tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606113896837719912024-02-20T17:41:10.807-08:00Kristin's HomesteadKristin Marrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18094154040083982997noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60611389683771991.post-11578468470845613802011-03-21T11:55:00.000-07:002011-03-21T11:59:43.868-07:00The Risk of Publishing<div>Every time I think about my new book, 78 KEYS, coming out in May, I’m filled with excitement tinged with dread. The excitement part is easy to diagnose. What writer wouldn’t be excited to see her book in print, a creation emerging directly from somewhere within her brain and heart? Just the thought of my words being read by many people whom I know, but mostly don’t, thrills me.</div>
<br /><div><br />So the dread? Ah, the dread. It’s not the fear that people won’t like the book. That’s a given. I’ve been a voracious reader my entire life. I’ve read many a book that came with heartfelt recommendations only to find the book didn’t please me for some reason. Books are a matter of taste, mood, chemistry and simpatico. If the reader doesn’t match with the book, it’s a matter out of the writer’s control.</div>
<br /><div><br />78KEYS came from a churning place within me, a place more cerebral but in some ways more spiritual than WIND AND BONES. W&B was a book of the heart, arising from all my losses in Montana: parents, home, land and friends. 78KEYS gives voice to my dismay at our current anti-intellectual, photo-shopped culture and its ramifications for our inner lives.<br /></div>
<br /><div>Does that mean the book isn’t fun? Oh, hell no. It’s an exciting little read that I like to call elastic realism. Will readers feel comfortable with it and the way it stretches the bounds of our mind-controlled existence? And then there is the use of tarot cards, a subject where interpretations are as differing as each reader of cards. How many emails will I get that disagree with my card interpretations?</div>
<br /><div><br />Oh, and let’s not forget the Yiddish. Yiddish? The book is peppered with Yiddish because my character was raised in a Yiddish speaking household. I love the language. It’s truly a language of onomatopoeia, the words sounding like their definition. The Yiddish in 78KEYS is a deep bow of love to all my Jewish in-laws, but it’s equally an acknowledgement to the Jewish lesbian readers who rarely see themselves in lesbian fiction. I just hope they go easy on my Yiddish spelling. Every farshtinkener time I’d look up a spelling, three or more versions would taunt me, leaving me fartootst. So I did the best I could.</div>
<br /><div><br />And finally, not with dread but with awe, I have to admit deep gratitude to my editor, Cindy Cresap. She had me rip the book in half and rewrite one half. And what a better book it is because of that. Had we kept the book in its original structure, dread would be keeping me at home, cowering under my desk.</div>
<br /><div><br />As it is, I can function with this small amount of dread coupled with excitement. And I suppose that makes me no different than any writer in the world who will see her creation on the shelves in a few months.<br /> </div>Kristin Marrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18094154040083982997noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60611389683771991.post-1837410260668825882010-07-13T21:12:00.000-07:002010-07-13T21:15:11.918-07:00A SCREAM OF DELIGHT!<div><span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS;color:#800080;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Okay Folks,<br />Read below and see why I'm the happiest writer in Seattle today.<br />Thank you to the Sapphic Readers of Austin. I always heard you had a cool city; now I'm convinced of it.<br /></span><br />Hi Kristin,</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS;color:#800080;">Congratulations! <em>Wind and Bones</em> is the winner of the 2010 Sapphic Readers' Award! This award is given annually by a local LesFic reading group. Criteria for the award includes:</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS;color:#800080;">original storyline</span></div> <div><span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS;color:#800080;">believable plot</span></div> <div><span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS;color:#800080;">well developed characters</span></div> <div><span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS;color:#800080;">superior writing style</span></div> <div><span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS;color:#800080;">quality entertainment</span></div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS;color:#800080;">The Sapphic Reading Group has been in existence for over six years. It has 18 members from Austin and nearby cities. The Group meets monthly to discuss our favorite lesbian fiction. Three years ago, we decided to recognize new authors who have published an outstanding novel. The first winner was another BoldStrokes' author, KI Thompson.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS;color:#800080;">The Sapphic Readers' Award is our thanks to you for giving us many enjoyable hours of entertainment. It includes a very modest check and a personalized plaque created by a local ceramic artist. Although it will take about six weeks before the plaque is ready, please feel free to publicize this award.</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS;color:#800080;">On a personal note, I'm especially pleased that <em>Wind and Bones</em> won the award. My partner and I spent a wonderful week at the Hole-in-the-Wall Ranch west of Missoula a couple of years ago. Your descriptions of the local culture and geography made us feel as if we were back in Montana!</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS;color:#800080;">Best wishes in future endeavors!</span></div> <div><span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS;color:#800080;">Yvette</span></div> <div> </div>Kristin Marrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18094154040083982997noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60611389683771991.post-51359545632237445872010-05-31T20:11:00.000-07:002010-05-31T20:43:50.104-07:00Which Character is Who?It's becoming apparent that lots of great questions get fired at authors, most of them pretty much the same ones. I like it when people ask these questions; it shows interest in my work. It's fun to answer them because each time is a little different, and I see the work in a different light. Besides, I'm a teacher; I love to answer questions. I do it all day long.<br /><br />However there are three questions that catch me short every time, and they are related to each other.<br /> 1. Am I in your book?<br /> 2. Is that character __________? (insert name of a friend or acquaintance)<br /> 3. Will you put me in your next book?<br /><br />Sorry to say, at least for this writer.....it just doesn't work that way. Nobody in my last book, or in the book I'm currently writing, is specifically someone I know. I couldn't do that. If I did, my character would have to behave against my wishes and plans for him/her.<br /><br />I love building a character, her/his biography, foibles, desires, physical appearance, idiosyncrasies, etc. I'm sure I draw all this information from those around me, but it's fairly unconscious and non-specific.<br /><br />Granted, I will ask my wise girlfriend to explain my why a particular character would respond a particular way. My partner is an experienced psychotherapist who studies human motivation all the time. She will sometimes give me a childhood sketch for someone who could turn out like I want one of my characters to turn out. That helps to create a coherent biography and make a character's behavior logical.<br /><br />But I never use specifically anyone I know to create a complete character. And probably, if writers did such things, there would be lots of nasty lawsuits to contend with. I remember when Rita Mae Brown wrote that tennis novel ostensibly as an indictment against Martina Navratilova and the world of pro tennis. As I remember, there was kind of a flap about that. Who needs it?<br /><br />So, folks, you don't know my characters and they don't know you. Hopefully, that's not too disappointing. But really, it should be freeing. Now you can read my book without wondering where you are in there. Just enjoy the read.Kristin Marrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18094154040083982997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60611389683771991.post-26497091805770340422010-05-15T10:49:00.000-07:002010-05-15T11:08:52.350-07:00How could I forget? EasyOne time Paul McCartney was making an "unplugged" solo version of "We Can Work It Out." He got several bars into the song and then stopped. He couldn't remember the words. One of the greatest pop composers of all time, and he couldn't remember the words of his own song. The first time I heard that gaff, I was aghast. But now, a few decades from my dotage, I unfortunately understand.<br /><br />That forgetfulness has been cropping up around Wind and Bones. People mention lines they enjoyed, and I respond, "Did I say that?" I'm really thrilled when people have something memorable to quote from the book...it pleases me to no end...but sometimes, I don't remember writing it....much less editing it a dozen times.<br /><br />So why is this happening...this geriatric-like forgetfulness? Because all I can think about these days is my current project.<br /><br />I'm so steeped in <span style="font-weight: bold;">78 KEYS</span> that Wind and Bones has taken a back seat. My new project pushes all else out of my mind. I'm thinking about Tarot cards again, after so many years of the cards languishing in the drawer. I'm thinking about settings in the Pacific Northwest that would be interesting as well as thrilling. My main character is Jewish, so I have to get her right. AND most of all, I have to write the damn thing. It's coming along; it's coming along, but not as quickly as I had hoped. Rad hopes to have it out a year from now, so I've got to write...and write....and write.<br /><br />Paul McCartney, I forgive you for forgetting the words to a song I love. I know you were thinking about your next project.<br /><br />Now let's all hum a few bars of "We Can Work It Out."Kristin Marrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18094154040083982997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60611389683771991.post-24991384395918765932010-05-10T12:28:00.000-07:002010-05-10T13:01:05.605-07:00Backroom BluesA thousand years ago, I worked at K-Mart in Missoula, Montana. One of our managers (he always said good morning in German) clucked at me when I was slow to unpack certain merchandise and get it onto the showroom shelves. "Kristin, you can't sell what's in the backroom," he said. One of those little nuggets of wisdom that has followed me through my life...and I can't even remember the guy's name.<br /><br />So now my book is out. No longer anticipated but really out there for sale. Besides my publisher, who does what she can, I am responsible to get the book out of the backroom. So folks ask me why I'm not reading in a bookstore? Where are the bookstore debuts?<br /><br />Well, guess what, folks, there are<span style="font-weight: bold;"> no</span> bookstores.<br /><br />Yeah, there are B&N and other large Seattle bookstores. But why invite a first-time novelist of lesbian romances when they can get Sarah Waters, Alice Walker, or anyone else who'll draw a crowd? I've tried contacting a few of those bookstores and don't even get the old F.O. from them. The last gay friendly bookstore closed last year. Oh, not that those big bookstores are gay unfriendly...quite the opposite...but Sarah Waters, Alice Walker and the other big names need to visit bookstores too. So they get to have the readings and signings.<br /><br />The rest of us have to use the networks we've built over the years, web-based or otherwise. And, frankly, I'm so grateful we at least have this medium for book promotion. I'm hoping to use it to the max but am not sure what else I can do besides this and Facebook.<br /><br />Therefore, if anyone has any suggestions for more web-based promotional activities, feel free to let me know. I want to keep my book out of the backroom and get it on a front shelf.<br /><br />Another topic I want to briefly mention: Star-Crossed Productions, an online lesbian book dealer, has, sadly, gone out of business. I want to thank all those people at SCP who sent me books over the years. They were professional, prompt and hassle-free. I mourn their closing and the loss of those delicious packages full of books arriving at my door. Adieu, Star-Crossed ProductionsKristin Marrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18094154040083982997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60611389683771991.post-53999631414820049392010-05-06T20:37:00.000-07:002010-05-06T20:44:35.866-07:00Coincidence?Mom taught me how to read when I was four, and I never stopped. She had me reading classic literature before most girls get addicted to Nancy Drew. My mother always wanted me to be a writer.<br />She never really saw that part of me realized...or did she?<br />Yesterday, 12 days earlier than expected, both my sisters received my book from wherever they ordered it. Yesterday was also the 4th anniversary of my mom's death.<br />Thanks, MomKristin Marrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18094154040083982997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60611389683771991.post-29351303820078179942010-04-25T09:13:00.000-07:002010-04-25T10:01:03.673-07:00Please excommunicate me.Things may be stagnant at this site, but not so anywhere else in life right now.<br /><br />I've received my 10 comp. copies of Wind and Bones....in which I wrote every fucking word.<br />A book, with my name on the cover....and I did it. The kick-ass cover by Sheri starts many a conversation in this house.<br /><br />Gill McKnight, my writer friends and excellent beta-reader wrote the sweetest review of Wind and Bones on her blog.<a href="http://www.gillmcknight.com/">http://www.gillmcknight.com/</a><br /><br />And if you want a blast reading some paranormal books, you have to try Gill's two werewolf novels: <strong>Golden Seal</strong> and <strong>Ambereye</strong>. Sexy, funny and chilling. What more could you want? I can't read Gill's books when Jude is asleep next to me because my guffaws wake her up. Actually, I can't read Gills books late at night because I can't go to sleep until I find out what happens.<br /><br />So, what's next for this writer? Well, I'm working on a new novel, scheduled to be out a year from now. It's entitled <strong>78 Keys </strong>and draws on my deep dark past as a Tarot card reader. It's set in the Pacific Northwest. The cover, after lots of feedback from family and friends, has been chosen. Damn, I'd better write the darn thing.<br /><br />If you're a happy Catholic, skip the next part of this blog. This is all about me, not you.<br /><br />My upmost project has nothing to do with writing. I learned that the Catholic Church still counts me on its rolls. Apparently, as long as you haven't been excommunicated, they keep you on their rolls until you die. No wonder they brag about their numbers. They're counting folks who haven't been to church in decades.....including me. That frosted my ass.<br /><br />I have not wanted to be a Catholic since second grade, exactly 50 years ago. I assumed that if I wasn't giving them money or registered in one of their parishes, I wasn't considered Catholic. Not so....unless they boot me out, I'm one of them....even if they really don't want me....and we all know they don't. I'm hoping that something I've wanted for 50 years will finally come to pass. I want all of myself, all of my power back from them, an institution I find intrinsically bogus and, at times, evil. Sorry to all you believers...remember this is about me, not you.<br /><br />I became motivated to get officially excommunicated. There are several steps in the process but it starts with writing a letter to the parish where I've been baptised and confirmed. Luckily for me, they are one and the same. I had to write a letter requesting excommunication and send it to my Shelby, Montana parish. gulp. I have not done this lightly or as a frolic. The little girl who was forced-fed damaging dogma still resides within me. However, I know what's right for me and where I want to put all my spiritual energy....and it's not with the Catholic Church.<br /><br />I have decided to post my request on this blog and give you updates. After being notarized, the following letter was sent to St. William Parish, Shelby, Montana, USA on April 22, 2010 by registered letter.<br /><br />April 11, 2010<br />Dear Father Drury,<br /><br />Before I make my request for excommunication from the Catholic Church, be assured that I am of sound mind and body. I am a consenting adult, fifty seven years old. I will have this letter notarized as proof of its authenticity and sincerity.<br /><br />I was born in Shelby, Montana on March 10, 1953. My parents were Sam and Jeanette Marra, now deceased. I was baptized in St. William Church at the customary time subsequent to my birth with my god-parents attending, William and Francis Neely, now deceased.<br /><br />I attended St. William School from fall 1959 to spring of 1967. I received first communion at St. William in approximately 1960 and was confirmed at St. William in approximately 1966.<br />When I was in grade school at St. William, I witnessed and was victim of several sessions of verbal, emotional and physical abuse. I will be happy to supply names and approximate dates of such events upon your request. I was also slapped several times for asking questions about God or church doctrine. By second grade, I had decided that the church was no place for me; however, I continued to attend school because I had no choice, of course. My parents believed in church doctrine, and they felt I was lucky to be at a Catholic school.<br /><br />My lack of belief at an early age also accompanied the knowledge that I was different. Back then I didn’t have the language for it except for “evil”, “sinful”, “of the devil”, “perverted”, and other degrading terms. So from the age of five, I knew I was a lesbian but had nothing but church terms to define me. And, as you know, those terms are still the same. Fortunately, I no longer subscribe to such brutality and love myself completely.<br /><br />I am appalled that the church can call me such hateful names, but act as an apologist for the thousands of priests who preyed upon children. One such priest, and maybe more, even served at St. William.<br /><br />There was a period of time, even though the church hates gay people, when I considered going back to mass. I thought having a place to pray with a group would be helpful. Then the church elected Cardinal Ratzinger as pope, a man whose vicious career I had been following since 1980, and all plans for returning to the church were dead to me. This will never change now.<br /><br />Let me be specific, Father Drury.<br /><br />1. I don’t believe that God is a father or mother.<br />2. I renounce that Jesus is his only son. We are all children of God.<br />3. I renounce the doctrine of the holy spirit.<br />4. I renounce the doctrine of the virgin birth.<br />5. I renounce the doctrine that Jesus descended into hell and rose three days later.<br />6. In fact, I renounce the complete doctrine of Jesus, especially since 90% of it was made up three hundred years after his death and added to as it suited popes to consolidate power.<br />7. I renounce any doctrine fomented by the so-called “apostle” Paul who never laid eyes on Jesus.<br />8. I renounce the communion of saints.<br />9. I renounce the church’s doctrine of forgiveness as it is selective and cruel.<br />10. I renounce the doctrine of original sin, heaven, hell and purgatory.<br />11. I renounce all the sacraments of the church as they are exclusionary.<br />12. I especially renounce the doctrine of papal infallibility.<br /><br />Let me just give a blanket renunciation of the church and its entire body of doctrine from birth control to marriage. My belief is the church has caused more harm and suffering to the world, over the last two millennia, than any other political or religious movement in history. If you want me to supply dates and examples, I will be happy to do so. Suffice to say, an objective study of history would prove me correct.<br /><br />I see nothing in the church’s future that portends a change in its wanton effort to oppress and mislead millions of people throughout the world, but now especially, the under-educated and needy in places like Africa and South America. It is shameful.<br /><br />And so, Father Drury, I request, no, I plead that you start proceedings to excommunicate me from the church. I do not ever intend to return. I do not want the final sacrament at the time of my death. I do not believe in the church’s teachings, and I am ashamed to have my name attached to it, even tangentially.<br /><br />Please notify me as soon as possible that you have started my process of excommunication from the Catholic Church and official removal from its rolls. I do not want to be counted.<br />Thank you for an immediate response,<br /><br />Kristin Eleanor Marra <br /><br />And there you have it, folks, my damnation into hell. However, considering the dogma I was taught, I'll be meeting most of you there. I'll bring a nice bottle of Bordeaux....oh, hell, we'll need several cases of Bordeaux.....and port....and gin.......................Kristin Marrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18094154040083982997noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60611389683771991.post-26728252745007583932010-01-05T05:55:00.000-08:002010-01-05T06:19:55.960-08:00Writing SexOkay, so the big anxiety about my book is that it has sex in it. Graphic sex. Between girls.<br />It was challenging to write because it had to be how my characters would do "it." I really had to get in their heads and have sex as them. Okay, I admit, it was fun and a little arousing, even for this old bird.<br /><br />But the thing that bothers me is that family members and mere acquaintances will read this ditty, including the sexual passages. I voiced my concern to Jude the other day because her parents will read the book. She said we just have to hold our heads up and move on. She's not nearly as worried as I am.<br /><br />In writing a sex scene, I had to straddle the line between porn and yawn. I'm sure some elements of society will see it as porn but few would yawn. I also realized sex has to be written the same way an action scene is constructed....no serial compound-complex sentences. Snapshots and close-ups, not panoramas.<br /><br />And then there is the placing of sex scenes. If the protagonist has sex too soon with the main love interest, the tension is broken and the reader gets bored. If sex happens too late, some readers will throw in the towel. If they do have to wait, then it had better be good and not a wimpy and dry they-closed-the-bedroom-door-and-loved-each-other-until-dawn.<br /><br />I've read scads of lesbian romances to learn the best flow of the plot....and I think I have the sex timing down. But, damn, I've had to read some really bad stuff along the way. I've come to believe that soft-soaping the sex is just plain chicken shit. I know there are readers who skip the sex scenes, and that's their option. But there are also readers who read just for those scenes. Those are the readers I wrote for....they'll get their wet pages from me. Why not?Kristin Marrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18094154040083982997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60611389683771991.post-32459271563449623512009-12-27T08:57:00.000-08:002009-12-27T09:28:10.534-08:00How do they do it?My big question of the moment, only of the moment, is how do bloggers keep up with their blogs? Don't they have jobs, housekeeping, car maintenance, pet care, child care, bills to pay, grocery shopping, and hundreds of other life duties to perform?<br /><br />I just checked the last time I updated this blog and shame, oh shame, it's been way too long. Luckily readers are few, so anticipation is almost nil. Hopefully, though, after Wind and Bones comes out, I'll pick up readers and blog focus. I'll get with the program.<br /><br />On Solstice, I sent the last revision of Wind and Bones to my editor, the intrepid Cindy Cresap. She doesn't seem all that concerned about the Jan. 1 deadline....like she thinks we can get 'er done. So I suppose we will.<br /><br />It was ass-busting to revise, but damn, I leaned lots about fiction writing. I would never have believed that I, the composition teacher, would be guilty of verb tense issues. Who me? I've railed to my students for years about their sloppy verb tenses. And, holy shit, there they were in black and white, my own personal verb tense errors. <span style="font-size:78%;">blush</span><br /><br />And then there was a whole plot piece that had to get deleted. A great back story wiped out, sent to the teeming fiction trash bin of history. And the book is better for it...tighter. I eliminated a character too...at my own discretion...wiped him off the whiteboard of characters with nary a blink. God, I was playing God...loved it.<br /><br />And then I needed to up the sexual tension at the beginning and mitigate my protagonist's obsessive thoughts about a honey bunny from the past. Plus, I completely erased a six page info dump about Montana farming history....fascinating only to me, I guess.<br /><br />And the book is better. That's what editors are for.<br /><br />So now I have to think of all the folks I'm supposed to thank for this endeavor and write an acknowledgement paragraph. How can I remember everyone that helped? I'll feel rotten if I leave someone out who deserves a kudo. I guess it's inevitable.<br /><br />And poor Jude and Rachel. My long-suffering but infinitely supportive family who frequently do without me. How do I make it up to them? AND all the times in the future because there are more books coming. Two more for now, anyway. How do I thank my family...even the dog?<br /><br />Ah well, I suppose all writers have the same conundrums. Stephen King said that once you become a writer, you've pretty much left "polite society." That's true in more ways than one, let me tell you. But that's for another blog post, I think.<br /><br />And that brings me full circle to the demands of blog maintenance. With W&B almost in the printing phase, I think blogging will improve at this site. Of course, talk's cheap.Kristin Marrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18094154040083982997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60611389683771991.post-1999314630820024802009-09-26T21:29:00.000-07:002009-09-26T21:47:59.685-07:00How?I've been thinking about Victorian novelists lately. The Russians too. Those lengthy, juicy stories full of diverse characters. Dickens, Eliot, Tolstoy and scores of others. They produced their massive books without computers or even typewriters. How, oh how, in the world did they do it?<br /><br />This tricky tricky business of writing fiction is treacherous. Details escape the writer as she barrels through her story. Was that character 36 or 37 years old? Does my timeline match with her age? Oh shit, this timeline makes her 39 years old. Is that too old? Should I go back and change the timing? Is her mom's name Harriet or Henrietta? Where did I write that? What page? And what was that attorney's car? Was it a Jag or Alph Romero?<br /><br />And then there's the issue of character creation. How to make the character realistic. In the current tarot novel I'm working on, my secondary characters were far more interesting that my lead. That's dismaying. I've re-written her 4 times...and now I have her nailed....but my computer was all-important. I'm learning to write the bios of my characters before I start. A basic technique, I know, but in my arrogance, I felt I could forego. And I store the bios on my computer.<br /><br />Which takes me back to my original question. With all those setting details, plot consistencies, character traits to organize, how did Dickens, Eliot, Tolstoy, et.al. do it? I've always loved the old novels, the ones most people won't read today, but my deep respect for those writers has only grown as I venture down this pothole riddled road of fiction writing.<br /><br />Maybe I should just stick to tenure reports and master course outlines.Kristin Marrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18094154040083982997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60611389683771991.post-14079563066815587472009-09-14T16:53:00.000-07:002009-09-14T17:09:23.060-07:00Autumn malaiseI think all teachers have it in one form or another....the fall freakout.<br />And I think we all get through it....one way or another. For me, it involves a reminder of what a great job I have and all the fabulous students and colleagues that come with the territory.<br /><br />But this fall is different. Now I'm a writer. Oh shit. What did I get myself into? I can barely read my own work. Soon it will be out in black and white print with a vaguely lurid glossy cover (a cover I happen to like a lot). And OTHER PEOPLE will read my writing. STRANGERS, not my loving, encouraging friends. Well, I'm just not going to think about that today.<br /><br />So what comes first? The writing or the job? I don't worry about the family; they are so much a part of me that they get the best of me. But which....the writing or the job?Kristin Marrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18094154040083982997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60611389683771991.post-4369513690616064002009-08-30T21:01:00.000-07:002009-08-30T21:29:06.828-07:00Teeth-grindingSo today Radclyffe, the president of Bold Strokes Books, sent 4 possible covers for my book. Talk about a close-your-eyes-and-point process. Well, not really. Every choice seemed off except the one that was quite different from the others. And, to me, that was the one that best reflected the atmosphere of the books. Rad even liked one that was different. And, gosh-oh-gosh, I had to speak up for my favorite. And she was okay with that. A few years ago I would have deferred.<br />And, of course, now I'm nervous about the choice.<br /><br />All choices had blacktop highway and mountains except one. I wanted dirt road and prairie. We came out somewhere in between. It also includes a leather-clad female leg with an automatic rifle resting against it. It works and I'm happpy. Hopefully, it will be interesting enough to attract a few extra readers besides my friends and family.<br /><br />Lately, I've been dealing with people who judge all artistic endeavors by the amount of money made by the creative work.<br />"Oh, she makes indie films? Does she get paid for them?"<br />"He's a poet? How much money did his book make?"<br />"Well, has she ever sold any of her short stories?"<br />"You make pots? You should sell them at art fairs."<br />"I hope you negotiated a decent contract with your publisher."<br /><br />Nancy Pearl (America's great librarian and professional book reader) says that books make money from luck and "fairy dust." She said, just the other day, that it's a mystery why some books become famous while other books that are better, or just as worthy, go unnoticed.<br /><br />Can't people just create for the sake of creating? Why do we Americans only value artistic work that has monetary value?<br /><br />And I know my book will be judged by the number of copies it sells or by how much my publisher pays me. Frankly, I really don't need the money. I have a great job already. And since Wind and Bones is clearly a niche book, I'll be happy with a few strangers reading it. I already expect my friends to buy it....not necessarily read it, though. Reading is optional.<br /><br />So, hopefully, I won't get that teeth-grinding question: "How much you makin' off yer book, Marra?" Because the answer will be a shrug and a smile and the questioner will go unsatisfied. But he/she will walk away thinking the book has no value because it's not making me rich.<br /><br />"Oh, what a world, what a world..."Kristin Marrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18094154040083982997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60611389683771991.post-80429161006441713622009-08-21T13:30:00.000-07:002009-08-21T13:52:15.789-07:00Treading WaterI know, a cliche for my title. Can't be helped, though, because that's how I feel.<br />My book is in the expected stasis between editorial review and revision. In short, I'm waiting to hear from my editor, and she informs me it will be mid-September. Right when I go back to work, of course. But that's the way it works, and I'll sit it out patiently. She said we are on schedule....whatever that means. I'm such a newbie.<br /><br />Here's what's really cool: the Bold Strokes community of writers. After getting wonderful "welcome aboard" emails from several BSB writers, I've been invited to join a BSB book group. And their communication with me has been full of humor, so I'm not too worried that my sometimes provocative jokes will alienate me....much. We meet on Sept. 12, my sainted father's birthday, and I'll just have to overcome my social anxiety. Breathe...breathe...and remember these gals are writers and probably have some of the same shyness I have. If they supply me with a white board and markers, maybe I'll feel right at home.<br /><br />In the meantime, my mind is working over the plot for a Wind and Bones sequel. I've got most of it outlined. And here's what I'm wringing my hands over: a title. I love the Wind and Bones title and feel like I won't think of anything I like better than that. What to do? What to do? I want something evocative of the area in north Glacier Park. How 'bout "Cold and Lonely"? Or maybe "Stolen Native Land". Don't think those are catchy.<br /><br />My novel about the tarot reader has come to a stop because I'm not working on the conditions of tarot-land. I need to build another world....how the hell do fantasy and sci-fi writers to it? That's my big challenge. I've read the 10 pages that I've written, and it's actually pretty good. I know how the plot is supposed to go, but I have to create another world for portions of the book. Cripes. (I can't believe I used that weird expletive)<br /><br />So, my sister asked for a new post....hope this works, Shell.<br />Be back after all next week's visiting relatives have returned to their homes and Rachel is snuggly deposited into 5th grade.Kristin Marrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18094154040083982997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60611389683771991.post-54267287783143291352009-07-25T12:49:00.000-07:002009-07-25T12:51:21.122-07:00Bold Strokes Books press release. How cool is that?July 24, 2009 Press Release: New Title from Kristin Marra<br /><br /> Bold Strokes Books is pleased to announce the acquisition of Kristin Marra’s new romantic intrigue novel, Wind and Bones, which is scheduled for release in 2010.<br /><br />Wind and Bones – Coming in 2010<br /><br />Women, funerals, guns, and rattlesnakes. What could go wrong?<br /><br />Jill O’Hara, award-winning journalist and inveterate egotist, is about to find out. When Jill is summoned to her hometown of Prairie View, Montana to bury her father and clean up his messes, she assumes a few tedious days of signing papers and delegating responsibilities will complete her obligations. But Jill’s duties as Dean O’Hara’s daughter soon become less mundane and more menacing. To complicate matters, Jill’s first love, Annie Doyle, lives in Prairie View and despite Annie’s blistering past betrayal, Jill still desires her. Fortunately, Sheriff Rae Terabian, a woman with a uniform, power, and shady associates, deliciously distracts Jill from her obsession with Annie.<br /><br />Amidst her customary confusion over women, Jill is forced to confront her father’s treacherous legacy, battle the extremes of the northern Montana wilds, and face down survivalists bent on silencing her. Despite the remote location and severe peril, she discovers the possibility for one more chance at love.<br /><br />About the Author<br />Kristin Marra spent the first thirty-five years of her life in Montana where she never learned to love snow. Conceding defeat, she moved to the Pacific Northwest and freely admits she adores the clouds and gloom. Overcast days encourage delightfully obscene hours of reading and more hours for writing. Besides books, cooking, and movies, Kristin enjoys sharing adventures with her partner Judith, daughter Rachel, and varmint canine Spud. Kristin is employed in the public sector.Kristin Marrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18094154040083982997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60611389683771991.post-58349480591348271052009-07-24T14:59:00.000-07:002009-07-24T15:06:21.155-07:00Tasting my own medicineIt's official: Radclyffe made the announcement from Bold Strokes Books and now I have to deliver the goods.<br /><br />Revision. I'm always harping at my students about the joys of revision. And, boy oh boy, do they hate it when my famous green pen is used at the bottom of their papers, "Better, but re-write using the suggestions I've supplied."<br /><br />Okay, so now I have to joyfully revise in whatever way requested. I sorta think I can do that. I'm wondering if my editor used green font. Poetic justice in that. I can hear my students snickering now.Kristin Marrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18094154040083982997noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60611389683771991.post-66772989333519634082009-07-14T12:54:00.000-07:002009-07-14T13:24:31.451-07:00Why I wrote Wind and BonesHere I was, helping a writer with her fiction, giving opinions and basically telling her what to do with her story. I grew three gray hairs when she asked to see some of my fiction to give her an example of my suggestions.<br /><br />Busted. I hadn't written fiction in years. Studied it...yes. Critiqued it...yes. Got drunk on it...yes.<br /><br />Having just buried my last parent and coming to terms with my childhood in northern Montana, I decided to write a tribute to one of the last forgotten places in the U.S.<br /><br />I have two goals for Wind and Bones: First, to entertain. Second, to share a unique place with the reader.<br /><br />Years of traveling to my hometown, Shelby Montana, to care for failing parents were finally over. I had discovered something important in all those hours in the nursing home, the bars, the hotel. Northern Montana, its geography, history and people, are extraordinary.<br /><br />There was no way to do the Highline (nickname for northern Montana east of the Rockies) justice unless I wrote the only novel I know how: lesbian romance action.<br /><br />Okay, so it's not about homesteaders or cowboys or Indians. Well, not exactly, but all those elements inform the lifestyle on the contemporary Highline. Most lesbian novels about Montana focus on the mythical past, on a Montana that never existed or existed only briefly. I wanted to write about the real Montana that exists now with references to a fascinating past that has shaped its current colorful condition.<br /><br />I wanted to write about the Montana I know; hence, <strong>Wind and Bones</strong>.Kristin Marrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18094154040083982997noreply@blogger.com0