It’s difficult not to take things personally when you receive negative feedback in reference to something you’ve written. Typically the book writing journey starts off with a feeling of inspiration. You can’t wait to write! You go through the ups and downs of your creative flow. You analyze, over-analyze, and then re-analyze the over-analyzing. You write, re-write, drastically modify and then re-think your original vision. Sure there’s the exception to every rule, but for the most part, the book writing process is a roller-coaster of highs and lows. So the question is: What happens when your book (your baby) is met with negativity? Knife meets heart.

It’s easy to say, “don’t let it get you down”. But in all seriousness…Don’t let the opinions of others knock your spirit. Constructive feedback can be great, but an unfavorable review of your book shouldn’t leave you searching for a noose. Remember why you wrote that book and take into account how accomplished you felt once it was completed. If you’re still feeling like a Sad Sally, find solace in knowing that even the best writers have received less than favorable reviews. Don’t believe me? Read a few below:

Dorothy Parker gave her two cents on Benito Mussolini’s “The Cardinal’s Mistress”: “This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.”

Graham’s Lady Magazine said of Wuthering Heights: “How a human being could have attempted such a book as the present without committing suicide before he had finished a dozen chapters, is a mystery. It is a compound of vulgar depravity and unnatural horrors.”

The Boston Globe had this to say of Herman Melville’s “Pierre”: “The amount of utter trash in the volume is almost infinite — trash of conception­, execution, dialogue and sentiment”

Bottom line, words can hurt. But don’t let ‘em nuke your spirit or your next masterpiece. Keep calm and carry on!

Me and "Coyote"

The stars align me with intriguing people every day. It dawned on me that by limiting my ‘Encounters’ series to people I meet at coffee shops,  I’m not tapping into my city’s full potential of awesome. With that in mind, I am officially changing this blog series to ‘Close Encounters of the Literary Kind’. In essence, no stone shall be left unturned.

Last weekend some friends and I went to a venue nearby to see a band play. While enjoying the smoke filled air on their outdoor patio, my eye caught sight of an interesting looking man lighting his cigarette. I must have had a look of horror on my face, because my friend Aldo immediately chimed in with “He’s harmless. He used to be my neighbor.” Moments later, I had the pleasure of meeting “Coyote”. Clearly, that’s not his real name, but when I pressed him, he stuck to his guns and I was in a skirt and didn’t feel like wrestling with a grown man to see his drivers license. This would be a different story had I been wearing jeans. Coyote was eloquent, courteous and surprisingly charming.  Our chat went a little something like this….

1. What book has been the biggest influence in your life?
I’d have to say Aldous Huxley. “The doors of perception”  provides an image of the world seen through mescaline. The cool fact that he understood the other world to be a world of mystics. The world of clear moments we call a mystical experience.

2. What author and/or character do you identify with most?
I deeply relate to Carlos Casteneda “The teachings of Don Juan”. It documents Carlos’ peyote experiences guided by a medicine man. He  teaches us  how to “see” instead of just “looking”. Stopping the world is the first step to seeing. I can relate because I feel as though I’m on the same journey now. It’s weird.

3. What do you think happens to you when you die?
I feel you become one with the earth. The energy from your body will be reused in life with generations to come.

4. Have you ever penned anything yourself? And if so what’s the recurring theme?
Yeah, I mostly just document my ” trips” though. There isn’t a recurring theme. No one trip is the same. Its all one big journey.

5. If you had to re-live your life as a character in a book, what book/character would it be?
I’d love to come back as Santiago from “The Alchemist ” by Paulo Coelho. He goes on this Ulysses like adventure of exploration and self discovery in an atmosphere of medieval mysticism.

While sitting in a waiting room earlier this week, I noticed something that got on my nerves. Truthfully, I can’t go anywhere without something annoying me (in some way, shape, or form), but this was different. Each kid, ranging from 3- 14, was playing a game. And I’m not talking Trivial Pursuit either. There were Game Boy’s, Mattel sports games, and a few iPads with Angry Birds and Super Juicy in full electronic effect. Sadly, not one of these kids had a book. As I took a seat on the floor, I rolled my eyes in disappointment and pulled out the Michael Connelly my sister loaned me earlier in the week.

Later in the day, I was still bothered by what I’d witnessed in that waiting room. Growing up, I loved reading. Going to the library or the bookstore was a special treat and I looked forward to it each week. For my birthday last year, my mom sent me The Indian in the Cupboard via Audible and the voice of Lynne Reid Banks took me back in time. Nostalgia at its best. These poor kids from today don’t even know what they’re missing. Sure it’s great to have a high score on Mortal Kombat (is that still around these days?) but there are far more important scores to worry about. Like SATs. When I read this article the following day, it confirmed my thoughts.

I don’t have children of my own, nor do I want them. But I’ve got very strong feelings about parenting as a whole. 99% of my opinions I’ll keep to myself (ok, maybe 95%), but stressing the importance of reading is huge to me. I can still remember crawling into my parents bed with my older sister to listen to my dad read us a story. It was such an enjoyable experience that it saddens me to think these kids are missing out.

If you’ve got kids – for the love of God, read to them. Please. And while you’re at it – throw that damn Game Boy away.

Recently I heard about Amazon’s beta launch of @author and it got me thinking. Sadly my initial reaction was more Negative Nancy than Positive Polly. I couldn’t help but think how obnoxious this new feature could be, and I found myself thankful not to be a published author. If you’re unfamiliar with @author, allow me to break it down for you.

First things first, you’ll need to own a Kindle as well as a Twitter account (which must be synced together). Got ‘em both? Let the author nagging commence! Say you’re reading a self help book on your Kindle and one of the self improvement exercises seems a little vague or unclear. Hell, maybe you even disagree with it. With the @author feature, you can highlight the specified text and send it directly to the author along with your question and/or comment. Sure, you’re limited to 100 characters, and who knows if you’ll actually get a response. But at least you’re no longer tweeting to an author who has to filter through pages of @mentions and spam, right? Well, let’s hope some spam filters are in place.

In my worst-case-scenario brain, I envision this as just another avenue for folks to troll and flame their favorite (or least favorite) literary wordsmith. Throw in the occasional nagging question “what did you mean by (insert euphemism here)?” or comments “What the hell were you thinking when you….” and this shiny new feature sounds like the Pandora’s Box of social media for authors. Ugh.

Let’s hope these beta tests go off without a hitch and the authors involved don’t go running for the hills. #BestOfLuck guys. I think you’ll need it.

I was introduced to Frankie a little over 4 years ago when I first moved to Long Beach. Our paths don’t cross that often, but I’m always pleased when they do. My friends and I attend the once a month 60’s inspired dance event he hosts (The Secret Affair) at a nearby bar where he showcases classic and rare vinyl finds. In addition to his endless record collection, Frankie is also a long time book lover and avid reader. So when we bumped into one another at Sipology on Broadway and Temple, my mind immediately flashed to our blog series. Sure, I normally pick a random person, but I didn’t feel I was cheating since a.) We were at a coffee shop, and b.) He had three books tucked under his arm! With our to-go cups in hand, we snagged a table outside and played catch-up. Frankie recently moved to an quaint 2 bedroom town-home three blocks south with his girlfriend Margeaux and their two dogs. He invited me back so I could scope out his new pad and he could jot down the answers the ‘same five questions I always ask’.

1. What book has been the biggest influence in your life?

Marcel Proust ” Swann’s Way” because it’s a great balance between reason and sensibility. I believe in the philosophical example he shows that time was not necessarily a linear, clock-like, measure of fixed and unchangeable moments. Instead, he believed that time, or duration as he liked to call it, involved a “flowing together” of different moments and experiences so that one individual point in time was indistinguishable from any other.

2. What author and/or character do you identify with most?

The character/book i identify most with is The Seducer’s Diary by Søren Kierkegaard because it’s the most positive outlook I’ve ever read on philosophy. Kierkegaard argues that illness is not the root of all evil and that boredom is. Its boredom that causes destruction. I completely relate to this.

3. What do you think happens to you when you die?

I believe nothing happens after you die. Decomposition is what happens after death and that is all.

4. Have you ever penned anything yourself? And if so what’s the recurring theme?

Yes, I mostly write song lyrics. The recurring theme is the universe in terms of time and space. Also the absurdity and nonsense of the things we put emphasis on as humanity.

5. If you had to re-live your life as a character in a book, what book/character would it be?

I would come back as Frodo  from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, because he knows what he wants and grows through the journey of attaining his goal.

Thanks, Frankie! Your apartment is awesome. Your dogs are adorable. And you’re still rad as ever. See you at The Secret Affair -