MEME! 6 Book Things About Me!

Okay, Mary Cunningham tagged me to write 6 “book” things about myself. I liked her old-timey photo so added one of my own, taken at Big Bear Lake in 19xx…

1. I took Creative Writing in junior high school because it sounded interesting. That was my first inkling that I might like to write. We wrote mostly short stories. In high school, I took every lit class they offered: American Lit, Modern Lit, World Lit and English Lit. (In retrospect, most of it was pretty boring and I cheated more than once with Cliff’s Notes. Dostoevsky just wasn’t my cup of tea.)

2. During those middle school years, my best friend Jayne and I would create stories and tell them to each other. The rules were that our stories had to be about and for each other, and had to involve the other’s favorite rock star. Most often, they were vignettes about how we would meet George Harrison or Mickey Dolenz in an elevator and fall in love. Simple, right?

3. Because I am now considered a legitimate writer (Ha!), it is always me called upon whenever anything needs writing. Last year, I wrote a wedding ceremony for my nephew and niece. I wrote the announcements for the loud speaker at Relay For Life. I wrote the flyers and announcements and reviews for our school PTA. Household correspondence has always been my job, too, but should that include eulogies for relatives?

4. Sad but true. My first publisher, WAY back in 1998, was a fledgling ebook pub. He accepted my first novel instantly, did very little editing (and I was sap enough to believe it was so perfect he couldn’t find anything) and then published it on CD and diskette. I was as naive as they come. I sat back and waited to get rich and famous. There was an “ebook bestseller list” on the web that claimed to be expert enough to know. One day, my book appeared on that list, alongside successful books being put out by popular and respected publishers. I got a certificate from my local RWA chapter. All exciting. Then one day, with a little digging, I discovered that a large number of copies sold all went to a company purchaser. And lo and behold, that company was owned by my publisher. I was humiliated and shamed. I stuffed the certificate in a drawer and immediately began looking for a new publisher. And he couldn’t understand why I wanted to leave.

5. I have become an ebook snob. Yes, it’s true. I buy only ebooks, unless there is something I absolutely need to have that’s not available for download. Yeah, I “get” all that about the feel (and smell!) of a real book, yada yada yada. But for me, it’s all about the story, convenience, cost, and environment. The story will be good in any format. I love being able to read in bed, lights off, not disturbing the hubby. I can buy 2 or 3 books for the price of one. And don’t you know I just hate the waste of trees. Even with my bad inaugural experience with ebooks, I love them. For the record, I prefer reading in Microsoft Reader on a Pocket PC. Will I buy a Kindle or Sony Digital Reader? Probably. Right now I’m not fond of the price or the non-backlit technology.

6. Something most people don’t know: I have 3 writing personas. One for my romantic mysteries, one for my middle grader readers and one for some experimental, edgier stuff.

And that’s it~! Boring, but all true.