Here's what unfolded on my most recent voyage on the SS Serendipity
1. Publishers Lunch ran an announcement that a new editor was joining Rizzoli USA. I promptly emailed to introduce myself. As part of that email I looked at the Fall 2011 Rizzoli catalog to see what they were publishing on their new Ex Libris imprint.
And I found this:
Catalog (it's a pdf so you'll need to download it--and it's worth it. GORGEOUS books)
Then check out the listing on page 5 for Gianrico Carofiglio!
Well! I was all over that, let me tell you!
Previously available only at BitterLemon Press in the UK (one of my favorite publishing company names of all time), I'm a devoted fan of this writer.
But here's what made it even more fun:
2. I got one of Larry Block's amazing newsletters mentioning where his books are available, and I just happened to click M is for Mystery in San Mateo (cause they hosted an event for Gary Corby last year) and what to my wandering eye should appear but:
Gianrico Carofiglio at M is for Mystery.
Clearly this is a sign from the universe validating my decision to order his new book!
Knowing how these things work, I'm betting Gianrico Carofiglio's name or books will appear at least one more time this week.
Do you sail on the SS Serendipity? Do tell!
12 comments:
I sailed last night, as a matter of fact! I've been listening to THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern. Then Southern Book Bloggers updated their events page yesterday and I found out Ms Morgenstern will be visiting The Grand Festival of Arts and Books just a short drive away in Fairhope, Alabama this weekend. Suppose I'll buy a hardcover now. Asking her to sign my ear might be a little weird.
You have just surprised me, which is rare. I always have a handle on people. I either already know things about them or I 'know' as they're telling me. Serendipity is my friend. I manifest things all the time, but only if I don't try to. My 8 year old son does it to. He mentioned the shark in NZ & then we pulled one into the boat. I teased my step daughter that I had seen a whale, we were held up waiting by roadworks with a view of the ocean, and she left the car for a closer look. The next day we saw orcas in the bay. I'm connecting with people & opportunity all the time. The annoying part of this is I also manifest the things I worry about. I have to be careful what I think. I think with writing & agents, we, writers, try to hard. If we fear success & often we do without knowing it, we create the energy to hinder what we're saying we want the most. If we put aside the art of writing & consider what our unconscious thinking or emotion is, then we'd be able to see what's holding us back. I love this stuff.
Serendipity is controlled by what we're vibrating at, the frequency or signal we're sending into the universe. Good things happen when you're happy & confident. Unfortunately, most of us measure that by our success or failure. Be happy, work hard & watch your dreams come true.
Thanks Janet. You're on my fav people I'd like to meet list. See you soon :)
Serendipity?
Coincidence?
My daughters and I, for years, have called them God-Winks, (there’s a little book with the same name).
I believe serendipity happens often but that most of the time people are too busy to notice.
Pay attention, wonders are out there, the universe works for all of us.
Wow, I’m sounding very ‘new age’ today, must have something to do with my third K-Cup.
I had very nice serendipity moment this week. I recently self-published a book (A Lost Argument, available on Amazon) about a Mormon BYU student who becomes an atheist. A blogger friend of mine (Chanson of Letters from A Broad) had been kind enough to beta-read my book, and I asked her if she might be willing to review it on a popular blog for former Mormons that she also writes for (Main Street Plaza). She came though for me and wrote up a nice review last week.
A few months back I had written an Amazon review of Chanson's self-published book (ExMormon), and a couple of days after her review of my book came out, I was reading her blog and saw that she'd noticed my Amazon review and mentioned it on her blog. She also posted that someone had made a nice comment about her book on a popular atheist blog called The Friendly Atheist. So I went on the Friendly Atheist blog to check it out, and found that the comment was on an article about atheist BYU students holding secret meetings off campus.
Talk about serendipity! So I wrote to the author of The Friendly Atheist and mentioned that I had just published a book on this very topic, and offered him a review copy. Well, he kicked it up a notch and offered not only to post an excerpt of my book on his blog but also to host a free giveaway of my book to a random commenter. How cool is that?
All that serendipity almost makes you kinda want to believe in some higher power ... :)
Good on Carofiglio. This story reminds me of those Norwegian crime writers who have achieved great commercial success despite the small size of their country by finding an international audience.
Italy is a much larger country, of course, but may the same success happen to Carofiglio.
Bitter Lemon has fantastic titles. You should totally connect with them, because they publish marvelous translations of mystery and noir fiction. Needle in a Haystack and Hotel Bosphorus were two other great books they put out this past summer. I am A Giant Fan of theirs!
Therese, I believe we're that higher power. We're a creating & communicating force. Once you observe your environment you'll notice that everything is talking to us. If I think about a bear & one appears, does that mean I knew it was about to, as I'm psychic, or did I manifest the moment? Both answers are correct, but the bigger answer is that we're a part of an interactive communicating field. I send out a signal - bear - & the field answers. I've been able to dissolve clouds - read William Bengston's Energy Cure - but it seems like a waste of energy. It's playtime & now I think that, I wonder f I could do it again. We're powerful. Writing's the same. Often we're not writing what we should be, or what we're vibrating at. A tree can tell a story & our minds are receivers of an infinite number of stories. It's just in a jumble. Often writers around the world all write the same story simultaneously. That's because we're all connected - one mind.
Do I sail on the SS Serendipity? Well, seeing as I live down the road from M is for Mystery and missed Mr. Carofiglio, I'd have to say no.
Oh, but I see that Charles Frazier is going to be there Oct 27, and I never would have checked were it not for your link, so maybe . . .
Well, tonight in the break room, my friends and I were discussing a certain actor's propensity for dropping his pants in public, and when I went back out to work the police were just leaving with a man who'd flashed a 16-year-old girl.
Does that count?
(My mom got flashed once. She said, "cover that poor little thing up, it looks cold".)
Loretta - The SS Serendipity is clearly looking out for the atheists and flashers, along with the shark agents and Italian crime fiction writers. :)
I ♥ Loretta's mom!
Oooh, we just had Carofiglio in our store for an event. It was wonderful! I haven't read my copy of Temporary Perfections yet, but I can't wait.
I guess that counts as serendipity. :)
Post a Comment