Maggie Marr

In The Flesh LA: An Erotic Reading Series

2008-08-28T11:43:00.001-07:00

For all those interested and available. Tonight I will be reading at In The Flesh an erotic reading series. Tonight the theme, in celebration of her 50th, is Madonna. As you probably guessed, this event is adult only. The event begins at 7:30 pm and is at the Hustler Hollywood on Sunset. The event is free but a suggested $10 door fee will be donated to the Rape and Incest National Network.
Looking forward to seeing you.
xomm

The Hard Life

2008-08-27T09:42:00.000-07:00

This past week my husband celebrated a birthday...I won't tell you which one (birthday that is, not husband) but I will tell you what we did. We went camping. Not the cushy let's stay in a cabin with running water camping or even the get an rv and sleep in a bed camping. No. We went tent camping. And the ground...it was hard.

Now I never got to camp as a child, my mother was the 'if there isn't air conditioning in the hotel that is roughing it' kind of mom. So when my husband and I were dating, camping and hiking and sitting by the fire seemed exotic and wildly exciting.

I was 26.

I am no longer 26 and the ground is hard. (I've mentioned that right?) So on day one after child number one threw up on me, and child number 2 whined incessantly and the sticky marshmallows and the bugs and the vaulted toilets...no running water. I climbed into our tent ready for some sleep. I lay down, on the ground, and for the first time worried that I might not ever get up. Not because of comfort or exhaustion but because my joints ached and I wasn't sure I had the ability to lift my body from the ground. But of course, being the Mom and this camping trip being my husband's birthday wish I said nothing. I did not sigh as I awakened every two hours my arms numb, hips bruised and I thought ribs cracked. No complaint issued forth from my lips as I shifted and turned attempting to keep my shoulder blade from dislocating. I awoke the next morning and was thankfully able to stand and walk. I exited our tent to the sight of my husband hunched over and hobbling.
"That ground is hard," he said.
"Mmhm," I replied.
I decided late the night before as the coyotes yipped and howled not far from our campsite that I would not be the reason for the Great Outdoorsman to end his birthday adventure early. No I would be stoic, I would be pleasant, I would be achy but I would live.
"I don't remember sleeping on the ground hurting like that," my husband said finally standing upright.
"Nope," I said.
"Maybe..."he looked off into the distance. "Maybe we could go home this evening, you know when the girls are ready to go to sleep."
"And then we can sleep in our own bed?" I asked attempting to keep my joyful tone hidden.
"If that's what you want," my husband asked.
"Sure," I said and realized that I needed to take this hit for the team. My Great Outdoorsman could barely admit his new age, but to admit his body ached and he was too soft to sleep in his tent outdoors was too much. So I did what he needed, my birthday gift to him, I told him I wanted to go home.
xomm

The Smart One by Ellen Meister

2008-08-18T07:35:00.000-07:00

Ellen Meister is one of my cyber-friends and a GCCer too. I read her first book Secret Confessions of The Applewood PTA and loved it, so I'm certain her second book The Smart One will be just as good or better. Ellen was kind enough to answer some question from me about her writing life and her new book.

Tell us about your latest book.

THE SMART ONE is a sister story with a bright voice, a dark crime and more humor than I expected. (Sometimes my characters surprise me!)

The three sisters in this book mix like oil, water and hundred-proof gin . . . a combination that threatens to combust over family tensions, suspected infidelities, a devastating accident, a stunning confession, and the sudden reappearance of their handsome, now all-grown-up former neighbor, Kenny Waxman, who's back in town making his mark as a TV comedy writer.

It seems like the sisters will never understand where their differences begin and their own destructive tendencies end. Then it happens: they discover a decades-old body stuffed inside an industrial drum and begin a bold, heartbreaking, and sometimes hilarious journey that will either bring them together . . . or tear them apart for good.

What pulled you into this story, and as a writer made you think 'I have to write this'?

When I got the idea to explore the ways in which we continue to define--and limit--ourselves by our childhood labels, I knew I had the beginnings of a novel I would want to read. And when I sat down and wrote an experimental chapter and my protagonist's voice emerged, I knew I had the beginning of a novel I wanted to write!

Tell us about your writing process. Do you outline or are you more organic?

It's a combination for me. I start out thinking about the idea for a long time, and then I make notes. In the beginning they're very stream-of-consciousness--just random thoughts about my characters and story. Then a plot begins to emerge, and I start a rough outline. Before too long, though, I have to try my hand at a couple of chapters to get an idea of the voice and pacing, so I can figure out just how much story I'll need to fill a book. After that I go back and finish the outline ... which winds up being a very fluid document that I change as I go along.

What is a typical writing day like for you?

I have three kids, so there's no such thing as a typical day. But I usually get up at 5 am and make myself some strong coffee. Once the caffeine kicks in, I get to work until the children awake. Then, after they leave for school, I'm back to my desk. I have to admit that I'd get a lot more done if I weren't an internet junkie!

For you, what is the most difficult part of being an author?

The writing itself is pretty damned hard ... especially when I have an edit that requires unraveling a lot of my plot. That always makes me want to smash my head against the keyboard. But I have to admit that the most difficult part of the process is all the waiting and anticipation, especially when it involves hearing from an agent or an editor about my precious newborn work.

What do you love about being an author?

Ah, my favorite question ... and so easy to answer! My favorite part is hearing from readers who I've touched in some way. That makes the whole thing worthwhile.

From Pantser to Outliner in 400 pages

2008-08-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

So yes, it's August and yes I've been on a blog sabbatical. But I am pleased to report, I have in fact finished a manuscript. A lovely little rewrite that just about took everything out of me. Not a typical let's polish this up and make it pretty rewrite...oh no no no that would be much too easy. No this rewrite changed the characters, the plot, really it turned a mess of a book into a pretty good manuscript (fingers crossed). But in finishing this manuscript and also in working on my latest YA with a co-writer I've noticed a theme. I do better with an outline. And I loath outlines...hate them. Now I'm guessing that somewhere in my twisted psyche outlines are much like exercising or cleaning the bathroom...I know I need to do it, but I just don't want to. I rail against it every time...and yet once I accomplish the exercise or the bathroom cleaning...I am so much happier. And thus, I have made the transition or am working on making the transition from a 'pantser' to a grudging, grumbling, 'outliner.' Because I know it saves me time. It makes my writing better. It gives me a bit of a road map on where I'm going. And yes, I allow my outline to change, and yes, I find my characters doing things and saying things that make my outline obsolete, but that is okay. I don't necessarily have to go where the outline tells me, but there is something about that guide (especially in the ultra foggy middle of the manuscript) that keeps me moving along without having to write an additional 400 pages (yep 400 total in the last two manuscripts) that get highlighted and deleted.
xo Maggie

Driving Sideways by Jess Riley

2008-07-28T08:46:00.000-07:00

I love having guests and especially when they are talented and funny. Today Jess Riley author of Driving Sideways joins me.

What is a typical writing day like for you?

Let’s assume it’s summer, since attempting to write fiction during the school year (“grant season”) would likely make my brain melt and leak right out one of my ears. I get up around 8, pour a cup of coffee and head right to the computer, and find ways to procrastinate: I check email, comment on a few blogs, write a blog entry, watch an amusing YouTube video, expand my To-Do list, check email again. BUT: when inspiration finally hits (or when the story is flowing well), discipline sets in and I write first thing when I get up, every day of the week.

If you could only own and read 5 books for the rest of your life, (excluding your own) what five books would you choose?

The Stand, by Stephen King (I used to read this nearly every summer—a truly sweeping, complex, riveting story.)
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (I devoured this book in a matter of hours—a chilling and critical book.)
I Like You by Amy Sedaris (never fails to make me laugh: eye burrito, anyone?)
Complete Home Gardening (yeah, I’m a gardening nut)
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (well-written, interesting, and has fantastic recipes).

Do you have a vice that you’ve given up, but long to continue?

I pretty much let my vices run around like they own the place, but I have begun to wean myself from candy. The crash I feel after even just a few pieces just isn’t worth it. I never smoked, but a glass of wine in the evening or a half pot of coffee in the morning? I’m so there.

For you, what is the most difficult part of being an author?

Honing my time-management skills. I haven’t figured out how to juggle the researching and writing of one novel with the promotion of another. This is a tie with “learning to let go” when you put a story out there. You feel so naked and vulnerable right after a novel is released, because who knows how people will react to it. (Well, that’s been my experience, anyway.) But many authors I know are sensitive, somewhat introspective and even shy people, so I don’t think I’m alone in this. So time management, and learning to thicken my skin. To me, they’re two of the most difficult parts of being an author.

What do you love about being an author?

I love hearing from readers who were affected by something I wrote. I love making people laugh or cry, and I’m honored whenever I hear from a reader who took the time to tell me they liked my book. I also love the act of creating a story…getting started can be daunting, but once the story is unfolding and the characters are taking you in directions you never anticipated, or when just the right turn of phrase comes readily to mind, it’s the best feeling in the world.

Okay, second-best.

What’s next for you?

I’m wrapping up my next novel, tentatively titled Mandatory Release. It features two characters who work in a medium-security men’s prison: a social worker in a wheelchair, and the teacher he falls for. I was a teaching assistant at just such a facility back in college, and I always wanted to revisit the setting for a writing project someday, because it was just ripe with the full range of human emotion: boredom, pathos, rage, warped humor, fear, confidence, anxiety, love, hate, even joy. It’s got plenty of the same dark sense of humor that made Driving Sideways so fun to write, and it also examines the binge drinking culture of Wisconsin, the class divisions in resort towns, and how broken people can find healing in the most unlikely of places. I’m about to send it to my agent this week, so keep your fingers crossed for me!

Deja Book? by Julie Kenner

2008-07-21T05:51:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I have a bad case of author envy, and my guest blogger today, Julie Kenner, inspires a HUGE amount of author envy in me. Not only does she come up with fantastic ideas for books (Carpe Demon) plus she has the chops to execute. I read Carpe Demon first as a screenplay when I was still a motion picture literary agent and the premise knocked my socks off, so I then picked up a copy of the book; Carpe Demon: Adventures of A Demon Hunting-Soccer Mom which I loved even more. A big Thank You to Julie Kenner for her guest blog today!

Deja Book?
by Julie Kenner

I have a new book out this month - (a brief pause while I gaze lovingly at its snappy yellow cover) – and Maggie was kind enough to suggest I offer up a guest blog. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity (thanks, Maggie!) but, of course, the possibility of blogging also raises that most notorious of questions: what the heck shall I blog about?

It’s shades of déjà vu all over again. That ever-present question that arises with every guest blog (or, for that matter, every entry on my own pathetically un-updated blog). That staring blankly at the screen waiting for inspiration and thinking, dang, writing a novel’s easier than a blog entry! Never fails. It’s always the same. That desire to be witty and interesting. Readable. Memorable. (And speaking of Déjà Vu, my husband and I watched it on Encore the other night. Great flick. Time travel thriller. Denzel Washington. ‘Nuff said. But I digress …)

But tonight, I have found inspiration along Interstate 35. No, seriously. Bear with me, and you’ll see: The book I have out this month (Deja Demon – get it? It’s like a blog theme!) is the fourth in a series staring Kate Connor, demon-hunting soccer mom. A woman who I have grown to absolutely adore. Honestly, it’s a shame Kate doesn’t live next door to me, because there’s a woman I could totally hang out with by the pool with a wine spritzer. But since Kate is a figment of my imagination, I must instead make do with spending a few months out of every year getting inside her head and, yes, tossing bad things her way.

What does this have to do with the deja factor, you ask? I’ll tell you: when writing a series, the book may not be the same, but the trappings of the release often are. Right now, for example, I’m in the DFW area (having arrived here by driving up I-35). I’m writing this from a hotel because later this week I have an interview at a local television station. I’m excited about the interview, but I’m not nervous. Why? Because I’ve appeared on this show with the release of the previous three books. It’s like stepping back into a familiar world!

Ditto the process of stopping in to all the local bookstores to sign stock. And my father and stepmother who live in the area have gotten with the program, too. “Be sure and tell us when the show will air,” they say, without needing prompting. And, “isn’t that too early to plan lunch? There are a lot of bookstores up Central Expressway corridor!” They know my routine; it’s become as familiar to them as it has to me. That’s the deja part.

But like each book in a series -- which has its own plot, character arcs, mysteries and crises -- each book release (and corresponding publicity travel) has its own personality, too. Not everything’s déjà vu this go round. For example, did I mention that my location in the DFW area is across the street from Six Flags? And that tomorrow morning I’m going to take my two little girls to ride roller coasters? When the first book came out, my daughter was almost four. Now, she’s almost seven. When the second book came out, my husband and I were one short month away from receiving our travel approval from the Chinese Government to go over to China and adopt our second daughter. When the third book came out last year, our youngest daughter had been home with us a mere eight months! And now, with the release of book four in the series, I’m taking two very excited little girls, ages 6 and 4, to an amusement park.

I confess that as I’m writing this, I have tears in my eyes (the good kind). Not until I really sat down and put those release dates in the context of my life did it hit me how much has changed in such a short time. Last year at this time, Isabella was still clingy and shy. Now, she’s a little spitfire who is determined to ride the loop-de-loop roller coaster while her older sister stands back, shaking her head and telling the little one that she’s crazy.

Déjà vu? Maybe a little, but not in the ways that matter. Each book in the series stands on its own, Kate’s life and story becoming richer and more complex even as my own life does the same. Things have changed. Life changes. Life happens. Sometimes good, sometimes bittersweet, but always moving forward. And how wonderful I can look back and mark the passage of time with my books on the shelves and the memory of where I was when my good, albeit fictional friend, stepped out into the world with her stories.

Julie Kenner’s demon hunting soccer mom series started with Carpe Demon, currently in development with Warner Brothers and 1492 Pictures. The fourth book, Deja Demon is on shelves now! She writes across a wide range of genres, and you can read more than you could possibly want about Julie and her books at her website, www.juliekenner.com

MoonPies and Movie Stars

2008-07-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

MoonPies and Movie Stars by Amy Wallen

Over this fun-filled holiday weekend I am excited that Amy Wallen, a member of the GCC, stopped by to tell me about her latest book. Looks like some great summer reading!

Tell us about your latest book.

MoonPies and Movie Stars is the story of Ruby Kincaid, the owner of six-lane bowling alley in Devine, TX. When Ruby spots her runaway daughter on a ButterMaid commercial on TV she sets off for Hollywood to find her and make her own up to her responsibilities. Violet, the daugther, left behind two small children. So Ruby loads up the Winnebago and with her rattlesnake rattler earring wearing sister, Loralva, and the runaway daughter’s mother-in-law they make a journey across the Southwest, in the bicentennial summer of 1976.

What pulled you into this story, and as a writer made you think ‘I have to write this’?

I was tired of writing in my journal and so one day I just pulled out a character from a monologue I had written based on my grandmother who lived in a small town in Texas and ran a honky tonk (beer joint). From that day, Feb 3, 1998, I never wrote another journaling entry and the novel just poured out.

Tell us about your writing process. Do you outline or are you more organic?

More organic. About half way into the story I make up notecards with scenes that I’ve already written so that I can keep track of what I’ve done. I have a horrible memory, so these help me not only keep up with myself, but I can also tack them on the wall next to my desk and rearrange them as I go.

What is a typical writing day like for you?

I usually start my writing day at 9am. If all goes well, with a lunch break, I can write until 7pm or until the cats just won’t put up with me ignoring them any longer. But most days there are interruptions. I am working on other projects besides just my own writing. I teach and read student papers, and I’m putting together a national public radio show so my partner and I are busy reading submissions. It’s all fun, but can distract from hours of just writing.

If you could only own and read 5 books for the rest of your life, (excluding your own) what five books would you choose?

Catcher in the Rye. I’ve read it about 7 times. All at different times in my life, and it means something different to me every time. Judy Reeves book, Writers Book of Days. John Irving’s The World According to Garp. I’ve read it twice, but could read it again. David Sedaris, anything by him, because you have to have something that you can laugh at over and over. And my very favorite author is Irish writer, Roddy Doyle. I’d probably take The Woman Who Walked Into Doors of his collection. Tough decision, I htought when I read this question, but I came up with the five I know I would take right away,there must be some truth to it.

If you had to watch only five films for the rest of your life, what five films would you choose?

I let my boyfriend pick the films. He always picks great stuff that we both love. Usually something artsy, funny and a little odd. Like Edward Scissorhands. But this one I can’t answer as easy as the book one.

Do you have a vice that you’ve given up, but long to continue?

Coffee. I had to give up drinking coffee because it was giving me horrific stomach problems. It’s been about two years now and I have become a tea fanatic. I’m a tea connoiseur now, I have all the Kenyan and Indonesian teas, and steep the teas for their respective proper times, etc. But I still long to go to Starbucks for a tall latte.

How do you promote your books? Are you going on tour for this book? Any upcoming signings?

The publicist at Viking says that blogs are the best way to get the word out any more. I also write reviews for the LA Times, so my bio blurbs my book. I went on a tour for the hardcover of my book and that was a lot of fun and I sold a lot of books. And now I’m visiting book clubs or other womens’ groups and that’s really where I have the most fun. I would travel all over the country to go to book clubs. I have yet to meet a boring group of women. I love the questions they ask. And the food they serve!

For you, what is the most difficult part of being an author?

Getting over thinking that it’s all just a fluke.

What do you love about being an author?

That my dream has come true. That no matter what happens from here on out, my dream has come to fruition and no one can ever take that away from me.

What’s next for you?

I have a contract with Hyperion for another book. I’m about half way through. I had an absolute blast writing MoonPies and Movie Stars, but this current project is ten time as much fun. I hope it always just keeps getting better.

The Dirt: A Woman In Hollywood

2008-06-27T08:41:00.000-07:00

The Women

So when I saw the trailer for The Women....

I was almost as excited as when I saw the trailer for Sex And The City. The amazingly talented Diane English wrote and directed this update of the classic 1939 film. I can't wait to see this film. And, gotta' say if we (meaning us women) want to see more films about women we have to go see it. When I read by Nikki Finke (who I believe knows more about what's going on in Hollywood than any other reporter) it made me so sad. The idea that Warner Bros. would try to dump the film and not really promote it because 'women don't go to the movies'.

The marketplace drives what gets made. So looking forward to this movie.

Fantastic Fiction: The Fidelity Files by Jessica Brody

2008-06-18T08:23:00.000-07:00

The Fidelity Files by Jessica Brody

One word: Wow! I just finished The Fidelity Files by Jessica Brody and I loved it. LOVED it!

The Fidelity Files is the story of a beautiful L.A. woman who goes undercover as a “fidelity inspector,” hired by suspicious wives and girlfriends to test the faithfulness of the men in their lives. Not unlike a modern-day, female “superhero,” Jennifer Hunter is on a quest to rid the world of infidelity, one cheater at a time…until her secret alter-ego begins to cause problems in her everyday life.

I am incredibly jealous that I wasn't clever enough to think up this premise. The Fidelity Files would make a fantastic television series. Lucky for me (and you), Jessica agreed to guest blog...

The Fidelity Files
by Jessica Brody

When I tell people that I wrote a novel about a woman who tests men’s loyalty for a living, I usually get one of two reactions. The women will often smile somewhat mischievously and say things like “Ooh, that’s fun.” Or sometimes even, “I would totally hire someone like that!” While the men just look absolutely terrified. Some will even ask, with an nervous expression on their face, “Is this fiction?” As if they’re just making sure they’re not in any imminent danger. It’s actually quite comical. But the first question I’m always asked after these reactions is “How did you come up with that idea?” People usually want to know where the concept came from. So after Maggie so graciously asked me to guest blog on her site, I decided to use the time (and cyber space) to answer that question.

Although I’d like to say that my inspiration for writing this book was based on the fact that I used to be a fidelity inspector myself—that women used to hire me to test whether or not their husbands would cheat on them—unfortunately, my life is not quite that exciting. Or I guess, “fortunately” for my parents and my boyfriend. But I will say that The Fidelity Files, despite its “fiction” classification, was inspired by a very non-fiction, and very pertinent subject matter: infidelity.

There have been several instances in my past, and I think others can probably relate, in which I found myself a witness to other people’s infidelity. Whether it be friends’, co-workers’ or just casual acquaintances’. But in all of these situations, I was always plagued with the tormenting dilemma of whether or not to keep my mouth shut…because everyone else was doing just that.

The most prominent of these experiences was when I used to work in a corporate environment and attended a lot of happy hour and other after-work functions with some of my married or attached colleagues and co-workers. During those events, I observed a lot of inappropriate behavior as alcohol began to cloud people’s judgments. And I always secretly wished that someone would tell the “conveniently” absent significant others about what their husbands/wives/boyfriends/ girlfriends/fiancés really did while attending these “obligatory” and supposedly “uneventful” work functions. Because I knew that if I were the one being cheated on, I would want to know. But I was never able to actually do it. I was brave enough to think it…but not exactly brave enough to go knocking on people’s doors with bad news. You know what people tend to do to “the messenger.”

So in order to deal with the frustration I was feeling about my own lack of courage, I came up with the idea to create a character whose job and purpose in life was to do exactly what I couldn’t bring myself to do. To reveal the truth to anyone who wanted to know. To knock on all the doors that I never had the courage to knock on. An invincible superhero-esque woman whose quest is to fight against the evils of infidelity. But of course, she soon finds out…she’s not as invincible as she once thought.

So I set out to write The Fidelity Files. And in doing so I hoped to explore some of the common fears about infidelity that I think all of us experience in our lives on at least some level. But at the same time, I also wanted to offer a message of hope despite of those fears. Because if someone who makes their living as a fidelity inspector can believe in love after everything she’s seen, it shouldn’t be that hard for the rest of us.

Questions to Ask Before Marrying by Melissa Senate

2008-06-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

I am so so so excited to have as a guest today fellow GCC member Melissa Senate. Her latest book Questions to Ask Before Marrying came out June 1.

Great cover!

Melissa was kind enough to answer some of my questions about the book.

Tell us about your latest book.

Questions To Ask Before Marrying is the sometimes very funny, sometimes very poignant story of very different twin sisters on a long and bumpy road trip from Maine to Las Vegas, where one may or may not marry her fiance. Stella, a professional muse and “face reader” has three thousand miles to convince Ruby, a conservative Maine school teacher, that her buttoned-up fiance is not the man for her. Meanwhile, Stella is searching for the father of her baby—whose name she doesn’t even know. At its heart, the book is about what they learn—about themselves, each other, and love.

What pulled you into this story, and as a writer made you think ‘I have to write this’?

I am fascinated (okay, obsessed) by the relationship between sisters, especially sisters who aren’t close. I love to put estranged sisters together and watch what happens until they eventually become sisters: best friends.

Tell us about your writing process. Do you outline or are you more organic?

How I love the outline! I keep thinking that one day, one book, I’ll just . . . write, but I’m working on my 8th book and my trusty synopsis, which I then break down into chapters and then into scenes, is always up on my bulletin board! What I do is this: an idea overtakes me, usually a broad idea (for instance, for my next next book, I’ve already been gripped by the idea of four friends and a cooking class, though this might not keep hold, and then the theme of the novel works its way into my heart, mind and soul. From there, I wake up every morning with bits and pieces or sometimes big chunks of how the story works and comes together, and the main character(s) and her plight suddely starts making emotional sense for me. Then I sit down and write a synopsis of the story, then figure a week or two of more waking up with the flesh and bones of the plot and how everything connects. I’ve never been able to write any differently, so I guess this is my process! Basically, I let my sleeping brain, which is apparently awake and writing, do most of my work of me.

What is a typical writing day like for you?

This has been a tough year because I’m a single mom with a child in half-day kindergarten, so I’ve been writing at night once he’s asleep and on weekends. Come the fall, I get SIX FREE HOURS to write my heart out for the next 12 years!

If you could only own and read 5 books for the rest of your life, (excluding your own) what five books would you choose?

The Old Testament; Anne of Green Gables; Little Women; The Accidental Tourist; The Portable Dorothy Parker

What do you love about being an author?

A wise editor once told me that the most wonderful thing about writing fiction is that you can fix whatever you want, make it turn out however you want. I think she’s right.

What’s next for you?

I’m a month from deadline on my next YA for Delacorte and just sold my next two adult novel to Pocket Books, the first of which is tentatively titled The Love Bus, also about sisters—about a unmoored New Yorker who discovers she has a half sister she never knew existed. The half-sister lives in a small town in Maine, where our intrepid heroine starts a whole new life. Hmmm

WIP FINISHED! (well kinda')

2008-06-04T17:07:00.000-07:00

I apologize for my low level of blogging the past week. I haven't been ill. No instead I've been so very busy completing my latest manuscript, I just couldn't blog. What an excuse right? Really, I wanted so badly to finish this story. It had to get out! That the only thing I've done for the last 8 days is write...well and go to BEA. Which was super fun...wish I'd taken photos. I signed books at BEA which I love doing. I think because I spend so much time alone at my computer that when I have an opportunity to meet people and especially all the bibliophiles that Book Expo brings out, I get super excited. So update on the WIP (work in progress) the manuscript is now with the Agent. And a couple of my most trusted readers...a couple family members, a couple friends, a couple writers, people I know will give me the REAL DEAL on the story. So next up? Finish Screenplay! I have two managers and two agents requesting that I please please please finish the screenplay I've been promising them for oh say the last six months. Sigh...back to work.
xoMaggie

This Writer's Life: Work In Progress

2008-05-26T09:22:00.000-07:00

So I think I mentioned, that I am working on a new. manuscript. A stand alone women's fiction book. I am sooo close to finishing this next draft. Once this draft is complete it's time to get some reads.

These reads are important to my process, because by this stage in the manuscript I am completely enmeshed with the characters. I know their stories, their lifestyles, what clothes they wear, what foods they eat, what television shows they watch...I know almost everything about them. I know so much, that I lose perspective about what I am telling the reader, and what I fail to convey. So I need Fresh Eyes. Fresh eyes to tell me whether I have given the reader enough information so that they too know my characters and love them as much as I do.

I get these reads from people that I trust. I don't want praise (although who doesn't love praise) I want honest criticism. I trust that they will give me honest and sincere feedback about the manuscript. I trust that they will tell me what works for them and what doesn't. I trust that these readers are knowleadgeable enough about writing and story structure to articulate what is not-working with the manuscript.

Then, once I get my reads, I will again rework the manuscript hopefully making it shine even more.

xoMaggie

This Writer's Life: Loneliness

2008-05-19T09:33:00.000-07:00

Okay...so I know that I am living my dream...to write full time. To spend my days in front of my computer tapping away, telling the stories that interest me and that readers love. But there is this tiny little thing that sometimes happens to full time writers...a dirty little secret to the life...we get lonely. Now I'd argue that most writers are introverts. That the very nature of what we do demands that we enjoy spending time alone...or with our imaginary friends. And I was, in all my other jobs (attorney and agent) an introvert pretending to be an extrovert. I mean, I can fake it...the outgoing social thing. But truly, I am my most comfortable when I'm alone, with my computer, and again my imaginary friends (who aren't so imaginary to me.) But like any human I need contact. And not just contact with people under the age of five...So when I got the email that I'd been selected to be a new member of the GCC I was thrilled.

What is the GCC you ask? Is this some sort of secret covert writing group...(wow I've really blown it if it is). The GCC is the Girlfriend's Cyber Circuit a group of women authors who support each other?! How COOL is that. As you know from reading my books, I am ALL ABOUT girlfriends supporting each other! So this week, I am touring on the GCC. Today I have the honor of being on Karin Gillespie's blog and Wendy Nelson Tokunga's blog. I feel so blessed and lucky to have these women telling the world about my books. And a whole lot less lonely.
xo
Maggie

PS Hi BOB!!

The Dirt: A Woman In Hollywood The Babysitters

2008-05-16T07:04:00.000-07:00

So my good friends Jennifer Dubin and Cora Olson got a movie made, which in the indy world is akin to finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Jennifer and Cora where kind enough to answer some of my questions about the process and the film. The trailer...is...well see for yourself....

Okay, so first, tell me about the fantastic film ‘The Babysitters’ that you both just produced.

THE BABYSITTERS is a dark morality tale about a high school babysitter Shirley (Katherine Waterston), who begins a secret affair with Michael, the father of her charges (John Leguizamo). To assuage his guilt, Michael tip Shirley extra after their tryst, and what begins as a relationship between two lost suburbanite escalates into a prostitution ring with Shirley, a high school Heidi Fleiss, at the helm. It’s a pretty cool little film, if a bit disturbing, that ultimately is a commentary on suburban America.

How did you get into producing films? Tell us a little about your backgrounds.

Jen: After I went to NYU I worked in production on a few films in various capacities – I was a PA, a camera assistant, a director’s assistant, an assistant director- and I decided that being on set wasn’t enough for me and I wanted to be involved with movies from the very beginning to the very end. I moved to LA and had no luck getting a job for a productin company so I started working at ICM for a talent agent to get some ‘industry experience’. After about a year of that I went on to work in development for Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson’s production company. I also spent some time at a company called Escape Artists which had some financing and a deal with Sony. But I found it painful to be in development because it was so rare that movies ever got made. We decided to strike out on our own, and set out to find a script that we felt comfortable doing on a small budget, but that had the elements that we thought were marketable. THE BABYSITTERS was that film.

Cora: After graduating from NYU, I moved to LA and my first job was an assistant in the lit department at Gersh. From there I became a Story Editor at Collision Entertainment – we had a deal with Dimension and financing through Abandon Entertainment and worked on mostly comic book or video game to film adaptations. I was eventually promoted to Director of Development, but like Jen was frustrated that nothing ever got made. The company eventually folded and that was when I knew it was time to make a movie.

Where did you find the screenplay for ‘The Babysitters’?

Cora: (The writer/director) David Ross’ agent (Brian Dreyfuss at Featured Artists) and I were assistants together at Gersh. Brian showed me the script in my early days at Collision, and I flipped for it; to this day it remains one of the best scripts I have ever read. David and I got to know each other during my years at Collision and informally developed the script over that time. After I left Collision, and Jen and I were looking for a project, I called him up.

What was the most difficult part of getting the movie made?

As first time producers, the hardest thing was just getting people to take us and our project seriously. No one knew who we were so every step - from raising the money to getting interest from cast to crewing up – was a challenge. We earned people’s respect by the end but it was an uphill battle.

While on set, what was the most difficult thing? Anything that tried your patience?

The shoot was a tough one too. We shot in 23 days and a lot of it was night shoots which is rough on everyone. The thing that was probably the most frustrating was a demented police captain who extorted money from us.

Is the film exactly as you envisioned it? Is there anything you’d change about the final film?

Its hard to say now exactly what we envisioned, but ultimately, we’re pretty proud of the film and how far we’ve come with it. We tried to support David (Ross), the director, every step of the way and give him what he needed to tell his story.

Do you have any advice for aspiring filmakers; producers, directors, and/or screenwriters?

It’s a war of attrition. Stay with it. Keep at it. Don’t give up.

What projects are you working on now? What is your next film?

We just had a film at Sundance called GOOD DICK which we shot a few months after we shot THE BABYSITTERS. That was written, directed and stars Marianna Palka and also stars Jason Ritter, Mark Webber, Martin Starr, Eric Edelstein and Tom Arnold. We have a couple of other films that we are putting together now- one is a dramatic thriller set on a suicide commune and the other is a really fun summer comedy.

John Leguizomo is one sexy man...is he that sexy in person too?

John is a great guy, inside and out! He is totally down to earth and keeps it real, which makes for great collaboration. He makes people around him feel at ease, so David who was a first time director, and Katherine, his co-star, who is a younger actress had a very positive experience.

Where is ‘The Babysitters’ showing?

It’s playing in New York, Los Angeles, Philly, Washington D.C., Dallas, Houston, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, and will be released on DVD in July.

Okay, so now go see the movie! xo Maggie

Best Selling Author Lisa Jackson

2008-05-14T22:09:00.000-07:00

I am so pleased to have best-selling author Lisa Jackson as my guest blogger today. Absolute Fear and Lost Souls are on sale now and High Stakes goes on sale June 1.

Siccing psychics on sickos…
By Lisa Jackson

I’m really not sure how it happened but despite the fact that my characters insist on going their own darn way most of the time, it turns out I’m guilty. Yes. Apparently, I am guilty of siccing psychics—or at least people with a smattering of psychic power—on sickos. The sickos, of course, being my serial killers. And they are sick. That’s what makes them so deadly and so terribly hard to predict.
Anyway, about the psychics…One of the elements in LOST SOULS is Kristi Bentz’s ability to predict a person’s death. In front of her eyes, the color of someone might leech from their skin and Kristi sees the person in shades of black and white. What’s worse is that she sees her own father’s death at the end of ABSOLUTE FEAR and her concern for Rick Bentz’s life carries through LOST SOULS.
I think Kristi’s sixth sense makes her a little more interesting. To be honest she was more than a little self centered in HOT BLOODED and COLD BLOODED so it was about time for her to think of someone else.
Now I’m on the horns of a dilemma in my next book. Kristi, of course, won’t be the heroine, but MALICE is her father Rick Bentz’s story. As I write it (No, it’s NOT finished) I’ll have to figure out how to resolve her gift . . . or not. For those of you familiar with my recent books you’ll remember that Kristi’s stepmother, Olivia, has her own unique ability as she saw murders as they were committed.
And then, of course, there’s the vampire thing going on in LOST SOULS.
All right. Guilty as charged. And loving it.

Sorry...

2008-05-14T18:56:00.000-07:00

about the lame blogging this week guys, but I have some evil funky cold like viral thing that is making me sneeze, cough, and spew goo all over the place. Lisa Jackson is our guest blogger for Thursday and Friday for The Dirt: A Woman In Hollywood two of my friends and first time film producers Jennifer Dubin and Cora Olson stop buy to tell us about their fabulous new film The Babysitters and their experience producing the film. And hopefully...the spewing and coughing ends by this weekend and I get back to blogging and writing...next week.
xoMaggie

The Dirt: A Woman In Hollywood

2008-05-10T10:13:00.000-07:00

OK! Magazine

So I'm not on the cover for cellulite, or dumping my husband, or being carted off to rehab...is there a rehab for chocolate consumption? Buuut...Secrets of The Hollywood Girls Club is in OK! Magazine next week. Secrets is already on the website here. Yippeee!! And the best part, the part that made my toes curl...well...Secrets of The Hollywood Girls Club, my fun, light, beach read book is in the magazine next to...wait for it....Augusten Burroughs. Yeah...THAT Augusten Burroughs...the literary writer, heavy hitter guy that I adore. ADORE! He wrote Running With Scissors, and Dry: A Memoir, and his newest book, that I can't wait to read, A Wolf At The Table, is in OK! Magazine, next to Secrets of The Hollywood Girls Club. Yeah...love, love, love, having great neighbors.
xo
Maggie

What Happens Here by Tara Altebrando

2008-05-07T21:06:00.000-07:00

Wow, so I am incredibly honored to have Tara Altebrando as my guest blogger this week.

Her new book, What Happens Here came out May 6th and I have to say that I am loving this book!

Welcome Tara!

Steal this Title
by Tara Altebrando

I got a haircut over the weekend and I had a new stylist because apparently the last one had been fired or quit. So we got to chatting, me and lovely Melissa, and she asked what I did for a living. I told her I wrote young adult novels and she said, “Anything I’d know? I’ve read some of the MTV Books.”

I got sort of excited since I’m actually published by MTV Books. I said, “Well, my first book was ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’.” In the mirror, I saw her stop and stare and I thought, “How cool. My new hairdresser read my book!” But then she said, “Like the movie?”

Well, uh, no.

Sigh.

When “The Pursuit of Happiness” was published, the Will Smith movie “The Pursuit of Happyness” came out the same month and I confess to being a bit annoyed by the whole thing. Tons of people who visited my website and Amazon page ended up there by accident, Will went on Oprah and I didn’t, and I guess having this big-deal movie out there with the same name as my book made my book feel somehow, I don’t know, small? Don’t get me wrong. The response to the book was great. It just wasn’t BIG. Not Hollywood big, anyway.

But soon Will’s movie was no longer in theaters, everyone moved on, and I wrote a new book—”What Happens Here”— which came out this week. Just last week my husband and I were talking about how a movie version of the book, should there ever be one, would have to be structurally different and who might star in it and so on and so forth. [This is just something novelists do, I think. Fantasize about their book being made into a film.] So you can imagine my annoyance when, this past Friday night, in the the middle of one of the TV shows I watch regularly, I saw a pop-up ad appear at the bottom of the screen...for a movie called “What Happens in Vegas.” Starring a few actors you might have heard of... Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz? It’s not exactly the same, but still!

Why won’t the title gods leave me alone?!?!?!?!?

And it’s not just titles either. Under my maiden name I’m the author of a novel called “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” about a female pair of teenage pops stars. It was being shopped around Hollywood about a millisecond after the Farrelly brothers announced that they’d be making a movie called “Stuck on You,” in which Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear would play conjoined twins. No one thought the world needed two conjoined twin movies. And you can’t even begin to imagine the number of emails I got when, several years later, people started hearing about a film called “Brothers of the Head”—about a male pair of Siamese rock stars.

Aaaaaaaaaaaarggggggh!

Maybe one of these days someone will actually make a movie of one of my books. Until then I guess I have to pat myself on the back for coming up with good book titles and maybe having my finger on the pulse of...well, something. It’s part of the reason I haven’t really been talking about the book I’m working on now at all. In fact I might have to keep the whole thing—title, concept, everything—top secret until the day it’s actually published. Unless, of course, some folks in Hollywood want to read it before then and make a movie out of it. I’ve got some good casting ideas, and a couple of back-up titles—just in case.

This Writer's Life: The First Draft

2008-05-06T07:17:00.001-07:00

For me, the first draft is the easiest. The words come fast, sometimes faster than I can type. I love this time when the story is flowing...and then...comes the middle. Oh the middle. By the time I get to the middle, I already know the end of the first draft but I'm not sure how to get there, for me the middle is like coming to the edge of a giant river and not seeing a bridge in either direction. How do I cross? How do I get to the other side? How do I finish this book?

The middle is the first spot that I write out the parts to the book. Generally I write a little blurb about all the chapters I've already completed and I write a blurb about the ending chapters and then I fill in the middle.

Inevitably, 'my process' involves pacing in the yard, curling up into a ball on my bed, listening to the voice. Attempting not to judge whatever story I'm told.

Today, I will finish the first draft of my third book. A stand alone, not part of The Hollywood Girls Club series. At the end of each first draft I always feel as though I've accomplished something. Perhaps it's the knowledge that I built the bridge and completed the journey. I will print and read the manuscript. There will be gaping holes, errors, typos, misspellings, all kinds of problems. But I will have the structure, the bones of my story. My characters, my plot, my story will be on paper. No longer inhabiting only my head, they will have a true form in this world, on the page. Then after reading the manuscript with all its problems, I will put it aside, and wait. I will let my mind work on all the changes, the character glitches, the problems with story. And then, I will do what makes a manuscript shine...then I will rewrite.
xo Maggie

The Dirt: A Woman In Hollywood

2008-05-02T08:42:00.000-07:00

Strike Two!

Wow, could it be? Is it possible? More saber rattling? Yesterday while perusing my copy of Variety I saw this and then on Nikki Finke I read this. And my heart fluttered in my chest. Another strike? SAG may strike? Say it isn't so! After weathering the 100 day WGA strike I shudder to think what our tiny entertainment community will look like after an actors' strike. As I talk to my agent, manager, producer and executive friends, we all wonder who would survive another strike? I mean, the agencies are just now starting to get up and running and that's with a scaled back pilot season and film studios that are reticent to buy because of the potential for an actors' strike.

Now let me put this right out front...I am a pro-labor kind of gal. And I do believe in strikes and I do believe that 90% of the time labor has legitimate beefs. I believe this because on the other side are CORPORATIONS. And corporations don't have souls they have shareholders. Corporations only do things when propelled by the market. Or when they absolutely positively have no other choice because otherwise they will lose money.

But a strike? I have to wonder, who would this help? And I have to say, no one. Next direction...follow the money. And although the corporations my save money now, and even make money later, is a potential collapse of the entire industry really worth it?
xoMaggie

This Writer's Life: Time Management

2008-04-28T19:15:00.000-07:00

I am a guest blogger today at Melissa Walker's blog. She is the fantastic author of the Violet Series. I wrote about something that I was once familiar with and now with my post-pregnancy body long for the days that I could actually wear; an itty bitty turquoise string bikini!

Time Management

Wow so I guess the fact that I am writing this blog at 8:24 pm thirteen hours after I wanted to get it posted let's you know that right now I am struggling with the topic of time management.

A shift in the family schedule has caused my writing life to go a little topsy turvy. I usually begin working early in the morning. I always enjoy writing but have been most productive when I write from seven am to noon take a lunch break and then write again from two pm to four. But lately, I've had to shuffle my schedule and write from ten to noon again from two to four and then squeeze in some time after the girls are in bed. And although I am getting the same number of hours or close to it, I've noticed that since I now have constraints on my time I'm becoming more productive.

When I was an attorney, a judge I had cases before often said 'only busy people get things done.' I admit that I tend to be the most productive, the tighter my schedule. Less time to goof about, I guess. Not nearly as much internet surfing, or emailing, or dawdling or phone call making. No, right now, as I adjust to my new schedule, I find that I am actually buckling down and getting a load more work accomplished than I feared I might. Although, as you can see from this late in the day post...well...I'm still getting the kinks out.
xoMaggie

Annette Fix and The Break-Up Diet

2008-04-23T21:14:00.000-07:00

I am so pleased to have Annette Fix, author of her memoir The Break-Up Diet as our guest blogger today.

I have to admit, the most svelte, sexiest, skinniest, hottest I've ever been was always 3 months post break-up. The worse the break-up the thinner I became. I am happy to know that I am not alone...

My Un-Hollywood Secret
by Annette Fix

I’ve always wanted to be famous. Not run-of-the-mill famous for things like night-vision sex tapes, stints in rehab, and panty malfunctions—I mean reeeeally famous, like the way the bank manager immediately recognizes you because of the size of your account balance.

I think my obsession with fame started with my voracious reading appetite as a teenager, consuming a buffet of paperback Jackie Collins novels. But here’s the rub, no matter how cool I think it would be, I could never be Hollywood famous.

Why, you ask?

1) I suck at recognizing stars and I’m even worse at remembering names. And I think my celebrity unsavvyishness has been passed down to my offspring. It took 30 minutes of Q&A to finally figure out that when my son said he met “That old actor guy with the mole on his face.”—he meant Robert De Niro. That just proves my point. I’ve realized that you can’t play with the in-crowd if you don’t know who they are.

2) I’m not that interesting. I don’t have a giant ass and haven’t posed for Playboy. I haven’t behaved like a bitch on a reality show to milk my 15 minutes. And I’ve never been chased by TMZ photogs. I’ve realized that you can’t become famous unless you do something extreme.

What’s a fame-hungry girl to do?

Um…how about write a book? It worked for that British lady with the wizard fetish. So, I decided to take the advice “write what you know.” I penned The Break-Up Diet, a memoir about my boil-the-bunny obsession with my ex, my swan dive into the shallow end of the dating pool, and more personal skeletons-in-the-mental-closet details of my single mom sex life than any sane reader wants to know. Think Bridget Jones’ Diary, if Bridget were a stripper and trapped in an episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County. What can I say; it’s my life.

Look out, Diablo Cody, I’m just one platform stiletto behind you.

Radio Tour

2008-04-22T13:58:00.000-07:00

I LOVE the radio. And tomorrow is one of most favorite parts of being an author, tomorrow I do part of my radio tour.

6:10 am Pacific Time USA RADIO, Daybreak USA with Scott West

9:30 am Eastern WHAM Rochester NY, Chet and Beth with Chet and Beth

9:40 am Eastern WLW-AM Cincinnati OH, The Jim Scott Show with Jim Scott

9:50 am Eastern Cable Radio Network, Cable Talk with Jack Roberts

10:00 am Eastern KJTZ-FM, Abilene TX, Jalapeno and Company with Andy Olvera

8:50 am Mountain KCMN-AM Colorado Springs CO, Tron in The Morning with Tron Simpson

11:30 am Eastern WNCQ-FM Upstate NY, Jason in the Morning with Jason Langstaff

10:40 am Central WRHL-AM Rochelle IL, Conversations with Kelly Prindle

12:35 pm Eastern WRVC-AM Huntington W.VA, Viewpoint with Jean Dean

12:35 pm Central WKRS-AM Chicago IL, The Sandee and Clint show with Sandee and Clint

So tune in and take a listen. I'm sure we'll discuss Hollywood Girls Club and Secrets of The Hollywood Girls Club as well as any other dishy dirty stuff that we want to talk about.
xoMaggie

This Writer's Life: Finding The Agent

2008-04-21T10:16:00.000-07:00

Wow, so I get a whole lot of emails asking how can an unpublished writer get an agent?

I am going to make a very Zen statement...one that when I was unpublished would have annoyed the f*&^ out of me...

When the manuscript is ready, the Agent will appear.

Oh yeah? Very easy for you to say...Miss already published writer.

Okay...I'm not saying exactly that an 'agent-genie' will pop out of your diet coke can asking if they can represent your manuscript. But what I am saying is get your manuscript ready. Don't worry about the agent. Don't worry about finding a publisher. Don't worry about all those things...you are getting way ahead of yourself. And wasting time and energy. Don't worry. Instead, do the work.

That's right, do the work.

Write the entire manuscript. From start to finish. All 250 pages, or 280 pages or 320 pages...(I wouldn't go much over 400 pages). Write the whole darn thing. And then print the manuscript out. Read the entire manuscript...start to finish...ignoring typos, and problems, and story structure.

And then--put the manuscript away.

Away? Like on a shelf or in a closet or under a bed?

Yes Away. For two weeks...or longer. Then read the manuscript again.

Wow, this feels like a different manuscript.

Uh-huh. Now, mark it up. Take a very deep breath. Ready?

Ready.

Rewrite.

What?

Rewrite.

The entire thing?

Rewrite.

Jeez,that takes too long.

Rewrite.

But I want an agent now.

Why?

To know if I'm wasting my time....

Ah-hah! So the reason you search for an agent before the manuscript is finished is to bolster your moral. Prove to your fragile writing ego that your scribblings aren't in vain. But, grasshopper, that is not an agent's job..no, no, no, an agent is not meant to be the 'thing' that keeps you writing. No a writer writes. Whether they have an agent, a publication contract, a story...whether they have confidence, a computer or paper and pen...a writer writes. An agent sells. Write, rewrite, do your part and then when your manuscript is polished to shine like a diamond, the agent will appear.
xoMaggie

The Dirt: A Woman In Hollywood

2008-04-18T09:58:00.000-07:00

Movie Scripts and Television Pilots

This week I've been working on a couple projects, all in different stages of completion (except for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as those three days were eaten up by the release of Secrets of The Hollywood Girls Club). I've noticed that my writing process for scripts, whether it's for television or film, is different and yet the same than when I am working on a novel.

First, writing a novel I think is much like running a marathon...not that I've run a marathon...I'd like to, eventually..but...I digress. When I write a manuscript it is the slow and steady plodding every day. Especially with the first draft, each day chipping away at the story, writing and getting the first draft on paper and the word count up. Then next comes the rewrite, and I never know how long the rewrite will take.

When I write a script, it feels like a sprint. Perhaps because there is so little exposition and so much dialogue...one script page might take 2, 3, or 5 pages in manuscript format.

And yet, the similarities in the writing process for both a manuscript and a script are striking...I hear a voice, I see a scene, I dash to my computer to write everything down. I become incredibly confused in the center of whatever the project, because I so clearly see the end and have no idea how I'm going to get there. I fall in love with certain scenes, lines, chapters that don't make the cut...instead they get cut. I always *want* to believe the first draft is all the work I need to do...that it's perfect but know in my heart if I rewrite and polish and rewrite again, the story will be so so so much better served by my hard work.

xoMaggie