The Poker Club

By Pat Browning


The popular TV series “Castle” begins its new season on ABC September 20. Unless they have a surprise for us, the episode will end with the character Rick Castle at a card table with real-life authors James Patterson, Michael Connelly and Stephen Cannell. Talk about heavy hitters.



Take Patterson. According to a profile in New York Times Magazine, one in every 17 novels sold since 2006 were written by Patterson. He has five co-writers and pays them out of his own pocket. He can afford it. He reportedly made $70 million last year, publishing nine books with the help of coauthors. The mind boggles.


Anyone interested in how a mega-franchise works, can read the profile at
http://tinyurl.com/34gzela.

Confession time. I can’t read Patterson. Graphic slash and gore are not my thing. I browsed through summaries of his books on Amazon and couldn’t find a single one I would read. However, any author as popular as Patterson -- 14 million copies of his books in 38 different languages -- deserves a plug. One of his latest books is THE POSTCARD KILLERS, written with co-author Lisa Marklund. Young couples in Paris, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, and Stockholm have been found dead. Little connects the murders other than a postcard to the local newspaper that precedes each new victim. Read at your own risk.

My all-time favorite of the poker players is Stephen J. Cannell, who scripted one of my all-time favorite TV shows, “The Rockford Files.” Yes, Cannell writes novels now but nothing can top his string of popular TV shows. He got his start on the writing staff of Adam-12 in 1970. After a few years he began to create and produce his own shows: Baa-Baa Blacksheep, Hardcastle and McCormick, The A-Team, Baretta and Hunter, to name a few.

The Rockford Files won an Emmy for Outstanding Drama in 1978. There’s been some talk of making a new Rockford Files but it would be laughed off the screen. There is only one, and it stars James Garner, who is getting a bit long in the tooth to do all that stunt work. Better to let a legend remain who and what it is – a legend.

Besides his enormous talent, Cannell is also a generous genius. On his web site he teaches a FREE Online Writing Seminar. Whether you’re writing a novel or a screenplay, he takes you through the process of writing, step-by-step, in five parts:



Part One - The discipline of writing; Part Two - How to choose your story; Part Three - Creating characters; Part Four - The three act structure; Part Five - Other things to think about. Check it out at:
http://www.cannell.com/television.php


There’s a Cannell anecdote I’ve remembered since I first read it a few years ago. I found it again on a web site for Orange Coast Magazine. Cannell has been married to his 8th grade sweetheart, Marcia, for 45 years. Quoting from an interview by Tina Dirmann titled “Mr. TV’s Love Tips”:


Quote:
So you told her (Marcia) you wanted to give up a steady job with your dad for a chance at writing for TV?
Exactly. It was the late ’60s and we were walking around the island, pushing our first child, when I asked Marcia for permission to leave my father’s business. I was so nervous. She’d be giving up this guaranteed lifestyle. But I just said, “I really want to be a writer full time.” And she said, “Then that’s what you should do.” Just like that!


Did you ever ask her what made her respond like that?
Years later, when I was successful, and I had all these Emmys on my mantle, I asked her, “Why did you say that? Nobody in their right mind would gamble on such a crapshoot!” And she said, “It just never occurred to me you would fail.”
End Quote.


Every writer should have such a supportive spouse! You can read the interview at
http://tinyurl.com/2dupmvb


Michael Connelly was unknown to me until I pulled THE BRASS VERDICT off the library shelf. Chapter One hooked me. In 19 short, sweet sentences it sets up the book perfectly:

(Quote)
Everybody lies.
Cops lie. Lawyers lie. Witnesses lie. The victims lie.
A trial is a contest of lies. And everybody in the courtroom knows this. The judge knows this. Even the jury knows this. They come into the building knowing they will be lied to. They take their seats in the box and agree to be lied to.
The trick if you are sitting at the defense table is to be patient. To wait. Not for any lie. But for the one you can grab onto and forge like hot iron into a sharpened blade. You then use that blade to rip the case open and spill its guts out on the floor.
That's my job, to forge the blade. To sharpen it. To use it without mercy or conscience. To be the truth in a place where everybody lies.
(End Quote)


Connelly started out as a reporter. In 1986, Connelly and two other Florida reporters spent several months interviewing survivors of a major airline crash. Their magazine story landed Connelly a job on the crime beat at the Los Angeles Times.


His first novel to feature LAPD Detective Hieronymus Bosch was THE BLACK ECHO, based in part on a true crime that occurred in Los Angeles. Published in 1992, it won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel by the Mystery Writers of America.


His 19th novel, The Brass Verdict, was released in October 2008, and introduces Lincoln lawyer Mickey Haller to LAPD Detective Harry Bosch in a fast-paced legal thriller. Coming in October is THE REVERSAL, with Mickey Haller and Harry Bosch working together on the high-profile retrial of a brutal child murder.

Connelly's books have been translated in 35 languages and have won the Edgar Award, Anthony Award, Macavity Award, Los Angeles Times Best Mystery/Thriller Award, Shamus Award, Dilys Award, Nero Award, Barry Award, Audie Award, Ridley Award, Maltese Falcon Award (Japan), .38 Caliber Award (France), Grand Prix Award (France), Premio Bancarella Award (Italy), and the Pepe Carvalho award (Spain).


Connelly’s web site is at www.michaelconnelly.com/

===
Photos:
“Castle” poker players from www.hollywoodoutbreak.com; Season Finale of "Castle," May 17, 2010.
L to R: James Patterson (back to camera) Michael Connelly, Stephen J. Cannell, Nathan Fillion (Castle).
Rockford Files from Wikipedia: Jimmy, Angel and Rocky.
Stephen J. Cannell from Wikipedia.
Michael Connelly from Wikipedia, taken 2007 at Texas Book Festival, Austin, TX

What Parrots Know About Writing

By Beth Terrell

Awhile back, I wrote about things you can learn about writing from your dogs. Today, I'd like to talk about things you can learn about writing from your parrots (or someone else's parrots, if you don't happen to have one handy). Yes, my friends, we can learn writing lessons from anyone, any species, anywhere. Does this mean you can expect later posts on what you can learn about writing from your fish and what you can learn about writing from your praying mantis? Well, maybe. It all depends on how desperate I get for material.

But first, a little background. I have two parrots, both African Greys, a male (Corky) and a female (Kesha). I inherited Corky from a high school friend 18 years ago, just a few months after I had bought Kesha. He was four years old. She was just a few months old. I'd made a down payment on her egg and gone to visit her throughout the weaning process. Greys are smart birds with a sense of humor. Once, Corky had to spend a few days at the vet's office. There was a kennel next door, and Corky would bark until all the dogs in the kennel were barking frantically. Then Corky would laugh quietly and wait for the dogs to settle down. After several minutes of peace, he would bark again, and the cycle would continue. There's no doubt in my mind that he understood what he was doing and that he found it amusing.

My Greys are underachievers, though, compared to Alex, an African Grey who was part of a research project by Dr. Irene Pepperberg. It was a project on language acquisition, and since Greys learn language the same way children do (babbling for about a year and then using words in appropriate contexts), Alex was a perfect subject. He could name more than 100 objects, identify colors, tell what an object was made of, identify same and different, and identify sets to six. He too played tricks on the people around him, and he even combined familiar words to describe unfamiliar objects (such as "cork-nut" for an almond and "banerry" for an apple--white like a banana and red like a cherry).

What better muse could an author have than a creature that can use words with creativity and humor? So without further ado, here are some tidbits of writing wisdom we can learn from our parrots.

Don't just eat seeds. Many moons ago, people thought parrots could thrive on a diet of seed mix. Now we know that's just not true. While seeds are a great treat, a nutritionally balanced pelleted diet, along with a variety of fruits and vegetables, are necessary for healthy, happy parrots. If we think books as foods and our favorite beach reads as seeds, you can see where I'm going with this. As writers, we need to devour all kinds of good writing, not just a few favorite kinds. By reading good books in a variety of types or genres, we can absorb the rhythms of written language, learn techniques that can be adapted to our own work, and stretch our writing wings.

Change things up a bit. Experts used to recommend following a strict routing with Greys, because they love patterns and routines. They like to do and see the same things and the same people at the same times every day. It makes them feel comfortable and secure. That is, until the day you're late from work, or your old TV breaks and you have to buy a new one, or you shave your head or purchase a new hat. If all they've known is their routine, the sudden change will throw them into a tizzy. Maybe they'll start nipping your fingers. Maybe they'll pluck their own feathers out. Not a pretty sight. Now experts know that it's better to teach your birds to be comfortable with change. "See? We turned your cage a quarter turn to the right--and everything is still okay!" "See? You got breakfast in a different bowl, and it's oatmeal with blueberries--and isn't it yummy?" They learn that change can be good and that, whatever happens, they can trust you to take care of it. Writers sometimes get stuck in a rut too. We do the same things the same way, even when they're not working as well as they used to. Change is tough, but it's the only way we can grow as writers. Try something new every now and again. Are you a novelist? Try a short story. Are you a playwright? Write a poem. You'll feel refreshed and maybe learn something you can take back to your novel. Do you have a series character that's starting to feel stale? Can you introduce something new into that character's life?

Swing a little. My birds love their swings. They'll rock back and forth, singing to themselves (not whistling like birds, singing like people, sort of a "dum dee dum dee dum"). They're taking a break from all that hard bird work, like cracking sunflower seeds or shredding paper towel tubes. Sometimes, when the going gets tough, we writers need to take a break too. Do something that makes you happy. Taking a walk is good, because that sort of repetitive action often leads to a breakthrough. Been struggling with chapter five? Walk a mile on the greenway, or go to the playground and swing for a bit. The answer may come to you.

Swing a lot. (In other words, do something exciting). Sometimes, one of the birds will reach up and grab the top of the cage with a beak, pull themselves and the swing up as close to the top as they can get, and then let go. The result is a wild ride that they obviously find exciting. It can be a little risky too, as one or the other will occasionally get a little too exuberant and slip off. They always climb right back on and swing again. I don't know about you, but as a writer, I find it all too easy to get most of my excitement vicariously, through the movies in my mind, but if I want to write convincingly about life, I have to get out there and experience it sometimes. Doing something exciting or having an adventure can add that extra boost of motivation, too. Attending the FBI/TBI Citizen Academy was exciting for me, and I expect Lee Lofland's Writers Police Academy (held later this month) will be as well. Have you had an adventure lately?

Beware the evil vacuum cleaner. Both my parrots hate the vacuum cleaner. Obviously, this is because vacuuming is housework, and housework interferes with writing. Of course, it's a thing to be feared! Other scary things? Full laundry baskets and dirty dishes. Someone's got to do them, I suppose, but I think my birds are onto something.

OMG

By Mark W. Danielson

LOL, I’ve forgotten how to write! Actually, since I don’t text, that isn’t the case, but it might be a problem for our kids. In fact, young people text so often that some believe SMS, the official abbreviation for Short Message Service or texting, may hinder their ability to communicate through normal dialogue. Technology has made it so kids no longer have to interact face-to-face. If this is true, then proper verbal and written communication may be in jeopardy. Nothing on the scale of our insecure borders or the threat of nuclear war, but I certainly hope our young people can shout something more alarming than OMG! should they spot a security flaw.

Communication is a skill that requires constant practice. Throw a person in solitary confinement and most will crave conversation within hours. In some cases, getting them to talk is the reason for locking them away. If you learn a second language but don’t have someone to communicate with, you will probably lose your proficiency in that language. Toss your personal computer out and you will lose you ability to transfer your thoughts onto a screen. Thankfully, those with well developed skills can quickly regain their proficiency if given the tools to do so, but this may prove difficult for our younger people if proper communication is not emphasized at home and in school. In this regard, bilingual schools may be creating more problems than they are solving.

It’s possible that a novel written in SMS could be printed in pamphlet size. For someone like me, that story would appear as code, but a proficient texter could probably read it in minutes. I’d like to think that words have more value than that, though. Besides, codes have limited life spans, whereas common languages are timeless.

Of course, there are other sides to this story, so I offer the following from a web site:
According to a study published by the British Academy entitled Is texting valuable or vandalism?, teachers and parents should embrace texting as a means of improving their children's phonological awareness. “Children who are heavy users of mobile phone text abbreviations such as LOL (laughing out loud), plz (please), l8ter (later) and xxx (kisses), are unlikely to be problem spellers and readers. The research, carried out on a sample of 8-12 year olds over an academic year, revealed that levels of “textism” use could even be used to predict reading ability and phonological awareness in each pupil by the end of the year. Moreover, the proportion of textisms used was observed to increase with age, from just 21% of Year 4 pupils to 47% in Year 6, revealing that more sophisticated literacy skills are needed for textism use. The study conclusions will come as a surprise to many who believe that textisms are vandalizing the English language.”

A variety of stories debate the effects of text messaging on student's writing skills. On the positive side, you have: RU Kidding - "txtspeak" Has No Impact on Children's Spelling Ability, Texting can b gd 4 ur kids, Texting teenagers are proving 'more literate than ever before'. Those against texting have: Technology marches ahead, grammar gets worse, Y TEXTING MAYBE BAD 4 U, SMS and Internet blamed for decline in English Examinations. Of course, the Department of Motor Vehicles has their own take, having seen a rapid increase in accidents from people texting while driving.

Whether you agree or disagree with texting, it is a form of communication that is likely to stay with us. Having said that, not everyone speaks SMS so be careful if you include it in your novels. CU L8tr.

The Subject Was Absinthe, Part 1

By Pat Browning


Peter King whips fact and fiction to a fine froth in his book ROUX THE DAY. I mix his visits to New Orleans gustatory palaces with tidbits from my own book, ABSINTHE OF MALICE, my recollections of a trip down Bourbon Street, a jazz podcast and a few recipes. Oysters Rockefeller is still a secret after all these years. Does it or doesn’t it call for spinach?
(In two parts)
***

Peter King’s main character in ROUX THE DAY is never named, but describes himself this way:


“I operate under the name of The Gourmet Detective. I seek out lost recipes and rare spices, find substitutes for disappearing or suddenly expensive food ingredients. I advise on topics like the food to serve in a film set in the seventeenth century or at a suitable ‘theme’ banquet for the fiftieth anniversary of a department store.”


While at a food fair in Los Angeles, the Gourmet Detective is persuaded to stop over in New Orleans on his way home to London. In New Orleans a potential client treats him to an elegant meal at Arnaud’s restaurant.


I Googled my way onto Arnaud’s atmospheric web site, happy to learn that Arnaud’s is still in business. It’s moving with the times by adding a small, more informal Jazz Bistro. You can pop in there for an appetizer called Pompano-Duarte at $32.95. The recipe is at www.neworleans.com a general New Orleans news site; or go right to the recipe at
http://tinyurl.com/39hshza
and you’ll understand why it costs $32.95.

For a jazz podcast of easy listening blues and Dixieland jazz, go to Arnaud’s Jazz Bistro page at
http://tinyurl.com/287apyt

Pretend you’re sitting in The Jazz Bistro nibbling at Pompano Duarte and maxing out your credit card.



In ROUX THE DAY, over food and drink at Arnaud’s, the Gourmet Detective agrees to search for and recover a purloined chef’s book from the defunct Belvedere Restaurant, once famous for its Oysters Belvedere.


Antoine’s and its famous Oyster Rockefeller dish come immediately to mind. Fortunately Antoine’s is still alive and thriving. The dinner menu at its web site lists dishes at a modest rate for a legendary restaurant, and yes, it still serves Oysters Rockefeller.


The recipe for Oysters Rockefeller is still a closely guarded secret. Theories abound. Does it or doesn’t it contain spinach? Nobody’s talking. During my gourmet cooking days I frequently made Oysters Rockefeller according to the best recipe I could find, and it did call for spinach.


My old cookbooks are long gone, but here’s an easy recipe like the one I remember. It was given to Life magazine by Roy Alciatore, one of Antoine's previous owners, for THE PICTURE COOKBOOK, published by Life magazine more than 30 years ago. I found this at
The Gumbo Pages http://tinyurl.com/2emqfym



Roy Alciatore’s Oysters Rockefeller
(as published in Life magazine's cookbook)
36 fresh oysters on the half shell
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons finely minced raw spinach
3 tablespoons minced onion
3 tablespoons minced parsley
5 tablespoons bread crumbs
Tabasco sauce to taste
1/2 teaspoon Herbsaint, or substitute Pernod
1/2 teaspoon salt
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add all the ingredients except the oysters. Cook, constantly stirring for 15 minutes. Press the mixture through a sieve or a food mill. Cool. Line six pie tins with rock salt. Set 6 oysters in the rock salt on each pie tin. Divide the topping into 36 equal portions. Place one portion on each oyster. Broil until topping is brown. Serves 6.


Listed on Antoine’s dinner menu under Appetizers:
“Huitres en coquille a la Rockefeller (notre creation) 13.75
Oysters baked on the half shell with the original Rockefeller sauce created by Antoine's in 1889.”


To put it delicately … ahem … original sauce … well, maybe. The original sauce was made with absinthe, and although absinthe is once again legal in this country and quite trendy, it’s not entirely the same old mind-messing absinthe.


In the years that absinthe was banned, as King’s fictional Gourmet Detective explains it:
“(T)hey … came up with several substitutes – anise was the most popular, sometimes mixed with hyssop. Another plant known as ‘herbsaint’ was used, too, but to an addict all of these were weak and unsatisfactory. Only absinthe gives the results they want, for drinking purposes as well as cooking…. The oysters Rockefeller that made Antoine’s famous used absinthe but then lost its popularity when absinthe substitutes had to be used.”


To talk about absinthe’s place in ROUX THE DAY and its role in the strange and surprising ending would be to give away the plot, so I’ll leave it there. I’ll probably always wonder if King’s fictional Belvedere restaurant is pure fiction or a thinly disguised version of Antoine’s.


I researched absinthe up one side and down the other in 1999 when I was writing FULL CIRCLE, now republished as ABSINTHE OF MALICE. I boiled all those hours spent with Internet search engines down to a character who made Oysters Merrily for a Chamber of Commerce fund raiser and snuck a bit of homemade absinthe into a particular oyster.


(Move down to Part 2 for more about absinthe, plus my own trip down Bourbon Street.)

The Subject Was Absinthe, Part 2

By Pat Browning

(Peter King whips fact and fiction to a fine froth in his book ROUX THE DAY. I mix his visits to New Orleans gustatory palaces with tidbits from my own book, ABSINTHE OF MALICE, my recollections of a trip down Bourbon Street, a jazz podcast and a few recipes. Oysters Rockefeller is still a secret after all these years. Does it or doesn’t it call for spinach?)

***
In 2007, after 95 years of prohibition, absinthe with less than 10ppm of thujone was finally authorized again for sale in the U.S. An excerpt from the TTB Circular of 16th October 2007, fully outlining the requirements for the licensing of a legal absinthe in the USA:

(Quote)BACKGROUND

Generally, absinthe, or absinth, is a high alcohol content, anise-flavored distilled spirits product derived from certain herbs, including Artemisia absinthium, or wormwood. Wormwood usually contains the substance thujone, which is purported to have hallucinogenic or psychotropic effects. Absinthe was popular in the late 19th century and early 20th century, particularly in France, and was often portrayed as an addictive and psychotropic beverage due to the presence of the substance thujone. (End Quote)

Wormwood, like so many plants, can cure you or kill you, depending on how it’s used.
In October 2007 I found a wormwood plant in a local nursery and of course I had to buy it. It’s a summer plant so it looked a bit bedraggled and our winter storms knocked it cattywampus, but for a few weeks I was the proud owner of a real live artemisia absinthium plant, a plant I used in ABSINTHE OF MALICE based solely on my Internet research.

Quoting from Chapter 28 of ABSINTHE OF MALICE:
(Quote)
"Artemisia absinthium." Dr. Heff beamed. "Wonderful tonic. An old standby for digestive upset. Just here." He pointed with his clipper at several sturdy bushes, about three feet high, with pale yellow flowers and silver-green leaves that reminded me of Italian flat leaf parsley.

"Is there a downside?" I asked. "Is it safe?"

"Best left in the hands of experts," he said. "Oil of wormwood is extremely toxic, quite deadly. It's a traditional folk medicine but modern medicine replaces it with synthetics. It's still used for fragrance in soaps and cosmetics. And, of course, a minute amount for that bitter taste in vermouth."

No tape recorder. How could I be so stupid? "What happens if you get too much?"

"Convulsions, vomiting, hallucinations. Not a pleasant death." Sharing the information seemed to give him great pleasure.
(End Quote)

I’m no expert but I’m guessing that damage done by absinthe comes from long, habitual drinking, an exception being someone allergic to wormwood and/or alcohol, like the victim in my novel.The picture of addiction would be Portrait of Angel Fernández de Soto (also known as The Absinthe Drinker), a portrait by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso completed in 1903 during his Blue Period. The oil painting depicts Picasso's friend and fellow painter, Angel Fernandez de Soto, in a bar with a glass of absinthe. The painting recently sold at auction for $51.2 million.

The history and legend of absinthe would fill a book or two. Everything you might want to know about it, including wonderful photos, can be found at The Virtual Absinthe Museum: Absinthe in America web site. Tiny Url is:
http://tinyurl.com/24mc2o4

Which leads me to The Old Absinthe House in New Orleans. ROUX THE DAY stirred up memories of my first visit to New Orleans in the 1950s. At The Old Absinthe House my husband and I ordered mint juleps, which attracted the attention of a Norwegian ship caption whose cargo ship was in port.

We became instant friends with the ship captain. The Old Absinthe House was like that, close and clubby, full of history and tall tales. Supposedly there was an upstairs room where Andrew Jackson and the pirate Jean Lafitte planned the Battle of New Orleans. The ceiling downstairs was papered with business cards pinned there by customers, which, over time, included just about everyone who was anyone.

We made the rounds of Bourbon Street with our new best friend, the ship captain. The photo of the three of us drinking Hurricanes at Pat O’Brien’s somehow survived the years and my many moves.

For reasons known to himself, and probably to his publisher, King doesn’t mention Pat O’Brien’s by name in ROUX THE DAY. He calls it “Paddy O’Bannion’s” and the famous drink is the “Typhoon.” By any name, it was a jolly place when I was there and I hope it still is.

If you’ve worked up a thirst just reading about it, here’s the recipe from What’s Cooking America at http://tinyurl.com/ydakgfj

Hurricane Cocktail Recipe
1 ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice
4 ounces dark rum
4 ounces passion fruit syrup
Crushed ice
Orange and/or lime slice
1 Maraschino Cherry
In a cocktail shaker add lemon juice, rum, passion fruit syrup, and crushed ice; shake vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes.
Strain into a tall glass or hurricane cocktail glass.
Garnish with an orange and/or lime slices and a maraschino cherry.
Makes 1 serving.

A simpler New Orleans drink is the Ramos Gin Fizz, named for Henry Ramos who came to New Orleans in 1888 and opened the Imperial Cabinet Saloon. The drink owes its lasting fame to the Roosevelt Hotel (now the Fairmont.) As described in ROUX THE DAY: “Mix the white of an egg with an ounce of heavy cream, the juice of half a lemon, the juice of half a lime, two ounces of gin, and fill up with soda water. It needs shaking for at least three minutes to get (this) consistency.”

Enjoy!
======
Special Photos:
Arnaud’s entrance from web site http://www.arnaudsrestaurant.com/
Pompano-Duarte from New Orleans web site http://tinyurl.com/39hshza
The Absinthe Drinker from Wikipedia http://tinyurl.com/38gpj3s
Wormwood plant, personal photo
Hurricane drink from What’s Cooking America http://tinyurl.com/ydakgfj
Pat O’Brien’s, personal photo
All other photos from the Internet

How to Have a Good Relationship with Your Publisher

by Jean Henry Mead

Assuming that you’ve done your homework, selected the right publisher and submitted a near perfect manuscript, there are guidelines to follow in order to maintain a good working relationship.

~ Be positive in your dealings with a potential editor or publisher. When the decision is made to acquire your manuscript, an editor is committed to working with you for as long as a year or more. So, you need to present yourself as a willing and passionate partner, according to New York Editor Nicole Diamond Austin. She advises writers to be prepared to answer questions about the manuscript and most important, to be flexible, especially if the editor gives critical feedback.

~ Be willing to share your career vision, especially if it’s your first novel. Share your expertise and how you want to be known. Compare your work realistically to other authors and explain how you plan to promote your books.

~ Explain your “platform”—anything that uniquely qualifies you to write your book or provides you with a ready audience of readers. For example, if you’re a doctor, your medical thriller will be more readily accepted than if it were written by a pet store owner.

~ Honesty will win the publisher over. Don’t claim to be Lawrence Block’s friend when you only met him once at a writer’s convention. It’s tempting to try to impress a publisher but it will come back to haunt you later, as some novelists have learned. Feel free to briefly talk about your writing accomplishments but make sure you're accurate. Publishing is a close knit industry.

~ Respect an editor’s time and realize that you’re only one of many writers in his stable. And be patient if your calls are not immediately answered. Make sure you have a good reason to call because publishers, editors and publicists are very busy people.

~ Don’t get pegged as a difficult writer to work with. You may not like your book cover or the way the publicist is handling your PR campaign but you need to trust that they have your best interests at heart. Make sure that whatever is bothering you is worth potentially damaging your relationship.

~ Always be nice to the publishing assistants. Remember their names and ask how they’re doing when you call or email. Writers are often surprised at what an assistant can accomplish and the speed with which they  get back to you.

~ Keep your editor informed, both before and after publication. If you’re a guest speaker, write a magazine article about your book or appear on a convention panel, make sure he or she knows about it ahead of time. The event may serve as a good reason to reorder additional copies of your book. But don’t overwhelm your editor with details.

~ Give your publisher a list of names of people who are willing to endorse your book and make sure your memo isn't longer than three pages. Again, those who work in a publishing company are very busy, so, don’t overload them with too much information.

And, finally, always thank your editor, publicist and publisher for the opportunity they’ve afforded you as well as the hard work they’ve given your manuscript. Thank them personally as well as in your book’s acknowledgements. A little appreciation goes a long way. . .

Back to Back

By Beth Terrell

Writers, as I'm learning much to my chagrin, are at high risk for lower back problems. That's because sitting is one of the worst things you can do for your back, but almost everything we do requires sitting--writing the Great American Novel, promoting the Great Amerian Novel, answering fan emails about the Great American novel...and if your job, like mine, involves working on the computer most of the day, it just adds to the risk. Think about it. Whether you write via keyboard or old-style ballpoint pen, it's hard to do it while walking around. Standing is an option, but it turns out that's not so good for the old back either.

What's a Great American (or British, or Scandinavian, etc.) Novelist to do?

Well, obviously, the best strategy is to avoid the problem altogether. Here are a few suggestions for that:

1) Use good posture when you write (take it from me, you do not want to write a 100,000-word novel while sitting on your couch with your laptop in your lap). Get a good chair. Position your computer so you don't have to tilt your head too far forward to see the screen. If you need to redesign your ork station so you can sit in a more spine-friendly position, figure out a way to do that. Your chair should not only be comfortable, it should have good support for your lower back. If it doesn't, use a lumbar pillow. I found a handy device at my local Walgreens that slips over the back of my chair or car seat and gives lower back support. At less than fifteen dollars, it was well worth the price.

2) Take frequent breaks. I know, it's hard. If you're anything like me, you get involved in a scene, and when you look up again, it's eight hours later, and you feel like some malevolent Medusa has turned you into a statue of The Author at Work. Avoid this by getting up every hour or so. Do some stretches. Take a brief walk, even if it's just around the block or even the back yard. Or even the living room. Set a timer if you have to. Just get up and move. When you have to sit, change positions frequently. Cross and uncross your legs. Twist your torso (gently) from side to side. Fidget a little.

3) Keep hydrated. One theory I've read is that, if we stay dehydrated long enough, the disks in our backs can dry out and get brittle, which makes them more susceptible to herniation. I don't know if that's true, but it is true that our bodies are made up largely of water and that drinking plenty of pure water keeps everything working better, including our movable parts. I feel stiffer and more sore if I don't get enough to drink. I've also read that, because we drink little water and a lot of caffiene-based drinks, most of us are at least mildly dehydrated most of the time.

4) Exercise regularly. Be sure to include aerobic exercise and exercises that strengthen your core muscles. Pilates and yoga are two good options for core-strengthening exercises.

5) Eat a healthier diet. A lot of lower back problems are caused by inflammation, and some foods, especially sugars, processed foods, and red meat can exacerbate the problem.

6) Use good posture when standing. Your weight should be evenly distributed, not cocked to one side or the other.

7) Lift with your legs, not your back.

8) Wear good, supportive shoes, like New Balance athletic shoes. Girls, save the high heels for special occasions.

What if you're already experiencing back pain? First, be gentle with the exercise; two excellent options are gentle walking and walking in water up to your chest.) Then, in addition to the suggestions above, you might try the following:

1) Ice. Twenty minutes with an ice pack can diminish pain almost immediately. Be sure to put a cloth between the pack and your skin, unless the pack you're using specifically states that it is safe for use against the skin. (The one I got from my chiropractor has a gel inside that can be frozen or heated as needed, and it's safe to use directly against the skin. I wouldn't trade it for anything.) I used only the ice, because if your problem is related to inflammation, heat will only make it worse.

2) Visit your doctor or chiropractor. And educate yourself. I've heard conflicting recommendations about chiropractic work. Mine seems to help, but he's someone I know and feel very comfortable with. He doesn't do violent manipulations. If you go to one, do your homework. If you go to your doctor, you might want to do your homework as well. Would you prefer to try a more holistic approach first, or are you prepared for a surgical approach? Know your options.

3) Gaited horseback riding. Granted, you'll need to be careful with this one, and whether it's effective for you or not will depend on the nature of your back problem, but I've met and read about a number of people whose back problems were improved or elimnated after they took up riding gaited horses (such as a Missouri Fox Trotter, Rocky Mountain Horse, or Paso Fino). While the gaits of a regular horse can be very jarring (the opposite of what you need with a bad back), the gaits of a well-trained gaited horse are smoother. I've been told they also replicate the movement our hips and spines make when we walk, so riding this type of horse can be therapeutic for people with back pain. You can read about a study on this here.

I'm especially intrigued by the gaited horses, since I've always wanted one. Hmm. Wonder if I could file an insurance claim for nice gaited Morgan or Missouri Fox Trotter.