Archives for October 2011

It’s here!

It’s my new book! The third novel in the Cypress Hollow Yarn series!

And honestly, as I just admitted in my newsletter (go HERE to sign up in case you’re not on the list), I love it best of all my novels (I know I’m not supposed to admit that, but I can’t help it. It’s just true). It’s about what happens when a misunderstood shy doctor (Naomi) meets a guy with true bedside manner (Rig).

You’ll get to see Cade and Abigail again, as well as Lucy and Owen. Eliza has a few words of wisdom, and I’m happy to say Toots walks through again, too.

But if you haven’t read the previous two books, this is a great spot from which to jump into Cypress Hollow. I hope you enjoy it — I sure loved writing it.

I miss it. I miss all my books when I’m done, but I really miss this one.

Available at your favorite indie bookseller and here:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Powells
Indiebound

There’s a little excerpt over here, too, iffen you’re interested. Enjoy. And let me know what you think.

*  Edited to add: The audiobook of Wishes & Stitches is out today, too! Yay! Link here.

 
Larch Knitalong!

 Also, in fun news, we’re doing a Larch cardie knitalong, courtesy of the lovely KnittedWit — here’s a Ravelry link to the pattern, and here is where her gorgeous yarn is (click on the size, and then there are pictures of the different colors, or more color pics here — I’m doing mine in Naomi green). Ravely group here.

You know what I love about Books, Inc. in Alameda?

1. It's in Alameda, a city I worked in/for a LOT of years.I know all the streets. I know many stories of many things that have happened there and can drive around and recite facts that are interesting to probably no one but me.

2. It's big and bright and carries really good books.

3. The very, very, very first time I ever saw my first book in a Real Live Bookstore, it was there. The PensFatales and I had gone out book hunting and I never actually thought there would be a copy there, but there it was! Really, truly on the shelf!

4. I'll be reading and signing there this Sunday! I promise to be funny. Or at least funny-looking. Please come if you can — 6pm. (PSSST – I'll have one or two ARCs of the next book, Wishes & Stitches, which, if you won one, you could read two days early!)

My sister Bethany and I are committing to the insanity that is NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). We're going to write another novel in the moth of November. We'll head full tilt down that crazy hill and not stop till we get to the bottom, even if we trip and fall and roll the last few feet.

The best thing about NaNo? You write a novel in a month. 1667 words a day, that's all! (Usually I like to write 2k/day so I have a little cushion on the days I cannot get it together. This year I'll try to write 4k/day because I'm completely insane.)

The worst thing about NaNo? You write a novel in a month. All the words in your head come out your fingertips and hit the keyboard, and you know what's left over for talking to other people? Nothing. Your wife says, "What do you want for dinner?" and you say, "Are you tapas bar? Cry on leftist bank of saints and inchworms! Jessh!"

It can be (well) argued that 50,000 words does not an entire novel make. That's true. Most YA novels are bigger than that nowadays. You know what I say to that argument? Write the WHOLE book then! (Watch the arguer backpedal: No, no, 50,000 is a lot of words, I'll be fine with that….) Me, I'm going to try to write a whole book. All 100,000 words. Stop it. I am. (Eeek!)

Um. I suppose I should come up with a plot. Soon. (You can preplan, but not prewrite.) Sigh. Can I borrow one from somebody? (I'm just kidding. YOU write your story! Do it! Do it! I wanna hear about THAT!)

So I'm committing to raising money for the Night of Writing Dangerously, NaNoWriMo's fundraiser for their Young Writers Program (more than 2000 classrooms will be writing along in November for NaNo!). Usually it's Bethany's pledge page and then she lets me tag along, but this year, I beat her to the punch! But she'll be my guest if we raise $350.

Bethany and I both want to say this, humbly:

Dear Fairy Godmother, We know the economy is hard and even though you've sent us to this for the last few years, you do NOT HAVE TO send us again. Really. We love you, no matter what!

Everyone else, We know the economy is hard and even $5 makes a difference to this program. It's something we really, really, really believe in. Words are magic, and they are giving the gift of the belief in words to kids. That's amazing.

CLICK ON CHRIS BATY TO DONATE —>

*Edited to add:
CARTWHEELS. She did it again. Writes our darling FG: Dear Rachael and Bethany, It wouldn't be Nanowrimo if I didn't know you were at the Night of Writing Dangerously. Have a great time! Your Fairy Godmother

We are so happy and so grateful. We will make you proud.

Hiya! What do you think? I'm just settling in, unpacking the furniture and hanging the pictures. Darling Carrieoke did this on top of my old, kludged [Technical Term] site. I'm really pleased with the Books page.

What's doing over here: I've been sitting at the dining room table for hours, working on entering line edits (taking a first draft from embarrassing to readable). The first rain of the season has started, and I've been so happy, eating my seaweed snacks (addicted!), listening to it come down outside. An hour ago, I poured myself a glass of wine.

I've just realized that I'm exhausted (perhaps the wine helped me realize this?). I'm going to go lie on the couch with a book and do nothing but read. Oh, and I'll see how many animals I can get on the couch with me*. A coup is six. Almost unheard of is seven (since Clara takes her jobs very seriously, and sitting with us on the couch is NOT one of them). I made her get up once, and all nine of us were on the couch for just one brief second, long enough to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.

Aside – did you know that a group of cats is a clowder? I love that. It's right up there with a murder of crows and Lala's new term, a shame of exes.

*Sometimes we really do look around and wonder out loud, "How did this happen to us?" Today I was talking with a coworker who has four kids under the age of five and he says he and his wife say the same thing.