September, 2011

Today’s Quote

I thought this so profound, I wanted to share it with those of you who aren’t following the Book Doctors:

Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self. – Cyril Connolly

Do you have a favorite writing quote? What does it do for you, or why is it your favorite?

Am I Insane, or Insightful?

Tecmo Koei has announced the debut of Romance of the Three Kingdoms XII. (It’s so new, I can’t even get Amazon to give me a link because it’s not sold in the U.S. yet.) However, the very title should give you some idea of the popularity of these games: they’ve made twelve versions.

I was aware when I began writing “Mourn Their Courage,” which is also based on the novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, that the games were popular. They were probably on version eight back then….

So tell me, am I insane for hoping to either package my book with iphone versions of this game or (even more insane concept) launch a video game version of my book? I KNOW this is putting the cart before the horse. The book isn’t even accepted for publication yet. But isn’t this exactly the sort of market placement thinking they keep telling us to do? Is it my only marketing concept? Of course not, but is it a valid?

What insane marketing ideas do you have in mind? Inquiring minds want to know. 😀

Today’s Quote

Today’s quote for The Book Doctors started me thinking, so here’s the quote by Niyi Osundare: “One hasn’t become a writer until one has distilled writing into a habit, and that habit has been forced into an obsession. Writing has to be an obsession. It has to be something as organic, physiological and psychological as speaking or sleeping or eating.”

I’m obsessing over world building for a new series, but I think I need to make my process more focused. I’m too chaotic and overwhelmed by it right now. Which I suppose is also part of being obsessed, so maybe I’m not too far off the mark. LOL

Here’s my question for you: What are obsessing over? Is it a “healthy” obsession?

Library Needs Your Help!

We’ve all seen the pictures of the devastation left by Irene. (The picture to the left is a random sampling.) My apologies to anyone of my readers who might have seen this on The Book Doctor’s post last week, but I thought it important enough to continue to spread the word. Also, sorry for the delayed post this week. I was on the road all day yesterday and blogging from a smart phone bites. 😀

The Wells Memorial Library in upstate New York lost all but five of its children’s books to flooding because the titles were stored on bottom shelves so kids could reach them. The library is seeking donations, in particular to rebuild its picture books collection. For more information and pictures, go to katemessner.com. The library is located at 12230 State Route 9N, Upper Jay, N.Y. 12987.