SEVEN...ER... EIGHT THINGS I LIKE ABOUT NEW YORK

5 pm and cheek-numbing-cold-but-not-those-cheeks-you-naughty-thing-degrees

1. CHANDELIERS
This is the chandelier in the Warwick Hotel. I have walked under it about a hundred times now.
2. DOORMEN
I wanted to take a picture of Harry the doorman but he was too shy so I took the chandelier instead. If I wasn't married to an architect I would marry a doorman. They are SO helpful and they know EVERYTHING!

3. REALLY COOL BUILDINGS
I think all the buildings in NY ROCK hugely. They are totally cool.

4. ALL THE PLACES I CAN GET MY PICTURE TAKEN
This morning I had breakfast with my publicist Megan (and how totally fun is THAT to say!) I talked so much my eggs got cold. Right after that I had lunch with my editor Peternelle (how totally double fun is that to say).
She took me to a really great place for bento lunches and walked me along fifth avenue (the street not the candy bar) and then around Central Park. Then she ABANDONED me and went back to work. (How rude it that?) Nah...just kidding. I went over to MOMA (the art museum) and got as far as the gift shop.
5. COOL STUFF THAT GOES STRAIGHT UP IN THE AIR (SIDEWAYS)

Like St. Patricks Church.
6. BROADWAY PLAYS

I am going to my first Broadway play tonight -- in about 2 hours. WICKED!!! I am way too excited.
7.COMING BACK TO NEW YORK IN JUNE
I love it so much I am coming back in June to visit again (are you ready Dorian and Peternelle?)

AND MOST OF ALL NUMBER 8!!!!!
MISS SNARK.
I HEART MISS SNARK

So girls and boys. The debut author's first New York trip is almost over.
What did I learn?
There are a BUNCH of people responsible for getting a book out to readers. There is much an author can do to market themselves and participate in publicity. You cannot just sit back and say "Okay I wrote the book now you do the rest."
Authors have to be proactive and thinking.
There is a lot of published fiction out there.
For your book to do well you have to be willing to work at it.
Let me know how you liked the virtual trip we have taken together (virtual for you -- real for me)


THIS WAS PAT.

THIS WAS PAT IN NEW YORK.

Any questions?

IT'S TIME TO TALK THE WALRUS SAID...OF TAXIS, PUBLISHING AND CABBAGES AND KINGS

6 pm and-cold-as-a-witches-titty degrees.
Weeeelll. It all started with room service and a GREAT book last night. I finished The Bitch Posse by Martha O'Connor and WHAT A READ!!!Holy cow why didn't I get it before I have no idea? Anyway a luxurious morning reading and ordering room service. They had those little jars of jam that they give with toast but I didn't order toast so anyway I put them in my luggage to take home.
Along with two extra shampoos that Kim S. swiped for me.
I am my mother's daughter after all.
I digress.
I made sure I arrived at Putnam in plenty of time. It is interesting about New York taxis. You have to know where to flag them down or else it takes twice as long to get some place.
375 Hudson.
This is the building where Penguin Group and Putnam live.


And this is the art inside the building. Isn't it keen?


We all happened to enter the bulding all at the same time.
Here is me with my agent -- the beautiful, extraordinary and VERY pregnant Dorian Karchmar. She is (I believe) just MINUTES from delivering!!!


My meeting was with agent, publicists and editor and it was mind boggling -- the attention to detail these people must have is amazing. Plus they are a total delight and SO nice! Stephanie from Putnam and Megan and Lynn from Goldberg McDuffie just wowed me!
Of course my editor Peterelle van Arsdale is simply awesome.
Here she is just before she took us to lunch. (Does it sound like all I do is eat?)

We were starved and I had the most delicious soup and the food was to die for!
Here is the dynamic duo together!

Of course it occurs to me that I am not in the picture but you have to just take my word for it that I was there!
Next I got to amuse myself around Soho and the Village. AND I ACTUALLY HAILED A CAB ALL BY MYSELF! I didn't even have to fight off some decrepit old lady for it. If I had done that I would be a true New Yorker...
Next the absolutely LOVELY get together where I met EVERYBODY responsible for getting LOTTERY out into the world.

Here is me and Dan Conaway who I met at the Maui Writers Conference. How cool is this?


Then me and Neil Nyren. I ambushed EVERYBODY to get their picture. WARNING: Insane author with camera.
You can run...but you cannot hide.


There were so many great people that stopped by for wine and cheese (Yum!).



And then the way coolest thing.
Me and the President of Putnam Ivan Held who UBER ROCKS (and I'm not just saying that because he bought my book!)

Now they ALL said they were going to run right home and read this blog. I want to thank them all. They made me feel so welcome even though I got lost and visited the second and third floor before I got up to four where I was supposed to go!
I mean it when I say I wish I could remember everyone's name who has played a big part in this entire endeavor. Hopefully I can thank them adequately at some point in time.
Well children.
That's it for today.
I need to go down to the bar and order a drink. I noticed a sign in the window saying they were out of gin so I do not expect a Snark sighting...
But you never know.
And all you people I met today?
You BETTER comment or I will be VERY displeased...Remember...I'm coming back in June. You want more of those macadamia nuts and the chocolate dipped cookies don't you?

I HEART WILLIAM MORRIS AGENCY

5:30 pm and ungodly-cold-but-I'm-starting-to-get-used-to-it degrees.
First I had a delightful breakfast with Kim S.

I can't tell you what fun it is to meet blogging buddies.
This is right after I asked her if I had anything stuck in my teeth...
Next we went our separate ways. She to see her agent and me to see mine.

WMA is in a very beautiful building. I had to get a badge to go upstairs. I will stick it in my scrap book...

It was fun to lurk around and take photos of people who I knew previously only by their voices.
Then I had to take a picture of Adam who is Dorian's assistant. He ROCKS too.
Notice what I brought from Hawaii for him? (HINT it's on the desk)

Then I had a decadent lunch with Dorian and had so much fun we totally forgot to get our picture taken together. I will remember to do it tomorrow...
Then I played tourist.
I walked all over town and up to Central Park.

I strolled back and noticed a sign for The Russian Tearoom.
SO...

It is simply wonderful inside.

I sipped my tea and heard a voice...
Could it be?
"Dimitri this gin is divine! I may look at your partial after all...are you SURE you know George PERSONALLY?"
There is only one person I know of with that single minded purpose.
It had to be Miss Sna...
I slid my camera out of my pocket.
Slowly I turned.
Step by step.
EEEEK!!!!That damned poodle came out of nowhere! My hand tossed aside like so much salad...My finger slipped like Jerry Lewis on a well-waxed floor.

FOILED, WAX PAPERED, AND TISSUE WRAPPED AGAIN.
I guess this writer is no match for...
MISS SNARK.
Until tomorrow.

THEY'RE EVERYWHERE THEY'RE EVERYWHERE...

My life is now complete.
I am coffeed up and preparing to meet Kim S. for breakfast.

8:30 am and too-cold-for-words.
After turning the thermostat up as far as it will go in my room. I am almost warm enough. I timidly crept outside.
Jumped when white filmy stuff puffed out of my mouth! Cool. I have my very own special effects.
I adore all the doormen at the Warwick. They are too incredibly kind.

Hey guys.
When you write down the address " 1325 Avenue of the Americas"?
It's a REAL place.

I can feel the love all around me.
Whoops.
There it is.
More later...

NEW YORK NEW YORK IT'S A WONDERFUL PLACE...

12:15 am and WAY TOO COLD TO CALCULATE.
I'm here! I simply can't believe it. New York. I am on the 16th floor of the Warwick Hotel. The picture is taken out my window.
Here's another.

So I left Honolulu nice and warm and bundled up.
When I reached Minneapolis/St. Paul my flight to New York was canceled.
This is where I whined and batted my eyes and begged.
It worked.
I arrived at Newark and took a cab.
My driver was the best. He told me his son is autistic so we talked about children and our hopes and dreams.
My neck was sore from craning back and looking up at the buildings.
"Hey that's Radio City Music Hall!" I cried.
I could tell he took pleasure in my excitement.
The car slowed. Traffic. Sirens.
There was a minor disturbance in the street. A scuffle. Words exchanged. I noticed a tall gorgeous woman in stilettos being tossed out of a bar. She was able to land on her feet. A small white poodle followed close to her heels carrying one of those flasks St Bernards carry...only it said GIN on the front. The pooch wore a jaunty beret. A clever dog. It hailed a taxi with a short whistle like yelp.
Could it be?
Nah...
Wait.
Maybe...
But before I could step out of my cab and inquire she was gone.
I checked in and went down to the bar. The Warwick Hotel was built by Randolf Hearst for his love Marion Davies. I could feel the atmosphere in the thick carpeting. The elaborate sconces.
I ate tomato -garlic soup (which might be a mistake considering all the people I have to meet tomorrow!) and drank a glass of wine and just took it all in. I sat in the lobby for a while.
I'M IN NEW YORK!!!!!
The doorman's name is David. We chatted. He has a really cool uniform. When he found out I had never been to New York so he took me into the fancy restaurant- even though it was closed- and showed me all the murals on the wall that Hearst had commissioned. They are marvelous- surreal - He said there were naughty bits.
I will look for them tommorrow during breakfast.
So here I am fellow bloggers.
And here you are too.
Each place I go you are there with me.
I think of you all.
Talk to you later...

6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

3:30 pm and 82 degrees.
I leave for the airport in four and a half hours. I am almost packed. I keep adding things.
Like sweaters. Socks.
Macadamia nuts.
And Chocolate covered Kona coffee beans.
Temiyage for the trip to.
Omiyage for the trip back.
Everyone from Hawaii knows about this. You visit a place bringing gifts.
And come back with omiyage.
Gifts for friends and relatives.
I will have to search New York and find those meaningful and thoughtful mementos.
Like keychains in the shape of the Statue of Liberty and ticket stubs from a Broadway play. Well...Maybe something better than that.
I will have to think hard.
Did I tell you all I have never been to New York?
No?
Did I tell you what I will be doing there?
Monday I visit William Morris Agency.
Tuesday I visit Putnam.
Wednesday...I can't remember what I am doing Wednesday...Oh yes! I am seeing Wicked.
And having breakfast with my publicist and...seeing a museum in the afternoon with my editor...
They are taking good care of me.
So am I excited?
Yes. Very.
Am I nervous?
I don't know. I don't think so.
I will be blogging each day and letting you all experience what it is like to go to New York and meet all the people that make dreams about publishing a reality.
The impossible becomes the possible.
So come along for the ride...
First stop?
Honolulu Airport to catch Northwest Airlines flight 218 leaving at 10:50 pm.
I connect in Minneapolis St Paul taking flt 186 to New York and arrive at LaGuardia 7:01 pm Sunday.
And then the fun starts.
And as Perry would say.
That is so totally cool!

FEAR OF TRYING

Diving can be scary. Snorkeling can be too.
Creatures lurk around each corner.
Under a rock.
Beside a coral head. Through the manatee grass.
Fearsome.
Not unlike writing a novel.
Not unlike finishing a novel.

9:30 pm and 73 degrees.
I have heard more and more writers talk about their struggle -- trying to finish their work in progress. Message boards have many active dialogs about this difficulty.
Sometimes it's a matter of plots that peter out. Other times it is second guessing yourself. Third person? First? Omniscient?
Then it's editing. Redoing the same first chapters over and over and never getting to the end. Work shopping. Perfecting.
And then there is the panic.
What if someone writes the same novel?
What if my premise is stolen?
What if all the time I have devoted to creating my novel has been wasted?
What if I am never published?
What if?
These fears are not only limiting-- they can be paralyzing.
They can stop the creative process. Kill the energy. The passion.
The most important thing in my opinion is to keep writing.
Loving to write.
Selecting words. Manufacturing a story out of thin air.
The unbelievable rush of that first draft completed. Then the delicate process of editing.
Write. Write. Write.
Writing takes away the fear.
Like diving or snorkeling.
The more you do it the better it feels.
Just like pen to paper.
So I continue.
To write.

6 DAYS AND COUNTING

It's good to get excited about something.
I get excited when I see a turtle (even after this many years).
The turtles get excited about all the seaweed growth on the bottom of ORION.
And Gordon gets excited to think the ORION'S bottom will be cleaned for free.


9:30 pm and 77 degrees.
My luggage is in the cockpit. My clothes will soon to be carefully packed and I have left instructions with the horse exercisers.
Counting down to a New York state of mind...
My meetings have been scheduled with my agent, editor and publicist. I hope to learn more about the process and understand where I fit in. I always thought that an author's job was finished when "The End" was typed at the bottom of the page.
I am here to tell you that is not the case.
A few things to consider while you are working on your manuscript.
Besides the synopsis, besides the hook, besides answering the question "Why did you write your novel?"
Figure out who is going to read your book.
Figure out where on the store shelf your book will sit.
Figure out how that reader is going to find your book.
These are all things to think about.
I find out about most of the books I read from blogs and other resources on the internet.
How will readers find out about your book? If you do not consider this you will not be as successful as another author who understands both marketing and has some type of business plan.
It is just as important to market yourself as it is to market your book.
I am learning this as I go.
Writing is a business. I think if more writers understood this there would be far fewer disappointments.
Art may be passion filled and ethereal. But it loses something if it is not shared.
So transfer your excitement from your work in progress to marketing your work in progress.
Any questions?

HEAD 'EM OUT...MOVE 'EM UP...

I was invited to participate in the world famous CoConut Island Shark round up.
Of course I said yes.
I was a header or heeler -- depending on whether the shark was chasing me or I was doing the chasing.
One of those activities that are more fun in retrospect.

10:30 pm and 76 degrees.
I am a risk taker. Always have been.
When Mark Heckman from Waikiki Aquarium called a few years back to see if I wanted to help move sharks around, I jumped at the chance. I spent the next several hours thinking, "What am I doing?"
After seeing the movie Jaws I refused to take a bath. Some how the foolhardy photographer part of me won out over the for-God's-Sake-Be-Reasonable side of me.
I found myself in a long narrow lagoon full of sharks. The other students and I were told to jump in and swim across to move the sharks from one end to the other. This was not complex but unfortunately no one told the sharks.
As hard as herding cats.
Harder.
But I survived with all my limbs intact.
With writing, taking risks are everything.
If you play it safe you might as well get a job writing those cute captions in coloring books.
Risks are necessary,
Pushing the envelope.
Being different.
This is what makes compelling writing.
JMHO

THE MOVING BLOGGER HAVING BLOGGED...BLOGS ON...

This is a photo of Everett Waterfront where LOTTERY takes place. My father and I drove there together almost a year ago. He was helping me do research for my book.
My mother had just died.
We needed to do something.
So we drove to Everett.
I could feel Perry there. I could imagine him walking down this dock. I had to stare in the water and wonder. Imagine. I thought about my writing.
Would I get an agent?
Would I ever be published?
A year later.
Where will I be?
You all now know the answer to that question.

9:30 pm and 79 degrees.
I'm it.
I've been tagged by HOLLY KENNEDY and as a dutifully obedient blogger I will comply.

Why do I blog?
A very good question.
A dilemma. Puzzling. I started and stopped. I erased what I had written.
This required much thought.
And then.
I realized the answer was right in front of my face -- or rather at the end of my posts.
12 comments.
7 comments.
22 comments.
59 comments.
This is why I blog. Because of you.
I blog because I get a deep connection from all of you writers all over the world who comment on this blog. You are my peers. My readers. You are writers and authors. You have the same dreams that I do.
You find humor in rejection the way I do. You ask the same questions that I do.
"Why do I let others take control of my writing?"
"How can I know what I want to say?"
"Am I wasting my time?"
"Where can I find the passion?"
I find solace in the comments because it leads me to believe that you and I -- we have much commonality between us.
We are all very much alike.
If we met.
If we were together.
For lunch.
Or for coffee.
I feel sure we would be firm fast friends.
Thank you my blog buddies.
You give me so much.

LEADER OF THE PACK

12:30 pm and 81 degrees.
There are times in your life that you know you will always remember until the day you die. Those moments so spectacular so filled with love that they stay with you forever.
This was one of those days.
The 2007 Putnam Fall Catalog arrived Fed Ex this morning. I opened the box.
There it was. Then I noticed what was on the cover.
The cover art of LOTTERY.
I choked up.

The catalog is what the sales force use to sell books to retail outlets like Borders, Barnes & Nobles and other book sellers.
Being the first book in the catalog is a big deal.
Being given a two page spread is also a big deal.
Lottery is first in the catalog.
And has a two page spread.

This is another step in my journey to publication.
I am so grateful to be able to share it with you.

FIRST PASS PAGES

8 pm and 77 degrees.
Mr. FedEx knows me by sight now. An overnighted (read two day) envelope from New York to Hawaii contained a tax paper from Italy.
In Italian.
This is one of those instances I document as ammunition for the times I participate in a fruitless argument about whether a writer needs an agent or not.
Trust me. You do.
I just signed where it was highlighted.
I do what I'm told.
As I went up to the harbor office to FedEx it back I met Mr. FedEx once more.
Another package.
Gee, I'm popular.
It was heavy. A manuscript. I was expecting it.
FIRST PASS PAGES
What are they? You ask.
I will tell you.
After the copyedit corrections are made the manuscript goes to the type setter. It is very interesting because to make the pages fit a certain may some of the words and letters are closer together than others. They also design the pages. The font is selected. Fancy doodads are put under the chapter numbers. First pass pages look exactly as the book will look if you cut it out from the hatch marks.
It is beauteous.
My job is to carefully look for boo boos.
This is not the time to rewrite entire chapters.
It is the time to look for misspelled words, punctuation errors,and horror of horrors-- what I call:
STUPID THINGS!
Like I just noticed a minor character started out in a house and suddenly is in a car.
I don't know how she got there.
Those things.
So I am taking a short break from my efforts.
And hoping to hear some cheer and amusing support from my comment gallery.
My ARCs (Advanced Reader Copys) are due April 10.
AND.
I AM GOING TO NEW YORK!!!!
My reservations are made!
April 8 - 12.
Meetings with publishers, publicists and agent.
I will keep you all posted.
Oh.
And the first pass pages?
I have to send them back in four days.
So I leave you...
In search of the elusive...the rare and sought after...
STUPID THING.

MEN DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME

8 pm and 77 degrees.
It's a cold cold world out there. The pressure. The demands. I couldn't put two words together this morning.
It was dire.
There was only one thing to do.
Get a pedicure.
And my nails done.
Of course my nails lasted as long as it took me to walk to my car. Just before I fished my keys out of my purse and marred the gorgeous pink color.
But I still felt special.
I felt even more special at Safeway. Going up and down the aisles.
Pushing my cart. In my purple slippers.
KNOWING EVERY SINGLE PERSON WAS ENVYING MY TOES. Not.
Kind of like getting an agent.
Thousands clamoring at the door. And I!
I was admitted!
Only to find myself pacing back and forth. Is THIS the day my novel is going to be submitted?
No.
Just a bit more tweaking.
I wanted everyone to admire the fact that I got an agent.
Like my toes.
So bright and shiny.
But they only said. "Gee."
"When's your book coming out?"
And I had to tell them how impressive it is JUST TO HAVE A FRIGGING AGENT!
And they back away slowly.
To get away from me.
Just like that man in the vegetable aisle when I waved my foot in the air inches from his face hissing.
"SEEEEEE????Aren't they beeauuttifuulllll!"
I digress.
My point is.
The odds are not favorable. But when the stars are aligned you have to be grateful.
I count the days until my book is to be released. And when I simply can't stand it?
I get my feet and nails done.
Then I sit at my computer. Wriggle my toes.
And write about the man I scared off in Safeway.
He's vulnerable. Uneasy. A bank robber?
I start to type.
No.
No something less extreme. Wait! An embezzler.
He's in terrible trouble and works as an accountant for...

IT'S ALWAYS SOMETHING

White anemones. A passel of them. A pod. A gaggle. A herd.
Head 'em up.
Move 'em out.
How do you tell them apart? They all look alike.
Does it matter?
Well.
It does to the anemone.
Don't you think?

8:30 pm and 77 degrees.
It's official. I am going to New York in 17 days.
I have been having conversations with marketing, with publicists, with blurbers. I am in continual expectation of my ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies) with the real live cover on them!
And my name on the front.
PATRICIA WOOD
And the name of my book.
LOTTERY
My head has been spinning and all extraneous information is now dripping out my ears.
Like.
How to run my dust buster.
How to make dinner.
How to make sure there is gas in my car.
My husband is not amused.
I do not know where I am staying in New York -- yet. I'm flying in for meetings for three days and then turning around and flying right back to Honolulu.
Hopefully I can blog when I am there. That would be good fun.
I have never been to New York.
Well.
I have passed through but never stayed in Manhattan.
How exciting is that on a scale of one to three hundred and twenty seven?
I think it rates at least a twenty-six.
So I had this blog all ready to post -- and then didn't.
Ah well.
It is now 6:30 am the next day and 72 degrees.
But that is good because I have something else to say.
A suggestion for those of you preparing to query. Besides the hook. The synopsis.
Oh yes.
And the actual completed novel. There is one more thing editors (or agents) may ask you for.
The answer to this question.
"Why did you write your novel?"
In a letter form.
So you better think about that.
And you know?
Many times the answer to that questions allows you to go back and create a difference in your manuscript.
May even make you stand out from all those other white anemones in the slush pile of a publisher.
To show your story is unique.
One of a kind.
Yours.
Make you different from all the rest.

SOMETIMES THE BEST PLACE TO GO FORWARD IS BACKWARD

So there was this eel.
I wanted to take his picture and I got closer and closer.
The flash went off and suddenly he darted out.
I felt it was important to include both photos.
Before.
And after.
The dust you see is my fin kicking away.
You notice I still got a picture?
I never let a little thing like an attacking creature get in my way.

10:30 pm and 77 degrees.
Perseverance.
Stick-to-itiveness,
Tenacity.
Stubbornness.
When I think of what might be the biggest contributor to what has happened to me this year --
These are the words I think of.
I believe these are the qualities writers need in excess.
Pig headed blindness and tunnel vision.
That helps too.
In spite of rejections.
Ignoring nay-sayers.
Stumbling on no matter what.
Breath taking turn of phrase.
Sparkling description.
Inventive dialogue.
And focus so intense it appears to be a third person in the room. Leaning forward in their chair. Intent on every word.
Like with the eel. Even though you have to peddle backwards you still get your photo.
And that's really the thing, isn't it?
Able to always move forward OR backward.
So how about you?
What do you think the best quality a writer could have?

WORDS OF A FEATHER

He is known as a clumpy nudibranch.
That's Mr. Clumpy to you.
And Asteronotus cespitosus to all his other friends.
A big guy.The size of my hand. The mother of all nudibranchs. He was suspended - not in disbelief -- but in the ocean. I thought I was seeing things.
Well.
I was.
He was really there.
The rough surge dislodged him. I took his picture then placed him in a safe coral encrusted nook. It was the least I could do.
For Clumpy.

4:30 am and 74 degrees.
Words.
Can't live with 'em.
Can't live without 'em.
I love to make up words. You know those people who the literary world refers to as destroying our language because they do ridiculous things like making verbs out of nouns and rearranging letters?
I'm one of those people. Those scum of the earthers. And not just verbal either -- I'm getting published so that makes me twice as bad! My bizarre wordsmithing abilities will go down in print if not in some obscure alternative dictionary.
You want examples? Ok. Here they are.
Someone commented on one of the blogs recently about the word impactful.
They said impactful was not a word.
I beg to differ. I use it all the time.
Ergo.
It is a word.
Maybe they just mean it's a BAD word. I think that's cruel name-calling. I mean what did impactful ever do to you?
Oh. This is a good one: Flustrated. Sounds like a hen ruffling her feathers doesn't it?
Flustrated. I know it's not in Webster's -- but it should be -- It means upset.
More determined than flustered but less specific than frustrated.
Flustrated.
Hey, I've heard other people use this so I'm obviously not alone.
Then there's my personal favorite.
Jelliose. I love this word. Ever seen a melted sea jelly on the beach? Not quite liquid but fairly dead? Jelliose. No longer jello. Something that used to be firm and wriggly. Jelliose.(This can also refer to Jello salads past their prime)
Then there are the times I throw my words in a blender and hit "grind." You know. Those words combined with other words that should be words?
For example.
Having trouble deciding who you were in a past life?
You are karmcommittaled. This is when your inner essence -- your Karma -- can't make up its mind. Your Yin and Yang are in a state of indecisiveness. Similar to contracommittaled. That's when your inner essence is split evenly in two different directions.
Of course, you realize none of this has to make any sense. That's the beauty of it. Just like Clumpy.
Floating out in the ocean for no apparent reason. But.
He is fun to look at isn't he?
Well, I got to go.
Get coffeed.
Up.
What are your words?
Tell me please.

WE INTERUPT THIS BLOG POST FOR AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE

My editor sent the cover with spine to me via Fedex
How cool is this?

AND?
YOU CAN
PREORDER LOTTERY
NOW ON AMAZON!
YIPPEE!

HAWAII DOES NOT HAVE DAYLIGHT SAVINGS

WE ARE SPENDING ALL OF OURS AT ONCE...

77 degrees and 6:15 am.
REMEMBER TO CHECK OUT THE DEBUTANTE BALL today. My guest blog is there. Let me know how you like it.
There has been a battle here over the last two days. My husband's Blackjack will not accept the fact that there are places that do not LEAP AHEAD. He was late to work on Monday and so were all the other architects at the firm who use their Blackjacks as miniature alarm clocks. All the meetings were off by an hour.
I hear it was not a great deal of fun.
Each time they corrected the little devils they flipped over to mainland time as soon as one's back was turned.
Kind of creepy don't you think?
Now I could anthropomorphize these tiny devices.
Talk about the resulting havoc of a software glitch.
Or use the entire scenario in one of my novels 'cuz...
Sometimes ya just can't make this stuff up.

GEE MOM, SHE FOLLOWED ME HOME. CAN I KEEP HER?

So I am walking with my friend the other day and discovered a monk seal who just lumbered to shore. They lay on the beach to rest or have their babies. I don't know for sure that it was female but I decided to take literary license and say that it was.
I am not sure though.
What I am sure of is that it was serendipitous.
One minute the beach was empty.
The next she was there.
Like inspiration.
And I look with wonder.

84 degrees and 2 pm.
A leisurely Saturday.
I have news.
First of all I discovered a very cool blog. RAY WONG AUTHOR OF THE PACIFIC BETWEEN has a blog called -- I the author -- and it is good fun to read. Ray is MAESTRO over at ABSOLUTE WRITE WATER COOLER and is one of many sound voices of reason (as I like to think of them).
Today I signed up for my third year at the MAUI WRITERS RETREAT AND CONFERENCE. Their 2007 brochure is ready. I have said it before and I'll say it again that it was one of the contributing factors that allowed me to obtain the agent who sold my book. It's always held just prior to labor day. Unfortunately it is also my husbands birthday. What I give up for my art. I need a T-shirt that says "I had to decide between celebrating my husband's birthday or attending the Maui Writers Conference... I guess I can mail him a card from Maui."
(I just read this to Gordon AKA Patricia Wood's husband -- he was not amused)
And...
PAUSE.
I have to blush.
(FYI having never blushed in my life I am having difficulties initiating this alien physical response)
I have been asked to be a guest blogger on THE DEBUTANTE BALL this Tuesday March 12.
How cool is that?
Mia King whose book GOOD THINGS just came out to rave reviews so kindly asked me and of course I said yes.

So what does this have to do with monk seals on the beach?
Well...
What do you think?

YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CANNOT HIDE

Nothing is as it seems.
True in photography and doubly true in literature.
Sea anemones are not known for speed. In fact they are fairly sedentary.
But they have their obstreperous ways. A shadow. A movement. And those tentacles tuck right in.
A photographer has to be on her toes...or rather on her elbows stretched out on the dock.
My poor beleaguered husband.
"Honey I just want to go for a walk. People are staring. Can you get up now?"
Hunting.
Always hunting.

78 degrees and 9:30 pm.
Where do I stop and my work begins? There is a part of me in everything I do.
I am not Perry. I am not Keith. I am not Gram. These are merely characters. But in many ways they are me. I have given them life. I made them. This is a conundrum to be sure. An interesting problem but a conundrum none the less.
You hear authors protest.
"I am nothing like my main character."
But deep down inside I think they know the truth.
We writers are a mass of undifferentiated multiple personalities. Just waiting to get out. Escape. Be a part of the action.
"The play's the thing." A famous writer said.
And I think that is true.
By the way. If you think you see me in the photograph? You are perceptive. Upper right hand corner.
I am reflected there.
Taking a picture of you.

IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION

I couldn't decide which photo to use to demonstrate today's concept. It took a while.
I struggled.
Underwater? Horses? Cats?
Stymied.
I don't like to admit ignorance. I like to feign competence. Intelligence. Even when I don't know what I'm talking about.
Isn't that just like a writer?
So how is a fledgling albatross like this?
Like me.
Like all of us?

73 degrees and 6:30 am.
I see writers in a hurry. I am in a hurry, or at least I was.Strike that. Still am thank you very much!
First I was in a hurry to write my book. I sat in the salon of ORION madly typing away convinced someone somewhere had my exact same idea or a nefarious agent or editor would steal my pages. To protect myself I even sent in my money and got a copyright. Wasn't I smart?
Rush. Rush. Hurry.
Query! Quick! As many as you can. The rejections came flying back twice as fast as I could mail out my missives.
"I would like to show you my novel..."
"For your consideration..."
"Come ON!!!!!Be my agent!!!!PLEASE??????"
Hmmm.
There must be more to this than I thought.
I re-worked novel number one and started novel two.
I attended MAUI WRITERS RETREAT & CONFERENCE where I met HOLLY KENNEDY. I was anxious. Driven. I KNEW things were happening. Just not to me. Holly gave out the best advice I have ever heard. SLOW DOWN. TAKE YOUR TIME. RELAX.
It was echoed by every author I met.
Take the time to be a good writer and write.
Write a lot.
And then write more.
Fast forward...Novel three...four...representation...revision...tweaking...final product --
LOTTERY -- Sent out on submission... Bought by Putnam!
TA DA!!!
Tick...Tick...Tick...
So when will it be released?
August 2, 2007.
What's the time line?
December 6, 2006 -- Putnam won the auction for LOTTERY
December 7, 2006 -- Discussion with editor
December 13 -- Lottery sold to Netherlands, Italy
December 15 -- Lottery sold to UK
December 22 -- editorial letter received
December 26 -- Hard copy of edits received
Pat does not remember anything about this holiday season.
January 2 -- edited manuscript sent back electronically
January 3 -- LOTTERY sold to Israel.
January 3 Deal posted in Publishers Weekly
January 18 -- second editorial letter received
January 18 -- Lottery sold to Sweden, Finland, Taiwan
January 22 -- Edited manuscript sent electronically NOTE: This is called D&A. The manuscript was delivered and accepted.
Why is this important?
Because it means an additional portion of the ADVANCE is due the author.
February 12- Lottery sold to Korea
February 13- Uncorrected bound galley sent to authors for blurbs and reviewers
February 16 - Lottery sold to Russia
February 22 -- Hard copyedited manuscript arrives and checked obsessively by author
NOTE: Corrections also have to be made on the Authors electronic copy
February 23 -- copy edited manuscript sent back to Putnam.
February 26 -- First contract arrives to be signed. NOTE: No money has been received by the author to date.
March 2 -- More contracts arrive to be signed. NOTE: No money has been received by the author yet.
March 5 -- Communication from agent: Putnam contracts are fed exed.
March 6-
Kristy Kiernans book CATCHING GENIUS is released and Kristy emails Pat. Pat is happy for Kristy but she is GREEN with envy.
Pat wants IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION.
Pat wants LOTTERY out NOW!
Pat is like the fledgling albatross.
Ready to fly. But needs more feathers.
Needs better wind updraft. Needs luck to escape the sharks.
Needs time.
Needs much more time.
149 days and counting.

SOMETIMES A FLATWORM REALLY IS JUST A FLATWORM

I almost missed him. I was turning over rocks and looking for shrimp or other exotic creatures. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. He was casually sliding to the side attempting to escape like a guilty shoplifter at a five and dime.
I snapped the photo and tried to identify him.
I thought his name should be flamboyant and dramatic.
Extreme and unique.
But it wasn't.
His name is pretty much what he is:
The Hawaiian Spotted Flatworm.


77 degrees and 9:30 pm.

My WEBSITE is up!!!!!

The URL is http://patriciawoodauthor.com. It will be an evolving work in process. It takes some time to load but will give readers a glimpse into where I come from and what provokes me to write.
Whenever I read a book that affects me deeply I am driven to go online and look up the author. I am always disappointed when there is no website, no information and when I am unable to find out anything about the writer.
Why do I have this compulsion to understand the creator of a book that entrances me? I find I am fascinated to read about why an author wrote a particular book. What he or she was thinking and the journey they endured to produce the novel.
I must be a sort of literary voyeur.
But I am not alone. Many of you have the same compulsion.
Why?
I wonder.

"WHEN YOU TALK WITH THE ANIMALS...LEARN THEIR LANGUAGES..."

ANTHROPOMORPHISM AT ITS FINEST
Creatures can give us insight. Show us characteristics that are an integral part of us but we tend not to acknowledge.
Introspection is good.
Cross species introspection is even better.
71 degrees and 6:30 am
Writers...pick your animal.

New writers. A bit ridiculous. Goofy. Nitwits abound. You think you are special.Unique. Until you look up and see that you are surrounded by other nitwits just like yourself. You have two choices: Be like everyone else or try to make yourself stand out from the crowd.
What do you do?



Do you put your hands (paws) over your ears , a bag over your head go,La La La La?



When finally asked for a partial, do you run scared. Rework the first twenty pages until the agent dies a natural death. Or shoot yourself in the foot by forgetting to put your contact information in the cover letter?



Do you just dream of being a writer? Dream of writing a book? Dream of being published?



Or do you take writers' clinics? Aggressively focus and go after every last bit of knowledge working shoulder to shoulder with other writers.



ARE YOU RIDING THE DREAM?
OR IS THE DREAM RIDING YOU?