Thursday, September 4, 2014
Friday, May 16, 2014
Good News!
I got some great news yesterday--more than great--FANTASTIC news!
Borrowed Horses has been selected as one of twelve semi-finalists for the VCU Cabell First Novel Award!!!
I am so incredibly honored...and more than a little intimidated by the exceptional company my novel is keeping. I was looking at the other semi-finalist novels today, and they look incredible. A few others come from relatively small indie presses, but many are from big NY houses. The judges seem to be looking at the quality of the work rather than the size of the press, which is heartening.
In a few weeks, they will narrow the field to three finalists. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Honestly, I'm humbled and honored to have made it this far.
Borrowed Horses has been selected as one of twelve semi-finalists for the VCU Cabell First Novel Award!!!
I am so incredibly honored...and more than a little intimidated by the exceptional company my novel is keeping. I was looking at the other semi-finalist novels today, and they look incredible. A few others come from relatively small indie presses, but many are from big NY houses. The judges seem to be looking at the quality of the work rather than the size of the press, which is heartening.
In a few weeks, they will narrow the field to three finalists. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Honestly, I'm humbled and honored to have made it this far.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Upcoming Readings
I will continue to update the list of upcoming readings as I confirm with new venues. In the mean time, if you would like me to come read, meet with a class, or visit your book club, let me know and we'll see what we can work out. I would love to come!
Oct 11 7:00 PM Utah Humanities Book Fest Reading with Alyson Hagy and Stephen Tuttle at The King's English, Salt Lake City, UT (Advanced copies of Borrowed Horses will be available for sale!)
Oct 16 1:00 PM Ladies Literary Society Reading and Q&A with Janine Joseph, Ogden, UT.
Nov 7 4:30 PM Class visit: Practicum in Publishing at Minnesota State University Moorhead, Moorhead, MN.
Nov 7 6:45 PM Book Launch! Minnesota State University Moorhead, Moorhead, MN.
Nov 8 9:00 AM Reading for Equine Sciences department, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND
Nov 14 2:00 PM Weber State Faculty Reading with Mario Chard in Elizabeth Hall room 229, Ogden, UT
Nov 19 (late morning) Reading at Utah Valley University, Orem, UT
Nov 19 2:30 PM Class Visit at Utah Valley University, Orem, UT
Dec 4 7:00 PM City Arts Reading Series at the Salt Lake City Main Library (210 East 400 South) in the 4th Floor Auditorium, Salt Lake City, UT
Dec 12 7:00 PM Reading at Helicon, Utah State University, Logan, UT
Jan 16 3:30 PM Reading at University of Utah, LNCO 3850, Salt Lake City, UT
Feb 28 4:30 PM AWP Off-Site Reading, Caffe Ladro, Seattle, WA
Mar 27 TBA Reading and class visits, Dixie State University, St. George, UT
Oct 11 7:00 PM Utah Humanities Book Fest Reading with Alyson Hagy and Stephen Tuttle at The King's English, Salt Lake City, UT (Advanced copies of Borrowed Horses will be available for sale!)
Oct 16 1:00 PM Ladies Literary Society Reading and Q&A with Janine Joseph, Ogden, UT.
Nov 7 4:30 PM Class visit: Practicum in Publishing at Minnesota State University Moorhead, Moorhead, MN.
Nov 7 6:45 PM Book Launch! Minnesota State University Moorhead, Moorhead, MN.
Nov 8 9:00 AM Reading for Equine Sciences department, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND
Nov 14 2:00 PM Weber State Faculty Reading with Mario Chard in Elizabeth Hall room 229, Ogden, UT
Nov 19 (late morning) Reading at Utah Valley University, Orem, UT
Nov 19 2:30 PM Class Visit at Utah Valley University, Orem, UT
Dec 4 7:00 PM City Arts Reading Series at the Salt Lake City Main Library (210 East 400 South) in the 4th Floor Auditorium, Salt Lake City, UT
Dec 12 7:00 PM Reading at Helicon, Utah State University, Logan, UT
Jan 16 3:30 PM Reading at University of Utah, LNCO 3850, Salt Lake City, UT
Feb 28 4:30 PM AWP Off-Site Reading, Caffe Ladro, Seattle, WA
Mar 27 TBA Reading and class visits, Dixie State University, St. George, UT
Monday, September 16, 2013
New Agent! New Book!
Good news, y'all! I've just signed with a new agent! The hunt is over, and I'm very proud to say I am represented by Kathleen Nishimoto at William Morris Endeavor. Now, onto the next round of revisions on New Brighton--which will definitely be retitled (but what??) as I revise. Finding the right agent is absolutely exhausting, but I'm so happy to have Kathleen on my publication team.
It's less than a month until the birthday of my first book, Borrowed Horses. I'm 90% excited and 10% terrified. After so many years of relentless revising, it's strange to have it out of my hands, to know that I can't change it any more. I'm way too aware of all the things I wanted to make better--which I suppose is only natural when you've been flaw-hunting for nine-plus years. I'm trying to forget that, though and, instead, remember all the things that I'm proud of. I really hope you all like the book and that you fall in love with Joannie Edson and Zephyr and Timothy every bit as much as I did.
It's less than a month until the birthday of my first book, Borrowed Horses. I'm 90% excited and 10% terrified. After so many years of relentless revising, it's strange to have it out of my hands, to know that I can't change it any more. I'm way too aware of all the things I wanted to make better--which I suppose is only natural when you've been flaw-hunting for nine-plus years. I'm trying to forget that, though and, instead, remember all the things that I'm proud of. I really hope you all like the book and that you fall in love with Joannie Edson and Zephyr and Timothy every bit as much as I did.
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Blog hiatus
I need to focus my energy on finishing revisions on my second novel and finding an agent to represent it. I'll see you all on the flip side.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Another Borrowed Horse
I Facebook-friended the writer Luis Alberto Urrea this morning, whose book The Hummingbird's Daughter I loved and highly recommend. (I've just put the follow-up, Queen of America, on my wishlist.) The unexpected benefit of friending Urrea? He posts awesome horse art. I owe today's borrowed horse to him.
Friday, April 5, 2013
Why I Can't and Can Live My Dreams Through Fiction
My lifelong dream, the goal for which I've long yearned and pined, has always been to eat like a teenage boy and not gain weight. Unfortunately, I was not born that way. I have never been able to look at a pumpkin pie without imagining what it would be like to eat the whole thing at one sitting, just me, the pie, a fork, and good dollop of whipped cream.
Alas, it is not to be. As much as I love food, I've always had to cut myself off before things get out of hand... and then run several miles to try to work off whatever damage I did before the cut off. Even still, I'm still more soft than lean.
According to the common wisdom, it should be a blessing that I can write my fantasies, that I can live them vicariously through my invented characters. But I'm working right now to write a fourteen year old male speaker, and I gotta say, if I'm doing this right, if I'm fully imagining my character and his experience, all it does is make me hungry.
There's a metaphor there somewhere. Something about artistic hunger. Something about striving. Something about intensifying unfulfillable desire through language.
Lately, I've been wanting to buy some work by Jess Walter, whose story in the latest Best American Short Stories absolutely blew me away. I feel like this is a writer I always should have known. He's from Spokane, for goodness sake! How could I have not always been reading his work? I want to start making up for that right now, but MAN. Where to start? I'm scrolling through his novels, and the dude has been prolific.
Staring at the list of his books has made me hungry in a different way. Hungry to write, to revise, to finish and start again. That, at least, is a hunger I can satisfy by writing. May we all stay hungry, my friends.
Alas, it is not to be. As much as I love food, I've always had to cut myself off before things get out of hand... and then run several miles to try to work off whatever damage I did before the cut off. Even still, I'm still more soft than lean.
According to the common wisdom, it should be a blessing that I can write my fantasies, that I can live them vicariously through my invented characters. But I'm working right now to write a fourteen year old male speaker, and I gotta say, if I'm doing this right, if I'm fully imagining my character and his experience, all it does is make me hungry.
There's a metaphor there somewhere. Something about artistic hunger. Something about striving. Something about intensifying unfulfillable desire through language.
Lately, I've been wanting to buy some work by Jess Walter, whose story in the latest Best American Short Stories absolutely blew me away. I feel like this is a writer I always should have known. He's from Spokane, for goodness sake! How could I have not always been reading his work? I want to start making up for that right now, but MAN. Where to start? I'm scrolling through his novels, and the dude has been prolific.
Staring at the list of his books has made me hungry in a different way. Hungry to write, to revise, to finish and start again. That, at least, is a hunger I can satisfy by writing. May we all stay hungry, my friends.
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