Newsletter 01/10: Does your book club need a good read?
|
|
| “Blatantly American in pressed khakis, polo shirt, and loafers, he moved through the dark-skinned throng with the athletic stride of a man immune to doubt. Behind the silver lenses of his Predator Ray-Bans, his trained gaze swept the avenue from side to side.” Hooked? Want to read more? Click here. |
In this letter:
- Satan’s Chamber in Boynton Beach, Florida
- Bookstore spotlight: Murder by the Book in Portland, Oregon
- Book clubs — Fuze’s other boots on the ground!
- Tapping the Muze: The Other D Word |
| |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
Murder on the Beach
Boynton Beach, Florida
http://www.murderonthebeach.com/ |
| Walk inside the quaint bookstore (Joanne Sinchuk, proprietor) devoted solely to mystery/thrillers and meet the life size ghoulish figure of a butler holding a book on a tray. The title? Satan’s Chamber! This past Thursday, at Murder on the Beach, Karetta treated 30 mystery/thriller Floridians to a short synopsis of the action, then answered 45 minutes of questions about the characters, crafting the story, and the comprehensive research she and Molly completed to write the book. One gutsy lady wanted to know if there was a lot of sex? (A. No — but lots of action.) Karetta’s sister, Lynn Browning and our Fuze volunteer Pat Smith were among the guests. Pat told the crowd that she read Satan’s Chamber twice because “it is not only a good read but packed with interesting educational detail as well.” |
| |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
Bookstore spotlight: Murder by the Book
Portland, Oregon
http://www.mbtb.com/ |
| Murder by the Book has been a Portland, Oregon institution since 1983. Their vast collection of mysteries and thrillers is composed of new, used, and hard-to-find books. The staff at Murder by the Book has more than 50 years of combined bookselling experience, all focused on helping customers find the perfect murder.
You can follow the Murder by the Book blog, which features mystery book reviews, at: http://mbtb-books.blogspot.com/ If you prefer to get your reviews in your inbox, there’s also a newsletter (which has featured Molly this week!): http://mbtb.com/shop/custom.asp?recid=6
If you’re in the Pacific Northwest, come to Murder by the Book for some good reads and to meet Molly! She will be signing books on January 31st, 2010, from 1-3pm.
Murder by the Book
3210 Southeast Hawthorne Blvd
Portland, OR
(503) 232-9995 |
| |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
| Book Clubs — Fuze’s other boots on the ground! |
| At book club appearances Molly and Karetta are inviting attendees to volunteer for Fuze. These enthusiastic participants are buying Satan’s Chamber and helping get the “buzz” about this terrific thriller to the public. These boots on the ground volunteers, along with independent bookstores, are participating in a grassroots effort that will truly help create sales and FUZE the publishing industry.
Several of our book clubs have participated in our “loaner” program. We loan the clubs a couple of books to pass to members to read before our co-authors come to speak. Karetta and Molly are scheduled to speak to several groups over the next few months. Stay tuned to next week’s missive to track where they will be next.
Want to participate in the loaner program? Contact our staff at fuzepublishing@gmail.com.
To see all of the independent bookstores that carry Satan’s Chamber, please visit http://www.satanschamber.com. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
| Tapping the Muze: The Other D Word |
| Some weeks back, I mentioned that doubts are a normal phase of the creative process. These doubts frequently focus on another D word. Asked what they consider their greatest writing challenge, my workshop participants always cite discipline: if inspiration doesn’t find its way to paper or disk, they have decided it must be due to a lack of discipline.
I would invert this diagnosis and suggest that what often prevents us from writing is too much discipline. It’s discipline that compels us to do almost anything else instead: mow the grass, organize some piece of household or office entropy, honor to-do lists, and tightly schedule our time. If we do manage to set aside the discipline that facilitates our daily lives,we come up against all the discipline we’ve learned to associate with writing: correct spelling and grammar, strictly defined assignments, all of which squeeze the air right out of the creative process.
The next time you find yourself not writing, try setting aside all the discipline that’s getting in the way. Get comfortable with your favorite beverage, writing implement, clipboard, and allow yourself to waste time. Daydream. Accept whatever comes to mind—a memory, an image, a what if. Record it in your messiest handwriting, on the diagonal, or sideways, across the lines. Forget logic. Let yourself enter the undisciplined unknown.
Molly co-authored The Creative Process (St. Martin’s Press) and has taught writing workshops for twenty years. If you would like to read all of Molly’s tips, please visit our website: http://www.fuzepublishing.com.
Please check out and contribute to our blog The First Word on the Fuze website! http://www.fuzepublishing.com
Next week: Bookstores, a volunteer party, and more! |
| |
|
|
This entry was posted
on Sunday, April 11th, 2010 at 10:07 am and is filed under Uncategorized.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
