Because this story is just demanding every damned thing from me. And I know it seems a little off kilter in places, but believe me, it works.

Cast Your Fate to the Wind- Vince Guaraldi Trio
So Much in Love- The Tymes
Sunday Will Never Be the Same- Spanky and Our Gang
How Can I Be Sure- The Rascals
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me- Mel Carter
Anyone Who Had a Heart- Dusty Springfield
Walk Away Renee- The Left Banke
Bus Stop- The Hollies
Wouldn't it Be Nice- The Beach Boys
Daydream Believer- The Monkees
You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling- The Righteous Brothers
In My Life- The Beatles
Get Together- The Youngbloods
House of the Rising Sun- The Animals
You Don't Have to Say You Love Me- Dusty Springfield

This one evolved in an interesting sort of manner. While the story takes place primarily in 1965, some of these recordings are from a year or two later. It had more to do with the "feel" of what I was going for here. As such, I actually stuck to era-specific recordings rather than any remakes. And yes, Dusty is the only repeat artist in the bunch-- that may change as the playlist evolves over time. It's funny though, I can't seem to make a playlist for this story without a Dusty chart. It's like she's the patron saint of this story.

Maybe it's because I've yet to have coffee, but today's Doonesbury tickled me no end.

We've had satellite for yonks, which was great in Ohio, spotty here in NE Florida, but still a better alternative than cable 'round these parts. We're trying to decide which way to go in Seattle-- we love satellite, but HATE the current DVR we have from Dish. (Still miss my Tivo... *sob*)

So a few questions:

1) If you have satellite, does the cloud cover interfere a lot with reception?

2) Does anyone have a Tivo Series 3 and if you're using it with Comcast how much are you being charged for the cable cards? (Comcast here wanted to charge us way too much for the second card)

There might be more, but that's just to start. If you want, email answers to Fashionista35@comcast.net

Which sounds ridiculously selfish, doesn't it? But it's not exactly as it might sound. This is more about trying to give my career more focus.

At first, it was about getting published-- which I managed to accomplish, not in the way I necessarily anticipated, but in a manner which has nevertheless proved incredibly satisfying. But in the end, publishing only in YA isn't going to satisfy me. I love it, and I'm glad I discovered a gift for it, but it's not enough for me.

But now, I'm with a fantastic publishing house; one that I really feel will allow me the freedom to write in multiple genres and where I can really grow my career (pleaseohpleaseohplease...) and I think the focus really wants to be sharpened.

So long term, what do I want?

I want to publish in adult fiction. Now that I sold Stars/Carmen, that's my next goal. It's been my next goal since I sold the first YA in 2005. Hell, it's been my next goal, since I first started writing for publication. But the difference now is that I'm far more aware of what I write. Or rather, what I don't write. I don't write romance. I write romantic, but not romance. It's a bit of a bitter pill to swallow, admitting there's something I can't do. Or as ifigrowup would say, "No Barb, if you wanted to, you could do it. You just don't want to do it. You want to write romance your way, which is to say, it's not romance as the industry and the readers want to define it." (All right, all right, he has a point, dammit. Still, it remains that by all current definitions, I don't write romance.)

So, anyway, semantics aside, I continue working on my adult fiction and hoping that I can make that next step.

But then I get started thinking on some different measures of success and by what standard I would consider myself successful. In other words, what's more important-- New York Times Book Review or New York Times Bestseller List?

I won't lie-- I want approbation for my work. I want to be considered critically successful-- I want acknowledgement that I'm good at this thing I've dedicated myself to. However, at the same time, I'm very, very well aware that critical acclaim is such a subjective thing. Not to mention, personal-- I have to believe I write well. External validation is nice, but I can get that from the reader letters that say I touched them in some way. And in the vein of wanting to touch as many readers as possible, I think I'd take Bestseller over Book Review.

And because publishing is such a numbers game these days, simple fact is, the more I sell, the more I can continue to sell new books for publication.

Finally-- and this might sound bizarre as a goal-- but I never want to stop questioning my abilities. Because as long as I continue to question, that means I feel the need to improve my craft, and I don't ever want to feel as if I don't have more to learn. The day I say I've gone as far as I can and I can't possibly become a better writer, take me out back and shoot me, because I'll have become too insufferable to live.

So-- only three goals. Two lofty and one that I live on a daily basis. Seems like a good place to start.

This is a Key Lime Pie.



Note that the color is a creamy yellow. This is a real Key Lime Pie, made with real key lime juice. If someone tries to hand you a slab of something green and they try to tell you it's Key Lime Pie...

THEY LIE


That is all.

I'm sorry that suricattus had a crappy phone call that put her in a vile mood, but I'm so glad she was cheered by this and better still, that she posted it for the rest of us.

I'm not sure who amuses me more- Animal or Beaker.

gaelbrady & ladystarblade make sure you watch this!

Y'all tired of the HQHos debacle? Yeah, me too. Not that it's still not important and needs to be discussed, but you get to a point of oversaturation and simply have to draw back. And frankly, I have this thing about Publishing Darwinism. For the people who are insisting that vanity publishing* is a viable alternative and that we traditionally published folks are all elitist and shit, think we're more talented than Everyone Else, and have no faith in an individual's ability to discern what's a scam and what's not? Vaya con Dios, my friends. Catch you with your broken bank accounts on the flip side. (And yes, something like this did happen-- to authors Stacia Kane and Jackie Kessler.)

*And for the record, vanity publishing and self publishing are not the same. A lot of other people who are far smarter and have more patience than I have explained it. And if I get permission to post, a bookseller has done an amazing breakdown of what it would cost an author to produce a book with the benefits a bookseller would expect in order to carry it in a brick and mortar store.

Okay, enough of that. Moving on.

First up, my lovely, darling Selah March (dubious_virtue) liesillustrates the insanitynuances of a critique partnership of nearly a decade over at Tales From the Crit. The conversation quoted is actually real. And repeated often.

Moving on some more. To the thing I actually love and for which I would dearly love to continue receiving payment, writing.

I love when a random bit of research sparks a bit of a scene, if not an entire scene by itself. I was researching vintage lipstick colors and cases (don't ask-- it's me being supremely anal-retentive) and discovered that in the late 1950s/early 1960s, Revlon partnered with jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels whereupon the latter designed a limited edition cosmetics cases. (Lipsticks and compacts are what I've found so far.) For my purposes, I was more interested in the lipsticks (Didja know that Revlon's "Love That Red" has been around since 1951? True fax.) and once I discovered an image of the Van Cleef & Arpels designed cases, a dimension to the scene I was currently working on formed in my mind and Wouldn't Let Go. So I went with it. Because this story gives me enough fits-- I don't need to be arguing with the little bits here and there. So here we go.

Oh, and before I post, look at the cases. Aren't they pretty? I'm tempted to buy one, just because. Maybe if this story sells, I will. Packrats R Us.



Teaser Tuesday, from Between Here & Gone...

He pulled free from my grasp, pointing back to the front door as he headed down the floating staircase. "Wait for me in the car. I mean it."

Not an option. And now was not the time to explain I didn't need to be coddled. That at this point, we were in this together. I clattered down the stairs behind him, ignoring his warnings of, "Natalia, no—don't."

It was gallant, but what more could there possibly be? I was inured against more of the same. Was even able to breathe fairly naturally as I confronted more of the same filthy words scribbled across the white walls. Was steady enough to disregard the graffiti in lieu of the unexpected sight of dozens of small silver cases lined up with a uniform precision along the long edge of the pool.

"Ava, wherever you're hiding, get the hell out here. "

As Jack's voice echoed throughout the enormous room and he pushed open the various doors, I crouched down by the cases, picking them up, one by one. All of them identical, etched with delicate scrollwork and capped with faux pearls and rhinestones. I recognized these cases. Lipstick cases, created for Revlon by Van Cleef & Arpels, a limited, sought after item several years back. I recalled the glossy advertisements splashed across the pages of all the fashion magazines, showing off the elegant cases, fit for royalty, nestled inside their red-velvet lined boxes. And after hearing me gush time and again, Nico had arrived home from one of his trips to the States, package in hand. I could remember the thrill I'd felt, lifting the lid on the small box. So elegant—so unique. Something not everyone could have. To see so many of them gathered in one place was unnerving. Almost… obscene. There they stood, so pristine and polished, as if never handled, until removing the cap from one exposed the ravaged remains of a once-vibrant lipstick. The same dramatic red she'd worn the other day. The same shade as what was smeared across the walls. Slowly, I removed the caps from each case, not surprised to discover all of the lipsticks—all the same color—ground down to waxy nubs.

***
As usual, there's no guarantee that any of this will wind up in the finished MS, but I like it, it was a pretty free-flowing moment and you have to treasure those, and let's face, I'm the descriptive passage's ho.

Kind of a nice, overall response with some informative links.

Novelists, Inc. Responds to Disturbing Developments in Publishing:

Vanity publishing is not new, although the Internet has become a lucrative feeding ground for vanity publishers. Presented with enough enthusiastic jargon and color graphics, a hopeful author might well be convinced that he has stumbled upon a fantastic new way of bringing his stories, his voice, to the reading public.

Alas, the truth is that vanity publishing is still the same old opportunistic hag dressed up in new clothing, with the added flash and dash of savvy marketing. It still exists to part dreamers from their money, with very little hope of return. The dangled bait never changes, the creatively couched language suggesting that all these good things "could, may, might possibly, perhaps" happen for you if you choose one from column A and two from Column B on their à la carte menu of pricey services.

There is now a new, deeply disturbing twist being applied to this age-old money grab. Publishers with brand names, currently enjoying respectable reputations within the industry and with the reading public, are putting both on the chopping block in order to get a share of the vanity publishing market.

It takes years to build a respected name and reputation in this industry. Losing that respect happens much more quickly, sometimes overnight.

No authors' organization can prevent a publisher from setting up a vanity publishing division. Writers' organizations can, however, speak firmly and clearly about the sort of egregious business practices that reflect badly on our entire industry.
Ninc strongly advocates that any and all publishing houses that now operate or are in the planning stages of creating vanity publishing arms do so ethically and responsibly, while adhering to accepted standards of full disclosure. This includes not using the same or a similar name for the vanity division of their royalty-paying publishing house.

Ninc further strongly advocates that these houses either cease and desist or do not institute the practice of steering hopeful writers who are rejected by the royalty-paying divisions of their companies into the open arms of their vanity publishing offshoot.

To do otherwise demeans the publisher's brand and robs credibility from every one of its conventional, contracted authors.



For Those Considering Vanity Publishing

Novelists, Inc. (Ninc) is an international organization devoted to the needs of multi-published authors of novel-length popular fiction. Ninc has no unpublished members; all are experienced, savvy, and educated in the various perils and pitfalls that await the unwary writer in search of an audience.

So why is Ninc addressing the subject of vanity publishing? That's simple. We care about writers. All writers. And we care equally for their audiences, the book buying public.

Vanity publishing, by definition, involves bringing together a writer eager to have his work in print and a company eager to charge that writer for printing the copies. Vanity publishers don't care if the book is good or bad. Vanity publishers will print anything the writer will pay them to print. Quality and sales potential of the work are not priorities; in fact, they aren't considered at all.

Ninc's advice to hopeful authors remains what it has always been: work hard, learn your craft, and network with other writers to share knowledge and information. And remember, if an offer to publish your previously rejected novel and thus become a "real author" by handing over a check sounds too good to be true, that's because it is.


NOTE:

As long as there are people desperate to be published, vanity publishers will exist, and profit-motive companies, no matter the size or prior reputation, may at some point decide that if a starry-eyed dreamer and his money are soon to be parted, why not hold out a hand for their share. All Ninc and other professional writers' organizations and consumer advocates can do, and thankfully are doing, is to educate people on the subject of vanity publishing. Please, before you open your wallet, take some time to open your eyes. Here are some places to begin educating yourself:

http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/vanity/

http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=22

http://www.writing-world.com/publish/vanity.shtml

http://www.panmacmillan.com/Authors Illustrators/displayPage.asp?PageTitle=An Easy Way to Lose Money

http://www.sff.net/people/lucy-snyder/brain/2005/05/is-publisher-just-middleman.html

http://ezinearticles.com/?Publishing-Scams:-Six-Red-Flags-That-Scream-Rip-Off&id=81336

Cracks me up every. single. time.



(Also now can't help but think of logophilos encounters with American squirrels during her travels.)

Something that's not this HQHos debacle.

Look! Premiere date for Chuck! And a clip!

Yay!

An editor posted this on her blog with respect to RWA pulling Harlequin's eligible publisher status.

ETA: While I didn't link directly to the blog, it's been linked to and referenced in various other places,so it's not a huge secret who it is. As such, I feel I should point out that yes, she is a Harlequin editor, but the blog in question is her own personal blog and simply reflects how she feels about the venture as an individual. In no way should she be taken as speaking for the company. Carry on.

That just says it all, now, doesn't it? What Harlequin thinks with respect to their place within RWA. I suppose it's understandable—Harlequin is the single largest romance publisher. But see... there are a couple of things not being taken into consideration here.

1) They're not the only ones. Especially if, as I dearly hope they can at some point, RWA finds some way to make a fair and reasonable accommodation for e-publishers/authors. Even without e-publishers included at this point, there are still many, many romance-centric imprints.

2) And perhaps more important: RWA does not exist for the publisher. I know at times, it has seemed as if they did and they've made choices that seemed counterintuitive to their mission, but at the end of the day, RWA exists as an author advocate. If there are hands that feed RWA, it is those of its members, with their dues and their time spent on the board and in volunteer positions, all the way from the National level, down to the local chapter level. RWA is a writer's organization. Because of the programs that RWA provides, because of the education and support, authors come in savvier and hopefully, with more finely honed skill and craft. If anyone benefits here, it's the publishers. How many writers has Harlequin, in particular, signed because the manuscripts finaled in contests like the Golden Heart? Who's feeding who, here?*

*After thinking on it some more, perhaps the more considered response is, it's a relationship that has been mutually beneficial and to try to portray it as something so one-sided is somewhat disingenuous.

In this situation, RWA behaved in the only manner in which it possibly could—both in good conscience, and to best serve the needs of its members. The fact that MWA and SFWA responded in similar fashion should say a great deal about how authors, across genres, feel about the situation. (Seriously, getting those three organizations to agree on something? See a star, dude?)

One final thing that has nothing to do with RWA but more to do with how this editor sees authors and consumers alike. She makes a point of saying that the program sounds to her like a licensing agreement. Harlequin lends the name, Author Solutions does the maintenance and service.

Umm... Well, yes and no. Even I, in my lack of anything that could possibly be called formal business education, know the obvious differences

When a company makes a licensing agreement, it's with the understanding that their branding affiliation will be visible/mentioned somewhere on the product. That's the whole point behind licensing. For example, Florida State is going to be debuting new football uniforms this weekend created by Nike. They're supposed to be innovative, lightweight, moisture-wicking, blah, blah, fishcakes. But, if you click on the photo gallery, you'll note, even with a casual glance, that prominently displayed on every piece of the uniform from the gloves, to the jerseys, to the cleats, to the undergarments, is that distinctive, instantly recognizable Nike swoosh. It's so synonymous with the brand, you don't even need to see the word "Nike" although that's there as well. Front and center-- no hiding the fact that these are Nike uniforms. No doubt, there will be something in the game program and the announcers for the game may even mention it. Swoosh = Nike = athletic apparel. Simple.

However, Harlequin had originally stated (buried somewhere within the Horizons site) that despite the fact that they're drawing prospective clients into this venture with the Harlequin name, in the end, the Harlequin name/brand would not be public-facing. It would only be author-facing. Kind of like hiding drunk Uncle Wally in the closet. You're related, but you don't want to have to admit it. Fat lot of good that would do. Because much like Uncle Wally bursting out of the closet at the most inopportune moment declaring he's not only a member of the family, but the face of the family, people going through the Horizons program are going to say they're Harlequin authors-- come on, tell me they wouldn't, after paying however many thousands of dollars to have their Harlequin dreams come true, as the site made such a point of saying, over and over, and for example, over. Even if you can't find Harlequin anywhere near the end product or, as Harlequin's response is now saying, the front of the venture, since they're apparently removing the "Harlequin" name from everything having to do with the Horizons venture. So while Harlequin is still a large part of this new venture, they're hardly licensing, since the buying public, the people with the money to whom licensing should make the difference, aren't supposed to know about the association.

Which then renders this arrangement what? Especially if Harlequin continues with their plan to have a little note at the bottom of their form rejection letters referring the authors to the Horizons program.

There is a term for that. Not a very pretty one, no matter how much makeup you slap on it.

Remember how I said the National Media was going to have a field day with this?

Well, it's started.

From the New Yorker: Harlequin Hacks

As if self-publishing didn’t already seem like a masturbatory enterprise, Harlequin intends to make it downright dirty with a deal announced today. Partnering with Author Solutions, the house will allow hacks who love the hanky-panky to publish their own bodice-ripping, hay-rolling romps under the imprint Harlequin Horizons.

You knew they wouldn't resist the impulse to use "bodice-ripper." It's just too easy. But the real kicker in this article is the book cover they used to illustrate the article:

ETA3: The New Yorker removed the cover. They claim to have innocently chosen a pretty and representative cover of Harlequin, given that there weren't any Horizons covers available, but you know, I'm a cynic. I don't think the cover chose was chosen by accident. I'm glad they took it down, and as such, I'll take it down here as well, but leave the argument up. Anyone who wants to see what the Harl Historical logo looks like, can see it here.

Note the "HH" logo in the red seal.

Let's take a look at the new Harlequin Horizons logo, shall we?



Are we seeing the problem here?

Yet... yet... Harlequin keeps saying that Harlequin Horizons has nothing-- nothing, I tell you, to do with Harlequin. From the horse's mouth:

In the last few days we've heard concerns from many of you about two new initiatives, Carina Press and Harlequin Horizons. We would like you, our authors, to have the correct information about these programs, and help you understand that these programs are in no way intended to compromise the integrity of Harlequin brand or the quality editorial we publish under that brand.

Harlequin has a long history of being the first choice destination for aspiring romance authors. Our programs have a stellar author base with the result that the bar is exceptionally high for new entrants.

The two new platforms that have been announced in the last week provide exposure to a growing stream of self-published new talent and give both Harlequin and romance readers the opportunity to evaluate new voices in the genre. Historically Harlequin, and other publishers, acted as a gateway for aspiring authors. Carina Press and Harlequin Horizons are 21st century vehicles for expanding these types of selection pools.

Our editors remain committed to developing new talent through our regular submission procedures and dedicated to ensuring our published authors remain the global gold standard for romance writing. We also want our current authors to know that the books self-published through Harlequin Horizons will NOT be branded Harlequin, nor will they be distributed by Harlequin or appear in stores next to your books.

By my reckoning, that's three mentions of Harlequin Horizons in that missive. Tell me again how that's not branded Harlequin?

*sigh*

ETA: The New York Times weighs in

Love this quote from the Author Solutions guy:

Kevin Weiss, chief executive of Author Solutions, said the company has also joined with Thomas Nelson, the religious publisher, to create the new self-publishing imprint WestBow Press.

The joint ventures, he said, are an opportunity “to almost create a farm team to watch and foster.”

No, no, no. Even in baseball, the minor leaguers get paid. Maybe not much and yeah, maybe they're paying for their own equipment, but They. Don't. Pay. They get paid.

Feh.

ETA2: An article from the Indy Star

Now we know what they really think.

Don Seitz, Author Solutions senior vice president, said aspiring authors -- especially women who write romance novels -- will embrace the arrangement.

"Trust me this is one of the biggest categories in the book space," Seitz said of romance novels. "Harlequin dominates it and there are literally thousands and thousands of female would-be authors that this brand will open the doors to publishing their stories."

So, women, in particular are exceedingly stupid. And literally thousands and thousands of female "would-be authors" will flock to this venture.

My skin is crawling, y'all.

Today I'm really freakin' proud to be a member of RWA.

They took a stance that couldn't have been easy and they did it swiftly and with no waffling.

It doesn't mean that they won't make mistakes about the issue in the days to come, but today? Today they did the right thing.

Harlequin has become the Wolfram & Hart of publishing.

"The intent behind creating Harlequin Horizons is to give more aspiring romance writers and women's fiction writers the opportunity to publish their books and achieve their dreams without going through the submission process with a traditional publishing house.

"However, we understand you may aspire to be published with a traditional house - a noble aspiration. While there is no guarantee that if you publish with Harlequin Horizons you will picked up for traditional publishing, Harlequin will monitor sales of books published through Harlequin Horizons for possible pick-up by its traditional imprints."

“The Booksellers Package is designed for authors who desire to leave a lasting legacy in the form of a hardcover book. A hardcover book shows the world that you are a serious author ready to make your mark on the writing world.”

With a variety of packages ranging from the low, low price of $599.00 all the way up to the Specialty Packages costing $3499.00. (No, I didn't misplace a decimal.)

So sign up to print your own book, keep full creative control over everything,* but if by some wild stretch of happenstance you actually sell enough copies on your own to capture the attention of Harlequin's higher ups and they think your book can become a real book, you're stuck with them. Signed up for life and no matter how many times you burn that contract, a new one will appear like magic in the file drawer.

*Really, full creative control. Over the story, over the cover, over the layout, over everything. God help us, how many "authors" are going to think this is how publishing really works?

National media's going to have a field day with this.

So.

Damned.

Tired.

No, I'm not doing NaNo this year, not officially, but something about the frenzied writing atmosphere of the month of November (not to mention the marginally cooler weather) has finally got my ass in gear. I've been writing more steadily than I have in weeksmonths, really. So the story is well and truly on the backside, which is a relief, frankly. Even more of a relief is the fact that I finally saw glimmers of what the rest of the story arc looks like and was able to sit down and outline the rest of the story. I won't lie, I was terrified— this is easily the latest in a WIP that I've stopped to do this. Usually, I get going on a story, write about five or six chapters, get to know the story, the language, the characters, then I sit down and write a chapter by chapter outline of how the rest of the story is going to go. This is extremely valuable for me because I'm a fairly consistent writer in terms of chapter length and it helps give me a rough idea of final word count, which, considering how wordy I can be (quit laughing, dubious_virtue), is an important marker for me. I mean, ultimately, I'm gonna write the story how it comes out, but something about having that little counter/marker in my head helps.


Anyhow...

Eighteen chapters and 65K into this bastard, and I finally knew how the rest of this was going to shake down. I don't know if it's because I knew the basic arc of the beginning, or probably more likely, that I had no freakin' clue until this far in because it kept taking left turns to Albuquerque, but I finally got it outlined. The good news is, it should fit within my 100K limit (thank God, because I was beginning to really worry). Of course, it took yet another left turn to Albuquerque, but at this point, I might have been concerned if it hadn't—worried that I was missing something. As it turned out, the left turn is a huge thing, solving a mystery that's plagued me since nearly the beginning. *note to character: next time, wouldja let me in on your issues just a wee bit earlier?*

So now, I have shiny new scenes and ten pages of handwritten outline with which to gird my loins for the homestretch. My hand hurts like a mother and I'm mainlining ibuprofen, but I have this as reward:



And my favorite new bit from the MS:

"Shh…"

My heart stuttered, then began racing again. "What?"

A crooked grin lifted one corner of his mouth as one eye opened to stare at me blearily. Lifting one finger to his lips, he whispered, "Be vewwy vewwy quiet. I'm hunting wabbits."

"Be vewwy vewwy quiet. I'm hunting wabbits."

Startled, I jerked my head around, noticing for the first time the flickering screen of the large console television with the Saturday morning cartoons playing, Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny engaging in their endless chases and attempts to best each other.

Releasing a long breath, I turned back to Jack. "I would never have taken you for a Bugs Bunny fan, Jack."

"Why not? Their drama's never ending and one's an eternal fool." Chuckling, Jack raised the bottle of Wild Turkey to his lips and took a healthy slug of the 101 proof without a single wince. Then again, how could he possibly feel anything, I noted, taking in the empty bottle lying on the floor by the bed. At least this one was still reasonably full.

Florida Marlins' Chris Coghlan named National League Rookie of the Year



Dude, I am SO happy about this. I loved watching Cogs develop over the course of the season and after the All-Star break, it really started becoming evident that he had an absolute legitimate shot at the RotY despite the fact that the Marlins are a bargain basement team and they never once played a nationally televised game, so the rest of the country had very little opportunity to see what Marlins fans (all twelve of us) got to see every day. Oh, and he did it playing a position he hadn't played since Little League and hitting in a completely unfamiliar spot in the order.

Just a few highlights:

On May 8, Coghlan made his big-league debut, going 2 for 4.

On May 10, in Denver, Coghlan made his first start for the Marlins in left, batting second.

On May 30, he took over for Emilio Bonifacio in the leadoff spot.

By the end of the season, Coghlan had emerged as not only one of the top rookies in the majors, but also one of the top leadoff hitters in either league, ending his inaugural campaign with a .321 average that place him sixth in the NL.

Only the New York Yankees' Derek Jeter had a higher on-base percentage than Coghlan's .397 figure among major-league leadoff hitters with at least 400 at bats. Jeter finished at .409.

Coghlan did most of his damage after the All-Star break when he hit. 372 and set rookie records not seen in decades.

His 113 hits after the break tied for the most by any NL hitter -- rookie or veteran -- in the past 45 seasons. His 47 hits in August were the most by a NL rookie in a single month since Wally Moon put up 52 in July of 1954. As if to prove that feat was no fluke, Coghlan had 47 more hits in September.

Coghlan became the first NL rookie in history to lead the league in hits after the Al-Star break.

I love when underdogs do well.

Interesting article on Publisher's Weekly today about the mysterious "Vine" reviewers on Amazon (AKA the Freemasons of Amazon-- Dan Brown should write his next book about them.)

I'm going to be blunt here and probably get myself in trouble-- as much as I tend to not pay much attention to Amazon reviews, I have a particular loathing for the Vine reviews. I don't like the program and I have no use for it. In my opinion, they're not reviewers. They're consumers and they have every right to their opinion, but they're like the housewives of the 1950s, offered free products in exchange for their thoughts, good or bad. Which is valuable, but I don't think their opinions carry the same weight as a traditional review, such as PW or Kirkus. Why? Because, again, they're consumers and while many of them might have the background by which to fairly and accurately judge a book, most of them, don't. And frankly, and feel free to call me a snob, I really don't want to see my book reviewed alongside a vacuum or a new Arizona Tea flavor. In other words, the PW or Kirkus reviewers, they review books. That's their gig. Yes, Kirkus reviews are notorious for being scathing, but at the same time, you get the impression that the reviewer is at least familiar with writing conventions such as tropes and POV and trends, so while their reviews may reflect personal taste, they also try to make a judgment on what they feel is the quality of the writing and are able to articulate said opinions. Of course, like anything, it's subjective, but there's a certain measure of weight that can be added to the review if you suspect the reviewer actually, you know, knows what they're talking about. The Vine program also seems to have a distressing predilection for distributing the ARCs to people who don't even read the genre in question. (Seriously-- look at the most negative Vine book reviews and tell me how many of them start out with some variation of "Not my usual cup of tea, but...")

Yes, I have personal reasons for this. Last year, when I competed in the Amazon contest, one of the rounds (the second, I believe) consisted of Vine reviewers reading the excerpts and judging them to see if they would go on to the next round, where a Publisher's Weekly reviewer would read the full manuscript. And as an added "bonus" the reviews were sent to the authors without the benefit of the rubric, so all the authors had to go on, were these "reviews." No, I didn't make it to the next round. No, my dislike isn't based on the reviews I got. By and large, they were okay, just divided (as usual, for me-- I tend to be polarizing and that's okay). No, where I started getting my serious hate on was when other authors who also hadn't progressed past that round received their "reviews" and were utterly devastated. These were people who were perhaps entering their first contest, with their first manuscripts. Were some of them bad? Yeah. Were some of them good? Yeah. (We had the benefit of being able to read excerpts ourselves online.) None of them, and I mean none were deserving of commentary along the lines of "You suck, this is a ridiculous story, go back to your day job as a garbage collector," which is essentially what some of these so-called reviews boiled down to. Even worse were the reviews that tried to justify their reasoning and were wrong. Things like, "No publisher will buy anything in First Person POV." (And for the love of biscuits and gravy, can we just let that old chestnut go already?) Or misjudging the genre in which a story was entered or worse still, beginning their review with "I don't ever read romance, so my review is going to be based on what I know of thrillers."

And these were the people judging whether or not an entry should progress in the publishing process since the first prize was a contract with Penguin and publication of the winning manuscript.

Again, consumer opinion is important, but in the real world, consumers don't decide at this level if a book is to be published. Demand may drive the purchase of a manuscript (a la the In Death series or Twilight, et al), but they don't get to decide if the manuscript in question is good enough to be published. They simply don't have the necessary tools by which to make that judgment, at least, not as evidenced by these Vine reviewers' comments. Trust me, some of them, they were downright vicious. (If you're curious, you can probably find some of them still online at the amazon contest forums.) So if you see a Vine review, make sure you take it a grainmetric assload of salt. And for giggles, see what else they've been reviewing.

ETA: Edited out the dog line because a)I'm sure there are good Vine reviewers and sweeping generalizations should be avoided and b) it was a cheap shot. mea culpa

ETA 2:When I was discussing this with my husband last night, he made me realize something that not only made perfect sense but made me look at the situation with a fresh eye-- essentially it was that my displeasure with the Vine program really began with how it was used within the contest rather than being upset with the program on the basis of it alone.

He's not completely wrong. However, I've still got other issues with the program that are illustrated pretty well within the PW article.

So, I've long been known for my predilection for creating soundtracks for scenes and manuscripts on which I'm currently working. But lately, I've also found myself tailoring what I'm listening to so it fits what I'm reading. It really started with What Angels Fear, which is the first book in the Sebastian St. Cyr Mysteries by C.S. Harris.

The books are Regency-set (the first one begins in 1811-- so far, book five takes place in July of 1812, as will book six, by the looks of it). I always love to have music on in the background while I read (no surprise, I'm sure) but these books seemed to demand something specific. I didn't want anything too intrusive or, as I came to realize, "inappropriate" which is to say, I didn't want anything that could potentially take me out of the world of the book-- if anything, I wanted something that would help me sink further into Sebastian's world.

So I found myself turning to film scores-- I started with Becoming Jane and Sense & Sensibility-- both especially well-suited since the films are set during the same time period as the St. Cyr mysteries and tend to evoke the era. From there, I thought, "Okay, we'll go with the scores for Jane Austen films," and found Emma (as long as I don't have to think about Gwynnie mangling the character I'm good) and Pride and Prejudice. Emma, in particular, really resonated, so I went in search of more scores by Rachel Portman. Found Nicholas Nickleby and The Cider House Rules and The Duchess all of which sounded very... English, if you will. Patrick Doyle is also awesome for this as well. I think Henry V is going to be in heavy rotation for Book Five, What Remains of Heaven.

So when I'm ready to settle in to read, I just start one of the soundtracks and away I go. By this point, I've listened to them so often while reading, that the Pavlov effect is more that I see scenes from the books rather than from the films when I hear the music. And while I'm reading, it's as if the scenes just leap off the page and really scroll through my mind with the effect of watching a film. They're richer and more deeply saturated in emotion and tension and drama.

Does anyone else do this to such a specific degree or is this just another example of me being a complete whackaloon?

The unthinkable happened-- Sue made me cry.

As expected, Kurt and his dad made me cry.

Hell, everyone pretty much made me cry.

Yes, I know it was a blatantly manipulative episode and I was good with that, dammit.

Sweet zombie Jesus if Jane Lynch doesn't receive an Emmy and/or Golden Globe nom, there is no justice.

Today's just a good sort of day, isn't it? Even if I'm feeling a little bit under the weather, I still have coffee, a comfy bed in which to hang, a laptop, so I can still work, plus two new releases to listen to while doing said work. First is Alejandro Sanz's first new studio release in over three years, Paraíso Express.



I'm super excited because he's just one of the most unique musicians out there today. Okay, admittedly, all of my favorites are unique in some way or form-- very out of the box and don't look at me that way because I know y'all are so not surprised I would be drawn to out of the box musicians. Ale really is a bit of an acquired taste, however. His vocals aren't pretty and pure, but they're raw and sexy and very, very real. Stylistically he's an intricate songwriter, with his melodies taking unexpected turns and very poetic lyrics. First single is unexpected in a different manner, because it's an English/Spanish duet with Alicia Keys. Their voices work really well together. (Except for the part with Alejandro's very, very unescapable Spanish accent during his English bits and even that is charming and awkwardly cute.)

( More ruminations and burbling and videos behind the cut to spare the innocent )


Finally, one last one, then I promise I'll quit spamming with vids. Forty years ago Sesame Street premiered and early childhood learning was irrevocably altered. Even though in theory I grew up with Sesame Street, it never intrigued me that much because I was already so far ahead of what they were teaching. Schoolhouse Rock was much more up my alley, (and humor-wise, I was much more a Muppet Show sort of girl). However, as an education major, I was reintroduced to Sesame Street and gained a fresh appreciation for not only how innovative it was, but how smart it was, evolving with the times rather than remaining stagnant. But some things, they're just classic and should never, ever change.

Take it, Kermie...