Friday, March 13, 2009

Friday Update

Another pretty tame but satisfying week. Here's what's happening ...

• Last Friday night I visited with a book club in Northport, Long Island that read THE SMART ONE. Such a bright and attentive group! Thanks to Rozanne and the whole gang for inviting me. Next time I'll have some of that dessert.

• Good week for a compliment junkie. I got two nice reviews of THE SMART ONE from bloggers, a very lovely fan mail that meant a lot to me and, reportedly, a shout-out in the newsletter from Diane's Books in Greenwich, CT. (Thanks to author Andrew Gross for the heads up on that.)

• Yesterday I had another lunch with my Long Island literati pals, Carol Hoenig, Debbi Honorof, Brenda Janowitz and Saralee Rosenberg. We were meeting to discuss our "Meet the Authors Afternoon Tea" on Sunday, March 29. It's at the Hofstra University Club at 2 pm, and I hope you can join us. Click here for more information.

• Parenting tip of the week: if your kid loses his glasses and you've spent days turning the house upside down looking for them, check the laundry basket.

• Wednesday I finished the whole freelance job I was working on (a website and print materials) and Thursday I got my editor's notes on my novel. Is that great timing or what? Best of all, the notes were relatively minor, which means I don't have to unravel the manuscript and start from scratch. Phew!

• The folks at Jeopardy Kids are smart, but not smart enough. I never got a call from them saying my daughter was selected for the show. But I'm not bitter. I understand the decision. Clearly they didn't want to make all the other kids look bad. (Biased? Moi?)

• If you're in the Newburyport, Massachusetts area, I hope you'll consider coming to the literary festival on April 24 & 25. The schedule hasn't been finalized, but it looks like I'll be speaking on Saturday morning.

• I still like Danny Gokey

• If you're a writer or in any way connected to publishing, you've heard the buzz on the Niffenegger sale. I know some writers are seething with resentment over the whopping size of the advance, but my emotional response is the opposite. I think it's nothing but good news for all of us. It means people are still buying books. It means the world hasn't come to an end. It means hard work and beautiful writing are actually valued. Her agent, Joe Regal, has the final word on Pub Rants, agent Kristin's blog.

• Happy Friday the 13th ...

2 comments:

Myfanwy Collins said...

Bah on those Jeopardy Kids people for not calling you! You're right, of course, that your darling would have shown everyone else up.

Ellen said...

Thanks, Myf!! Fortunately, she's too busy to spend even a moment fretting about it. :)