October 6, 2008
Bundles of news.
I have signed with Robert Guinsler at Sterling Lord Literistic. I'm very excited to work with him and SLL and I still can't believe it's real.
You can still pre-order VISITING HOURS. It will be shipped sometime in November, 2008. Advance praise for the collection:
"Visiting Hours unhinges our anxieties about illness. These
stories are funny, touching, and buoyed high by the surprising twists
of human love. Thank goodness for a book that paints bright,
savvy colors on white hospital walls."
~Alyson Hagy, author of Snow, Ashes (Graywolf, 2007)
"Why aren't there more books like this one? This anthology is alive,
and it's electric. Every piece in here is full of heart and packed with
surprise. Dan Wickett has done a great job of finding work by writers
who matter. Here's to him--and to them."
~ Steve Yarbrough, author of The End of California (Knopf, 2006)
In non-writing news, my husband and I just returned from a trip to South America. We visited Santiago and Valparaiso in Chile, and Buenos Aires
and Iguacu Falls in Argentina (more links to pictures to come). All
tremendously vibrant, colorful, and interesting places, all different
from each other. It's important, I believe to get out of the USA once
in a while, to remember there are other ways and other perspectives.
It's exhausting and exhilarating and made us need a vacation from our
vacation, but so worth it.
April 22, 2008
Here is the cover for VISITING HOURS:
(If the image isn't loading, you can see it at the Press53 page where you can also preorder the anthology by clicking the "Coming Soon" tab.)
I think it looks really sharp, and I love that row of chairs. I have
waited interminable amounts of time in chairs such as those. Teal,
even.
This weekend is the LA Times Festival of Books...
And finally, belated CONGRATULATIONS to Marie Mutsuki Mockett on the sale of her debut novel, PICKING BONES FROM ASH, sold to Graywolf Press. Yay!
February 6, 2008
AWP 2008 has come and gone. I tried to register too late to get a badge
but in the end it didn't matter, as I got to do all that I'd hoped to
do. Thanks to Marie for letting me crash on her spare bed for a week,
and to Alexi and Vanessa for traveling out to the city so we could
spend some time together!
Highlights include:
--Spending too much money on four black dresses (and one pink dress, and one coat) at a sample sale with Marie
--Drinking beer with my agent at the Empire State Building while talking books
--Meeting Marlon James
randomly at the AWP book fair and getting a little fan-girlish, then
gushing about it to the guy behind the table at the Akashic Press booth
--Discussing ways to encourage at-risk girls to write with Keren Taylor, Executive Director of WriteGirl, at the private CLMP party hosted by Jeffrey Lependorf, then scoping the room for cute guys
--Shopping at Uniqlo with Alexi and later beating him soundly at Taiko Drum Master
--Meeting Maud Newton
at a fabulous Japanese dinner hosted by Marie and Gordon, and going
from there to a strange Japanese speakeasy karaoke parlor where we
belted songs from the 70s and 80s until two in the morning
--Hearing about Colm Toibin's workshop at Stanford from Vanessa and seeing pictures of her brand new niece
November 13, 2007
Just got back from Carmel-by-the-Sea, where my friend, writer Marie Mutsuki Mockett,
got married! It was a lovely weekend, sunny and clear, and I got to
visit with some of the literary people I'd met last year in New York:
literary agent Irene Scolnick and CLMP Executive Director Jeffrey Lependorf.
I was really excited to see my writer friends, 2008 O'Henry winner Alexi Zentner and current Stegner Fellow Vanessa Hutchinson. We'll meet again this winter at AWP 2008 in New York City.
And not writer-related but still exciting--Tony Bennett was a guest at
the Mission Ranch over the weekend, and we saw him going to the bar
that night. Gotta love the Velvet Fog.
Prior to the wedding weekend, San Diego experienced unpleasantness during the Great Firestorm of 2007. All I saw (and smelled, and breathed) was smoke, thankfully.
October 16, 2007
I've mentioned before that my first short story publication will appear
in editor Dan Wickett's short story anthology, tentatively titled
VISITING HOURS. It has begun receiving blurbs in its pre-production
state:
"Why aren't there more books like this one? This anthology is
alive, and it's electric. Every piece in here is full of heart
and packed with surprise. Dan Wickett has done a great job of
finding work by writers who matter. Here's to him--and to them."
- Steve Yarbrough
And,
"VISITING HOURS unhinges our anxieties about illness. These
stories are funny, touching, and buoyed high by the surprising twists
of human love. Thank goodness for a book that paints bright,
savvy colors on white hospital walls." - Alison Hagy
I can't wait to see the final product. Here's a link to an excerpt from the introduction by Kyle Minor. The reference to the emergency animal hospital? Mine.
I went to Seattle at the beginning of the month to research my next
novel. I spent five days at Seattle Public Library's main branch
downtown. It's quite a place--full of natural light and books and
friendly librarians. There's a Writers Room by invitation only, and if
I lived in Seattle I would totally apply. You get a secret code for a
door, and the people I saw pass through it looked very writerly.
I spent most of my time at the microfilm machines on the sixth floor,
parsing newspapers from 1889 on. I found what I was looking for, as
well as some surprises. See my post at The Nervous Breakdown for Lurid Trash.
July 27, 2007
Comic-Con has come and gone. Next year I'll need to plan ahead if I want to attend...it's getting popular.
Also, Harry Potter has come and gone. I wasn't as fannish as I could
have been, but it was fun to go to a midnight party and stand in line
with everyone else. I read the book in a day, and then it was over.
What's next?
July 21, 2007
I just got back from a quick trip to Carmel, CA, where I visited a dear friend, Marie Mutsuki Mockett,
and saw Clint Eastwood walking on the street! We talked writing and
books (Marie and I, not Clint Eastwood) and she took me to a fabulous
independent bookstore in San Francisco, Green Apple Books.
What a great place!
I'd have bought several more titles if I'd had the room in my tiny suitcase. As it was, I bought Maxine Hong Kingston's The Fifth Book of Peace, Paul Bowles' The Sheltering Sky, Young-Ha Kim's I Have the Right to Destroy Myself, and Gerd Gigerenzer's Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious.
While there I signed a petition to keep Starbucks out of the
neighborhood. It's nothing (much) against Starbucks, but they'd be so
out of place on Clement street.
Tonight I am actually going to go to a midnight party for HP7.
I'm going with a friend my age. We decided that 1) we didn't want the
ending spoiled, 2) the only way to guarantee non-spoilage would
be to get the book ASAP, and 3) if we were ever going to get all
fannish it ought to be now.
I'll read it tomorrow, and then it will be done.
Next week, the San Diego Comic-Con!
June 10, 2007
I just got back from the Hillcrest Book and Literacy Fair.
It was somewhat depressing. In past years, I saw more books and more
people. This year, turnout was mediocre, most of the booths were local
merchants unrelated to books, and most of the people loitering around
were the people who were working the Fair.
Granted, I didn't see any of the independed bookstores I know exist in
the greater San Diego area, so perhaps the fair was meant to be
Hillcrest-centric. Still, it would have been nice to have seen Mysterious Galaxy and Warwick's on hand to strengthen the numbers.
May 8, 2007
I'm back from my Antipodean adventure!
I'm amazed at how mentally refreshed I feel after purging my brain of
the atrophy of routine. Nothing like changing locations every four days
to sharpen, well, everything from perceptions to emotions.
(This entry is link heavy--all links take you to our Picasa account except the last two, which take you to my Nervous Breakdown archives.)
As mentioned, my husband and I visited two remote Australian locations that appear in my novel. Uluru, or Ayers' Rock, is the better known. It was overcast, hot, humid and swarming with the most annoying flies imaginable. We actually bought fly nets and without them couldn't have enjoyed the trip. Waking up early enough to see the sunrise turn the giant rock into a glimmering, gold mountain more than made up for the bugs.
After spending the weekend in and around Australia's bellybutton, we took several plane rides and finally ended up in Purnululu, or the Bungle Bungles. This rock formation beyond the black stump is where a good third of the novel takes place, so it was really amazing to see in person
what I'd only seen in pictures and enhanced with my imagination. I'm
pleased to say most of my assumptions turned out to be true, but by
actually sleeping over I was able to inject even more vividity into my novel.
Also, I finally got to taste Vegemite.
There are very few places in the world where you can wake up to the
sound of fifty gallahs calling to each other on top of a cacaphony of
other birdcalls. Michael and I both sang at Cathedral Gorge, a natural amphitheater that amplifies your voice without effort. He thrilled a German couple with an Italian aria.
Non-book related activities included snorkling at the Great Barrier Reef, attending a ballet performance of Don Quixote at the Sydney Opera House (they took a few liberties with the plot, but oh, the ballerinas are lovely!), eating the most amazing dinner (and dessert) in Darwin, hand-feeding a wallaby
in Port Douglas, spying glowworms in Wellington, NZ, while listening
for kiwi calls, and drinking wine on the islands just off Auckland.
Plus about three hundred other incredible moments.
I wrote about Hunting Ewoks and Hobbits in New Zealand at The Nervous Breakdown, as well as the Two New Zealand Tuis. More TNB reports on my vacation coming soon.
March 16, 2007
Dan Wickett of DZanc Books and The Emerging Writers Network
accepted my short story ("One Moment") for an anthology to be published
by Press
53
in Fall, 2008! Press release here. The anthology is one that Dan has fought to place for quite some time, so I'm even happier for him than I am for myself.
In April my husband and I embark on a five week trip to Australia and
New Zealand (with stops in Maui there and back again--I couldn't
possibly fly over My Happy Place
without stopping). I'll miss out on my favorite holiday, also
known as the LA Times Festival of Books, but a trip like this is rarer
than once a year. Aside from finally taking the honeymoon we postponed
back in grad school for want of money, we're going to visit the
Australian places I wrote about in my novel. So, in case I got it all horribly wrong, I can fix it before anyone see it.
That means I'm in a waiting period. To pass the time I thought, Hey, why not start the next novel? And so, I did. It begins with fire.
Oh! The trip to New York was wonderful! I met all kinds of industry people at the LWC -- CLMP Executive Director Jeffrey Lependorf, novelist with great hair Jonathan Lethem, and agent Ira Silverberg, all thanks to writer and friend Marie Mutsuki Mockett
who graciously peeled me off the wall where I ordinarily bloom and
introduced me. I didn't get too fangirl until she pointed out the Galleycats.
October 24, 2006
My New York City trip is next week and while I'm there I'll
not only attend the Literary Writers Conference hosted by CLMP, but
I'll also attend CLMP's A Better Bee,
a spelling bee benefit wherein the participants are all publishing
industry greats including Sara Nelson,
Editor-in-Chief of Publishers Weekly, Emily
Nussbaum, Culture Editor of New York Magazine,
and Lev Grossman, author of Codex.
October 2, 2006
Another few months.
More has happened.
First, I am in the final stages of acquiring representation
for my novel. An agent who shall remain nameless until it's all signed
and done, and who is currently at the Frankfurt
Book Fair, has expressed interest. We've had the phone call,
I've received a template of the contract to review, I've received the
notes he has made on my novel and I have commenced with a short
revision because I'm that convinced he's the right agent for me. We
like the same authors.
But one never knows until the signature's on the dotted line,
so I won't be naming names until then.
And that won't be until after the Frankfurt Book Fair, no
question.
Second, I bought plane tickets to New York City for the Literary
Writers
Conference hosted by the Council
of Literary Magazines and Presses in association with The New
School's writing program. It will take place the first weekend of
November. The conference is for graduates of writing programs and the
discussions include "Unmasking the Editor/Writer Relationship,"
"Working with an Outside Publicist," and "Editing with Your Agent."
In other words, it's a conference for the Next Step.
I'm ready for the Next Step.
While I'm in New York I'll meet a few other emerging writers
with whom I've only corresponded. Short story writer Marie
Matsuki
Mockett and I will attend the conference together, and
novelist Mary
McMyne and I have plans for at least coffee. We're all at the
beginning stages of our careers. It should be fun.
It is totally coincidental that I'm updating on the second of
the month. Perhaps I'll try to make it a habit.
August 2, 2006
It has been a few months.
Much has happened.
The Nervous Breakdown, a blogsite
created and edited by author Brad Listi, launched on July 24,
2006. My contributions so far include an
observation on the temporality of fame of a local tagger and a
rumination on the coital bliss of flies. Stop by, have a read, leave a
comment.
It's fun.
The Tin House Summer Writers Workshop
occured July 9th through July 16th. I met lots of great people,
including several writers that I'd never heard of before such as
workshop leaders Anthony Doerr and Jim Shepherd, as well as dozens of
"emerging writers." I worked with Charles D'Ambrosio, as fantastic a
leader as he is a storyteller. I went to the workshop intending to get
back into the short form--it worked. The week was a bit like being at
"writers camp," with activities and readings in the afternoons and
evenings, and dorm-like settings. Turns out Portland is a pretty cool
city, with lots of beautiful trees and friendly people and of course Powells.
Other happenings: my brother's wedding, my husband's family
reunion, my dog's death in May, the LA Times Festival of Books where I
got to hang out with TC Boyle, reading lots of books, writing lots of
pages, and completing the extensive revision of my novel's ending.
March 28, 2006
Buzz can happen without lifting a finger. Can happen, even,
without doing much of anything beyond talking to people.
Thanks to the Hubert Selby, Jr. documentary, I am now
mentioned in a Wikipedia article and have a page
on The Internet Movie Database
(picture forthcoming).
2006 marks the 35th Anniversary of the MPW program as well as
Dr. Ragan's 25th Anniversary as program director. When I dropped off my
thesis I gave an interview for Pamela Johnson, and her article is now published online. She very kindly
lumped me in with Sandra Tsing Loh, Charles Webb, Erich van Lowe and
Mark Andrus.
I think it's worth mentioning that my novel is no longer 483
pages long as mentioned in the article--since turning in my thesis I
reduced it by about ten percent. It still looks
long when printed on one side only, double-spaced.
All articles are also linked to on the Media page.
The LA
Times Festival of Books is a mere month
away.
March 22, 2006
I just received word that I have been accepted to the Tin House Summer Writers Workshop
taking place this July. I'll be workshopping with Charles D'Ambrosio,
who had a story in a recent edition of The New Yorker. Aimee Bender and
Steve Almond will also be on hand. The workshop takes place on a
college campus in Portland. Oregon is not my favorite state, but
Portland is a great city. Plus, it counts as Pacific Northwest.
I'm excited to hang out with other writers again.
Coming up at the end of April is the Los
Angeles Times Festival of Books. A weekend of books! T. C.
Boyle will be reading with an introduction by Sandra Tsing Loh, and I
can't miss that.
My blog
is picking up speed, though I haven't actively promoted it. I'm finding
my blogging voice there. It's a good time.
Oh, and my diploma arrived very quickly. It's tucked safely
away in the closet. If I look at it again before we move, I'll be
amazed.
January 29, 2006
The San Diego Writers' Conference went well--better than I
expected, actually.. I came away with some good information and an "editor's
choice" award from Ryan
Fischer-Harbage. The honor meant he read my first chapter,
liked it better than all the other pages he read, and I got to wear a
little blue ribbon on my nametag.
Blue ribbons are key. I felt like a 4H champion, odd
since I've never participated in 4H and have only the vaguest,
stereotypical understanding of what 4H kids do. When I was growing up
in a dairy community it seemed like they mostly cleaned stalls and rode
horses. I'd have killed to own a horse.
So, thanks for the kudos, Ryan Fischer-Harbage. It means more
than my dry humor allows. Also, I like your hair.
A writers' conference isn't for everyone. You have to know
what you need from it so you can maximize its worth. But, hey, I'd
recommend this one to any writer starting out and to several who find
themselves at my step--searching for representation.
January 5, 2006
A new year. Last year I pledged to get this site going and to
spread World Peace. But as you're aware, World Peace did not come
about. This could be due to the fact that I always vote for the losing team,
support the losing
cause, watch the TV shows destined to be
cancelled. So this year I'm not going to work for World Peace. Maybe
that will help.
Brad
Listi's book will be released soon. ADD.
Buy it.
Anticipation has set in for the 22nd Annual SDSU Writers'
Conference. I have never attended a writers' conference
before, thus have little to say about it.
I've begun a blog. Phronemophobia: the
American Plague. It will be updated even more often than this
site because hey, it's a blog. It needs to be fed.
I've also begun the next novel. Tentatively titled Missing:
A Novel, browsers of this site will know that an early draft
already won an award
or two. I am expanding the story, adding complexity (but not at the
expense of clarity) to its structure, and aim to finish it this fall.
It's set in a San Diego neighborhood in February, 2002 and explores the
lives of residents coping with personal tragedy in the aftermath of
September 11, 2001. Remember when patriotism came to mean SUVs with
flag or ribbon magnets
on them? Remember your neighbor who used dishwashing gloves to retrieve
her mail because of anthrax
fears? Remember that longing for a simpler, economically stable time?
Yeah, you remember.
November 30, 2005
The thesis has landed.
Yes, on Monday past I turned in my thesis. Red vinyl cover,
gold lettering on the spine. USC colors. Go team. I've never been
particularly sentimental about things like graduation, school spirit,
or turning in theses. But I have to admit that it was thrilling to hand
over two pristine copies to Dr. Ragan and say, "look what I did!" (To
which he responded, with a smile, "it's too long!") And it's always
nice when others are enthusiastic about the work.
So, thank you to MPW.
It took forever to find a place that could bind its copious
pages without requiring a purchase of 25 copies or more, and in the end
I went to the business recommended by MPW. A-1
Bookbindery. They don't have a webpage for linking but I
highly recommend them for all your Southern California book binding
needs.
My diploma won't arrive for several months. I'll probably
forget all about it between now and then.
November 15, 2005
A few noteworthy items, but first, my apologies for not
updating sooner. I shall ignore the echoes of my apology as they waver
down my empty back alley of the net.
The first chapter of The Book of Traveling Into the
Sun was named a finalist in Byline Magazine's
recent First Chapter Contest. It was one of fourteen finalists and
winners out of 128 entries. Byline Magazine is new to me, but so far
intriguing as it features information on craft as well as publishing
creative works.
And speaking of the novel, the "thesis draft" is completed.
(Yes, I found an ending that satisfies me.) I am fact-checking for
continuity and will take it to the printer tomorrow for binding. Once
the book has been handed over to James Ragan, dean of the Master of
Professional Writing Program, I plan to take a little break from the
text, then return to it for one final revision before querying agents.
It must be as perfect as I can make it before I ask professionals to
look at it.
I am approachable
again, and thanks to those of you who contacted me via the weblink.
It's nice to hear from you, whether you're a writer, a friend, or a
fellow "kaytie."
September 5, 2005
Okay, so I'm not quite as approachable as I thought. Due to
the manipulations of some sort of cyber-robot, we had to temporarily
shut down the contact page. I shall post here when it is updated.
Also noteworthy: the Precious Time
anthology has seen some setbacks, so my short story, "One Moment," has
become available for publication.
September 4, 2005
I am approachable.
The first draft of my novel is done. I'm revising and
researching agents so it can't be said that the hard work is over, but
at least my graduation requirement is fulfilled. Still, completion is a
reason to celebrate. As the bar patrons eight floors below me shout
nearly every night, woooooot!
The Hubert Selby Jr. documentary (see below) was accepted to
the Deauville
American Film Festival. Yesterday was its world premiere. I
wish I could say I was posting this news from a French hotel room, but
I am not. Congratulations to director Michael W. Dean for producing a
quality film about a quality individual.
Congratulations, too, for Salvadore Plascencia and his book, The
People of Paper which is receiving almost impossibly positive
reviews. Almost impossible, because the book really is as brilliant as
they say. It's also a beautiful object, for those interested in
aesthetics. I had the pleasure of meeting Sal in T.C. Boyle's workshop,
to which Sal brought pages from The People of Paper.
If you get the chance, go to one of his readings--he has not only
changed the taste of fiction, but he has refreshed the authorial
reading experience as well. Bring lettuce.
And, as mentioned elsewhere on this site, you can (and you
must) pre-order Brad Listi's debut, Attention.
Deficit. Disorder.
Go. Do. Read.
June 6, 2005
How deadlines slip! How endings take longer than expected to
unfold! Here it is, the first week of June, and I still haven't
finished the novel. In my defense, I moved from point A to point B with
800 miles in between. But is that a defense or just an excuse? Maybe
it's a fact, and I should get over it and write.
The good news is that this week I have started what I know
to be the last chapter. Once that's done, I plan to take a short break
and write a story that has been percolating for several months now.
Then the editing begins. I plan to revise the draft once, then send it
to a few choice readers for their educated opinions. I'll research
agents as I wait for them.
The trailer for Hubert
Selby Jr.: It/ll be better tomorrow, is now available to view
online.
I'm looking forward to the 17th annual San Diego Open Air Book
Fair on June 12. Despite the fact that it has happened 16
times already, I've never heard of it, and I've lived in San Diego for
six of the last ten years. The only other semi-related event to look
forward to in the near future is the San Diego
Comic-Con in July, but I'm sure it will be 79% Star Wars this
year.
In writing news, the opening story from Missing: A
Novel in Short Stories has been accepted to an anthology
tentatively titled Precious Time. Editor and
founder of the Emerging
Writers Network, Dan Wickett, selected "One Moment" and is
currently shopping his manuscript around. There is still a chance that
my story won't make the final cut once the anthology has been accepted
by a publisher (and it will). I'm optimistic. It would be so like me to
have a story anthologized before I have been traditionally published.
Have you checked out the
litblog co-op yet?
Get down with the LBC. You don't read enough as it is.
March 24, 2005
The sun is finally out after several weeks of cloud-cover. It
will probably last all afternoon, and disappear again once the weekend
is here. Either way, it won't matter, as I am on a strict deadline for
the thesis. I got to page 350 today. Two and a half chapters to go...
The goal is to finish before the Los
Angeles Times Festival
of Books, also known as my favorite holiday, this year to be
held on April 23 and 24 on UCLA's campus. The panels and panelists have
yet to be announced on their website, but I'd like to go to see T.C.
Boyle this time, and I hear that Steve Almond will also be there with
his newest release. I'll visit the abebooks.com booth
to pick up a complimentary fan (they're so smart!), as it is sure to be
a scorcher that weekend. It always is. But I don't care: when else will
I have the opportunity to mingle with authors and thousands of people
who actually like to read? (Autograph hounds notwithstanding.)
I love the Festival of Books. And since I can't go to the AWP
conference this year, I shall have to make twice as much out
of my book-buying bonanza.
Completely unrelated, I attended the Phi Kappa Phi Honors
Convention at USC on March 10th where I received a Student Recognition
Award as mentioned below. A very classy event--I had no idea. They gave
me a golden (but not gold) medal to wear at graduation and an
illuminated, calligraphied document signed by USC's president, Steven
Sample.
Back to the novel. Strange...the closer I get to the hard and
fast deadline, (and the more I follow current events these days...if I
blogged, I'd have a thing or two to say!) the more I find myself
daydreaming about my next Hawaiian vacation. I actually pine for Maui,
for our favorite bed&breakfast, Hooilo House,
with its ocean views, outdoor showers, gorgeous rooms...my happy place.
Aloha,
Kaytie
February 28, 2005
So I've had this domain name for (sadly) about four years,
and I've only just put content up on it in earnest. That means
everything on this site is new. Hopefully the new-car smell is mostly
gone. If not, let me know--I'll hang another pine-scented tree cut-out
from the rearview mirror.
On March 10, 2005, I will receive a Student Recognition Award
from the University of Southern California's chapter of Phi Kappa Phi
for my manuscript, Missing: A Novel in Short Stories.
Should be a fun event. Turns out I was allowed a table for eight all to
myself, so I coerced my parents and my close friends to join me; the
alternative was to invite the proverbial celebrities I'd "love to have
dinner with" even if it meant ultimately dining alone.
Information about this site can be found on the About page.
Uncut versions of the pictures used on this site will be
placed on the Media
page as soon as my webmaster gets around to it. The pictures were taken
over the course of eight years by my friend and personal photographer,
Marc Studer. Our arrangement works out well--he gets a willing guinea
pig and I get cool black and white photographs.
I've been working like mad on The Book of Traveling
Into the Sun, my thesis project for the Master of
Professional Writing Degree I should receive come May, provided I meet
all my deadlines. It would help if I spent my free time writing it
rather than creating this web site, but then, procrastination has
always played a role in my creation process.
January 1, 2005
Made New Year's resolution to put content on this site. Check.
Next up: World Peace.
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