A Cool Event I'm Attending - But You Probably Can't Come

Unless you're already registered, 'cause it's full up with a waiting list.

It's Booktopia 2012, an enormously cool event, a weekend retreat for listeners of Books on the Nightstand - this one is in April in Manchester, Vermont, partnered with the glorious Northshire Books. Here's the authors attending and their most recent books:

• Susan Cain, QUIET
• Kenneth C. Davis, DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT® HISTORY
• Sara J. Henry, LEARNING TO SWIM
• William Landay, DEFENDING JACOB (on sale 1/31/12)
• Leslie Maitland, CROSSING THE BORDERS OF TIME (on sale 4/17/12)
• Richard Mason, HISTORY OF A PLEASURE SEEKER (on sale 2/7/12)
• Madeline Miller, THE SONG OF ACHILLES (on sale 3/6/12)
• Howard Frank Mosher, THE GREAT NORTHERN EXPRESS (on sale 3/6/12)

The good news is that there are two other Booktopia events scheduled this year, in Oxford, Mississippi, on June 15-17, and in Santa Cruz, California, October 19-21. Each event is limited to 75 people, so you may want to sign up now. (Authors aren't yet announced for those.)

"25 Things Writers Should Know About Agents"

Pretty much anything you need to know about agents is in this post by Chuck Wendig - seriously. I have so many favorite bits I can't even choose one to quote. (Warning to my more gentle readers: let's just say that Chuck would never be nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark award, which precludes the use of certain four-letter words.)

Well, This is Pretty Cool

Just got the list of 2012 Edgar nominations from the Mystery Writers of America, and there's my book, nominated for the Simon & Schuster - Mary Higgins Clark Award. Pretty darned cool.

I can remember reading her first novel, Where Are the Children? many moons ago - and not being able to put it down. In fact, I'd like to go find a copy now ...

Why I Love to Hear from Readers

Because I get emails like this:

After being assigned to read a mystery/detection novel for my English class I chose Learning to Swim. I thought the assignment would take a long time because for a freshman in high school 300 pages is a lot! But I was proved wrong because I wasn't able to put the book down and was always wondering what happened next! I finished the book in 2 days, now all that's left of the project is to write a book review which will say nothing but good things! Thank you for writing such an amazing book that made my English project quick, easy, and fun! I will be looking forward to your next novel!

And this:

I can't tell you how delighted I was to read your book. Not only was it well-written, fast-paced and regional (I live in [Vermont] and have visited some of the places you wrote about), but it was CLEAN! What I mean is that it did not have offensive language or titillating sex, both of which are unnecesary to a good story. I've never written to an author before, but I decided that I should express my reader preferences to you and encourage you to write more such books!

And then a writer I met at a conference posts this on Facebook:

Sara J. Henry's Learning to Swim passed a grueling test this weekend: my mother. She's the hardest person I've ever known to buy books for, she'll readily abandon anything that doesn't grab her immediately (she won't even look at anything that doesn't have a mystery/thriller component to it, though it can't be trite or formulaic), and I have a growing stack of books she's handed back to me, unread. So when she called today all harried because LTS had kept her up all night, heavenly light shone down on us all.

And I am happy. (But sorry that this woman's mother stayed up until 4:30 am to finish my book - I try to warn people not to start it at night ...)

What a Lovely Christmas Gift for Me (Yes, That's My Book Mentioned in the NY Times)

In today's New York Times Book Review section - there I am. Or there's my paperback. Last mentioned, but there it is.

LEARNING TO SWIM, by Sara J. Henry (Broadway, $15.) In Henry’s tense first novel, a young woman rescues a boy from the waters of Lake Champlain, only to see her unruffled life abruptly give way to an unfamiliar world of wealth, privilege and danger. - from Paperback Row, New York Times, by Ihsan Taylor

And there's my book, on the Emerging Author shelf at Target:

Mine and my friend Taylor Stevens (same publisher, same editor!) on the same shelf at Target. Won't see it at other stores this way, but mine was put out early at my local store.

All in all, an amazingly lovely Christmas week for me in many ways. Hope you are all having a wonderful week.

Oh, This is Way Way Cool

Just noticed Sarah Weinman's list of Crime Novel Favorites of Mine in 2011 - and there I was. OK, there my book was. On a list with some amazing writers, including Sara Gran, who now shares an agent with me.

Sara J. Henry, LEARNING TO SWIM (Crown) — My doppelganger (long story, see here) wrote a book that, when I got the galley at my old UPS drop, I went to a park around the corner, started reading a few pages and the next thing I knew I was 100 pages in and was done not too long after. It’s subtle, but the book gripped me, and it will grip you. 

And the doppleganger thing - I never saw the resemblance, but then at the San Francisco Bouchercon I got a friend to snap a photo of us together, and, well ...