Books, Chocolate, Sundries.

I have a new baby! Leo Stephen was born on December 30, 2009 at 8:09 am, weighing 8 pounds, 1 ounce, and measuring 19 inches long. We’re in love with him! I probably won’t be posting for a while, as I take some time off to enjoy our new baby, and to write. But I [...]

1. A little backstory… I got the idea for this essay after I went to a small publishing conference for independent bookstores and local authors hosted at BookPeople here in Austin, TX. While hanging out with the staff afterward, we somehow got on the subject of shoplifted books. Steve, the owner, told me that the [...]

Tags: Interviews, Jeff Sharlet, Jeffrey Eugenides, John Palfrey, NYTBR, Paul Auster, Sherman Alexie, stolen books

I met Josh Weil at the Sewanee Writer’s Conference last summer, when he was still finishing edits on his collection of novellas, The New Valley. The book was published by Grove this year, and when I read it, it took my breath away–the writing is stunning, and the final novella in the book is an [...]

I finally have a title for my new novel: Mad, Mad Love. It will be published in 2011 and the first draft is mostly finished, though I’m still revising it. This is probably my tenth title for the book…none of the previous working titles I had seemed quite right. It comes from a Mary Oliver [...]

I haven’t posted for a while—I’ve been working hard on this new novel, which is under contract and due in December, and three essays under contract as well. And also—I’m pregnant! Due at the end of December. (This explains my dwindling postings…I guess there are some women who are able to grow babies in their [...]

The September 4th deadline to opt-out of the Google Book settlement is rapidly approaching, and most of my writer friends seem completely confused about what to do. Of course it’s mystifying: there are contradictory opinions everywhere. The Author’s Guild, which aims to represent the best interest of authors, promotes opting in without question (they brought [...]

I haven’t posted in a while–I’ve been in writing-hermit mode, working on lots of projects: a new YA novel under contract, which is due in December; finishing a short story collection (3/4 done); and three essays due shortly. And of course motherhood and various sundry stuff and things. But I’m poking my head out of [...]

I first spoke to Michael Cart, former president of YALSA and a columnist for Booklist, when I interviewed him for my New York Times essay a year ago, and I was instantly enamoured by his knowledge of and passion for YA literature. Recently he interviewed me for a podcast that’s up now on the YALSA [...]

Tags: Michael Cart, YA lit

A friend sent me the link to this LA Times blog piece about another 100 Best Books list, this time on NPR, that has 93 books by men and 7 by women on it. (And I like how Nicole Krauss is tacked on as the last one, as if the writer was thinking…”Oh yeah, who’s [...]

My friend Bonnie (who’s also from NYC) and I went to our first rodeo recently, and we had the time of our lives. All my cowboy experience heretofore has come solely from multiple readings and weepy viewings of Brokeback Mountain. And from seeing guys dressed as cowboys in gay bars in the West Village, which [...]