Quotable Friday (4)

I love reading quotations. Whether they’re funny, wise or poignant, I love those snapshots into the human mind; I love the beauty of language. There aren’t always easy ways to crowbar great passages from novels or thoughtful quotations into ordinary blog posts, so on Fridays I’m letting them speak for themselves. No deep thoughts, no fancy attempts to unpick hidden meanings – just snippets of our beautiful language I’ve come across that I’ve fallen in love with. I’d love to know what you think of them. 

This week's quotation comes from Earth, Air, Fire and Custard by Tom Holt. Tom Holt writes books I'd describe as comedic alternative fiction - a bit like Terry Pratchett but less fantastical, taking place in a slightly altered reality rather than a different one entirely. When I first read this I thought it was the most beautiful description of love, all the better for coming in the middle of a funny, light-hearted book.

Paul is wondering why he's in love with Sophie...

"Paul thought about that for two, maybe two and a half seconds, and realised that he didn't know, that there wasn't an answer; just as there's never any answer to those simple but incredibly difficult questions you ask when you're four years old, and the grown-up just looks at you all cross and ambarrassed and says, 'Just because, that's why.' [...] Why? Because. And that's how you know it's true love. If you love someone for or because of something, it doesn't count; it's admiration, appreciation or the recognition of some resource she's got that you can exploit to your own advantage. Unless it's just Because, it can't be unconditional, instinctive, involuntary. Doesn't count. No good."

Hurdles and Hoops

Rejection is part of being a writer. There are so many hurdles and hoops to jump over and through to become published. If you want to succeed you must get used to being rejected. After a few months of calm, I'm getting used to it all over again.

It's said that when you have a book published in the traditional way, you have to sell it many times: you have to sell the idea to an agent and persuade them to sign you up; the agent has to sell the book to an editor; the editor has to sell it to the other editors at the acquisition meeting in their publishing house; the acquisition team have to sell it to the marketing team; the marketing team to the booksellers; the booksellers to the public.

Most writers will fall at one of these hurdles - more often than not, the first one, getting an agent. Rejection happens at every stage. I've blogged before about good and bad rejection experiences, encouraging rejections, and the heartache of starting over again with a new novel being rejected (especially when a three year-old announces it to your whole church).

Last November, I had the excitement of being signed to The Andrew Lownie Literary Agency with my novel The Art of Letting Go. For three months, I worked at re-writing the manuscript and putting together a publishing propsal with my agent, David, and a few weeks ago he sent it out to lots of publishing houses. It was an exciting moment to read in the agency's submission list for the month, "The Art of Letting Go a thoughtful and surprising drama about art and artifice by award-winning debut novelist Chloe Banks." But of course, it didn't take very long for the rejections to start rolling in.

David forwards any rejection where the editor actually gave a reason for saying no, so I can see the thinking behind it. When David sent the first one, it was almost exciting. Two literary professionals were e-mailing each other about my work! Somebody at a publishing house was thanking somebody at an agency for letting them see my novel! This felt like a high-class sort of rejection. But then the second one came. And then the third.

The second rejection felt hard. The compliments felt empty and the criticisms so fundamental to the book I was discouraged. The third however was better - it was encouraging and complimentary; a rejection based on the publisher's book list and not my writing. And while that's frustrating, it also gives me hope for the other publishers that are still reading. As I saw with finding an agent, it's a very subjective industry. And it's a painfully slow process. All I can do is keep writing and try to forget I'm waiting. [On that note, I'm over a third of the way through the first draft of my next novel, Derailed. More on that soon!]

I don't know if I'll cross the next hurdle with this novel, let alone all the other hurdles between here and publication. I've heard countless tales of people who had agents for three books before one sold to a publishing house. I really hope somebody will take a chance on a book written in an unusual style by a new author - I dare to dream - but even if they don't, perhaps my next book will be the one. Or the book after that. And while I'm waiting for verdicts on my novel, I can enjoy some variation with other rejections from magazines and short story competitions (and even the occasional acceptance!). I can also enjoy writing my second novel from the privileged position of already having an agent waiting to read it. That's something to smile about, right?

Quotable Friday (3)

I love reading quotations. Whether they’re funny, wise or poignant, I love those snapshots into the human mind; I love the beauty of language. There aren’t always easy ways to crowbar great passages from novels or thoughtful quotations into ordinary blog posts, so on Fridays I’m letting them speak for themselves. No deep thoughts, no fancy attempts to unpick hidden meanings – just snippets of our beautiful language I’ve come across that I’ve fallen in love with. I’d love to know what you think of them. 

This week's quotation is from The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis. Not one of his most famous passages, but one which, for me, sums up the charm of the Narnia stories.

“A Centaur has a man-stomach and a horse-stomach. And of course both want breakfast. So first of all he has porridge and pavenders and kidneys and bacon and omlette and cold ham and toast and marmalade and coffee and beer. And after that he tends to the horse part of himself by grazing for an hour or so and finishing up with a hot mash, some oats, and a bag of sugar. That's why it's such a serious thing to ask a Centaur to stay for the weekend. A very serious thing indeed.”

Gifts for Writers and Readers

Let's talk about something very close to my heart. Presents. Everyone loves presents, right? OK, you might not love ALL the present's you've ever recieved. But oddly-scented toiletries, Simpsons paraphernalia and bizarre kitchen utensils aside, presents bring out the child in us. For some of us, the child isn't very well-hidden anyway.

If you want gift ideas for the cherished writer in your life (and if you don't have one, I am willing to take on that role), you have to head to The Literary Gift Company. I love this place! There are so many wonderful gifts for writers, readers and literary-lovers. You WILL find something you love. (I promise you they're not paying me to write this post - though if you are from the company you are welcome to lavish me with gifts!)

Here are 10 examples of products from their website, complete with pretty pictures. You can get some of these gifts from other places, but I love this company so I'm sticking to them for this post! They also deliver worldwide as well, so my far-flung friends needn't feel left out.

1. Invisible shelves. Walls covered in floating books - that's my idea of interior decoration! What could be more beautiful? From £11.95.

2. Helvetica scarf. Crazy price for a scarf, but if you need a special present for a design-buff, this is wonderfully original. My husband loves Helvetica. £54.

3. Banned book bracelet. Metal reproductions of covers from books which were banned, including To Kill a Mockingbird. £14.50

4. Literary map of Britain and Ireland. My absolute favourite! Names of authors arranged by where they came from. (Also available: just children's authors, just Wales, and the USA). £12.

5. Novel posters. My other favourite! Huge posters containing the entire text of famous novels arranged to create a beautiful picture. The one pictured is Pride and Prejudice, but new titles are being added all the time. Current titles include Alice in Wonderland, Gulliver's Travels and The Picture of Dorian Grey. Take a look! £23-26.

6. Rory's Story Cubes. Great for inspiration - throw the nine dice and make up a story from the pictures. Over 10 million different combinations! £10.95.

7. Penguin postcards. 100 postcards each with a different Penguin book cover - from The Great Gatsby to Keeping Poultry and Rabbits on Scraps. (Also available are Ladybird books and Puffin books). £14.95.

8. Poetry instead of a card. Why buy over-priced cards at gift shops when you could give a little book of ten poems instead? There are tonnes of themes to choose from - tea, pudding, revenge, love... £4.95.

9. Book handbag. Expensive but pretty awesome. These handbags aren't just made to look like books, they are made from "reclaimed" books themselves. Several to choose from - this one's The Wind in the Willows. £58.

10.Literary cufflinks. What with all the jewellery and handbags and whatnot, I thought I should stick this in for the classy gentlemen among you! Each pair is made from two random entries from an old dictionary of literary terms.









Also to be found - hundreds of book cover t-shirts, bags, journals, notebooks, cards, chocolate, wrapping paper, homeware...

Any of these take your fancy? Or have you every seen/received an even better literary present?

[PS: My birthday is in October. Just sayin'.]

Quotable Friday (2)

 I love reading quotations. Whether they’re funny, wise or poignant, I love those snapshots into the human mind; I love the beauty of language. There aren’t always easy ways to crowbar great passages from novels or thoughtful quotations into ordinary blog posts, so on Fridays I’m going to let them speak for themselves. No deep thoughts, no fancy attempts to unpick hidden meanings – just snippets of our beautiful language I’ve come across that I’ve fallen in love with. I’d love to know what you think of them.

Today's quote is from The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. A man who used to be a preacher has been asked to say grace by the family who have invited him to eat with them. He's uncomfortable at the request and goes off into a rambling speech about why he no longer calls himself a preacher.


“I ain't sayin' I'm like Jesus," the preacher went on. "But I got tired like Him, an' I got mixed up like Him, an' I went into the wilderness like Him, without no campin' stuff. Nighttime I'd lay on my back an' look up at the stars; morning I'd set an' watch the sun come up; midday I'd look out from a hill at the rollin' dry country; evenin' I'd foller the sun down. Sometimes I'd pray like I always done. On'y I couldn' figure out what I was prayin' to or for. There was the hills, an' there was me, an' we wasn't separate no more. We was one thing. An' that one thing was holy...An' I got thinkin', on'y it wasn't thinkin', it was deeper down than thinkin'. I got thinkin' how we was holy when we was one thing, and' mankin' was holy when it was one thing. An' it on'y got unholy when mis'able little fella got the bit in his teeth an' run off his own way, kickin' and draggin' and fightin'. Fella like that bust the holiness. But when they're all workin' together, no one fella for another fella, but one fella kind of harnessed to the whole shebang -- that's right, that's holy. An' then I got to thinkin' I don't even know what I mean by holy...I can't say no grace like I use' ta say. I'm glad of the holiness of breakfast. I'm glad there's love here. That's all.”