Sunday morning, two women knocked on my door. They said they were from a new non-denominational church right down the street. They didn’t say the name of it. They didn’t say where it was, just sort of vaguely pointed that-a-way. They wore pants and on their shoulders carried full cases of exactly what I don’t […]
The wooden floor was worn from years of dancers shoes gliding, sliding, and stomping their way across it. Tables and chairs ringed the floor but were not yet full because it was early evening. The DJ was already cranked up. A woman heard a tune she loved to dance to, and moved out to the floor under […]
Reading the biography of David Cornwell, aka John le Carré, I’ve been having a lot of my opinions validated about the book publishing business and my approach to the craft itself. This great and wonderful writer had friends, writer friends, who would not read his books. He himself would not always read theirs. The reasons […]
After finishing what I thought was a standalone novel called The Dance Floor Wars: Dispatches From the Front, I was pleased it was done and breathed a huge sigh of relief. Within a week, though, one of my main characters, Lucinda, told me the story was just beginning and how dare I leave readers hanging. […]
In reading the blessed-by-Cornwell-himself Carré biography by Adam Sisman, I have had the distinct painful pleasure of walking a mile in David’s shoes. I hesitated to say this, but decided to anyway: I was surprised to find those shoes are my own. In reading Cornwell’s story, I’ve had much about myself validated. The reluctant-but-necessary public figure much […]
My first novel was, like just about everybody’s first attempt, a fictionalization of something personal. Mine was one year of my life, namely 5th grade. The story itself is deep and good, full of conflict, violence, choices, crushes, kids stuff, and pain. My telling of it was terrible. The thing is, I know how to write. […]
I know this about me and The Donald: We have faces made for radio and voices made for print. Oh, sure, somebody’s gonna say, “Angela, I agree about The Donald, but, baby, honey bunch, sugar pie, your pictures are so awesome. You’re just being too humble…or you’re feeling needy and seeking attention.” You would be […]
In my last column I wrote: It especially takes a big ego to write something different. Think the play Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s telling of an overworked historical figure in a time of political unrest; as I write this, nominated for several Tony awards. Think the book Call for the Dead, le Carré’s first novel that introduced the world […]
“You can’t do that, Angela,” so said several people to me over the last ten years or so. “Why not?” said I with an additional riposte of, “And says who?” The answer was always the same. “I was at a writer’s conference and Book Agents Du Jour all agreed and said new authors [read, anyone […]
The only times I’ve ever had writer’s block was when I told myself I should be writing, but I really had nothing to say worth putting onto paper. While scheduled writing times seems to work for some people, I am not a fan of them. I did that for years and beat myself up because everything […]
Hey, have you read Angela’s books? Get them here.
Dear Publishers and Agents, From reading some of my posts, you might infer I hate you. I. Do. Not. In fact, I totally understand the role a publisher and agent plays in the success of a book and its author — I think I’ve covered those in previous posts, and I’m looking forward to the day […]
This is one of those days. The kind where you’ve been productive. Meeting challenge after challenge. Working hard and working smart. Smiling and thinking positive thoughts. Staying up and staying on. Then one phone call blows a hole in all your positiveness with what you feel is a massive betrayal but honestly isn’t; still it threatens […]
Hey, have you read Angela’s books? Get them here.
Excerpt from “The Dance Floor Wars: Lucinda’s People” Victor had always loved his name. He was the victor, a winner always. His winning ways resumed during college when he switched from a besotted wimp to an uncompromising misogynist. However, those youthful winning days had ended when the besotted wimp days began, in third grade, […]
I’ve always been the outlier. That one that throws off a surveyors assumptions. The one marketers don’t know how to reach and cannot figure out why. It’s DNA deep with me. I don’t do it on purpose. Here’s one story to illustrate that. In 9th grade we students were required to fill out a form listing all […]
There are no guarantees that the plans we make, the ideas we have, or the life we seek will come to fruition. As the old saying goes, man plans while God laughs. I’ve been a reader of business publications since I was 20. In the pages of the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Inc., and others, one thing shone […]
Read Part 1 here Read Part 2 here Read Part 3 here Publishers and agents who only go after the low-hanging fruit are destroying the business. Gravitas, vision, and smart planning moves projects along to a successful financial arrangement for all parties. You’re right. There are no guarantees about anything. But so what? That is […]
Read Part 1 here Read Part 2 here And who were the publishers and agents on those panels always telling us little wannabes in the audience who they were looking for? Why, the next Michael Connelly or Lee Child, or some other hot writer du jour obscure to flyover country and known only within the […]