FaN Notes: Halloween Weekend 2010

By the time you read this I’ll be on my way to NYC for Saturday’s Circle of Sisters Book Club. So hoping to see a bunch of you there. Meanwhile here are my thoughts about our super-terrific week at Fierce and Nerdy.

1. Like Michael Kass, I’m not a huge fan of Halloween. But my Halloween trauma story involves wearing a plastic Shera costume to my popular-girl cousin’s Halloween party, only to find out that everyone else was wearing non-plastic costumes. Since then I’ve come to accept that I will almost always be wearing the wrong thing at any given party. But that memory still burns.

i chose the graphic from Josh Pullin's "When Babies Attack" blogumn as my favorite pic of the week, because babies's eyes really do turn red when they wake you up in the middle of the night.

2. Debra G, if CH lost his job and I could not finagle another book deal, I’d be okay with selling off every piece of furniture that we own — save our bookshelves. That is all.

3. You know I’ve never worn a slutty Halloween costume, but Dr. Miro kind of made me want to give it a swing. Next year. This year I’m going to be in NYC, probably having breakfast with Dr. Miro, then catching a matinee of FELA, then going down to New Jersey for my new goddaughter’s first Halloween. Fun! Fun!

4. I’ve also never cut a date short with a fake sickness, so I was very impressed that Alex or Emmy was able to do this with a straight face. Hoping there’s a part 2 to this story.

5. Zack’s inspirational blogumn about more creative Halloween costumes made me feel really bad that I haven’t bothered w/ a Halloween costume this year — but um, not bad enough to to actually dress up. See #3.

GETTING TO HAPPY by Terry McMillan [Book 35 of 2010]

So I finished reading this book while on my Fall tour back in October, but I wanted to save my thoughts until the week of the Circle of Sisters Book Club, because I know we’re all excited about meeting up THIS SATURDAY in NYC for a special reading and talk with Attica Locke, Dolen Perkins-Valdez, Terry McMillan and me. Right? Right? Get more info on the event HERE. And get my thoughts on GETTING TO HAPPY by Terry McMillan below.

Why I Decided to Read It: Well, I read HOW STELLA GOT HER GROOVE BACK while traveling by train and bus from Beijing to Datong, China, and I’ve been a fan ever since. Also, she was the first author I ever saw use “like” in a novel — a practice I will defend to the death. AND it’s the sequel to my favorite 4-friend novel of all time WAITING TO EXHALE.

What Makes It Different: And oh, did I mention that she didn’t decide to visit them just a few years later like some authors would? No, she actually gave us a novel about fabulous 50-year-olds. Yes! Also, funnily enough, I met up with Maggie Linton, the host of the”This is Audible” radio broadcast while I was in Washington D.C. I mentioned that I was reading GETTING TO HAPPY and she was like, “Have you heard the audio book?” Then when I said I hadn’t, she said, “Oh no, no, no. You have to listen to the audiobook.” And she gave me a free copy. Now I was enjoying reading the book, but I ended up switching to the audio book based on Maggie’s recommendation, and it was sooooo GOOD. Four different voices, including Gloria Reuben (ER) as Bernadette, S. Epatha Merkerson (LAW & ORDER) as Gloria, and Terry McMillan herself playing Savannah FTW. I know I go on and on about how much I like audio books, but seriously, if you’re going to read this book, do yourself a favor and invest in the audiobook. It’s particularly vibrant and it’s like having the characters in the room with you. My favorite line: when Terry McMillan (as Savannah’s fed-up sister) says, “Savannah, we’re your goddamn family.” The women in my family don’t curse (me notwithstanding), but if they did, Ms. McMillan would be like channeling them with that reading.

What I Loved: Basically I grew up with women very much like these four, and I found this tale very inspiring. I have a tendency toward anxiousness — you know “What if…? What if…? What if…?” This novel basically tackles every what if that’s ever kept me up at night and shows that whatever life throws at you, it ain’t over til it’s over. I was already looking forward to turning 40 in a few years. Now I’m really, really looking forward to turning 50. Also, I loved the indie movie feel of the novel. It was written in a very slice-of-life sort of way. I have a feeling that quality will disappear in favor of heavy romcom structure for the movie version, but man, I wish it could be preserved.

What I Didn’t Like: Something very sad happens early in the book, and I was just sobbing over this on the plane ride back to LA (before I switched to the audiobook and therefore the privacy of my own/rental car). Really embarrassing. My seatmates were so uncomfortable.

Writing Lessons Learned:

Keep it Real: One of the things I try to do in my own novels is not have typically heroic heros. I’ve no interest in writing about glamorous women with glamorous jobs who just need to find the right glamorous husband. As I’ve said in many an interview, most women I know are awkward, and I see no reason to feature the stereotypically pretty girls who everybody likes in my novels. Ms. McMillan is a writer after my own heart. I love that just about every woman in this novel is worried about her weight, like all the time. That’s so real. And just one of the true-to-life details that makes this novel feel really authentic.

Less Cussing is More: Due to being a little too excited about getting out of St. Louis where cursing was considered an unladylike sin (at least in my family circle), I’ll admit that I used to cuss like a sailor before becoming a mother. And I still have to do several cuss-word-eliminating passes of everything I write to keep it PG-13. Therefore I was impressed that the few curse words Terry McMillan used got employed pretty effin fabulously.

Gay Yay!: As those who were here two years ago, when the Prop H8 mess was still in full swing, might remember, I’m a staunch gay rights advocate and I really do believe that it’s the major civil rights issue of our time. The black women in this book are very supportive of the gay characters in this book. It was so nice to see middle-aged black women depicted this way, since if the MSM is to be believed, there is no such thing as a black woman in her 50s that is supportive of her gay family and friends.

To Whom Would I Recommend This Book: Indie Movie Lovers, Women of a Certain Age, Daughters and Mothers, People Who Buy Bootleg Videos, Divorcees, and Black Women Who Have Been To France

Click on the pic to buy the book!

Writing while Motherin’

So a fellow blogger and an all-around terrific person asked me for advice about my writing schedule the other day, and my answer ended up being really long, so I figured I’d republish here, b/c yes, I generally have a policy that if I write anything over 300 words, even if it’s for ostensibly altruistic reasons, then yes I have to repurpose it as a blog. Hey, ya’ll bloggin’ ain’t easy and I’m really pressed for time this week. But hopefully this helps other would-be writing mamas:

In short here’s how I got to my current level of writing:

Look to the bright side, fellow writing mamas. We've less time to attend to our craft, but at least we don't have to use typewriters. #icantevenimagine

First of all, it takes a while to build writing discipline. When I got serious about my writing practice, I started by writing 20 minutes every day for 21 days. Then I wrote for 40 minutes every day for 21 days. Then I wrote for 80 minutes every day for 21 days. Then I started writing for 3 hours every weekday and using the weekends to preset my blog and you know … spend time with the family.

It was just my husband and me when I started my practice. But I found that by making a big announcement of my intentions to him and my writing exchange partner that I got all the support that I needed. And I especially find this true now that I have a full-on family.

Now, I call 7am-10AM my “business hours” and 2PM-5PM my “writing hours.” My family knows that I’m off-limits during these hours. These are my work hours, just like my husband has his work hours.

I’ve met a lot of writing mothers, and most of us have one skill in common: the ability to separate family and writing. Basically you have to learn to be selfish. This sounds easy, but believe me when I say it took months and months for me to get okay with this.

Also, I find that adults (like children) appreciate routines and boundaries. Saying “I have to write for three hours everyday” is vague and will frustrate both you and your family. Saying, “Okay, everybody, I’m going to write from 2pm-5pm everyday, and I need you to help me” is way better. Explain quiet hours to your children and ask them to help you set up your new office (a formal writing space), so that they understand that mommy has a new job with new job hours. If your kids are below school-age, get childcare for your writing hours. Also, ask your husband to take care of things for a specific time on weekend days when you need to write. As long as you’re consistent and specific with your requests, I find that people almost always will work with you. I rarely get turned down because I stick to these two rules.

But most of all, you have to train YOURSELF. No leaving your writing space to see what’s going on, when things get too quiet or when someone starts crying. I did this all the time at the beginning of my writing mother journey and I often had my writing sessions derailed by something I thought only I could fix. But later on when I decided not to leave my writing space unless specifically requested to, I found that I only got called up once — for my daughter’s first face plant. And she was fine.

Also, it’s good practice for actually getting published, after which you have to ask for sooooo many favors. Start training yourself now to ask for and get what you need.

I only work on one project at a time. And I don’t start the next thing until I’m done with a draft of the current thing. For example, right now I’m working on the first rewrite of my next women’s fiction novel. After that I’ll work on the rough draft of my third novel while I wait for my manuscript editor to do her thing. Then when I’m finished with that rough draft, I’ll start the second rewrite of my next women’s fiction novel. That way I’m always writing, always finishing drafts. I hope that makes sense.

I think a lot of writing mamas make the mistake of trying to fit writing in when you “have time.” That’s fine when you don’t have kids, but with kids you have to make time for your practice. And I think you’ll find that having formal writing hours will net you more pages than managing a 8-hour burst every now and then. Also, remember that your practice is fluid. Constantly adjust it to fit your lifestyle. You’ll get frustrated if you try to do exactly what I do or stick to too rigid of a schedule.

Bt-dubs when I’m on the road, I just go back to writing for 20 minutes a day. That way I’m still writing, but I’m not frustrated because I don’t have my usual 3 hours. When in doubt, go back to the original 20 minutes a day. A little writing is always better than no writing at all.

So that’s my writing mama advice! Other writing mamas, let us know if you have any of your own in the comments.

featured image credit: seriykotik1970

The problem with light reading

I’ve been reading a lot of great books lately, and I feel truly blessed. Except… while on the plane back from St. Louis, I was dying to read a romance novel. I haven’t read a good romance novel in like forever. This is partly the industry’s fault. I don’t need the writing in romance novels to be high literature, but I do want it to be strong, and there’s so much crap out there, that I often find it hard to give new romance authors a chance. I’ve lost so much money on intriguing situations with poor execution, that I’ve become loathe to take risks.

And though I enjoy reading “good” books, I lately find myself wishing I could turn back the clock to a time when I only cared about situation and not so much about the writing. At the same time, I grew up on Johanna Lindsey, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Judith McNaught, Nora Roberts, and Deborah Smith. These ladies (with the exception of Roberts) aren’t churning them out like they used to, but at the same time, I haven’t really found a new crop to replace my old crop of dependable light airplane reading.

So I’ve decided to crowdsource the problem. Outside of mystery (a genre I can only abide if the writing is particularly excellent), who are your go-to authors for light reading these days?

featured image credit: Lara Wannabe

Loops

So this week is going to be a bit wiggy since I’m off my routine. Usually I preset the week of blogumns, writing all of my personal blogumns on Sunday night, so that outside of blog promotion, my week can be dedicated to novel writing. The weekend is spent with Fierce and Nerdy, the week is spent with my novel — that’s my routine. And it’s one that I’ve managed to stick to through book tours, computer failures and other life happenings.

But last Thursday, I got a phone call that someone dear was in the hospital and an hour later I headed out to the airport. And after many delayed flights I finally headed out of Los Angeles, back home to St. Louis. So for the first time in a long while, we’re going to have to take this personal blogumn of mine day-by-day.

It’s been interesting spending the last three days at someone’s bedside. I had a lot of time on my hands, but I couldn’t write under those conditions with nurses and the occasional doctor coming in and out of the room. But it was very conducive to reading. I finished one reading project for someone else ahead of schedule, while my own pages piled up.

The patient sometimes wanted to talk, sometimes watched TV while I click-clacked on my computer. I found myself partially viewing a few movies. I dozed off a few times. Hospitals are a surreal, black hole of time. And my three and a half days spent in one are already fading away. Where did they go?

My to do is on code red. And now that both doctors and nurses have assured me that the patient will be fine, I feel the real world nagging at me. My daughter misses me, and my husband, rather sweetly, has trouble falling asleep when I’m not there. I’m supposed to finish the second draft of the next women’s fiction book before I head out to NYC. I went to Paris and Scotland after I finished the rough and found that there’s nothing like traveling with a recently finished draft in your heart. Are m/b it was the fact that I was in Scotland and then Paris, that made me want to dance with outstretched arms and sing just about everything from the My Fair Lady soundtrack with a light heart.

My inbox, which I pride myself on attending diligently, now chastises me. For whatever reason, I’ve found it hard to return all but the most urgent emails even when the patient was sleeping. And now that the patient has been released, the real world outside the hospital is pulling me back.

I got thrown for a loop. A few loops, really, but now it’s time to get back on the horse, which in my opinion is the most important bit. Bad things happen. Unexpected things happen. But how do you handle them? Are you good at getting back on the horse? Because they don’t teach Advanced Getting Back On The Horse in grad school, but really as it turns out, that’s the most important thing. Isn’t it?

featured image credit: Eduardo Amorim

FREEDOM by Jonathan Franzen [Book 34 of 2010]

Have you heard of this book FREEDOM by Jonathan Franzen? Sadly, it hasn’t gotten very much coverage, but I decided to do the author a favor and talk about it on this blog anyway. It’s just so sad when good books don’t get the attention they deserve.

Why I Decided to Read It: Seriously though, everyone’s been talking about this novel. Franzen was on the cover of TIME . The NYT was brought to task for not reviewing more women because of how much they liked this book. It’s an Oprah Book Club pick. I actually had quite a few other reasons to read this novel. 1) As a reader I like to read what the public is reading, just to see what all the excitement is about. I hate feeling left out of a conversation. 2) I never read THE CORRECTIONS, so I felt like I owed the author one. 3) As someone working on her second novel, I’ve become obsessed with non-debuts as of late. This is Franzen’s fourth and reportedly best novel, which really inspires me.

What Makes It Different: This is basically a domestic drama written by a man. Except it’s really, really well-written. At one point I realized that this story could be summed up as Family Ties without the unnecessary youngest third sibling (sorry, Tina Yothers) and a Mallory who wasn’t stupid.

What I Loved: Well, what sets this apart from other domestic dramas is that it incorporates a lot of political and philosophical ideas that you’re not likely to find in a many other domestic drama novels, and it does so, without turning the novel into a rambling mess. Also, if you thought Franzen spent the majority of the last nine years between novels procrastinating, you would be wrong. You can tell that a lot of work went into this book, the story is just super-compelling. And you know what, a dramatic version of Family Ties with a smart Mallory is pretty cool. I loved Family Ties, and in many ways I felt that I got the closure that I never got with the show by reading this book.

What I Didn’t Like: I don’t want to be redundant here, but yes, like many other reviewers, I could see the man writing the parts that are supposed to be from a SAHM’s POV. I didn’t care, but yes, it was heavy-duty-awards-shut-out noticeable. Also, I felt beyond meh about the cover. It was way cooler when Cintra Wilson’s COLORS INSULTING TO NATURE did this … five years ago.

Writing Lessons Learned:

Really Good Writing: It was hard to narrow my list down to three, because the writing was so good. Franzen both breaks and keeps rules. And I think this is a great touchstone book on craft for writers in general — especially writers who find themselves tempted to use exclamation marks. Franzen does a very good job with his. Reading this made me wonder what I could write if I had the desire, attention span, and financial situation to spend almost a decade with the same novel. Ah well, we’ll never know the answer to that question; I assure you.

Unlikeable Characters Are More Interesting: Reading FREEDOM solved a mystery I’d been mulling over since the beginning of the year. By far my favorite romantic read of 2010 has been FEMINISTA by Erica Kennedy, even though I found the main character rather unlikeable. While being similarly compelled by unlikeable people in Franzen’s novel, I realized that the reason I liked FEMINISTA so very much is simply that unlikeable characters are way more interesting that likeable ones. It’s kind of like the happy families vs. unhappy families dynamic in the beginning of ANNA KARENINA (which much like the CORRECTIONS, I haven’t read, have only heard way too much about). Anyway these characters are all really unlikeable in a good and compelling way. And the nicest characters are the most boring ones. It all made me realize anew how useless nice can be in good literature.

Go BIG: Some of the things I loved most about FREEDOM were the big ideas presented inside a little story. I think a lot of women writers talk about “not being able to get away with” going outside the cookie cutter definition of what a romantic drama is supposed to be. I’ve worried about that myself with my own writing, which doesn’t quite fit comfortably under any literary label — especially the book I’m working on now. But reading FREEDOM made me ask, Why not go BIG? If you have big ideas, why not put them in your novel as opposed to trying to color within the lines? Why do we consider this a privilege that can only be enjoyed by white males? This novel firmed up my resolve to take bigger risks as opposed to playing it safe for the rest of my career.

To Whom Would I Recommend This Book: Writers In General, Roya Hamadani, Kelly Lett, Amy Brown, Paul Seamus R, Amy Robinson, Jeff Rogers, Environmentalists

Click on the pic to buy the book!

Bt-dubs, know a lot of you are wondering about my thoughts on GETTING TO HAPPY by Ms. Terry McMillan. They’re coming, coincidentally (and by that, I mean not coincidentally at all) right before Ms. McMillan, Attica Locke, Dolen Perkins-Valdez and I take the stage together for the Circle of Sisters Book Club on Saturday Oct. 30 in NYC. Woo-hoo!

An Experiment

So my productivity levels had not quite been where I need them to be as of late. My To Do list has been in serious backlog since last week, and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why. I tried getting up really early one day, that only necessitated a momentum-killing nap later in the day. I don’t watch much TV before 9pm anymore, just PRICE IS RIGHT in the morning and DAYS OF OUR LIVES in the afternoon. But just in case, I cut down to the last half hour of PIR and skipped DOOL all together — though really is there any reason to work from home if you can’t enjoy at least one soap? Methinks not! Still for the sake of finally getting my to do list to done I sacrificed DOOL for two days straight. No go. I was still staring down at least 10 items left to do at the end of each night.

This was very upsetting. I have childcare and I had thought that I had organized my life in such a way that allowed me to get things done. So, completely stymied, I outsourced the problem to my husband. Maybe it’s that I don’t have enough time to get everything done, I suggested. Maybe it’s because I really do have ADHD, even though the Wall Street Journal told me that I didn’t earlier this year.

He answered that there was one culprit I hadn’t considered: The Internet. Maybe he said, you need to use it less.

Now you know how people in Overeaters Anonymous always say that it’s hard to conquer their addiction, b/c you need food to survive. Well, I don’t feel that way about food, but I do feel that way about the internet.

On one hand, I truly do need the internet to blog and stay in contact with important folk. I do most of my networking online, so there is no way that I could cut out the internet all together. But have I sat down to work on a specific project, and then an hour later still  not started it, b/c I was on Twitter and an interesting email came through and oh so-and-so posted her newborn baby pictures on Facebook? Well, yeah, that’s might have happened a few times. Okay weekly. Okay, okay daily!

So here’s what we came up with. I would stick to my regular schedule. The only thing is that when CH left for work around 11am, he would turn off the internet, leaving me with only my iPhone to access the interwebs. Then when he got home at night, he’d turn back on the internet. He also made a no-electronics in bed rule. This meant that if I wanted to get online or on my laptop or even surf on my phone, I’d have to leave the bed to do it.

I reluctantly agreed to these terms until the end of the week, thinking that we’d try it out and it would only yield a slight uptick in my To Done. Well, yesterday morning, I got up. Put in Fierce and Nerdy, watched the last half hour of PRICE IS RIGHT and then CH left as did the internet. I still had emails to answer, so I finished answering them and left them in my outbox, so that they would send when CH got home.

Betty went down for her nap, so I worked on one backlogged project. And then another backlog project. And by the time Betty woke up I had nearly caught up with my pre-Tuesday To Do lists and I hadn’t even broken into my formal childcare hours! So I attacked my rewrite during my writing time and when Betty went down for the night, here I worked on my Wednesday blogumn in my basement office as opposed to, reading my twitter timeline or clearing out my Google Reader or surfing Zappos and trying to convince myself that I really do deserve a pair of Frye boots (I’ve been doing this every winter for the past four years now, and I’ve yet to get a pair of Frye boots).

I must say that I’m a little shocked at how well The Experiment is going only one day in, and if I’m still yielding these kind of results by week’s end, I might have to (gasp!) keep it going. But how about you? Do you think that you could give up being able to access the internet outside of your iPhone for 10 hours every day? Or kick all of your electronics out of bed? Let me know in the comments!

Meanwhile, I think I really am going to finally get that pair of Frye’s boots tonight…

featured image credit: Federico_Morando

Would you incubate your baby?

I was talking the other day with a friend online about second child births. I’m already feeling a little anxious about getting pregnant again in January. I’m aware that Californian moms have a reputation for just loving on pregnancy, but I’m not going to lie, I’m one of those people who enjoyed the result WAY more than I enjoyed the pregnancy. I’m concerned about being tired all the time again. When folks ask me the “how do you do it all” question, I answer, eyes-open-wide: “Buttloads of coffee.” So yeah, I’m not too happy about giving up my perfect sidekick come January. Then there’s the fear about even being able to get pregnant a second time, since it was rather difficult the first go-round. And even if it’s as easy as we hope it will be, since this time our embryo is all set and ready to go, thanks to the first IVF treatment, I circle back round to the energy question. Ya’ll, I need my energy. I have no idea how I’m going to get by without it.

But we’re going through with the January date anyway, mostly because of biological imperative — I believe in siblings. But also because of morbidity. CH and I both have parents who died before we got together and that would have been hard to go through without a sibling. And also because it’s not like I’m not going to need my energy in 2012 (which is hopefully when the second book will release) or 2013 (which is hopefully when the third book will release). 2014, 2015, and 2016 aren’t looking like low-energy years either. So I might as well do it now.

During the first pregnancy I joked that if it were up to me I would put the baby in an incubator and go’on about my business, watching her grow while I went about my business until she was fully cooked and ready to come out. I was joking back then, but not so much now. Seriously if the option were available to me and the science was proven (like IVF), I’d definitely give it go. But what say you other moms, moms-to-be, and someday-moms? If the option were available, would you incubate your baby as opposed to carrying it yourself? Sound off in the comments!

featured image credit: grendelkhan

Party Anyway

I was talking the other day with a friend online about second child births. I’m already feeling a little anxious about getting pregnant again in January. I’m aware that Californian moms have a reputation for just loving on pregnancy, but I’m not going to lie, I’m one of those people who enjoyed the result WAY more than I enjoyed the pregnancy. I’m concerned about being tired all the time again. When folks ask me the “how do you do it all” question, I answer, eyes-open-wide: “Buttloads of coffee.” So yeah, I’m not too happy about giving up my perfect sidekick come January. Then there’s the fear about even being able to get pregnant a second time, since it was rather difficult the first go-round. And even if it’s as easy as we hope it will be, since this time our embryo is all set and ready to go, thanks to the first IVF treatment, I circle back round to the energy question. Ya’ll, I need my energy. I have no idea how I’m going to get by without it.

But we’re going through with the January date anyway, mostly because of biological imperative — I believe in siblings. But also because of morbidity. CH and I both have parents who died before we got together and that would have been hard to go through without a sibling. And also because it’s not like I’m not going to need my energy in 2012 (which is hopefully when the second book will release) or 2013 (which is hopefully when the third book will release). 2014, 2015, and 2016 aren’t looking like low-energy years either. So I might as well do it now.

During the first pregnancy I joked that if it were up to me I would put the baby in an incubator and go’on about my business, watching her grow while I went about my business until she was fully cooked and ready to come out. I was joking back then, but not so much now. Seriously if the option were available to me and the science was proven (like IVF), I’d definitely give it go. But what say you other moms, moms-to-be, and someday-moms? If the option were available, would you incubate your baby as opposed to carrying it yourself? Sound off in the comments!

featured image credit: grendelkhan

That Time of the Month [32 CANDLES Events]

Yes, yes, I usually reserve this spot for our awesome Fierce and Nerdy bloggers, but I’m also supposed to do one big 32 CANDLES post a month, and alas, we have a ton of events piled up that I just need to tell you about:

1. First up, I know my LA folks are coming out tomorrow for my 32 CANDLES Q&A at Writing Pad, right? $10 measly covers your salted caramel cupcakes and your seat. To tell you the truth, I would pay $10 for the cupcakes alone. The Writing Pad caterer is out of this world and her salted caramel cupcakes are a gift to humanity. A gift to humanity. You think I’m exaggerating, but if you come out to the event, you’ll se that I’m really not. So do, do, do RSVP marilyn at writingpad.com!

2. Outside of LA, but still want to chat? Join Bernadette Davis, Dee Gospel and moi online at 6PMpst/9PMest for a 32 Candles Twitter PJ Party at #blacklitchit . All the details about this awesome event can be found HERE.

3. Hey, what’s up New York? I see you’ve all got plans for Halloween, but are wondering what do with yourselves the day before on October 30. Well, look no further. Attica Locke, Terry McMillan, Dolen Perkins-Valdez and myself will be reading live at the Circle of Sisters Book Club from 1pm – 3pm. But get this, $10 gets you all-day access to the Circle of Sister Conference. C’mon now, why wouldn’t you come out??? We’ve got your info right HERE.

4. And, Brooklyn. Dearest, dearest, Brooklyn. You thought I forgot about you, didn’t you, Brooklyn? You thought that since I hadn’t set foot in your fair borough since um … 2001 — yeah, that’s the year, 2001, that I would never make it back to you, Brooklyn. But check this out, Brooklyn. November 11th, Brooklyn. I’m in the house, along with Tanya Wright (BUTTERFLY RISING, HBO’S True Blood) and Tiphanie Yanique (HOW TO ESCAPE A LEPER COLONY) for the John Oliver Killens Reading Series at Daddy’s Basement, courtesy of CUNY’s Center for Black Literature, Brooklyn. So now you’ll have to stop telling every one, about how it’s been a minute since I visited last, Brooklyn. Seriously, can’t wait to see you again, Brooklyn. Get the details HERE, Brooklyn (and NYC-area Friends).


5. Last but not least, you know I have to hit you up again for those Amazon reviews, right? We really want to get the word out about 32 CANDLES for the holiday buying season, so here’s what we’re going to do: for every Amazon review we get from now until November 30 (up to the first 50), we will send that reviewer a 32 CANDLES T-shirt. So even more incentive to leave a review, right?  Just leave your review at Amazon and send your address and T-shirt size (we have Men’s M, L, XL)  to etc at 32candles.com, and we’ll hook you up. Yay! I just love a good giveaway.


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