"25 Things Writers Should Know About Agents"

2012-01-24T08:18:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-19T11:07:00.001-05:00

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

2012-01-18T18:10:00.000-05:00

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 ...)

Sara J. Henry: Sara in Vermont

"25 Things Writers Should Know About Agents"

Well, This is Pretty Cool

Why I Love to Hear from Readers