Come See Me in Lake Placid - July 2

I'm doing a book store event in Lake Placid, New York - where Learning to Swim opens, and where Book 2 takes place. It's a gorgeous area - come up for a visit. Bookstore Plus, 2491 Main St., Lake Placid, Saturday, July 2, from 3 to 5 pm.

This is me in Placid, working as a bike mechanic, with my friend Annie - who doesn't truly have any idea what to do with the pedal wrench she's holding.

I'd Like to Hire This Guy to Write My Flap Copy

Here's how David R. Slayton described my novel Learning to Swim in his recent review, "Into the Deep":

Troy Chance thinks she knows who she is. She’s got a comfortable life, with all the right people at just the right distance. She’s safe. When an impulsive act of good sends her diving off a moving ferry in search of what might be a child thrown overboard, her previous self is washed away. 

Love it. Thanks, David.

One of Many Reasons to Avoid Goodreads

Readers, knock yourselves out. There are free books to be had at Goodreads, a website that invites people to post "reviews" on books. But for authors, it's best to stay away. And here's why (from Lauren DeStefano - and thanks to Lisa for pointing this out):

... One of my favorite lines is "gets in our heads like a morbidly obese bumblebee with a venomous stinger."



To close, I'll quote one of the few Goodreads reviews I've read about my novel: "I assumed this book would be amateurish because I got it in a giveaway on Goodreads." After that, yep, I knew to stay away.

Hey! I Want One of These for My Book - A Really Cool Video Review for VERA DIETZ

I have to share this amazing video with you, from xSandyPantsu, about a book I adore, Please Ignore Vera Dietz, from my friend A.S. King. Whom I also adore.

A Somewhat Profane Look at an Ongoing Issue

It's an ongoing issue for bookstores - folks who meander in to "shop" for books, but are actually using the bookstore and its personnel to find books they're interested in, and then ordering it online or scanning the title into their smart phone to find out where they can buy it the cheapest.

"They type titles into their iPhones and go home. We know what they're doing, and it has tested my patience." - from Book Store Owners Are Onto You, Cheapskates (Although this quote is actually from the NY Times article cited below.)

These folks who use bookstore resources with no intention of spending a dime there are, I suppose, a step above those who download books from illegal sites for free - even I, whose first novel has been out precisely five months, spend a frustrating chunk of time every week sending take-down notices to have my book removed from 'free' sites filled with what are - there's no way to mince words here - stolen books.

But not a huge step.

Which is one reason some bookstores have started charging admission for author events, or requiring that you purchase a book there - a hot-button topic among readers and authors.

“We’re a business. We’re not just an Amazon showroom.” - from "Come Meet the Author, but Open Your Wallet"

One publisher cited in the NY Times article said “We pay for the author to travel and come to the bookstore, and then the store makes money from it?” - which entertains me on a few levels because, well, bookstores are supposed to make money (a lesson Border's unfortunately did not assimilate) and because only a very few of my author friends' publishers pay their book tour expenses. You got it: the rest of us, myself included, pay for it out of our own pockets.

I wish bookstores didn't have to charge for events. I wish publishers would pay at least part of the expenses for authors to tour. I wish people wouldn't use bookstores as libraries or an "Amazon showroom." (And I really truly wish funds weren't being cut for libraries across the nation.) But in the long run, I pretty much support whatever bookstores do to stay in business, even it comes to putting a turnstile at the door and requiring a quarter admission every time someone comes in the door.

UPDATE: Here's an interesting look at the newest publishing dilemma - Amazon publishing books and whether bookstores will carry them: "Can't Shake the Devil's Hand and Say You're Only Kidding" (read the comments for a thorough discussion).

Please note I'm not telling you where to buy or not buy your books - I'm telling you that it's not fair to bookstores to use their resources as a shopping guide if you have no intention of buying a book there - and that if you download a novel for free, you're almost certainly stealing it.

"The List: Nine Summer Reads"

Learning to Swim made this cool list of nine summer reads at Savvy Mom. Others on the list are Then Came You (Jennifer Weiner), Turn of Mind (Alice LaPlante), Before I Go to Sleep (SJ Watson), State of Wonder (Ann Patchett), The Three Weissmanns of Westport (Cathleen Schine), The Sorcerer's Apprentices (Lisa Abend), Beasts of New York (Jon Evans), and The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine (Alina Bronsky).

Here's what the writer said:

Sara Henry’s debut novel, Learning to Swim, starts with a literal splash—Troy Chance rescues someone, or something, she witnesses being dropped off the side of a cruise ship and the story takes off from there, keeping us invested throughout. The fast-paced plot, captivating characters (including a seven year-old boy), and the relationships that develop along the way reveal an athletic main character who is undaunted, loyal and lovable. Henry is an assured writer who will undoubtedly attract a wide following with this first book.  

(Okay, the kid is six, not seven, but that's close enough.)

"Seeing Your Lacrosse Sticks Won't Make Me More Interested in Them ..."

Because my friend Quinn makes me laugh, and delight in her ability to write incredibly witty treatises, and because this so well expresses this whole topic far far better than I could dream of:

Let me clear the air right now; there is no woman over the age of five who doesn’t know you have a penis. Barring some sort of fireworks incident we’re pretty certain it’s there, and we also understand you know it’s there. It probably looks much like other penises, but slightly different in its own way. It’s a special snowflake, your penis. You’re probably pleased with it. I see no reason why you shouldn’t be.

This does not mean I want to have it sent to me as a picture. There are quite a few things which give you delight that I don’t need to see. Let’s assume you really enjoy playing lacrosse. I’m happy for you. Seeing your lacrosse sticks won’t make me more interested in them if I don’t already want to play lacrosse. In fact, if you’re harping on the greatness of your lacrosse sticks I’m probably not going to want to play any game with you at all.  

For the rest of this piece, visit Quinn's blog. And do visit - it's more than worth it.

When Three Female Writers Get Together ...

 

At the signing table at a writer's conference last week with Amy King and Adrienne Kress - all our books were sold out, so we had nothing to do but clown around. Yes, this was impromptu. Can you guess which one of us is also an actress?

Tales from the Dark Side of Bookstores

Tales from a London bookseller (Jen Campbell):

Customer: Do you have this book *holds up a biography* but without the photographs?
Me: I think the photographs are published alongside the text in every edition.
Customer: Why?
Me: I suppose so you can see what everyone looked like.
Customer: I don't like photographs.
Me: Ok.
Customer: Could you cut them out for me?
Me: .......

..........................

Customer: Hello, I'd like a copy of 'The Water Babies,' with nice illustrations. But I don't want to pay a lot of money for it, so could you show me what editions you do have so I can look at them, and then I can go and find one online?

 .........................

Customer: I'm just going to nip to Tesco to do the weekly shop. I'm just going to leave my sons here, is that ok? They're three and five. They're no bother.

For more, go here. (I think I found this courtesy of Neil Gaiman.) Booksellers, I'd love to hear your tales.