NAIBA

This weekend was the North Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association tradeshow at Atlantic City, and I was able to attend with the New Jersey Romance Writers and sign copies of BREAKFAST AT BETHANY'S.

This is just a fabulous tradeshow that is about nothing but books. There are all sorts of books, children's books, thrillers, literary books, cookbooks, etc. It's the whole kit and caboodle. And it is wonderful.

Why? Because there are tons of free books. Cool books. I came home with FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (the book, which the movie was based on), THE EFFECT OF LIVING BACKWARDS by Heidi Julavits, an ARC for EMPIRE RISING by Thomas Kelly, an ARC for HYPROCRITE IN A POUFFY WHITE DRESS by Susan Jane Gilman. Ms. Gilman's book is hysterical, I just started skimming (so many books, so little time). Also, I picked up SHOWER OF STARS by Nancy Herkness, another NJRW writer. I love this tradeshow. It's like me, in a no-cost, zero-cal candy store, you know?

No great gossip, although we did get into a discussion of The Patriot Act, with Vince Flynn who writes political thrillers for Pocket. There's been lots of discussion about the "feechers" in the Patriot Act, but Mr. Flynn was a big supporter of it. The Act will sunset in 2005, and I imagine the bad parts will be thrown out since the courts have already been taking care of that. We'll see what happens next year… It's definitely a hot-button topic.

Signing off for now.
Kathleen

A diversionary rant

Am I the only one who is tired of being treated like an idiot by our politicians? And I'm being completely bipartisan when I say this. Both Democrats and Republicans alike are treating the other side like morons. And I'm sorry, but not every person in the U.S. of A. is an incompetent moron! I don't want to hear from Kerry that Bush will bring back the draft, nor do I want to hear from Bush (Cheney, actually) that a Kerry inauguration will cause an immediate release of Al-Queda bombs.

I'm tired of the media being all-Bush or all-Kerry. I'm tired of hearing sound-bytes about voter fraud and the hijacking of the election BEFORE IT'S EVEN HAPPENED. Does anyone ever consider that the reason the election is close, is not because the other-side is the anti-Christ, but because the two candidates each have their own pros and cons?

I used to enjoy the Daily Show, because he was an equal-opportunity fun-poker. Not anymore. Jon, your bias is showing! I watch your show to laugh and sense that you share my humor at the situation. And then there's the staunch pro-Bush group that stands in righteous indignation between the cross and the NRA.

I want to decide my own vote. I don't want Michael Moore or Bill O'Reilly to tell me who to vote for. Why should I? I'm not a cow, nor a sheep.

ACK!!!! How many days until this election is OVER???? 14 days, right? And then they have to count it, and they say it's going to be just like 2000. Let me put my hands over my ears.

ICANTHEARYOUICANTHEARYOUICANTHEARYOU.......

ahem. sorry just needed to have a little Andy Rooney moment.

In publishing news, the Booker Prize was announced to a collective yawn by all but five members of the free world. MJ Rose has a new piece on literary awards and suggestions about injecting new life into the industry.

It's a rainy, bleary, gloomy New York. Hoping for a nicer Wednesday.

And then there were three....

The Post is surmising that since Viacom has thrown Blockbuster out of the Redstone nest, might Simon & Schuster be next? We went through painful publisher consolidation-mania a few years back, where many promises were made and absolutely none were kept, and now all that's left is Viacom/Simon & Schuster, Bertelsmann/Random House, Pearson/Penguin and News Corp.'s HarperCollins. Without Simon & Schuster, that leaves three, and three publishers is not nearly enough. Inbreeding is not desirable in genetics, nor publishing, either.

One of the things that I liked about the Viacom/Simon & Schuster sitch is that with Viacom's media ties, a publishing arm made perfect sense. Obviously my rose-colored glasses are why I don't run a media conglomerate where cash-green-colored glasses are required. Still, I hope it doesn't happen (and not just because S&S is one of my publishers).

Somebody slap me in irons....

And they say crime doesn't pay. New York Magazine has an article about Martha Stewart shopping a book propsal for a to-be-written expose while she's in prison. The advance is rumored to be five million. Camp Cupcake? Five months? Five million dollars? I could do that. Or even better, I think they should make a new reality show about this. Survivor Goes to Sing-Sing.

And, as many of you may have noticed, my name is O'Reilly, and no, I'm not related to Bill. However, I love the headlines in today's papers:
"O'Really, O'Reilly?"
(I've heard that one before)
and my personal favorite:
"The O'Raunchy Factor"

Did ja notice the Yanks won last evening? Didja, didja, didja??? 2-0. We're very happy here.

And in a writing note, finished a proposal and sending it off to an editor, and then it's on to write a story outline.... So many books, so little time takes on a whole new slant when you're a writer.

Back soon.
Kathleen

The Bosox Diaries

Well, it's October. The leaves are turning the color of fire, and yes, once again the Yankees are playing for the pennant. Thank God. As reliable as the setting sun, the Yanks are in the championship series. And, in a match-up of last year's series, it's Yankees vs. the Red Sox. There's a magic to a rivalry like this. Blood heats, voices thunder, and T-shirts come out of the closet. "Real Women Don't Date Yankee Fans", "Boston, Battling Evil for the Good of the Game". "Boston Red Sox. Proven losers since 1918," "Boston Red Sox. There is no curse, you just suck."

AND, as if there's not enough passion flowing like blood through the streets, we have the most super-hot Presidential election ever (don't they say that every four years?). Some t-shirts from the Presidential election: "If I Win, Free Ketchup for Everyone. Kerry 2004," "Who Would Jesus Bomb", and my favorite:

Frankfurt and Bookselling

The Frankfurt book fair is going on this week, and there's lot of news being reported, none of it perky and joyful. Book trade faces threats The book fair is where the US publishers go to sell their foreign rights. What are foreign rights, are they similar to civil rights? Uh, no. When an author sells a book to a publisher in the U.S, they can negotiate to keep the rights to resell the book to other publishers overseas. Foreign rights in the right hands can produce an extra chunk of change for no extra work. That's my kind of system.

There was an article in the NY Times today as well about the new hit shows on TV. Reality shows? Nah. These are pure drama. Lost. Desperate Housewives. Hollywood writers are sobbing with joy as the American television dilettantes have begun to eschew the less desireable offerings. As someone who had thought reality TV has already had its 1,093,283 minutes of fame, I'm glad to see the new trend. There is no replacement for a good story.

P.S. Lost is really, really good.

Interview with the Devil

There was a cool article about fake news in the NY Times today, about how satire is suddenly cool, and apparently all the big guys are getting in on it. First Dan Rather, next up, Tom Brokaw will be interviewing Paris Hilton to get her perspective on the candidates. In light of this breaking development, (and because I'm butt-deep in Diva promotion right now), I decided to do my own interview --- with the devil (actually, that's the devil according to me, the author):

Kathleen: Hello, all, and welcome to this Week in the Author's Den. Our guest today is a woman known by all, some more closely than others. She's Lucy, otherwise know as Queen of the Underworld, AKA the devil. Lucy, welcome to my show. How are you feeling today?

Lucy: Marvelous. It's a great time to be Satan these days. So much wickedness in the world. What can I say? I'm just proud.

Kathleen: So, tell us a bit about the Life Enrichment Program. You were just interviewed on 20/20, and the next day the Post said that enrollment jumped 25%.

Lucy: Isn't Barbara lovely? I've tried to recruit her, but sadly, she says she's happy. I'll wait another 20 years when the jowls start to show, and then talk to her. The program is actually very simple. You convey ownership to her soul to moi, and then let the good times roll. When you first sign up there, you get non-life forms object creation, AKA if Wishes Were Birkins. Each time you bring another client into the program, you receive an additional level of powers. Level 2 is body-beautification, or My Salad Days Are Over. These go on up to Level 9, which is transitory life-forms creation. As you can see, I've worked very hard to provide all the things that people are missing in their ordinary lives and our clients are very satisfied. Women join at a higher rate than than men, although men usually come onboard in their 60s.

Kathleen: Well, this sounds like you stay very busy. But you've got a day job, too, don't you? How do you do it all?

Lucy (blushing modestly): Yes, I write gossip for the New York Post. It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it. And I don't sleep much anymore. I used to get a good night's sleep when I was younger, but as I got older, I have some problems, so I write to fill the time.

Kathleen: Can I just say that I love the Post! I know there are those who poo-poo it --

Lucy: Yes, and then you catch them reading it when they think nobody is looking.

Kathleen: Absolutely. So, what's up next for you?

Lucy: I'm working on a book about the program, and then they're redoing Rosemary's Baby next year, and I'm going to serve as creative consultant. I'm very excited. PR is what makes the world go round and nothing like Hollywood to bring in another thousand souls.

Kathleen: Well, it's been marvelous talking to us. Don't be a stranger.

Lucy: Of course not. And by the way, Kathleen?

Kathleen: No, absolutely, not.

Lucy (shaking her head): Okay, but if you change your mind, you know where to reach me….