Meryl Streep is Copying Me

See for yourself. 

Meryl: “Streep goes on to describe how a cinematic landscape dominated by men and male stories has all but demanded girls learn to empathize with male characters. But boys have rarely been required to do the opposite, because they have always seen male experiences reflected back at them in literature and film. ”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/23/women-in-the-world-meryl-streep_n_7126204.html?utm_source=salon.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pubexchange_facebook

Me: “When a subject is written by a man, it’s considered universal because men see stories about men as universal and men make these definitions. Because assigned reading is so heavily male, women have been taught to find universal themes in books written by men and about men. The opposite is not true. Men have not been required to find universal themes in books written by women, about women. They have rarely even been required to read such books.”

https://womensfictionwriters.wordpress.com/2014/02/18/guest-post-a-tale-as-old-as-time-sexism-and-books-by-and-about-women-by-author-katie-orourke/

Hm. Well, at least I'm in good company.

Book Club Contest

Book clubs are fantastic. They get people reading. Sometimes they give people a night away from kids and responsibilities. Maybe they're a way to socialize and connect with your community.

Why do you love your book club? Send me a tweet @katieorourke78 (or post a comment here) and whoever has the best answer (ie: my favorite) will win free copies of my new book, A Long Thaw, for every member of their book club. (I'm thinking between 5 to 10 members, but I'm flexible.)

Here's a bit about the book:  

A Long Thaw is contemporary women’s fiction, perfect book club fiction. Cousins Abby and Juliet were born into one big, close family. But when Juliet’s parents divorce, it tears the family apart and sends the girls in very different directions. It’s a story about the power of secrets and the unbreakable bonds of family.

Praise for A Long Thaw: “A big-hearted and deep-thinking novel about two young women navigating the peaks and valleys of love while relying on their friendship and family bond to keep them balanced along the way.”  -Mary Vensel White, The Qualities of Wood

Book clubs are a writer's best friend. Let me be a friend to your book club!

Interview with author Kevin Keely

I "met" Kevin on Authonomy.com, a site where writers support or compete with each other. (Sometimes both.) Kevin has a big personality behind that tiny avatar. He pulls no punches and takes no bullshit. He has the kind of blunt, unapologetic style that makes him a great writer and, I figured, a great interview. So I made him agree to sit down with me (virtually, I assume we were sitting) and talk about the release of his new book, A Fistful of Salt, and his thoughts about the publishing industry.

Okay, so tell me about your book. What is it about? What kind of audience is it for? Why should people read it?

Well they should read it because its an excellent story, why else? I specifically wanted to write a book with broad appeal across age and gender. I wanted the book to be the kind of thing you can read then pass to your husband and he can tell his mates down the pub and they can tell their wives and mothers etc. It's literally for anyone who just likes a good yarn about regular people getting themselves into a whole heap of trouble in a very short time. It's a love story between an introverted cabbie and his childhood crush, who happens to be off the rails. But as they rapidly get themselves into hot water with some very evil villains their humanity inevitably begins to prevail over their societal roles and they become first friends and then lovers. It's ultimately a story about human frailty and the fight played out in all out hearts between good an evil and how we sometimes fail but sometimes we succeed. It's a feel good story with a lot of bad stuff in it. Pretty much the same as life.

What do you think about genre? Is it a helpful guide or a straight-jacket?

I think of it like sex. Some people like it one way, others like it another way, and most people just like it with a lot of action and a healthy amount of humour. So If you bring a straight jacket to your lover's house then you're going to get tied up and the best of luck to you. Me? I like to think passion and vigour are the greatest components to writing and sex. So that's what I bring.

To read the entire interview, check it out at TodaysAuthor. If you'd like to read Kevin's interview of me, you can check out his site here.

Self-promotion

I saw a talk once about the Myers-Brigg personality test and how the classic personalty type for a writer is the polar opposite of the promoter. And yet, with self-publishing, you have to be great at both.

Since the launch of A Long Thaw, I've been wearing my marketing cap. It's stiff and itchy and, well, I've never looked good in hats - but I'm working it! I've done a half dozen guest blogs and interviews and I have more coming in the next few weeks. For the complete list, check out the media page at my author site.

I sure hope I'm not wearing people out with my frequent updates. That's what's so weird about self-promotion: it feels braggy and arrogant, but it's essential if I'm going to get my work noticed.

So, here's a bit of promo for today, one of my Amazon reviews of the book you should all be clicking that link to buy for $2.99:

"Starts quickly and doesn't slow down. I kept turning pages to see what would transpire next. Realistic characters and family dynamics. Lovely read."

Book Review: The Good Girl

Mary Kubica's debut, The Good Girl, is better than any debut has a right to be.

This book had been on my list for awhile when I heard Kubica speak at the Tucson Festival of Books. She told the kind of "how my agent found me when I wasn't even looking" story that tends to make unagented writers feel stabby. She comes across as sweet and soft-spoken and uncomplicated.

I read her book anyway and I was so surprised to find such a gritty, complex story that is, in places quite dark. The characters are flawed and even damaged, yet she manages to express their humanity so that readers feel compassion for them within the first few pages.

The alternating first-person narrative is also something I wasn't expecting in a debut. The Good Girl tells the story of a kidnapping through the perspective of the girl's mother, the detective working the case, and the kidnapper. And it totally works. It also tells the story in two time periods: before and after the abduction. And it totally works. The plot is original and has unexpected twists. I haven't had this much fun reading since Gone Girl.

Tucson Festival of Books

This is the third time I've attended the annual book festival, a completely free weekend of events designed for readers and writers. There are book signing and talks on publishing and presentations by the Desert Museum and yummy food vendors. It's held at the University of Arizona and it's huge.

This year was especially fun because my Authonomy pal Mary Vensel White came in from California and stayed in my guest room! Mary attended as a presenter, talking about her journey to publication with The Qualities of Wood. It was particularly fun to get to talk about writing and publishing with someone about as obsessed with those things as I am. (My boyfriend was probably relieved as well.)

What stood out most for me about the authors talking about how they got published was that they each had a different experience. The MFA community, standard query process or crowd sourcing - all of these were presented as valid paths to take.

We ended the weekend by attending the conversation with Noam Chomsky, another free event that makes me so appreciative of this resource for Tucsonans.

Relaunching A Long Thaw

Well the book is up and I'm already noticing a great new perk to self publishing: I can access the sales information immediately. With traditional publishing, it can take a year before they tell you how it went, which doesn't give you much of an opportunity to make marketing changes.

So far, I'm enjoying the process. I'll keep you posted!

A Long Thaw is $2.99! 
http://www.amazon.com/A-Long-Thaw-Katie-ORourke-ebook/dp/B00UDI9JRO/ref=tmm_kin_title_0