Writer's Conference

I just returned from my first writing conference. I loved it, but was entirely overdressed. Next time I'm wearing jeans. My meeting with the editor from Harcourt didn't go as well as I could've hoped, but it was okay. She said my writing was good, but that my title and prologue didn't go with my first ten pages, which also seemed a little choppy to her. She suggested taking out most of the beginning to get to the main plot of the story quicker and read my revisions aloud to myself to make sure they are smooth (okay, will do). I got the sense that my story wasn't exactly the type she gets excited about, but she was very nice as was everyone else I met there.

When I returned home, I checked my e-mail and, wouldn't you know it, the agent from Levine & Greenberg had replied about my manuscript while I was gone. Her rejection was the kind that tells me that I almost have a publishable story. She actually read the whole thing (all 400+ pages), and gave me specific suggestions for areas that she thought could be improved. YAY! She also said my writing was 'quite good' and the story was exciting. So I am pleased.

The Beekeeper's Apprentice

The only things I've written in the past month are two poems and a building permit application. Yeah, I know, pathetic. I suppose thinking and plotting don't count as writing time, but hopefully, whenever I move past the insanely busy schedule I've been pushing lately, I'll have a very clear idea of where I'm heading as I write. I did read The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King for the second time. I read it four years ago and chose it for our book club's September title. It was an enjoyable read this time around too. Intelligent, brilliantly conceived, and smoothly delivered, I recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries of the non-frightening variety and is interested in a Sherlock Holmes remix better than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original.