January 11, 2016

Made It Moment: Tracy Marchini

Filed under: Made It Moments — jenny @ 10:01 am

Hot Ticket

Oh, I love a Made It Moment that gives me shivers. And that reminds me of something important I just can’t seem to get through the tough shell of my skull. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Life is a journey, not a destination.” As writers, we learn that lesson repeatedly. With every word we write, every story we tell–and every moment we achieve. Congratulations, Tracy, on conveying it so well. And on your Moment too!

Tracy Marchini

I don’t know that I can name one “made it” moment – but I do think I easily succumb to the temptation of thinking that, “If I do this one thing, then I’ll feel like I really made it.” Like, when I got my first agent. Or was accepted to an international writer’s retreat. Or when I published my middle grade, Hot Ticket.

These all feel like they should have been ‘made it’ moments, but the joy and agony of writing and publishing is that there’s always something else to look forward to. And so many writers and books to compare oneself to.

I guess I’m a bit like my protagonist, Juliet, that way. Juliet looks at the social hierarchy at John Jay Junior High (Triple J, for short) and sees that she is not cool enough to get a hot ticket, and not lame enough to get a shame ticket. She thinks that getting that hot ticket will change her junior high life for the better. But what she can’t see while she’s chasing the mysterious ticket dispenser, is that she already has it pretty good! She has a great collection of friends, a loving family and an endearing sense of humor wrapped in a bundle that’s – admittedly – a bit prone to disaster.

The fun of Hot Ticket is watching Juliet’s journey as she tries to catch the ticket dispenser and climb a few steps on the social ladder at Triple J.

And what I try to remind myself is that all of this – the drafting of two or three pages in a notebook on a crowded subway car; the compulsively checking my computer for revision notes or feedback from an editor, agent or beta reader; the blogging (hello!) – this is the journey. And this is the fun.

Even though there are days where I may not feel it, I know I am incredibly lucky to have the time and support to devote hours to telling the stories that pop in to my head. And maybe those are my made it moments – when I can sit and be grateful for a bit of time, the inspiration to write, and the hope that somebody someday will be happy to read it.

Tracy Marchini is a freelance editor who specializes in children’s and young adult literature. She’s previously worked at a Manhattan literary agency, as a children’s book reviewer, and as a freelance copywriter. As a children’s author, she been accepted for publication in Highlights Magazine and has won grants from the Highlights Foundation, the Puffin Foundation and La Muse Writer’s Retreat in Southern France. She holds an M.F.A in Writing for Children and a B.A. in English, concentration in Rhetoric.






July 5, 2015

Made It Moment: Lori Rader-Day

Filed under: Made It Moments — jenny @ 8:18 am

Little Pretty Things

I feel a connection to today’s Momenter, and it isn’t just because I’m looking forward to reading her new book, or because we got to appear together more than once on last year’s world’s longest book tour, or because both our debuts shared some similar and unexpected high points. Lori will tell you about all of that…and her book can do some talking too. Check it out! Beautiful cover, huh? But it’s what Lori told me that explains this visceral link I feel…one that happens when somebody has something of value to offer. Lori reminded me of the potential this writing game holds to surprise us. We never know what lies ahead. One day we might even feel like we made it.

Lori Rader-Day

I’m of two completely different minds on the issue of having “Made It.” On the one hand, I’ve reached so many of my dreams in the past year with the publication of my debut novel, The Black Hour, that it would be silly to deny that I’ve had a moment or two. But then we’re hardwired to keep reaching for the next moment, too. So have I made it? How will I know when I’ve made it? Will I ever really make it?

Holding two contradictory ideas in your head at once. Isn’t that the definition of insanity?

The moments that feel most Momentous to me are the ones that take me full circle, that help me connect where I am to where I thought I’d never be. Like the launch party I had last year in my hometown, in the library I went to as a kid. (They put my name on the marquee outside!) Or the moment during the Mary Higgins Clark Award ceremony when Mary Freaking Higgins Clark read my name as a nominee. (I used to check her books out of that library!)

But the my real Moment came without exclamation points, without anyone else there to see it. On the week The Black Hour launched, I was in New York at Thrillerfest as an ITW Debut Author. I had a great time, met some tremendous people, had the kind of launch week everyone thinks authors have.

Then came Sunday, the end of my launch week and the end of the conference. Sitting in the lobby of my hotel waiting for rain to pass before I got a taxi to the airport to go home, I was tired and all of sudden by myself for the first time all week. I was overcome with this wave of gratitude. This was my life now. My launch week was over, but I had so many things ahead of me, things I knew I could never predict.

In fact, if I could have designed my first year as a published author, I don’t think I would have dreamed as big as this year has actually been. I won’t say I’ve “made it,” exactly. That feels like a thing you say when you’re reaching the finish line. And, of course, I’m still just getting started.

My second book comes out this month. I had a Moment when it sold, you bet. Like all the talented and generous people who have gathered here to share their Moments, I just hope to remember to celebrate them when they arrive.

Lori Rader-Day’s debut mystery, The Black Hour (Seventh Street Books, 2014), received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal and was a finalist for the Mary Higgins Clark Award and the Anthony Award for Best First Novel. Her short stories have appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Time Out Chicago, Good Housekeeping, and others. Little Pretty Things is her second book. She lives in Chicago.






June 24, 2015

Made It Moment: Patricia Skalka

Filed under: Made It Moments — jenny @ 12:21 pm

Death At Gills Rock

Patricia Skalka’s Made It Moment is interesting on many levels. First is the peek at her hero, whom you’ll get to know. And next are some conclusions to be drawn from what Patricia says. Are series so popular because readers cleave to their heroes or anti-heroes, and is this information important for emerging authors who are deciding what kind of book to start with? Does it matter if your protagonist has deep flaws? Patricia offers rich information all mystery writers and readers might do well to consider.

Patricia Skalka

My Made it Moment came a full year after publication of Death Stalks Door County, the first book in my Dave Cubiak Door County mystery series. I was at Printers Row Lit Fest in Chicago, one of hundreds of authors lining a two-block stretch of Dearborn in the Loop and hoping to attract readers to my work. It was the first weekend in June and the publisher had rushed early copies of Death at Gills Rock, the second book in the series, for the event. The day was perfect: a cool breeze, a sun-drenched sky and streets packed with people. In the midst of this happy literary turmoil, a women hurried over to my modest display. “Is he okay? Is Dave alright?” she said.The Dave to whom she referred is Dave Cubiak, the angst-driven hero of the series. Readers first meet him as an angry, brooding man burdened with grief and guilt over the deaths of his wife and daughter. Dave drinks himself out of his job as a Chicago homicide detective and is barely hanging on to his new post as a park ranger in beautiful Door County when a rash of mysterious deaths strikes the picturesque peninsula. Comes his moment of truth and Dave starts on a rocky road to redemption even as he tracks a relentless killer.

Dave is the kind of tragic hero I like. The kind I want to read about. But would my readers relate? Would they empathize with this sullen, bitter man?

The woman at the booth bought the second book. “Is he getting better?” she said. Yes, I assured her. Death at Gills Rock is set two years later in fictional time and Dave is getting better. “Oh, I’m so glad to hear that. I really like Dave. He’s such a good man.”

With that, she could have knocked me over with a feather.

This woman, a stranger then and now, is not the only one to appreciate my fictional hero. Men tell me they like Dave because he’s a “regular guy.” Women fuss and worry about him. My readers’ embrace of Dave exceeds anything I could have imagined; it’s as if he has his own fan club!

More than anything —the thrill of opening that first box of books, the amazement of seeing my mystery novels displayed on bookstore shelves, even the honor of being asked to sign one of my books — my Made It Moment erupted from the realization that readers have such a strong emotional connection with my troubled protagonist. Knowing that what I write matters to others leaves me humbled, grateful and inspired to write on.

Following on the heels of a successful career as a nonfiction writer, Patricia Skalka made the leap into fiction with her 2014 debut mystery Death Stalks Door County, which was followed this year by the sequel Death At Gills Rock. The books have been praised by Publishers Weekly, The Library Journal and Booklist. “A first-rate series” says Kirkus. A Chicago writer, Skalka is currently working on book three of the six-book series.






June 18, 2015

Made It Moment: Sherry Knowlton

Filed under: Made It Moments — jenny @ 7:14 am

Dead of Summer

Sherry Knowlton is an International Thriller Writers author, which already makes us bound by a connection deeper than blood. Well, OK, that may be a bit of a thriller-y exaggeration, but still, we ITW folk stick close! Come look us up. But when I read this Moment, I realized that we are bound by something else as well. Those times when we were children and got in trouble for reading late at night. The feeling of connecting to a book’s characters as if they were in some ways more real than the real people in our lives. And that experience as a writer when a reader believes in our stories. That’s making it.

Sherry Knowlton

Many of my steps along the road to becoming a published writer have been rewarding. That day when Sunbury Press told me that they wanted to publish my book. Getting to work with them on the best cover design. Actually holding Dead of Autumn in my hands with my name right there on the cover. All of these steps had me jumping for joy, but still the whole suspense author thing didn’t seem quite real. Knowing that I’ve “made it” took something more.

Since I was a small child, I’ve been an avid reader of books (many, many, many books). So, perhaps it’s not surprising that the reaction of readers to my debut novel has been what finally brought home the realization that I’m now an author. When reader after reader told me “I couldn’t put the book down” or “I stayed up until two in the morning to finish it,” that struck a chord. How often did my parents catch me reading a book in bed by flashlight? How many books have I finished in the wee hours of the morning, even when I had to work the next morning?

I’ve met with several book clubs that read Dead of Autumn. Most in those groups embraced my story and took my characters to heart. They exclaimed things like, “Why did Alexa go to Perry County again?” and “I would have been terrified at night in the woods.” At one of the book club sessions, the whole group begged me – with great animation – not to kill off the mastiff in a future novel. “Anyone but Scout,” they pleaded.

That reader involvement with characters on the written page resonates with me. I still mourn that there will be no more Travis McGee books. I am dying to know what fate awaits Tyrion and Arya in the final volumes of Game of Thrones. And, Robert Jordan’s certain death in For Whom the Bell Tolls, which I first read in high school, still brings a tear to my eye.

Some of the feedback about Dead of Autumn has come from people I know or who have spoken to me at book signings and author events. Much more has come through reviews written by readers I’ve never met. One thing is clear about them all. These are kindred spirits; people like me who love books.

So, this feedback from readers has been a wonderful affirmation. It has confirmed that I have made it. I’m walking that road. I am an author.

Sherry Knowlton is the author of Dead of Autumn. Her second novel in the Alexa Williams series, Dead of Summer, will be released in June 2015. When not working on her health care consulting business or traveling around the world, Knowlton lives in the mountains of South Central Pennsylvania.






June 16, 2015

Made It Moment: Steve P. Vincent

Filed under: Made It Moments — jenny @ 7:39 am

State Of Emergency

I wish the Moments were audio so Steve Vincent could talk to us right now. Seriously…read on, and you’ll see why I say so. You’ll also see what happens when a writer follows almost the exact opposite road I did. It took me 11 years and 7 manuscripts before my eighth novel was published. With each rejection, I went back to the drawing board, learning all that I was doing wrong and something about how the business worked. While Steve as he  describes it “fell into” success in this biz. Already published, he now gets to pursue the hard work of learning the ropes of this industry…and finding all the Moments there are to mine within it.

Steve Vincent

Being asked to describe how I ‘made it’ is a funny thing, because I don’t think I’m quite where I want to be just yet! But because Jenny is awesome and I love reading these little tidbits, I’ll do my best

I came to writing fiction relatively late. While I’m pretty good at writing, rely on it for my other work as a government policy advisor and have a huge appetite as a reader, I never really linked those things in my head and considered I could write novels. I tinkered, a bit, but I was focused on my career and never seriously sat down to put a large number of words to paper.

In reality, I came to be published after a few accidental steps down a path: a conversation with a friend about writing, a decision we both made to enroll in a creative writing course, the AWESOME teacher who taught that course, and her very strong prodding for me to submit to a publisher. I did, not really expecting, but out the other end spat a three book digital deal with Pan Macmillan Australia’s digital imprint, Momentum.

While it has been a fun ride, I also feel like I have a lot more to learn. My second book is better than my first, and I hope the third will be better than both of those too! I’m learning on the job and am lucky to have a great publisher and support team around me. At some point I’ll probably try to get an agent, too, because although flying blind is exciting it’s also tiring!

I feel satisfied and really lucky, but more than anything, I’m excited about the moments to come! I released my second book last week. I’ve nearly finished the third (and last) book I’m contracted for. I’m straight into writing another book in another series. I’m going to Thrillerfest, where I’ll speak in the Grand Hyatt in front of an army of thriller fans. I’m enjoying the moments as they come and glad that readers are enjoying my labour of love.

Steve P. Vincent is a thriller writer from Melbourne, Australia. His debut novel, The Foundation, was published by Pan Macmillan / Momentum in September 2014. The sequel and his second novel, State of Emergency, was published in June 2015. He has a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Political Science and History and his honors thesis was on the topic of global terrorism. He has traveled extensively through Europe, the US, and Asia.






June 15, 2015

Made It Moment: E.A. Aymar

Filed under: Made It Moments — jenny @ 7:08 am

You're As Good As Dead

OK, you may not realize this after reading this heartfelt, poignant moment–don’t we all want to roll with the big guys/gals?–but Ed Aymar is also one of the funniest writers I’ve encountered. Read his Washington Independent column monthly. You’ll not only learn a little something, you’ll also laugh, and maybe wince a little in sympathy. (With a third novel about to release, I’ve had a couple of wince-worthy moments.) And then go and check out Ed’s  first and second Dead books. They’re really good. They are, I dare say, fit to roll with the big guys.

E.A. Aymar

Similar sentiments have been expressed in this space before, but I haven’t made it yet. I’ve definitely had good times since I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead was published, times I’ve treasured, especially since it took a decade and three books to receive that long-sought acceptance letter. You wait that long, and you pass through periods of time when you think you’ll never get published.

It was in one of those periods–after my second novel came close but failed to find a home–that I ended up in grad school. I got a Masters in Literature, got hungry, and started work on a new novel. I really liked this one. It moved well. It was honest. I knew it was good.

The small press movement was flourishing at that time, and my book found a home within those ranks. Getting published was great, but I learned that life with a small publisher isn’t easy, particularly if it’s not with one of the older, established presses. Don’t get me wrong – Black Opal has been a terrific home for my Dead trilogy. But it’s tough to get respect when you’re not rolling with the big guys. Some bookstores close their doors to you. Book festivals are reluctant to feature you. You don’t have the budget to advertise extensively (well, I don’t), or the pull to get your novel into newspapers.

It’s a fight, and a blind one. Some of my marketing and advertising efforts paid off, but I hated the idea that I needed to spend nearly as much time marketing as I did writing. So I just wrote as much as I could: short stories, guest blogs, interviews, anything. My only condition was that I wrote what I wanted, and only what I wanted. I loved it.

One of my pieces was a guest column for the Washington Independent Review of Books, a publication I’d long admired and frequently read, and the managing editor for the site really liked it. We traded e-mails, met at a conference, and she asked if I’d be interested in becoming one of their regular columnists.

Honestly, that was one of my dreams (it’s exactly the kind of nerdy dream a writer has).

I love writing for the Independent. I’m not a prolific writer; both of my novels have taken over a year to write, practically glacial by today’s standards. But I’ve found that an 800-word column each month is doable, and fun, and I’m sharing space with writers I admire, some of the tops in their respective genres. There’s a bustling readership and energy with the Independent that I enjoy and contribute to. I know I haven’t made it yet, and I’ll likely never feel that I have, but I found the right path. That’s enough.

E.A. Aymar’s debut thriller, I’LL SLEEP WHEN YOU’RE DEAD, was published by Black Opal Books in 2013 and the sequel, YOU’RE AS GOOD AS DEAD, is available now from the same publisher. He is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, SinC and the International Thriller Writers. His column, Decisions and Revisions, runs monthly in the Washington Independent Review of Books. He lives with his family just outside of Washington, D.C.






June 12, 2015

Made It Moment: Graham Stull

Filed under: Made It Moments — jenny @ 9:39 am

The Hydra

I’m not going to provide a lot of intro text here, even though I sometimes do. Graham Stull’s Made It Moments gave me shivers and made me cry. That’s all I’m going to say, because that’s all this Moment needs. Its author did the rest.

And if an author can do that in 300 words, surely his novel is worth checking out? OK. That’s it. That’s really all I’m gonna say. G’day!

Graham Stull

The pub was crowded, as was usual for pub quiz night in our local Brussels boozer, an Irish pub by the name of ‘Michael Collins’. The quiz had reached that point where the organisers pause to tabulate the scores from the first four question rounds. Our team members all looked up from our scrawled notes and makeshift maps of African countries bordering the Congo, and began the ritual small talk. The latest movies and sports results, holiday plans, good places to eat.

“So,” Charlotte said, turning to me, “what is it you do?” Charlotte was new to our quiz team, and was still doing the introductory rounds.

“I’m an economist,” was my automatic response. I wanted to add, “but I’m really a writer. I’ve been writing all my life. The first draft of my novel is ready, waiting for me. It’s willing me to muster up the courage to nurture it fully to life.”

Instead I forced a self-deprecating smile and added, “Economics is boring stuff. You know, mostly just adjusting numbers in spreadsheets.”

That comment earned nothing more than a polite smile from Charlotte. Microsoft Excel might have pretty good mathematical functionality, but it’s a real conversation killer.

In my head, though, the conversation went on. As the quizmaster read out questions for rounds five through nine, and the team busily debated where the 1976 Olympics were hosted (Was it Munich?), and which country exported the most bananas (Costa Rica or Ecuador?) I found myself wondering why it was I was so shy about defining myself as a writer. By the time the final scores came in, and our team finished a lowly sixth place, I had come to a decision. If I was going to be a writer, I had to think of myself as a writer. And that would mean changing my priorities. The next day I told my boss I would be applying for a five month leave of absence.

Two weeks later I had packed my tent and sleeping bag, got on my bicycle and pedalled my way out of Brussels, out of Belgium, and right through the sausage-and-beer bloated midsection of Germany, until the Danube River bore me to Vienna. 1,400 km of cycling was enough to rid my mind of any recollection of the dreaded spreadsheets. I took a room in Vienna’s trendy Seventh District and spent the next four weeks pouring over the text of my novel.

One evening, after rewriting a particularly satisfying chapter, I decided to break out of my hermit cell and found my way to a local beer garden, where I chanced to meet a Californian guy who had been an engineer and was now running workshops for alternative medicine and yoga.

“So what kind of work do you do?” he asked me.

My glanced drifted momentarily to the string of lights suspended across the trellis at the edge of the garden.

“I’m a writer,” I answered.

And that was my Made It Moment.

Graham Stull was born in 1975 in Dungarvan, Co Waterford. He grew up in suburban Boston, before returning to Ireland to complete his Leaving Certificate and study social sciences at Trinity College Dublin. He has worked variously as a postman in Germany, a real estate agent in America, and a legal search clerk in Dublin. Upon completing his formal training in economics from Trinity, Graham has worked in economics for the Irish parliament and for the European Union. He speaks four languages and travels as much as he can.






June 8, 2015

Made It Moment: Alex Dolan

Filed under: Made It Moments — jenny @ 7:29 am

The Euthanist

Some of you already know that I have accepted a Board position for International Thriller Writers–it’s one of the cooler things that’s happened to me since becoming a published author. And one of the cooler parts about that cool thing is getting to meet and support the new authors joining our organization. When you combine that with a Made It Moment, you get, well, a really good feeling. Of things coming together, and also of how this writing life is a circle. So long as we all link hands and support each other, we will stand strong. Come be a part of the circle as you read Alex Dolan’s Moment. He’s a writer who really did everything right…and deserves to be living in the Moment. Plus…his book looks creepy as heck and I can’t wait to pick up a copy on the road.

Alex Dolan

I wish I had a “made it moment” plucked from Kanye West’s diary, something along the lines of: as soon as my frozen cocktail dispenser started humming, I knew I could call myself an author.

The truth is that it’s been a long process.

Before The Euthanist was sold, I’d hit a wall. Over the previous three years, I wrote two novels that were lucky enough to land agency deals, but despite their best efforts, the agencies couldn’t sell either book (for the record, I blame the quality of the writing, and not the quality of my agents). Both of my agents decided to leave the business for different reasons, and that left me without representation, or a viable project. Creatively, I hit a low, with many ideas squirreling around in my head without a clear understanding of what I needed to become a published novelist.

Both my former agent Jessica and novelist friend Renée suspected that my frustration meant I was close to a breakthrough. So I kept scribbling in my ideas notebook for an interesting premise. One of the ones that didn’t make it: “A man dies at a candy factory. Becomes man-dy.”

I’d just experienced seeing a loved one on life support, and I started thinking about the euthanasia movement. As I researched physician-assisted suicide and the right-to-die movement, I thought about who would do this kind of work. And I embellished a lot. My central character ended up being a combination of an outlaw and a caregiver. Once she was sufficiently weird enough for me to find her interesting, the title came to me.

I poked my head out of the bedroom at one in the morning. My wife was reading on the living room sofa.

“The Euthanist. Right?” I asked, providing no context to this statement.

She nodded. “Yep. That’s it.”

That was probably my first “made it moment” for this book, because at that moment, I felt like I had something viable. When I pitched the concept to Jessica and Renée, they both told me to drop everything and focus on this story.

To make sure I did it right, I tried to fix the holes in my own writing, the things that had gotten me agency deals but not publishing deals. I studied various curricula of MFA programs, and pieced together my own reading list to fortify the problem areas in my writing. Two books that have been indispensible for me were Story, by Robert McKee, and The Writer’s Journey, by Christopher Vogler. I’m happy to share a fuller list with anyone who asks.

I spent a lot more time than usual sketching out all of my characters, getting to know them before ever attempting a first draft. I also bumped up the amount of research I did, which was both fun and helpful. I knew I needed a real mentor in the form of a good editor, and after scouring the web for people who would be a good fit, I found Jennifer Skutelsky, who gave me the professorial feedback that I needed.

So, my second “made it moment” was more a general awareness that, after all this work, I was starting to understand how to put a novel together. For me, it was a systemic approach to improve my sense of story, my characters, and my writing voice. It was finding mentors and the right sort of peers to give me feedback on the work. When it was all done, I had the sense that I’d completed a project that might be taken seriously by publishers.

All that being said, once I have my platinum toilet installed, I’ll write a follow-up post.

Alex Dolan was raised in Boston, lived in New York City, and currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to writing for several publications, he has recorded four music albums. The Euthanist is his first novel.






April 14, 2015

Made It Moment: Susanna Calkins

Filed under: Made It Moments — jenny @ 9:26 am

Masque Of Murder

Susanna Calkins has an unconventional path to publication, and an unconventional Moment. Perhaps there is no such thing as convention when it comes to this writing life. In any case, I think the words below will speak to anyone who ever questioned his or her “right to write”. How many of us have kept this passion of ours secret, at least for a while? I certainly did, and I can admit now that it came from a sense of shame. Why wasn’t I succeeding? Susanna’s secret–that sounds like a title for a novel!–had different origins, but when she finally let it go the same thing happened for her that does for us all. We become writers.

Susanna Calkins

My made it moment may be a little different than that of other authors Jenny has so generously hosted on her blog. I spent eight years working on a PhD in European history, and a few more years after that as an assistant professor of history. I always enjoy telling people about how when I was a graduate student I first discovered the murder ballads that prompted my first historical novel, A Murder at Rosamund’s Gate, but the reality is it took me a very long time before I began to write that story.

It wasn’t so much that I felt pressed for time, although that was certainly the case, or that I wasn’t sure I could even write a full-length novel (let alone one that anyone might want to publish), which was also true. I just did not feel free to write creatively. I was supposed to be writing for other academics, not for readers. Only after I took a different academic job did I begin to feel freer from those constraints.

And even when I did finally begin to write that first novel, I did so in fits and spurts. A scene here. A scene there. Never knowing how those pieces would connect, but always so happy to indulge in what I called then my little secret hobby. I didn’t tell anyone I was writing a novel—not even my husband—for years (years!), until I had written about 300 rather oddly constructed pages. At that point I let him into the secret, and a few other trusted souls after that.

But even after I got my agent and my contract with Minotaur a short time later, I was still very hesitant to let my academic colleagues know about my books, especially those from my graduate school. It was hard to let go of the feeling that I had failed as a historian because I write historical fiction.

However, a funny thing started happening after my first novel came out. I started receiving nice emails from readers, saying how much they had learned about 17th century England from reading my books. That they had hated history in high school and college, but that my books had kindled a real interest in the social, political, cultural events from the period. I’ve been teaching at the college level for nearly 20 years, and there is a good chance that I have reached more people with my novels than I ever did in a classroom. That is both humbling and empowering at the same time.

So my made it moment?

When my former professors began to congratulate me on my writing—on my decision to do something unconventional (at least for them!) with my knowledge of history. It’s not that I needed their validation to feel proud of my novels—it was more the realization that they understood that I had used the graduate training and knowledge they had provided me. It was just not as anyone had expected. Indeed, the research I did for my dissertation, which focused on 17th century Quaker women, grounded my third book in the series, THE MASQUE OF A MURDERER. So for me, the very act of incorporating my research into my historical mysteries, and seeing my stories in print, and hearing from my readers about what they had learned, all make me believe ‘I made it.’

Susanna Calkins has been intrigued by murder ever since she first stumbled across 17th century murder ballads in grad school. The idea that people used to sing about murder and other strange tales became the premise of her historical mysteries featuring Lucy Campion. Set in 17th century plague-ridden England, her second novel–From the Charred Remains–is short-listed for the LCC Bruce Alexander Historical Mystery Award.






April 10, 2015

Made It Moment: Tilia Klebenov Jacobs

Filed under: Made It Moments — jenny @ 8:49 am

Second Helpings at the Serve You Right Café

I love welcoming Tilia Jacobs to the blog because the two of us have been engaged in a rousing conversation about indie and traditional publishing over the course of several years now.  (Here is Tilia’s 2014 Moment). Now with her second novel just released, the conversation continues, this time about the perennially stimulating issue of cover art. Many indie authors feel that this is a special part of the self-publishing process, and as you’ll see it literally became Tilia’s second Made It Moment. What was eye-opening for me was that the experience Tilia describes had more in common with what I’ve seen on the traditional side than I ever expected. I think you’ll agree that both Tilia’s Moment and her cover make you want to check out her new book–they certainly did me. Here’s to Moments all around!

Tilia Klebenov Jacobs

Question: Is a picture worth 36,000 words?

Answer: Sometimes! But it has to be the right picture.

One of the true joys of indie pubbing is the creative control it affords. Far from praying I will like the cover my publisher provides, I’m free to choose it myself.

After my publicist told me the cover of my first book stunk, I hired Asha Hossain for my new book, Second Helpings at the Serve You Right Café. It quickly became apparent that working with her was going to be a dream. She wanted to know everything about the book—practical things, such as the release date and eBook requirements; and artistic, such as genre and specific imagery I wanted. This too was layered with practicality: “Please keep in mind imagery should be ‘clean’ and easy to translate at thumbnail size, as that’s the size potential buyers will first see on sites such as Amazon.” Thus do both font and font size matter, and the cover can’t be so visually cluttered that lettering gets lost in the background.

Clearly, a multitude of factors contribute to a great cover, which is what makes the process so exciting. How will the verbal translate to the visual? Although every aspect of the story is limned in my own mind, right down to the scruff that’s not on my hero’s jaw (he’s clean-shaven), no one else can see those pictures. The perfect cover visually conceptualizes an invisible story—not plot, but mood, themes, and setting.

Asha sent me six covers, and I narrowed it down to two immediately. One showed empty chairs at a sidewalk eatery; the other, a blue-green cup on a cracked saucer, marked with lipstick. I posted them on Facebook and asked people which they preferred. The response was rapid and gratifyingly opinionated.

“My book cover intuition says the one with the blue cup and cookies is more eye-catching.”
“The one with the chairs makes me wonder about the place and the people who might come or might already have been there. The cup of coffee makes me wonder, ‘Do I need a cup of coffee?’”

“My vote goes for the turquoise cup version. The photograph speaks of physical desires and something slightly wrong, and the line breaks in the title make it easier to comprehend. The spoon even highlights the word ‘HELP,’ which is a nice touch.”

“I like the one on the right.”

“I like the one on the left, and I have left-leaning tendencies.”

Despite the voices of an impassioned minority, a near-consensus surged to the fore: the coffee cup was more eye-catching, the lipstick mysterious, and the cracked saucer hinted at doom (and who doesn’t love doom?). I told Asha, and in short order she sent me the hi-res image of the cover. I took a deep breath and clicked on the attachment.

It was perfect. I could see what the artist and others saw in my story: its mystery and romance, its lyricism and dark fear. The perfect cover gives a pow as satisfying as a tennis ball hitting the sweet spot.

And that was my Moment.

Tilia Klebenov Jacobs holds a BA from Oberlin College, where she double-majored in Religion and English with a concentration in Creative Writing. She earned a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School and a Secondary School Teaching Certification from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Tilia has taught middle school, high school, and college, and has won numerous awards for her fiction and nonfiction writing. She is a judge in the Soul-Making Keats Literary Competition, and she teaches writing to prison inmates. Tilia lives near Boston with her husband, two children, and two standard poodles.






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