Sleuthfest

I'm finally recovering from Sleuthfest, the mystery writers' conference sponsored by our local chapter of the Mystery Writers of America. I was one of the volunteer organizers, so since January I've been collecting names of people who wanted to have appointments with agents & editors, then organizing those appointments. I spent Friday and Saturday afternoon at the center of barely controlled chaos, as writers went in and out for their 10-minute appointments.

Sometimes we were ahead, and sometimes behind. It's a mystery how it all worked out, but everyone seemed happy--except for one guy. Oh, well, you can't please everyone.

Writers' conferences are great places for name recognition and networking. I think I was laying the groundwork this winter. A couple hundred other writers and I exchanged emails, and then I met most of them face to face, even if it was only for a minute or two.

I didn't sell as many books as the bookseller or I expected, but I think that's because my panels (I moderated one and spoke on one) took place on Friday morning, before I'd had the chance to meet all those writers and impress them with my charming personality. Next year, I'll ask for a Saturday panel rather than one on Friday.

But I think this is like making posts on DorothyL, or the PublishedGayAuthors list serve-- it's about hitting your potential audience with your name over and over again. And I did sell books to people who had met me, or who wanted a gift for a gay friend or relative.

Hopefully this increased name recognition will start to pay off with the next book, Paws & Reflect-- the anthology about gay men and dogs that's coming out from Alyson in September.

The Sleuthfest Raffle

I've been volunteering to help my local chapter of the Mystery Writers of America with Sleuthfest, the mystery writers' conference we put on every March. This year's runs from March 2-5, and one of the features is a raffle for items donated by authors.

During the conference, you buy raffle tickets from one of the volunteers (usually women wearing pink boas) and then deposit your tickets in front of the items you want. The more you want something, the more tickets you drop in.

At the cocktail party on Saturday night, someone draws the winners for each prize. We've had some great ones-- trips and dinners as well as autographed books. MWA members were asked to donate, so I came up with the idea of a Hawaii-themed basket of goodies.

I had fun shopping for the stuff-- a platter, glasses and mugs; a bag of Kona coffee and one of chocolate-covered macadamia nuts, as well as assorted leis and a ball cap patterned with blue hibiscus flowers. I threw in one of my Mahu post-it note pads as well as, of course, an autographed copy of Mahu.

This is just another promotional expense, as well as a charitable donation. Everybody who walks by the raffle items will see my name and my book's name. This is why I volunteered, too; to get my name out there.

Everyone who registers for Sleuthfest is eligible for a ten-minute pitch session with one of the agents or editors who are attending the conference, and I'm coordinating the scheduling of these appointments. A couple hundred people have been getting emails from me, and will meet me in person when they show up for their appointments.

I know from my own experience that I've bought books by authors I've met at conferences, especially people who've been nice to me. So I'm doing my best to be nice to everyone-- including putting together a fun basket of Hawaiian stuff for the raffle.

The Reader's Group

Tonight I had a really great experience. The GLBT book group at the Barnes & Noble in Fort Lauderdale read Mahu, and invited me to join them to discuss the book. The seven folks who were there had all read the book and liked it, and I had the chance to talk about it with them-- my inspiration, my plans for the series, and so on. It was so cool to hear the things that they liked-- the Hawaiian atmosphere, Kimo's relationships with his family, the struggles he goes through as a gay man working in a macho environment.

It was also very interesting to me to react to their comments-- to try and enhance their experience of the book with some background on how it came to be.

Thanks so much to the facilitators of the group-- John Spero, who has been such a supporter, and Leigh Rosenthal, who I went to college with so many years ago. The group was such a great experience that I hope to join them and read with them for a while.

Amazon Programs

I've signed up for two new marketing efforts at Amazon.com. The first is their Amazon Connect program, which allows authors to connect with readers directly. I make blog posts on the Amazon site, which are then displayed to customers who search for my books. Here's what the Mahu page looks like.

The second is Amazon Shorts, which allows me to sell short stories bsed on Kimo's further adventures. I've written about a dozen of these stories, and hope to collect them someday in an anthology-- but for now I think it will be an interesting way for people who've read Mahu to see what Kimo is up to now.

Publishing Stories

One of the ways I'm trying to promote Mahu is to get some of the short stories I've written about Kimo published. I've written some non-fiction which is around on the web, and I've always attached a tagline about the novel, but I think that giving people a taste of my fiction may make them want to read the book.

At this point, I've written about a dozen Kimo stories. Most of them are straightforward mysteries, always with a gay twist, and a couple are erotica with a mystery twist. (Why does that big, sexy guy look so unhappy? Let's get into his shorts and find out!) So far I haven't been very successful. Both Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock have turned stories down without comment, and a story I wrote for the last MWA anthology wasn't selected.

But my spooky story, Refuge, is still up at Blithe House Quarterly. In it, Kimo and his friend Gunter head off to the Big Island for weekend camping and run into the spirit of a gay ghost. And I've just won second place in a "Bad Santa" contest at Mysterical-e, an onling mystery magazine. The story, "Christmas in Honolulu" takes Kimo up into the hills above Manoa (home of the University of Hawaii's main campus) to figure out who killed a man in a Santa hat.

Does this work? Time will tell. In the meantime, I'm getting my name out there and giving Kimo a little more exposure.

Hurricane Wilma

No matter how much you plan, there are some things you just can't anticipate. Who knew a late-season category 1 or 2 storm would sweep across the state of Florida, from west to east (most go from east to west) and cause so much damage and devastation? I certainly didn't.

Wilma forced me to cancel two events-- a reading at the Stonewall Library, the gay and lesbian library in Fort Lauderdale, and a signing at Murder on the Beach, a small mystery bookstore in Delray Beach. In addition, it caused the Broward County Library to cancel publication of its monthly newsletter for November-- which was advertising my reading on November 30 at the South Regional Library.

That event, where I shared the podium with fellow mystery writers Joe Moore and Lynn Sholes, authors of The Grail Conspiracy, came off nicely, but the only audience were BCC students who were there for extra credit in their classes. The newsletter may have brought additional library patrons in.

New York, New York

When I left New York in 1986 to move to Florida, I knew I'd go back some day as a published author. And I did, in November.

The seeds for this trip started nearly seven years ago, when I attended a gay & lesbian writers' conference in Washington, DC called Behind Our Masks. While there I made a number of contacts that have been very fruitful. I met Dan Jaffe, a talented writer whose background is similar to mine in many ways, and we became friends. When Dan edited an issue of Blithe House Quarterly, the online gay literary magazine, he selected a story of mine, "Refuge." And then he was kind enough to provide a blurb for the jacket of Mahu.

I also read a shortened version of "Refuge" at an open mic reading towards the end of the conference, and that made an impression on Carol Rosenfeld, a New York-based writer and attorney who is involved with the Publishing Triangle, an association of gay men and lesbians in the publishing business, and with Out Professionals, a gay and lesbian networking group.

Fast forward many years. This summer, at Saints & Sinners, I met Carol again, and she remembered that story, and was kind enough to give Mahu a good review, as an advance reader for Insight Out Books, the gay & lesbian book club. She also said she'd be willing to help me organize an event in NYC.

Fast forward again to November 2005, when I gave a reading and discussion at the gay and lesbian community center in Chelsea. Only four people showed up, but I did sell two books-- a 50% conversion rate!

I learned from this experience that I have to be very aggressive at publicity for every event, even those organized by others. I assumed that the sponsorship of several different organizations, including GOAL, the organization of gay and lesbian police officers, would draw a crowd. I did send out some press releases and get into some events calendars, but as a first-time author with a largely unreviewed book, it was hard to get any additional publicity.

Even so, I thought the event went well and I enjoyed having dinner with Carol afterward. My event on Saturday, though, was a much bigger success, mostly because I leveraged my personal mailing list to get my friends to show up. About twenty people came to a reading on Saturday night at Partners in Crime, a charming little mystery bookstore on Greenwich Avenue in the Village. The store provided a lovely space at the back, with chairs and a comfy sofa, and a fabulous poster in the window advertising the reading.

The event organizer, Chandra, did a terrific job of getting the books and poster in place, and told me that the day after the reading she'd sold two books based on the poster.

Location also mattered-- the event at the Center was in a fourth-floor room,up two flights at the back of the building, far west in Chelsea. Partners in Crime has a good location in the heart of the Village, with lots of foot traffic.

Would I go back to New York again? Absolutely-- but with lots more advance planning!

Readings

I'm still on a high from my second reading-- the big one, followed by a party. It was tonight, and seemed to be a big success.

I think readings are an important way of connecting with your audience. I love to go to readings myself, because I want to hear the author's voice, which then stays in my head as I read the book. I've gone to great readings, and I've gone to terrible ones, and I've tried to put everything I've learned together to create my own.

The first thing to do is to start scheduling your readings. You need to do that at least two months in advance, to ensure that the store has enough time to publicize the event. Many stores publish printed calendars, and now many send emails out as well. Since other authors are scheduling in advance, you need to do so as well.

My first call was to our local independent store, Books & Books, which has four branches. The main store is in Coral Gables, an elegant suburb on the south side of Miami. That store has the largest space for readings. But I'd already been invited to participate in a joint reading of alumni of Florida International University's MFA program in creative writing at that store, which will take place on Sunday, September 25.

So I asked to give a reading at the branch on Miami Beach's Lincoln Road. That's a big gay neighborhood, and I didn't want to go to the same branch twice.

I invited my friend Hannah Lasky, who is a talented painter and poet, to bring some of her art work to serve as a backdrop for me. I brought a CD of Hawaiian music for the store to play as we were setting up, a fake grass-skirt banner that reads "ALOHA," and some other small props to set the scene.

The readings I've enjoyed the most have given a sense of the author and the process of writing-- so I tried to do that. I began with about ten minutes on the Hawaiian language and culture, and how I came to write the book and get it published.

Then I read the first page of the book-- to establish the voice-- and jumped to about halfway through the first chapter, which I then read through to conclusion. After I finished, I asked for questions.

The whole process took about forty-five minutes, and I enjoyed riffing off the questions I was asked. There were about twenty people in the audience, and after the reading I signed about ten books-- one couple, my friends Eliot and Lois, had flown in from New York and bought four copies. (They are now officially my VERY best friends.)

I duplicated the process tonight, at a big Borders store in a gay neighborhood of Fort Lauderdale. The store had printed up posters for the reading, including one on the front door, and I got some great press-- nice announcements in the alternative weekly, the New Times, and in a couple of local gay papers; one, the Express Gay News, did a huge feature on me, with a teaser on the front cover and a big photo inside.

We had a capacity crowd-- thirty people sitting, and probably another dozen standing or hovering around in the background. And there were many men I didn't even know! Lots of them even bought books! I was more than thrilled.

It's wonderful to sign books for friends, colleagues, and neighbors-- but it was really terrific to feel that people I didn't know were touched and motivated to dish out $19.95 (plus tax.)

I was also helped in promotion by networking with local groups; Karen Dale Wolman, who organizes gay and lesbian writers' workshops, sent out a press release for me, and I think her credibility helped me get noticed.

In the end, both readings were great events, and I think at least part of that comes from doing my homework-- going to lots of readings myself and listening to what I liked and what I didn't, and doing as much groundwork as I could to let people-- both friends and strangers-- know about the book and the reading.

More Bouchercon

Overall, I had a great time at Bouchercon. In the mornings, I walked around Chicago, and during the day I sat in on panel discussions that were interesting and fun.

My own panel was less than successful. A very bossy panel moderator refused to let us do any publicity for our books, and kept a very tight rein on what we said. The star of our panel was Lee Child, who has written nine books in the Reacher series, and it was clear that most of the audience was there to see him, so though I was annoyed at the moderator's bossiness, it isn't like I lost a major opportunity to publicize Mahu.

I sold one book through a great bookseller, Rue Morgue (where I bought all my books) and autographed one program. But I met lots of great people and had fun. On the last day, I attended a program on short stories, with the editors of both Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. I made sure to go up and say hello at the end, and hand out my post-it note pads. I have stories out to both magazines; I'm hoping that the name recognition will help when those stories get read.

Bouchercon - Day 1

On Wednesday, August 31, I left South Florida for Bouchercon, the worldwide conference of mystery writers and readers. There are over a thousand people here, including a bunch from Florida, so I’m much more comfortable here than I was at Saints & Sinners. And frankly, the people here are so much nicer than the people at Saints & Sinners were. There, I thought everyone was very clique-y, yet here, everyone is much more approachable and friendly.

After I got in, I went shopping on North Michigan Avenue—hitting every chocolate shop in town, I think. Then on Wednesday night, my friend Eileen drove in from the suburbs and we went to dinner at a great – though very rich and fattening – French restaurant. Then she drove me around Chicago for a while, proving a great tour guide.

Thursday began the first day of the conference. I sat in on a panel on sex, which was actually pretty dry, then a demonstration of K-9 dogs. In Chicago, they use Belgian Malinois, German Shepherds and Dutch shepherds. The dogs are actually trained in Europe, and then purchased by the city when they are about a year and a half old. Seeing them made me want to incorporate a K-9 dog somewhere in a book or story.

I had lunch with Christine Kling and Fred Rea at a little café near the hotel, and made it back for a panel on anthologies, where I actually picked up some tips for the anthology I will be editing with Sharon Sakson. Though we haven’t gotten the official word yet, Alyson Press will be publishing a collection of true stories about gay men and the bonds they have with their dogs. It was very interesting to hear the experiences of the anthology editors.

The last panel of the day was on series characters and whether they age or not. Some characters, like Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone, age only a few months at a time, while others, like Joseph Hansen’s Dave Brandstetter, age in real time. It was very interesting to hear the panel talk about these issues.

After some email and relaxation, I went to the Hammett Awards and welcome reception, then hung out with Chris for a while before going to the Akashic books party. Again, everyone I’ve met so far has been very nice and friendly. I think it helps that I have that little red dot on my badge that identifies me as an author—though only a little.

My first reading

I had my very first reading at Books & Books, Miami’s great independent bookstore. I was running late, speeding down I-95 at 80 mph, driving right into storm clouds and drizzle. Fortunately, the heavy rains had already passed, leaving only the humidity behind.

I had invited my friend Hannah Lasky, who is a wonderfully talented artist, if she wanted to bring some paintings over to serve as a backdrop for the reading, so I met up with her in the alley behind the store and started dragging the paintings and the wire display wall in through the back door.

I brought my own props, too—an inflatable palm tree, an ALOHA banner, and a plate of coconut macadamia nut chocolate chip cookies. When I walked in, it didn’t look like there was much of a crowd, but by the time we got everything set up, all twenty seats were filled and there were a couple of other people standing around.

Of course, I knew all but a couple of those people—but I was still delighted to see them. Classmates (and a professor) from my writing program at FIU, members of my writers’ group, and friends—it was so nice to have such a supportive group. I talked for a bit about how I came to write Mahu, and about the Hawaiian spelling and symbols I used in the book, and then I read.

I read the first page of the book, as Kimo’s moving toward a drug bust, and then jumped to the last section of chapter one, beginning as Kimo leaves the bar where he has been hanging out with his cop buddies to go to the Rod and Reel Club, the gay bar where lots of the action of the book takes place.

Then I answered questions, including “When will the book be translated into Hawaiian?” It gave me an opportunity to talk about writing in general, about the research that I did for the book. Overall, it was a fabulous experience—and I was equally excited to sign about ten books afterwards, as well as signing a half dozen stock copies. There was even one ordered by a collector.

I generally wrote “Mahalo nui loa” which means “Thank you very much” and then tried to add something personal, since I knew everyone who bought a book. Overall, I don’t think I could have asked for a better first reading experience.

Updating the Website

When I first started writing Mahu, I did some research on other authors of gay mysteries. I put together a list which I used to send out along with queries, to show prospective agents and editors that this was a thriving subgenre. And I always knew that I would include this list on my website and use it to help promote Mahu.

Well, now's the time. I've had the list online for some time, and I knew there were probably a few new authors to include. So I started work yesterday, and ended up updating 6 authors, adding 9 new ones, for a total of 28 new books. Now of course, some aren't that new; they're only new to me. But it still shows that this niche is continuing to build.

Once I finished, I sent an email to two different listserves that I subscribe to-- DorothyL, which is for mystery lovers, and Blue Place, which is specifically for gay mystery, but often expands to gay literature in general. Now we'll see if I get any hits!

The Books are Here!

Yesterday evening, the dog started barking-- generally a sign that we're about to get a delivery. And sure enough, by the time I got downstairs, there was a heavy box sitting just inside the gate-- the thirty books I ordered from Haworth. I get a 50% author discount-- and there was a bill right on the top of the pile.

Now I have books to carry around to readings and to sell to friends & family. Not quite sure how I'm going to handle that-- I guess if anyone asks "Where can I buy it?" I'll let them know they can buy from me.

I'm a little worried that Amazon & Barnes & Noble online still don't have the correct information and pricing-- it doesn't look available yet, and each of them has a different price. The current price should be $19.95 but neither site has been updated yet.

My First Interview

Well, I had my first interview today about Mahu, with Andy Zeffer of the Express Gay News, a local paper in Fort Lauderdale. I think the interview went well; we'll see how it comes out in the paper.

But it showed me that I really need to prepare better for this publicity stuff. I threw together a press kit at the last minute, and I know I have to get a fairly nice one put together. I'm heading off to the office supply store to buy some folders, and I'm ordering more of my Mahu labels for the cover of the folder.

I need to think more about the main points I want to convey, as well-- and how I'm going to get those across. Just another step in the process, I guess.

Book in Hand

Wow! I got my first copy of Mahu in the mail yesterday. It looks very cool. The cover illustration stretches around the spine, and my name and the title are high enough up on the spine that a library sticker won't obscure them.

This is a small peeve of mine. I get a lot of books from the library, and I hate it when the author's name is flush to the bottom of the spine-- so the sticker covers it.

They used the same picture I'm using for my blog on the back cover-- me looking demonic (or so Marc says) in my pink and white Hawaiian shirt. I love that shirt-- and I actually bought it at Hilo Hattie's on one of the islands, on one of my trips, so it makes sense.

Since I sent out my first email press release, I've been contacted by two local journalists who want to write about me and the book. So it's all starting!

Published at last!

Well, I got an email yesterday from my publisher, the handsome and charming Bill Palmer (anyone who publishes me automatically becomes handsome and charming.) "MAHU is off press as of today. It looks great! Congratulations."

Boy, have I been waiting a long time for those words! Of course, this is just another step in the process. Now I have to start promoting the hell out of the book. After all, I've already written two sequels, and I know that Mahu has to be successful in order for those two books to see print.

Bill also noted that he was reducing the price of Mahu from $22.95 to $19.95. When I met him at Saints & Sinners in New Orleans in May, we discussed the book's pricing-- which I thought was too high. It began at $24.95 and then dropped to $22.95-- which is what all the printed materials say. I told him that I thought it would be tough for Mahu to compete with other trade paperback gay books -- and other mysteries-- at that price. And I guess I made my case.

I ran out to Office Max today and picked up some little blue circle labels, on which I printed "Now $19.95!" and spent the morning peeling and sticking them on my postcards. Then this afternoon I drove down to the post office in Hallandale and mailed them all out-- about 300, I think.

I also sent out an HTML press release to a short email list, and now I sit back and see what happens.

Waiting

I think this may be the hardest part of the publishing process-- or at least it seems like the hardest part now. Waiting.

Mahu was originally scheduled for publication in March 2005. But then I got a letter announcing that because they had bit off more than they could chew at present, they were pushing me to July. I wasn't happy, but I shrugged and accepted fate.

But it's July 2005 now, and still no book. I know it "went to press" about two weeks ago, but no one's giving me any more information than that. "You will receive something from Haworth informing you that your title is off-press, available and ready for sale," I've been told. But I don't know when that will happen, so every day I'm checking the website, hoping the word "forthcoming" will be replaced by something like "now available."

I'm not just waiting for the books. I'm waiting for reviews-- though I've already gotten one very nice one from Gay Web Monkey. I'm waiting to schedule readings. Basically, I'm just waiting for something to happen!

An Agent

Like most writers, I've had a long, convoluted relationship with a series of agents. Agent N represented a couple of my faculty advisors at FIU, and when I finished Mahu I sent him a query letter, as all the writing books instruct. He wrote back "I enjoyed the writing enough to want to read the balance of your manuscript."

However, there were warning signs. N is a straight man in his sixties who lives in New York City, and perhaps has a different view of the world because of it. "There's no longer any shame in being gay," he wrote. "My first problem is in Kimo's relating to his homosexuality." He didn't seem to understand that even in a time when "gay cops even parade with other gays," a gay man can be conflicted about his sexuality-- and other people might react negatively to his coming out.

He also wasn't that excited by series mysteries. "After a couple of books, most publishers seem to abandon the work." Well, gosh, nobody told that to Ed McBain, Janet Evanovich, or Sue Grafton. Imagine being told when you submitted "A is for Alibi" -- "Sue, you'll never make it to "G is for Gumshoe" no less the current book, "R is for Ricochet."

But I really wanted an agent, and N had made some good deals for people I knew. He is a real hands-on agent, sending me pages of (generally) good advice. I went through three rewrite for him, and Mahu is a much better book because of his advice. He even suggested the title, because he felt my first title, "Death in Waikiki" sounded "too much like a category mystery."

Finally, though, he wrote, "I've decided not to take your book on." He cited three significant flaws, the most damning of which was that he felt the book was dated, because "I can't quite believe there would be so much hostility to a gay cop." At that point I didn't think it was worth sending him all the news clippings about gay men being beaten to death simply for going to a gay bar, being in the army, etc. I accepted his letter and went looking for another agent.

I'd started writing a sequel to Mahu while I thought I was represented by N. After all, I figured, when he went to sell Mahu it would help him to be able to show that I had ideas for a series. When he declined me, I stopped work on the sequel.

I sent out new query letters, and Agent M (a lesbian) requested the whole manuscript. Six months later, Agent M called me. She'd read the book a six weeks before, and the fact that it remained in her head convinced her that she should represent it. She took the book as it was, and submitted it to a selection of gay and lesbian editors.

While M was working, I finished writing the sequel, energized by my new representation. Then I got the rejection letters-- alld the agents M had queried had turned the book down. Some didn't like the writing, and some felt that it wasn't right for their house. I accepted the results.

M submitted the second book in the series to a smaller group of editors-- the ones who had liked my writing. Unfortunately none of them were interested. M was very supportive and encouraged me to write other books. I did-- a gay romance, a mainstream novel with gay characters, and a proposal for a non-fiction book. Over six years, nothing sold.

Then a couple things happened in quick succession. I went to the Miami Book Fair, and heard from Jay Quinn that Haworth (who had originally rejected Mahu because it didn't fit their line) was expanding their offerings in gay mystery. By the time I was ready to send the manuscript, though, agent M had retired from the business. So I sent the book in unagented, and probably signed a contract that was less favorable than if I'd had an agent.

But that was OK. I was getting published.

Then at Sleuthfest (the Mystery Writers of America conference in Ft. Lauderdale in March 2005) I met agent R, a straight guy who was intrigued by the idea of Mahu and its sequels (there were now 2 more in the series.) He asked me to wait, though, to query him formally, until I had a proof copy of Mahu.

I finally had that a few weeks ago, and sent it to him on a Friday with my standard query letter. Only I was so rusty at querying that I forgot to include my phone number and email address. Tuesday afternoon, he called-- first to remonstrate me for not including my phone number in the letter.

I didn't want to say "So far, nobody has called-- they usually just send the manuscript back in the mail." Instead I apologized profusely. He told me he liked Mahu and thought he could make a deal for me. By the end of the week I had signed a copy of his agreement and sent it back to him.

Let's hope this story continues in happier mode!

Setting up Readings

I've started trying to set up readings for Mahu. Fortunately, my first opportunity dropped in my lap. I got my MFA from Florida International University here in Miami, and have been invited to join a group reading of alumni and students on Friday, September 30. The reading will be at Books & Books in Coral Gables, our local literary bookstore, and a real supporter of local writers.

That made it easier when I called Books & Books to set up my own reading-- the woman I spoke with already recognized my name. Since I'm already going to be reading at the Coral Gables store, I decided to have my own reading at the store on Lincoln Road on Miami Beach. The store isn't as large, but it's got a great location and there's a large gay population on the beach. I'll be there Tuesday August 30 at 8 pm.

I wish it had been so easy at Borders. I'm waiting to hear if Mahu is in their system-- or will be. If they aren't selling the book, I can't have a reading there. They have a large store at the edge of Wilton Manors, a big gay neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale, with a nice reading space on the second floor. I was really hoping to have my launch party there on a Saturday night at the end of August, after school has started and everyone I know is back in town.

I went to their website, which is run by Amazon.com, and got no results when searching for my name. However, at the bottom of the page it said there were 2 results in books-- which I believe must have come from Amazon's database, not Borders'. I am in the database at bn.com-- Barnes & Noble. Right now you can buy an advance review copy from some guy on Long Island.

I may end up at the Barnes & Noble down the street from Borders-- which wouldn't be bad. They have a lovely store, too, and a big selection of gay & lesbian books. But I think this is all the readings I'll set up for now, unless another opportunity presents itself.

More Copy Editing

Back in February, I wrote about page proofs. An eagle-eyed copy editor at Haworth had reviewed the manuscript for Mahu and found many inconsistencies.

Well, it's like it's February all over again. I just got a six-page single-spaced Word doc from my publisher with more inaccuracies and problems in the book. A gold and diamond bracelet that morphed into gold and emerald bracelet later in the book. A drive that began in one character's car and ended in another's. Kimo wanting to be "a Hawaiian J.D. Salinger" when he really meant "a Hawaiian Holden Caulfield." Kimo asks "Do you think he shot our victim because..." when the victim was not shot, but hit on the head. And on and on.

Jesus, how many mistakes did I make in this book? I'm so grateful that these copy editors keep catching these problems-- but really-- does it ever end? I guess part of the problem is that I began the book back when there people had tapes in their cars, then changed most-- but not all--references to CDs. And changed the method of murder somewhere along the way. I was reminded that one of Kimo's brothers has a new baby in this book-- a baby who has mysteriously disappeared from the next book, which takes place a month later. Oops, got to bring that baby back.

I'm seriously grateful that Haworth has such dedicated copy editors, and I'm feeling very humble. I've always taken pride in submitting very clean copy-- no grammatical errors, no wrong facts. But obviously a whole novel is a different animal.