Monday, March 23, 2015

Query Question: A bigshot will blurb me, can I include that?

A high profile NYT best selling author has offered a commitment to blurb the future galleys of the ms I'm currently shopping... (and there WILL be galleys, dammit!). Good or bad idea to include this info/author's name in the housekeeping section of a query?



It won't hurt you, so why not. If you were sending that information to me, I'd want to know why HPNYTBSA has read your manuscript. Thus you may want to include that information as well.

You would say "HPNYTBSA Felix Buttonweezer has offered to blurb my novel. He read it while incarcerated at Carkoon and it soon became his favorite escapist pleasure."

The reason I'm not jumping up and down and screaming YahooooKalamazoooo about this blurb offer is that sometimes the audience for one author does not translate to the audience of another.  My fins would falter if Lee Child offered to blurb a novel by Tawna Fenske for example.  Tawna Fenske is a terrific writer, and I love her books but they are quite unlike the Reacher novels. You haven't mentioned if you think your audience will be the same as HPNYTBSA's.

At this stage though, there's no harm in including the information.


62 comments:

Carolynnwith2Ns said...

YahooooKalamazooo !
Here’s an obscure off-topic bit of info on cooold Monday morning.

Did you know that K-Zoo was originally known as Bronson, as in, not Charles but Titus Bronson?
Titus was a funny guy, kind of weird AND from my state, Connecticut. Nice guy Titus, he was run out of town, not for chopping down a cherry tree, he stole the whole damn tree.
What’s with our history and cherry trees anyway?

Kitty said...

Speaking solely as a reader/consumer, I pay no attention at all to blurbs. Nada. Zip. Zero. Considering how generic the blurbs are, I doubt if most of the authors have even read the books they're blurbing.

ProfeJMarie (Janet Rundquist) said...

Wait, there's already a prison in Carkoon? How sad. At least we know how to provide some great books for the prisoners, though.

As for OP, as long as you don't also say that HPNYTBSA is also your mom, partner, or best friend, then it seems like a nice thing to slip in. I think Janet's comment about audience is important... there are several NYT best seller lists out there. On the other hand, a blurb from Tawna Fenske on any novel might easily win me over.

Colin Smith said...

Blurbs. Now there's a topic. My question would be, what if HPNYTBSA (how do you pronounce that? is it Hungarian?) hated the novel? I'd like to think that book blurbs are genuine, otherwise what's the point? The blurbs don't often entice me to read a book, though they can often be a signal as to the kind of book it is (if I'm in doubt). But you're not going to see a blurb like:

Stephen King says, "FIFTY GRADES OF RED is the literary equivalent of eating lima bean and kale pizza."

Yet, what if writer friend sent HPNYTBSA and HPNYTBSA hated it? What would be the point of saying HPNYTBSA has promised to read a galley if you don't know that HPNYTBSA is going to love your novel (unless HPNYTBSA was a beta reader so you know HPNYTBSA already has a favorable opinion of the book)?

My question for QOTKU, therefore, is: How does blurbing work? How do publishers know they're going to get good reviews from the people they ask to blurb? Do they ever get blurbers write back saying "Sorry, I hated this book. I can't give you a positive blurb." I would like to think so.

Colin Smith said...

Christina informs me we here at FPLM-Carkoon received a query from a guy called Hipny Tobsa. He's supposed to be some hot-shot NYT bestselling author who's between agents...

Oh and the prison on Carkoon? I haven't been there... yet. But I'm told it's quite up-market for the area. It's rumored they have flushing toilets.

Anonymous said...

Soooo, I know an author who obtained a blurb from, wait for it....................................................................................... Lee Child.

I can hear Ms. Janet shrieking WHO? WHAT AUTHOR???

Can't say here. I was sworn to secrecy.

And he read the ms. Know that for a fact. Either that or Lee Child was lying, and I doubt the man would stick his name on a blurb if he lied.

So, Colin, to answer your question with my squidly knowledge, if a blurb is requested for someone's book, yes, the expectation is the "blurber" has read it and yes, the idea is they will only blurb if they liked it.

To me, it sounds like this HPNYTBSA must have read the ms, and has promised to blurb it, which is GREAT. Talk about a connection. That's right on up there with knowing Felix Buttonweezer.

As to imprisonment on Carkoon, several here are of a mindset that Carkoon is THE place to be, however, Ms. Janet first used it in association with the word "EXILED." The inhabitants have become delusional, and the whole thing has taken on a Lord Of The Flies feel. To move it up to a more modern day assessment, let's compare them to Naked And Afraid. I can hear them muttering we're NOT naked. No. Not. Yet.

It's clear they're suffering from overexposure, the effects of coconut milk binges, and excessive bug bites. Then there's that persistent mirage they're all seeing, the branch office thing. IDK. Maybe we shouldn't worry unless they tell us they've seen Gilligan and the Skipper.

?

Colin Smith said...

Donna: Re. Blurbs--that's good to know, at least from your experience. I would expect that to be the case, but it's nice to hear it.

As for Carkoon, yes, we are all aware here that we are exiled woodland creatures. We are acutely cognizant of the luxuries we're missing out on. But since QOTKU declared us a branch office, we're determined to make the best of things. The droids are worse than useless, though, so we're having to do pretty much everything ourselves. Thankfully, Craig seems to be a bit of a Macgyver, which has helped. Indeed, I'm thinking of asking him to take a look at Buttonweezer Correctional Facility. In the event any of us find ourselves incarcerated, it would be nice to know the amenities are not too barbaric. :)

Kitty said...

Six Writers Tell All About Covers and Blurbs

As I said, blurbs don't matter to me when I considering to buy a book. But the cover is usually the 1st or 2nd thing I notice. Either the cover or the title. I picked up Steve Hamilton's first book, "A Cold Day In Paradise," because I loved the cover. I bought the book when I read the first page. I still have the book because I love the cover. I never kept a book (or bought one) because of a blurb.

Anonymous said...

HPNYTBSA writes women's fiction. The ms I'm shopping is wf. She's a fan of my three other traditionally published books (which are nonfiction). I actually blurbed her first book over ten years ago. I remained in nonfiction for the last 10 plus years, while she went on to become wildly famous in fiction. She's familiar with this current project, my first work of women's fiction. It is out of my now former publisher's genre and they have released me of my contract, with their blessing, thus, the reason I'm shopping.

Colin Smith said...

Speaking of abbreviations (all right, so we weren't, but that makes me sound like I'm on-topic), it seems that the term "O.K." was first printed in the Boston Post on this day in 1839. It was originally an abbreviation for "Oll Korrect"--such humorous abbreviations were popular at the time, it seems. Then supporters of Martin Van Buren used it during the 1840 Presidential election campaign, connecting "O.K." with Old Kinderhook, Van Buren's New York birthplace. And from there it caught on.

And now you know. :)

bass said...

I've only really paid attention to blurbs when they're by really famous authors whose names catch my eyes. Ordinarily I only really look at them when I'm trying to find the teaser summary of the plot on the back. I do recall, however, middle-school-me almost refusing to read The Hunger Games when I borrowed it because Stephenie Meyer had blurbed it and I was in a huge anti-Twilight phase.

Anonymous said...

Kitty - I agree with you on blurbs. A blurb doesn't make me buy the book just like a movie critic's opinion about a flick won't make me watch, or not watch a movie. All too many times I've read blurbs and found that I completely disagreed with them after I read a book. Which actually does make me question whether they read it or not.

I'm not sure why it's even done. Still, that doesn't mean I wouldn't want a HPNYTBSA to NOT blurb something I wrote. Maybe it does matter - for some out there.

Craig F said...

Every year for the past 22 there has been a reading festival across the bay from my corner of paradise. Writers can bring their dog and pony shows and set up an exhibit. The only thing they are required to do is read a chapter or so of their own at a specific time.

If you wish to suck up to someone high profile or look for the next big thing it is a nice place to be. Besides, St. Pete is a nice place to be near the end of October. I have a promise from some guy named LeHane from one of them. All I need now is to settle in on a query and get rolling.

On the Carkoon thing. When it was a legitimate exile you could expect deprivation. I was railroaded so I brought more than a toothbrush with me. The underground will beat the old Atlanta Underground as soon as the gas (plasma) station is up and running and we start getting star ship traffic.

I am sorry you have yet to visit Donna but we can fix that. I will invite you if no one else will. Perhaps a nice escapist vacation would be good for you at the moment. Kind of like going to Carolina in your mind. Take care.

Anonymous said...

The relevancy here is that blurbs are an integral part of the publishing process... not whether they affect sales of a book or not. Publishers want them. So, letting them know I have a hot one is good. I just wasn't sure if it was wise to include that info, and I appreciate your response. Thanks.

Dena Pawling said...


If I notice that a book has been blurbed by one of my favorite authors, I WILL search for it at my library or read whatever portion is available on Amazon. If I like what I read, I may buy it.

And if a NYTBSA [there are a few who attend my RWA meetings] actually wanted to read my book and agreed to blurb it, my feet wouldn't touch the ground for several months. Somehow I'd feel validated, even without sales.

But of course, sales are always nice. And a blurb PLUS sales would be YahooooKalamazoooo

JulieWeathers said...

Interesting timing. We were discussing book blurbs on B&W a while back. An agent advised me to write my query like the jacket copy on a book.

So, I go scrambling for epic fantasy books. GAME OF THRONES. Yeah, well, if I had been buying books based on jacket copy, I would have never bought that book, ever.

Other book jackets are filled with meaningless blurbs that tell me nothing about the book.

I have mixed emotions about this. I'm in the acknowledgements of some best-selling novels. I could probably ask the authors for blurbs, but I don't think I will. It feels like presuming on a friendship and just bad manners. Besides, one is a historical romance author.

I don't know. They can't hurt, I don't guess, but I'm not sure how much they help either.

Carolynnwith2Ns said...

Hey Colin, don't forget how I am keeping the Carkoon bathrooms clean these days. I know my place and it is where all remain seated when I enter.

Anyway...speaking of Mr. King, here's, not a blurb story but one author, helping another even though genres are about as far apart as Carkoon and Manhattan.

This is how I remember the story.

Ron McLarty, fantastic writer and actor, (he’s the Vietnam vet and radio operator in POSTMAN with Keven Costner), wrote a book called MEMORY OF RUNNING. Awesome book with alternating chapters, moving forward and looking back. No one would represent it so he did an audio version. Stephan King listened to it and then wrote an article that appeared in Entertainment Weekly about “the best book you can’t read”.
That got people's attention. He got well into the 7 figures for it.

That's enough for a charter to Carkoon.



Carolynnwith2Ns said...

Damning a typo here, is like explaining someone else's underwear in your drawer. Just let it go.
I can't.
I don't like it when people get my name wrong, so sorry Mr. C, here's an I to replace the second e.

Colin Smith said...

2Ns: Ha! Yes, indeed. And I know people often have moments of inspiration on the Great White Telephone, but is your request for a desk and typewriter for real?

And Julie's comment made me think of another question about blurbs: Is it the job of the publisher or the author to ask for blurbs? Are authors required to pursue them, or are they only asked to do this if they happen to have contact with HPNYTBSAs?

S.D.King said...

Couldn't help sending a greeting. Yahooooo from a commenter from beautiful Kalamazoo (where we enjoy concerts in Bronson Park) and everybody knows the name of Titus Bronson.

My mg novel features a fictional museum based on historic Kzoo (the proper way to abbreviate) businesses and the legendary Henderson Castle.

Carolynn, follow Titus's lead and come visit!!

JulieWeathers said...

Kitty,

Agreed, covers are important to me. Back when Hillerman was hot there was a lady who wrote a mystery set in Oklahoma revolving around a cutting horse trainer. I listened to an interview with her and she was hilarious and I'm glad I did or I would have never bought the book. It had a pair of legs sticking out from under a cactus. The jeans were tucked in hightop yellow boots with inlays of cacti, horses, spurs etc., typical Roy Rogers crap.

The woman said in the interview she had argued with the publisher about this cover. "No self-respecting cutting horse man would be caught dead in those boots. Well, apparently mine was, because there he was."

Aside from the boots being coyote ugly, they were yellow and there's a superstition about yellow boots in an arena.

I did buy the book and it was pretty danged good, but I had to tear the cover off I hated it so much.

Colin,

Someone putting OK in a medieval historical or fantasy is one of my biggest pet peeves. I despise phrases or words out of time.

Julie

Colin Smith said...

Julie: I hear you loud and clear on that one. I've written a novel (that I'm seriously considering going back to) that has a deep historical background to it. Writing the dialog for it was a minefield of "would they have known this word?" "is that phrase derived from a language they would have known?" It took a long time and a lot of research to write that first draft.

JulieWeathers said...

Colin,

When I'm working on the Civil War book, I tend to read a lot of letters from that time to put my head in the right place. It changes my voice some, but I'm not sure that's a bad thing.

Julie

Anonymous said...

One of the best blurbs - and one I would pee my pants for - is John Scalzi's blurb for Sam Syke's novel, Black Halo.

"I do not wish Sam Sykes dead."

When seeking the right book to buy, I'm far more likely to buy one with a humorous blurb, because that generally means there will be humour in that book. It may not be blatant comedy, but that's okay. Something to make me smile once in awhile is enough. And a humorous blurb tells me that book will make me smile, if not laugh out loud.

And I want to move to Carkoon. It's chilly in Saskatchewan this time of year (not 'cold' - that term is used exclusively for winter) and my furnace won't kick in. Please tell me Carkoon is at least semi-tropical?

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry. I made a slight exaggeration. The term 'cold' is used for more than just winter weather here. It's also used for beer.

Carolynnwith2Ns said...

Colin, yes. A rolling hospital cart will suffice and SD King, Hellooo all the way to Kzoo.
I'll be there when the sun starts bombarding us with Vitamin D and temp climb above freezing. That should be like never around here.

Colin Smith said...

bj: I don't think you do. This is a place of exile. No contact with human life except the other poor woodland creatures forced to spend their days under the heat of the two suns, typing form rejections on 50 year old typewriters, and having to make their own margaritas. It's a tough life.

And one of the droids just left an oil stain on the rug. I thought you said he was cave-trained, Kitty?

Anonymous said...

Did you say 'heat of two suns'? (Checks temperature in the house again: 14C, which is 57F) What's the fastest way to get there?

Lisa Bodenheim said...

Wow, this comment section really explodes some mornings! I learn so much because I can't think of stupid questions let alone intelligent ones.

Colin and Julie: yes, I have a 1930s piece in my MS and these conversations go round in my brains... 'would they have used the word "target" back then? if not what word would they have used?'

Craig-carrying over from yesterday: It is a tropical type paradise? Great! When is the helicopter coming? (as I wade through 5 inches of brand new snow)

Colin Smith said...

bj: It's a dry heat. You wouldn't like it. Really. You should see how you can be exiled to FPLM-Paradise. Amy's running that show. :)

Anonymous said...

Colin, I live in Saskatchewan. I grew up with dry heat and dry cold, and much prefer those to the humid types. It's sounding better all the time. :)

JulieWeathers said...

Lisa,

" yes, I have a 1930s piece in my MS and these conversations go round in my brains... 'would they have used the word "target" back then? if not what word would they have used?'"

That's why I have hundreds of Civil War books and read so many period letters. I'm enamored of the time period, but I also knew I'd write something based on it someday. Letters and journals give you the feeling of the language. The last book I finished was a collection of letters from a young woman who was fighting as a male Union soldier, AN UNCOMMON SOLDIER.

Now, obviously, an author can't research obsessively to get things right, but an honest attempt to do so is appreciated by readers, I think.

Jennifer R. Donohue said...

Related to blurbs but more to do with covers....am I the only weirdo who doesn't like book covers? Like, almost at all? I get it that plain black books won't sell, probably, but I don't want my book covers to look like weird alternate issues of People or Cosmo, with some Hot Chick on the cover shilling your scifi or fantasy or ranch or whatever.

Plus, it must be against everybody's religion to accurately depict a dog breed on the cover of the book. Greyhound in the book? Golden retriever on the cover. etc.

Double plus I don't read jacket copy because I frequently find it to be inaccurate or far too revealing, telling me plot points I'd rather learn in the course of experiencing the story.

So I don't read blurbs either. Unless I'm like "Oh, Neil Gaiman, what have you done?"

Anonymous said...

Dancer, who I assume is the OP here, said, "The relevancy here is that blurbs are an integral part of the publishing process... not whether they affect sales of a book or not. Publishers want them."

I'm now wondering what they're for, if not to help sales? That's what I always thought they were meant for. Maybe they're intended to help explain what the book is about? Hmmm, that's what jacket copy is for..., so, I'll pull a Colin here and just talk to myself for a minute, and answer of my own accord - no, that doesn't seem right.

Are they to heighten buzz about the book for book reviewers, maybe?

What the heck is the blurb for if not to entice someone to pick it up and buy it?

Thanks, Craig - but, I'll just visit in my mind. Being from Carolina, I got that one down. :)

Christina Seine said...

Donna – FPLACO (Fuzzy Print Literary Agency’s Carkoon Offices ) is NOT a mirage. The bunnies assure me it’s real. And Colin *insisted* we call him Lord of the Flies (LOTF), and I said we would as long as everyone answered all of my questions with “Hot damn, yes ma’am!”

Colin said: “This is a place of exile. No contact with human life except the other poor woodland creatures forced to spend their days under the heat of the two suns, typing form rejections on 50 year old typewriters, and having to make their own margaritas. It's a tough life.”

Gawd, we’re so hipster. You should see our Pinterest board.

JulieWeathers said...

Jennifer,

I am very drawn to covers. Someone posted some covers here a few days ago that were kind of mind-boggling. The one for the man horse was especially intriguing.

I have a tough time reading books with the cartoon covers that seem to be popular now. If I buy one of those books, and I usually don't, I de-cover them.

BJ,

I love that blurb for Sam Sykes. I haven't read him yet, but he's on my to buy list. Patrick Rothfuss currently has me by the throat and I am by turns praising him and cursing him. I should be finishing this revision, but my mind keeps wandering back to his story.

Christina Seine said...

Actually, you really should see our Pinterest board:

Carkoon Branch Office on Pinterest

JulieWeathers said...

Donna,

"I'm now wondering what they're for, if not to help sales?"

Same. I have a friend who published with a small indie publisher and had a blurb by an internationally acclaimed NYT best selling author and it hasn't seemed to make much difference. It might make more difference with a traditional publisher, I don't know.

Some agents were discussing this on twitter a while back and said, sure include them if you have them, but they aren't going to send their clients scrambling for them.

Personally, I mostly get irritated at them as they seldom tell me anything about the book and I figure it's a good old boys scratching each other's backs deal.


Anonymous said...

donnaeverhart... Yes, the motivation for a publisher to seek blurbs is to sell books. My point, however, is that several people in this thread made the comment that they never read blurbs, blurbs don't influence them, they don't buy books based on blurbs and so on... My question was not "do blurbs sell books?" (which is where this thread was going, and mostly what everyone was weighing in on. Thus, my reference to the relevancy. Whether or not blurbs sell books was not my question). My question was, it is cool to mention I have a commitment to blurb from a HPNYTBSA. Which Janet answered. :-)

Colin Smith said...

Christina: LOL!!! That's awesome! So cool! Everybody go look at the FPLM-Carkoon Branch Pintrest board!!

I'm more likely to choose a novel based on a cover "synopsis" than an HPNYTBSA blurb. Just for the record.

Dena Pawling said...

Pinterest does NOT like me viewing it with my iPhone even tho I downloaded the app. But from what I can see, I love it! That front entrance is lol

Karen McCoy said...

I wonder if the genre divide applies when it's adult vs. YA fiction. I know a sci-fi author, but she doesn't write YA, so I'm unsure if I could ask for a blurb or not...

Granted, this cart is way before the horse...but it's good information to tuck away when the jailbreak on Carkoon happens (I imagine it would involve old newspaper clippings).

Anonymous said...

Christina

Did you do all that today? You've been busy!

Great job. I love it!

Amy Schaefer said...

I generally don't lend much weight to blurbs, either. But as I mull it over (and I did have time to mull, with more than forty comments ahead of me this morning), it occurs to me that, if I noticed a blurb from an author I really liked, I would be more likely to read that book. In a way, blurbs serve an equivalent purpose to comps in a query letter. But Janet is right, as usual; if I see a blurb from Robert Crais, I will immediately have certain expectations about the style, content and genre of the book. And the book better match those expectations, or it is dead to me.

We at FPLM-Paradise have no prisons. Infractions are dealt with via summary justice issued from the Iron Throne I had imported from a parallel universe. I'll admit all those swords are a little pokey, but my youngest lets me borrow her Frozen pillow while she is at school, so it isn't too bad. In any case, no one has breathed a word of complaint about my benevolent dictatorship, so I must conclude that everyone is perfectly happy here. Perfectly. Happy.

Janet Reid said...

Holy Sharkamoli!! Christina Seine Wins The Internet, not just today but for the Entire Week!

To give you an idea of how welcome this lovely link is:

1. There is no heat in my office
2. My computer broke
3. I left my cell phone at home

Christina Saves Monday!

angie Brooksby-Arcangioli said...

Christina, love the link. The Shark cupcakes are fantastic, I may use those for the upcoming kiddy B-day party. I may have to change the shark fin for mermaid tails.

My question is do publishers pay for blurbs? Especially HPNYTBSA?

I read blurbs after I've started a book because I don't want to be under the influence, like driving with a DWI. I want the experience first hand.

Would an agent find reading a query under the influence plain BS?

JulieWeathers said...

Dancer,

As Janet said, it doesn't hurt. I just wonder how much it helps. I suppose if it makes an agent pause at all, that's a good thing..unless it's to clean up the glitter you included with the query letter of course.

Julie

JulieWeathers said...

Christina,

I love that! Good work. I love the lima beans, shark cupcakes and the Heeler puppy.

Julie

Christina Seine said...

My goodness, it definitely is a Monday! I took my daughter to her orthodontist appointment, and my iPhone decided not to cooperate for the rest of the day, so I couldn't check back!

Janet, so glad I made you smile today. That's an honor. I hope your heat comes back on and your computer starts behaving. If not, maybe we should all migrate to FPLM-Paradise!

Anonymous said...


Christina, I was away today for a while too, and unable to check on things, but GOOD REEF. I mean GRIEF. That's a great Carkoon Pinterest board. I guess that means I have to visit - in my mind, of course.

Dancer - thanks for your response, and of course we understood the real question, but we have to go off topic 'round here..., we're really good at it, haven't you noticed? :)

Carolynnwith2Ns said...

Christina, holy mackinoly, we are in the presence of greatness. You are all of that and a bag of chips. Even the lima beans look great...oh my God my stomach just flipped when I wrote that. I will ever be your servant, oh wait I already am because the Carkoon latrines, aka shark-spas, are mine to maintain.

JulieWeathers said...

Janet

I'm curious as to why you heat and computer are out, but I assume it's because you're in NYC. That seems to be where Godzilla and similar monsters always strike first. I hope you had your monster spray with you and are back to normal.

JW

Lisa Bodenheim said...

Hope you're someplace warm, Janet, and have been reunited with your phone.

Speaking of no heat and no digital connections, here's a look at bald eagles parenting in Decorah, IA after 7 inches of snow:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLRVQZ27IYw&feature=youtu.be

Lisa Bodenheim said...

ooops, wrong youtube. This is the one I wanted, buried under the snow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp-FqktmnK4&feature=youtu.be

Colin Smith said...

Lisa's link, linkified:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp-FqktmnK4&feature=youtu.be

angie Brooksby-Arcangioli said...

Donna, "Soooo, I know an author who obtained a blurb from, wait for it.. Lee Child."

He's the Shark's client. The cover is red.

Is Godzilla in Carkoon?


Sam Hawke said...

Dancer I would totally include it. Why the hell not? If it's something that could potentially make your book easy to sell (publishers do like blurbs) then it sure can't hurt you.

I don't care about blurbs if I don't recognise the blurber (if that wasn't a word it is now!), but I pay attention when authors I like blurb things.

Julie - Sam Sykes is a lot of fun. If you follow him on twitter (which is how I came across his books) you'll know his sense of humour and his books reflect that. He's unselfconsciously a fan of fantasy and adventure and witty banter, and I am enjoying reading him.

Plus, you're friendly with his Mum aren't you? He'd have to be on the reading list for that reason if nothing else! ;)

JulieWeathers said...

Sam,



Yes, I'm in the acknowledgments of FIERY CROSS and have known her for a very long time. Bless her generosity.

We were discussing playing World of Warcraft on B&W when it first came out, which is about eleven years ago now. Diana said I should start a character on CC, which is where her son played. I did and fell in love with the server, though I never ran across Sam's character.

He was at my Surrey conference and we were shooting the bull at the bar. I asked him what he was studying to be at college and he said he was actually going to devote his time to writing. I thought, well good luck. Then Diana read an excerpt of his at the Books and Writers' party and it was plain to see he had a bright future. We were all laughing.

I just haven't gotten around to buying his books, which I need to do. I love fantasy with a sense of humor.

I'm just hooked on Patrick Rothfuss right now, though I'm not happy with him. He's chased Kvothe up a tree and I'm afraid he's about to throw some very big rocks at him. I'm burning to know what happens, but I don't want to see how badly Kvothe gets hurt.

Sandra Cormier Turnsek said...

I'm easing myself through the door, with my back against the wall, watching all you kooks.

I love that Pinterest board -- I want to follow it but I'm new to Pinterest and I haven't quite figured out how to "follow." But I'll sort it out.

As far as blurbs go, I approached a really nice HPNYTBSA who has been so kind to me in the last few years. He writes the same kind of "ordinary person thrust into not so ordinary circumstances" books that I do, and I asked him if he'd ever consider blurbing one of my books. He said to check back once it's ready for publication. I consider that to be an encouraging response.

Personally, I look at blurbs, and for the same reason bass said, I almost didn't read The Hunger Games because of the blurb. But I powered through and don't regret my decision.

Sam Hawke said...

Ah, Julie, we're all waiting to see what he has in store for Kvothe. Maybe this year, at last?

And colour me jealous of the company you keep! :)

JulieWeathers said...

Sam,

I just finished THE NAME OF THE WIND. I won't be buying any more of his books for a while. Unfortunately, I have no willpower and I need to finish some revisions.

Regarding the company I keep, I assure you it is nothing I have done. Pure luck and the generosity of some very talented writers. Sam Sykes wouldn't recognize me again if I sat down next to him, but others I number among friends, largely because they are, as I said, very kind and generous people.

Julie one L

Sam Hawke said...

Well, probably best to space it out. He's very good but he's definitely not quick.

I'm sure your own kindness and generosity is a factor in your friendship as well, Julie! :)