Bittersweetness
Answer for Walt: Yes, I would recommend Mary Stewart to teenagers, assuming they have a tolerance for careful and deliberate scene-setting. As I mentioned in my previous post, Ms. Stewart keeps everything very tasteful. But thrilling. Tasteful but thrilling. I was a teenager myself when I started reading them.
Sunday night I watched Made of Honor with my husband. I think he thought the flick was a little too heavy on the chicky side, but I enjoyed it. On a Sunday night I don’t like to have to think too much about or get too stressed with the movie selection. And this one was the perfect little bit of fluff.
After it was over it had me feeling a little nostalgic for my recently completed novel. The final parts of the movie (and the big, dramatic romantic scene) take place in Scotland, just as they do in my book, and I couldn’t help feeling a little bit excited all over again about the way I’d chosen to end my novel. It’s been months–MONTHS–since I looked at it–months since the agent hunt began, and while I’ve had responses from a few agents (basically telling me that chick-lit is a hard sell right now and I’d need to be a little quirkier), I’ve still not heard from quite a few. But with the gloom-and-doom predictions facing the publishing world, I’m no longer holding my breath. I’m thinking that if I want to get this book out there, I’m going to have to put it out there myself.
Which means one final round of tweaks and edits, a cover design, review submissions, pre-publication hype, etc, etc. Suddenly I’m so very tired. This blog could go crazy in the coming weeks.
11/04/2008 at 9:23 pm
I’ve been wondering about Made of Honor! I might need to rent it and have it playing in the background while I NaNo.
I’ll be excited no matter what way I get to see your next novel! I’ve been waiting and I have no doubt that it’s fantastic.
11/04/2008 at 10:58 pm
Oh, that’s so exciting about your novel! Is there an easy/painless way to make it more women fictiony? Or is that genre a hard sell right now too? Gark. The publishing game and agent hunt…not the fun part of writing, eh?
11/05/2008 at 1:09 am
I wish someone would tell me to be quirkier. Can’t wait for your next book!
11/05/2008 at 4:34 pm
I have Made of Honor on the hold list at the library. Good luck on the agent hunt. How do the classify chick-lit these days anyway?
11/05/2008 at 5:15 pm
go crazy! i thrive on crazy!
11/06/2008 at 3:10 am
Good luck with all the finishing touches. That kind of stuff can be so frustrating!
I must watch that movie!