Blisscraft Life With Christina Katz

And our book selection for the month of May 2012 is…

Are You My Mother By Alison Bechdel

I thought it would be refreshing to try a graphic novel.

It’s quite likely that many members of the group do not typically read graphic novels (though I could be wrong!), so this should be an adventure!

Also, my ten-year-old daughter loves graphic novels and my husband likes them, too. So this should be an educational experience for me, since I’ve never read a graphic novel and probably would not without some prodding…like this. However, just for clarification, this is a graphic memoir, not a graphic novel. 🙂

Alison Bechdel is coming to Powell’s this month. Here’s her complete tour schedule for those who are interested.

In the meantime, happy reading!

Anyone can join in. If you would like to join the Beyond Busy Global Monthly Book Club, visit our public Facebook group.

Today, May 1st, we begin the first discussion question for the Beyond Busy Global Monthly Book Club. We just finished Anne Lamott’s Some Assembly Required, A Journal of My Son’s First Son and now we will spend seven days discussing it. Anyone who has read the book can participate by commenting. You can also join our public BBGMBC Facebook group, if you would like to join us in reading one excellent quality book per month and then discussing it here.

Some Assembly Required, A Journal of My Son’s First Son is written by Anne Lamott with Sam Lamott and published by Riverhead in 2012.

This is a book by an author with a huge following. So the first question has to be asked: Are you new to Anne Lamott’s work or are you a long-time Anne Lamott fan?

How does your past history with this author (or your lack of past history with this author) impact your attitude towards this book?

Would you purchase and read anything Lamott wrote? If so, why? If not, why not?

If you are a hard-core Lamott fan, tell us why.

Does it matter? Why or why not?

Let the games begin! (I’ll announce the May book in a separate post to follow this one.)

I am thrilled to introduce everyone to Claire Cook’s work. I am her new biggest fan after hearing her speak at The Missouri Writer’s Guild Conference. She seems like a perfect choice to kick us all off and you are about to find out why. Please help me welcome Claire to the giveaway! I look forward to reading your comments.

About Claire Cook

Claire Cook wrote her first novel in her minivan outside her daughter’s swim practice at 45. At 50, she walked the red carpet at the Hollywood premiere of the adaptation of her second novel, Must Love Dogs, starring Diane Lane and John Cusack. She is now the bestselling author of eight novels, with a 9th, Wallflower in Bloom, coming from Touchstone on June 5. Publishers Weekly calls it “fun and inspiring” and says “Cook’s humor and narrative execution are impeccable.” Read an excerpt (and find Writing and Reinvention pages) at ClaireCook.com, and follow Claire on Facebook and on Twitter.

About Wallflower In Bloom

Deirdre Griffin has a great life; it’s just not her own. She’s the round-the-clock personal assistant to her charismatic, high-maintenance, New Age guru brother, Tag. As the family wallflower, her only worth seems to be as gatekeeper to Tag at his New England seaside compound. Then Deirdre’s sometime-boyfriend informs her that he is marrying another woman, who just happens to be having the baby he told Deirdre he never wanted. While drowning her sorrows in Tag’s expensive vodka, Deirdre decides to use his massive online following to get herself voted on as a last-minute Dancing with the Stars replacement. It’ll get her back in shape, mentally and physically. It might even get her a life of her own. Deirdre’s fifteen minutes of fame have begun.

This year’s author interview theme? The story of Claire’s writing career in miniature! Here’s what I asked Claire:

When did you know for sure that you were a writer and that writing would be a major energy focus in your life?

I’ve known I was a writer since I was three. My mother entered me in a contest to name the Fizzies whale, and I won in my age group. It’s quite possible that mine was the only entry in my age group, since “Cutie Fizz” was enough to win my family a six-month supply of Fizzies tablets (root beer was the best flavor) and a half dozen turquoise plastic mugs with removable handles. Still, it took me until I was 45 to circle back to my writing. The good news is that, as George Eliot once said, “It’s never to late to be what you might have been.”

Who has always been behind your writing career and who helped pull you up the ladder of success?

I have the most amazing readers in the world. They’ve been behind me, book by book, spreading the word and cheering me on in this midlife career of mine. It makes me feel like I’m writing for all of us, and in many ways, I think I am.

What is the most frequent comment you hear about your book (or books) from readers? Tell us a little story about the response to your work.

I hear two comments over and over again: “I can’t remember when I laughed out loud like that” and “OMG, you’re writing my life.” They both make my heart sing!

• • •

Now it’s your turn. You remember how this works right?

I ask you a question. You answer in the comments for your chance to win a book each day.

Please just respond once, even if you make a typo. 😉

Answer in the comments in 50-200 words (no less and no more to qualify to win one of today’s books). Please read the complete rules at least once!

Thanks for participating in the Writer Mama Every-Day-In-May Book Giveaway! I hope to see you here every day this month. Bring your friends!

Q: If you could become rich and famous for writing one thing and one thing only. What would you want that one thing to be? Don’t over-think it. Just answer from the gut!

Ready, set, comment!

Please read these rules before you start participating in the giveaway:

The giveaway starts at 12:01 a.m. on May 1, 2012 and runs through midnight on May 30, 2012. I will be offering at least one new prize each day (some days more than one!). There is no purchase necessary to enter. Only one comment per day is all you need to enter. Please answer the daily question for your chance to win fabulous books by author mamas.

1. You must comment to the post that describes the daily prize(s) you want to win, in order to be entered into the drawing for that day. No exceptions. Please be sure to comment to the correct post. The comment link is located just under the post title. Your comment will be posted after it is approved (usually within a few hours after you post…unless I am sleeping, in which case give me a little extra time).

2. You may comment only once per day on the Giveaway posts (and therefore be entered to win once per day). You are welcome to comment every day. If you make a spelling or grammatical error in your post, just let it go. Don’t comment twice to correct it. Winners are selected by random drawing, and don’t worry, a typo will not eliminate you.

3. All comments must answer the question of the day, which will be posted at the end of each post each day. In other words, no drive-by commenting, like, “I want to win!” Your comment must be between 50-200 words or it will not be approved.

4. Comment to win beginning on May 1st at 00:01 a.m. PST and continue to comment each day for 30 days for maximum chances to win. Each day’s drawing closes at midnight (12:00) PST. Please note that I am on Pacific Standard Time, not Eastern Standard time. The winner is chosen by random drawing the next day. There is no set time for the drawing, because I’m here, I’m there, I’m everywhere. So, stay tuned! I’ll get the winner posted as soon as I can each day.

5. Please allow 1-2 weeks for delivery of your item. Prizes will be shipped within the contiguous United States only. You may participate if you live abroad and have your own US mailing address. And yes, sure, if you have a friend who loves you so much that he/she is willing to ship your books from the US to you elsewhere in the world, that is fine, too. I can send the books “care of.” Please provide a “care of” name, if you want to go this route. Ditto Alaska and Hawaii folks.

6. Thanks for keeping things jolly. Everyone involved in this giveaway is a volunteer including me. This is the fifth time I have hosted a giveaway like this. If you would like to thank me, feel free to purchase a copy of one of my books from your favorite bookseller. That would make my day.

7. Please be patient while waiting for your book. If two weeks have passed since your winning date and you still do not have it, please e-mail me at christina at christina katz dot com and I will follow-up with your author.

Thank you for spreading the word about The Writer Mama Every-Day-In-May Book Giveaway! If it’s anything like year’s past, it’s going to be a ton of fun! Welcome back to all of our veteran participants and welcome to anyone who is new!

Yes, I am hosting a book giveaway and will give away a book a day all throughout the very, merry, Mother-centric month of May!

Nothing could thrill me more than this opportunity to showcase the hard-wrought labors of love of 31 awesome author moms.

Naturally, I would love to shine the spotlight on every hardworking mom writer. But I can’t realistically showcase every single author mom under the sun.

For example, I do not have the time or the resources to personally vet self-published books and e-books for this year’s giveaway. I just don’t have enough time or energy.

So my parameters were that authors should have had a book (or anthology piece, for anthology day) traditionally published in the past year. This stipulation makes my job easier because I can trust that the publishers and editors vetted the work for me.

There are a few exceptions. If someone has been a long-time student of mine and has taken my Micro-publishing for Mom Writers class, then I’ve already vetted their e-book. And if someone is already a traditionally published author or they have a bonus e-book that they would like to offer, I’m happy to allow them increase the size of their giveaway. I hope this will not offend or discourage anyone.

Anyone can participate in the giveaway, not just mom writers. There is no cost or purchase to try and win books. However, the giveaway is inspired by mom writers and by my own experience as a mom writer and teacher of mom writers so they are the folks the giveaway honors.

I’ll post the participation rules briefly in each post. And now without further ado, here are our week one author mamas!

May 1st: Claire Cook is giving away a copy of Wallflower in Bloom (fiction, advance copy!) More Info

May 2nd: Kelly James-Enger is giving away Writer For Hire (nonfiction, how-to) and an extra bonus The Honesty Index (fiction, ebook) More Info

May 3rd: Katie Davis is giving away Little Chicken’s Big Day (children’s) and an extra bonus: How To Promote Your Children’s Book (nonfiction, how-to, ebook) More Info

May 4th: Kate Hopper is giving away a copy of Use Your Words: A Writing Guide for Mothers (nonfiction, how-to) More Info

May 5th: Erica Bauermeister is giving away Joy For Beginners (fiction) More Info

May 6th: Judy M. Miller is giving away What To Expect From Your Adopted Tween (nonfiction, ebook) More Info

May 7th: KC Klein is giving away Dark Future (fiction, dark, futuristic) More Info

What a blast! Thanks for the fun, and the books, and all the hard work that you put into this month-long party. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

~ Carol A. on the Writer Mama Every Day In May Book Giveaway

Should mothers be celebrated for just one day in May?

No way!

That’s why I had the idea to celebrate my biggest fans — writer mamas — every day in May with a daily giveaway of books by author mamas.

Which authors are participating so far?

We’ve got Cheryl Strayed, Claire Cook, Katie Davis and so many more!

And yes, I will offer an anthology day for my former students who have been published in anthologies in the last year! If you are a former student, please send me an email and let me know what anthologies published your work.

Thanks for telling all your mom writer friends to subscribe to this blog so they won’t miss a single book. The big giveaway begins on Tuesday, May 1st right here! And we are going to have tons of fun!

This giveaway is just one of many free services that I have offered over the past decade for writers of various stripes.

I have given away thousands of dollars in scholarships to my writing career development classes over the past five years, offered free advice and inspiration in my blogs and newsletters for almost a decade, and created and hosted a regional community author series also for five years.

Almost a year ago I started an online fitness accountability group on Facebook called, Writers on the Move. This year I started a Beyond Busy Monthly Global Book Club for folks who are too busy to participate in local book clubs. Anyone who wishes to can join these groups.

Other labors of love include long resource lists I’ve compiled: Movies about Writers and the Writing Life and Books By Women Writers for High School Students.

This is the fifth time I’ve hosted a daily month-long book giveaway. Is it a ton of work? Yes.

Are author moms worth it? Yes. Are writer moms worth it? Do I even have to answer that?

During the first three years, this giveaway took place during September and was a back-to-school giveaway.

In honor of this year’s giveaway, I am lowering the price of my new platform development workbook, Build Your Author Platform, to just $29.99 for the entire month of May. That’s ten dollars off the usual price!

I’m also always offering my books, ebooks, classes, and training groups. Please feel free to check out any of my many offerings. I would love to hear what you think of my work and I would love to work with you. Please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions at christina at christina katz dot com.

I appreciate your support and I appreciate your support of author mamas everywhere. Go, us!

This is not just my optimism talking, folks. I am seeing publishing promise in action.

And it’s not just infinite creativity & prosperity for me; it’s infinite creativity & prosperity for any writer who wants to go for it.

However this vision does not look much like the old model of publishing.

It looks more like a new type of author, a type of author who isn’t “all author.”

And there is no publishing “house.” Publishing has moved “in-house.” And by that I mean it has moved to your house.

It looks like a type of author who plays harder than she works, who lets creativity lead, and who knows and maximizes her strengths, while addressing her weaknesses has a publishing house right in her house…if she wants it.

If this sounds familiar than you probably were in attendance at the Writer’s Digest 2012 Conference in New York, AWP 2012 Chicago, Mad Anthony 2012 in Ohio, or the Missouri Writers Guild Conference in Missouri. You heard me verbally kicking all the writers in attendance in the butt while simultaneously inviting them to wake up from the fantasy of getting discovered.

You have probably read all about this type of “empowered writer” in all of my books from Writer Mama to Get Known to Author Mama to The Writer’s Workout to Build Your Author Platform.

If you know my work, then you know exactly what I’m talking about because you have likely experienced the magic of getting in touch with your creative instincts and training that horse until you can ride it to publishing success.

I know empowered writers are out there, because I hear from you every single day. You are my students, my former students, my dream team members, my readers, attendees of my author series, and members of audiences where I have recently taught or trained.

You listened to what I said. You did the things I asked you to do. And you are seeing results. You are changing, you are growing, you are taking charge.

You are embracing your power in a humble way.

This professional empowerment is causing you to pay better attention to your instincts. And now you trust your instincts and follow them. And they are leading you to exciting places of creative expansion and prosperous growth.

Not that empowered writers don’t have any down days. Of course we do. That’s just part of being human. Being a writer or an author does not make you exempt from life.

Writers are not perfect. I’ve never met a perfect writer. In fact, I’m going to say that the less focused you are on perfection, the more likely you are to succeed (except when it comes to a final draft, of course, but you can get help with that).

And I don’t know about you, but I like the sound of infinite creativity and prosperity. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

I like the silent sound it makes when it is happening. I like the quiet power it has.

Make this inner work your reality if you want to see the results later. The future of publishing comes down to a series of pretty simple questions that any writer can ask herself:

Is this a book?

If it is a book, which formats make the most sense?

Whether it is or isn’t a book, what else might it become?

THIS is the future of publishing. Don’t let anybody tell you anything different.

There has NEVER been a more exciting time to be a writer. I hope you get that. I hope you make this statement your daily reality.

I hope you are ready to roll up your sleeves and show us all how it’s done. How you do it. How you write. Who you write for. And that change you create by putting words on…something.

There’s no reason to settle for anything else.

So get to work. Read my work. Grow your skills. Seek the help and mentoring you need to get on top of your game.

Your readers are waiting. And they might not wait forever.

~ Photo by Amontei

Sometimes you just need to write a blog post to pull everything all together, know what I mean?

So, here I am at the first night of the Missouri Writer’s Guild Conference and several cool things have happened already.

I’ve seen some students. I’ve hung out with pal, Jane Friedman. We met all the fine folks on the faculty for the conference.

In the car on the way here from the airport, I learned from St. Louis Writers Guild president Brad Cook that Tennessee Williams won a short story contest hosted by the guild many moons ago, when he was in college, with a piece that likely evolved into Streetcar Named Desire. Isn’t that cool?

Afterwards I was chatting with bestselling author, Claire Cook, and she is wicked cool, as we used to say back in Mass.

You know, Claire Cook? She wrote the book, Must Love Dogs, which was made into a movie with Diane Lane and John Cusak.

You know who I am talking about. I bet you always thought this woman who has written eight books about women reinventing themselves would be wicked cool.

And now you know the truth. She is!

Claire has a knew book coming out, Wallflower in Bloom, and she is going to participate in the Writer Mama Every Day in May Month-long Giveaway. Subscribe to the blog and newsletter now so you won’t miss any of our thirty awesome mom authors!

Recaps on the Missouri Writers Guild Conference and the Mad Anthony Writers Conference coming soon…in the meantime, sleep!

Yes. We’re sure.

I am speaking on this topic at the Mad Anthony Conference this weekend and then speaking about it again at the Missouri Writer’s Guild Conference next weekend.

To get myself warmed up, I took a look back at some of my thoughts on the subject. And while I was at it, I got curious about what others had to say, so I did some searching and came up with a couple of neat posts.

What will I be saying at the two upcoming conferences?

I’m sorry. That information is top secret. You should really come if you want to find out. (See my appearances schedule for details.)

However these posts will give you a general idea of where I stand on the subject:

Posts by me:

There Has Never Been a Better Time To Be A Writer

The Spectrum: Why It’s Never Been A Better Time To Be A Writer

Stop, Drop & Micro-publish (over at the #amwriting blog)

Whip Your Literary Ambitions Into Shape at the Missouri Writer’s Guild Conference

Posts by others:

A New Definition of Writing Success by James Scott Bell, Kill Zone Blog

10 Reasons There Has Never Been A Better Time To Be A Fiction Writer, The Web World of Scott William Carter (an oldie blog post but a goodie, and he’s from Oregon, though I do not know him)

The Business of Writing, An Interview with James Scott Bell by Girls With Pens

What do you think? Are you convinced or skeptical? Never a better time to be a writer? Why or why not?

~ Photo by ozgurmulazimoglu