captain marched down the front portico steps.

Then he noticed the man speaking to a woman and a girl with white blonde hair that was almost as long as her tanned legs.

“Who are they?”

Bill glanced outside.

“They would be the Captain’s wife and daughter,” Bill answered.

The Captain got into his car, but the women lingered in the grass with a small silver Schnauzer. Tim headed towards them.

“That’s not much of a dog,” Tim said, coming down the front steps. “You must be Mrs. LeBlanc. Hi, I’m Tim Russell.”

“Hey there, you look like a real sea dog,” he said, softly, bending to scratch the mascot’s ears.

Suzette stared at him. The guy was a hunk. Streaked blond hair and super tan, he must be a surfer or a water-skier, especially with that body. She could feel the sweat starting at the waistband of her shorts and trickling down the back of her thighs.

“Yes, and this is my daughter, Suzette,” Mom answered. “The dog’s name is Skipper.”

Tim looked up from the dog and squinted at the girl.

“You’re obviously not going to school, here. Will you be at Sanford High School?”

Suzette was glad the sun was behind her. That way he couldn’t see that her face was beet red from the heat (or because she was blushing.) Not to mention five new pimples were probably forming under the sweat.

“No, my parents chose a Catholic high school in Orlando. I’ll be going there.”

Of course, her education would occur elsewhere. She figured that people who send their sons to military school want structure and a strong male influence for their children.

They did not, however, want girls.

Tim nodded. “That’s probably better for you. I’m not sure the guys at Sanford High would even speak to a girl who lives with the anchor clankers. In case you haven’t heard, that’s what they call us, here.”

 

– Excerpt from “The Anchor Clankers,” a novel set at The Sanford Naval Academy in Florida

The first thing you see

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anchor clankers, author, books, inspiration, teenagers, writing, Young Adult

Who says you can’t judge a book by its cover?

I received this email from Southern Yellow Pine Publishing: “We’re setting up a phone call conference with artist Elizabeth Babski to talk about the cover design.”
Suddenly, I’m terrified.

I think of all the books that I’ve picked up in libraries and book stores. Occasionally, a glance at the cover was all it took for me to put it back on the shelf. I understand how important cover design can be in luring readers inside a book.

Admittedly, I’m not an artist. I paint pictures with words rather than brushes. But I know that an amazing cover can capture a reader’s interest even before they see the first sentence.

Creating the right cover is an art form, which involves evaluating the book’s content and understanding exactly what will resonate with my Young Adult readers. Regrettably, Elizabeth had not been given my manuscript to read, nor had I seen samples of her art or her website. So, we chatted and I gave her the “Cliff Note” version of “THE ANCHOR CLANKERS.”

They say that you can’t judge a book by its cover. They are wrong!

I’m anxious to see her suggestions.

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.