My friend Betsy just sent me some new pix from our party in April. This is me with my two best friends, Betsy and Steph.
Even better, this is one of me with my 10th grade sweetie, Bo, whom I hadn’t seen in literally 20 years. It was fun catching up. He looks exactly the same. Exactly (but forthe lack of eyeliner al la Duran Duran, which he wore in 1985, even, I think, while playing soccer)
I am a mother who happens to be a writer. Or maybe I’m a writer who happens to be a mother. In any event, one of my favorite websites is one for mamawriters. It’s called Mamaphonic, and it’s produced by my friend Bee Lavender. It’s always chock full of good stuff, but I particularly enjoyed this new interview with writer Muffy Bolding.
I can totally identify with her description of what we bookish girls like in a man…and a deity, for that matter:
“It’s the overwhelming smell of books that turns me on. If a man smells like a first edition Margaret Atwood, I am his for the taking, baby. And it is always with that in mind that I step through the doors of Barnes and Noble, or any of the other Big Book ‘Borgs for that matter, and feel that first blast of sweet book breath in my face. It is in this place of bound glories and shelved rapture that I find my god – and, trust me, he ain’t in the religion section, either.”
Hey there blog readers. I’m working on a new book proposal and here is the info. Feel free to submit and definitely pass the message along to any writerpals you may have.
Thanks-
—Katie
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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:
Katie Allison Granju is editing a new anthology, titled “How It Sold: The inside story from real authors on how their books made it into print.”
The idea is this: just as women share their birth stories and soldiers swap war stories, writers trade publication stories. Aspiring authors, in particular, are always hungry for these tales, but even those who have already been published are eager to see how their peers “made it.”
In “How It Sold,” dozens of published authors throw open the windows on how they took their books from initial idea to the bookstore shelf. All the juicy details, including finding an agent (or pitching without one), writing proposals and synopses, negotiating an offer, working with editors and publicists, and more are included. Each individual publishing tale offers a unique, honest and personal view of the many paths to publication.
I am looking for essays of between 1000 and 2500 words from published authors who are willing to share their own journeys through the twists and turns of the publishing landscape. I welcome writers from all genres, including:
-Fiction, both literary and mainstream
-Narrative non-fiction
-How-to guides
-Scholarly books
-Comic books
-Coffee table and cookbooks
-Travel guides
-Self-published books
-Series books
-Books of poetry
-Children’s and juvenile books
-Memoirs
Writers selected for inclusion in the book will retain copyright to their essays. On publication, writers will receive two copies of the book, plus an equal share (divided among all contributors) of 1/2 of the total advance for the book.
Please send your submissions by 07/15/05 to:
Katie Allison Granju at katieallisongranju@yahoo.com
I love, love, love this book. It’s my new fave knitting book. The patterns are terrific but the writing is smart and funny and thoughtful. It’s Elizabeth Zimmerman-meets-Debbie-Stoller.
I am going to start my first cardigan sweater using one of these patterns. Now I need to decide which lucky friend or family member will get it, and shop for yarn accordingly…
I’ve been asked to be the featured author online chat guest at Mothering Magazine on June 8th at 1pm. I think the topic will be attachment parenting past early childhood.
So stop on by and join the conversation if you feel so inclined.
–Katie
This is my daughter Jane with my oldest and best friend Betsy’s daughter, Clare Frances, who came to visit us at the horse show this weekend. Betsy and I have been friends since we were 11, so it’s really cool for us to see our daughters together.
Ah, cattiness done right at GoFugYourself.com (thanks Maia for the link).
Representative of the fabuloso writing at this site, a description of Marc Anthnoy, Mr. J-Lo:
“I have dreamed — yes, mi amores, dreamed — about someone like Marc. He’s so… weensy and bird-like and man-tanned and Living Dead-y. What girl doesn’t long for a man who looks embalmed? He’s my own adorable little leathery Manoerexic, Tanorexic Marc!”
Another fun time waster: AwfulPlasticSurgery.com
The two bands in this year’s Sundown in the City schedule that I most want to see are the Drive By Truckers and Sleater-Kinney. I’ll have to wait until June 30th to see the S-K girls, but tonight’s the night for Drive By Truckers. I’ll be heading down to Market Square with a friend to see the free DBT show tonight and you should too. It looks like the weather is going to be spectacular - a great night for a southern rock opera in downtown Knoxville. Hope to see you there.
–Katie
If you like to watch horse shows, and you live near Nashville, I’m going to a really fun one starting tomorrow - it runs through Sunday at Brownland Farm in Franklin, TN. There’s going to be a $10,000 mini-prix, which is really exciting to watch. It should attract some of the top show jumpers in the country.
Of course, my primary focus will be on my child and her new pony, who will not be competing in the mini-prix 
This will be their first AA rated show together, so she’s excited. Plus, I love going to shows in Nashville because I get to spend a horsey weekend with friends and family who live there. Doesn’t get much better than that…
What a disappointment. After rave reviews from friends and critics, comparing Conor Oberst to a lot of singer/songwriters I love (like Elliott Smith, RIP), I finally downloaded this record yesterday.
I am going to give it another listen tonight, but on initial play, it seems tepid and formulaic. And Oberst’s voice does nothin’ for me.
Today is my son Henry’s last day of 7th grade. I am so, so glad because keeping him focused on his work lately has been a challenge. His teenage head has already jumped ahead into summer mode.
Best last day of school movie scene ever? Definitely the one from “Dazed and Confused.”
Today is also the last day of sweeps for me at work. The end of the book means things slow down a bit and everyone is less tense and insanely busy…
OK, it’s official, Tom Cruise has finally revealed himself fully as a complete, freaking nutjob
Run away, still-apparently-normal Katie Holmes. Run away as fast as you caaaaaaan…..
So I have a crush, or two.
This is a strange feeling for someone who thought they were done with all that (on May 26, 1990, to be exact. Oh wow. The 26th is this week. That would have been my 15th wedding anniversary…) And it’s not necessarily a feeling that’s easy to reconcile with the all-consuming job of mothering.
I have always gotten crushes - first one was Billy Wayne Somebody in 5th grade. He wore tuffskins and I think we held hands when our class went to Rock City on a field trip. I know that at the time, I thought he looked just like a young Robert Redford. I idolized Robert Redford because as the eldest child of 1970s liberal journalists, suffice it to say that I was taken to see “All the President’s Men” more than once. The parents wouldn’t let us watch mainstream TV, but did make sure we had the living daylights scared out of us by “The China Syndrome.” No nukes!
But I digress…
I have always gotten crushes. I think I am one of those people who is in love with the chemical reaction that falling in love entails. And I have been stupid for crushes. I once skipped my brother’s graduation to take a crush up on his last minute invitation to go with him to Antioch College for a Greens Convention. My parents were really irritated. I don’t blame them.
I first saw my husband about a year before I met him. He was riding his bike and I developed a crush on the spot simply based on his rather remarkable appearance. The first night we actually spoke to one another was at a party I threw for neighbors on Laurel Avenue. He came with a friend and the rest was history. I was gone…totally smitten for many, many years. We were inseparable after that night.
When my children were younger, I think that energy was transferred to them. Mothering young children is a very tactile, all encompassing experience. But they are older now and that dynamic has evolved. They are more autonomous and I am no longer married.
So I have crushes again, but this time, I can’t surrender to them. I have to stay focused on mothering, a full time job, freelancing, etc, etc.
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