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www.bksp.org Backspace News - January
February Guest Speaker Emmanuelle Alspaugh, a literary agent with Wendy Sherman Associates, will conduct a question and answer session with the group February 18 - 20. Before joining Wendy Sherman, Emmanuelle was an agent at The Creative Culture and an editor at Fodor's, the travel arm of Random House. She offers her clients the full breadth of her editorial experience, working closely with them to develop and polish their proposals and manuscripts. Her particular interests include literary and commercial fiction, memoir, and nonfiction relevant to contemporary issues. Bella Stander, Publicity Consultant - An Ongoing Q&A Publicity expert Bella Stander will visit the Backspace discussion forums on the 15th of every month as part of our ongoing guest speaker program to answer members' questions. Bella is a writer and consultant to the Virginia Festival of the Book. Formerly the book editor for Albemarle magazine and a long-time contributing editor at Publishers Weekly, she has also reviewed books for Entertainment Weekly, People, The Wall St. Journal, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle and other publications. She is a member of the Authors Guild, National Book Critics Circle, National Press Club and PubWest. THE LIAR’S DIARY Blog Day On January 29th, 400 bloggers from the U.S., Canada, China, Holland, India, and more joined in a unified effort to help Backspace member Patry Francis launch the paperback release of her debut novel THE LIAR'S DIARY. Patry was recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, and is doing well, but is unable to promote her book. The effort was organized by Backspace members Susan Henderson, Jessica Keener, Laura Benedict, Tish Cohen, and Karen Dionne, and the collective impact was phenomenal. Patry’s novel began the day on Amazon at #57,000 and ended at #1 in the psychological suspense category and #285 overall. More importantly, her incredible story galvanized writers across the entire spectrum of genres, including Khaled Hosseini, Peter Coyote, Neil Gaiman, Lee Child, Douglas Preston, Jacquelyn Mitchard, John Lescroart and Jennifer Weiner. Canada's National Post reported on the blogging effort, and the story quickly became their third most-read online article EVER. We hope that in the days ahead, others in the print media will take note. What took place on the 29th was a remarkable demonstration of the power of the Internet community, and deserves to be told. You can see the full list of bloggers at Susan Henderson’s LitPark and the Backspace website. Thanks once again to everyone for their help! New Content on the Backspace Homepages Be sure to check out the new article by Bella Stander on the Backspace homepages, "New Rules for Authors." Bella's Rule #1: Having a website is not an option; it's an absolute necessity. New Backspace Homepages for Our Content If you're a regular visitor to the Backspace website, no doubt you've noticed our new format. We think you'll find the redesigned site easy to navigate, and hope you'll enjoy the many new features. All of your favorite columns, book reviews, and articles are still available under the "Articles" section, now arranged by category. You can also try out the powerful new "Search" feature to find just the one you're looking for. Enjoy! 2008 Backspace Writers Conference - Last Call for Published Authors The conference program is very nearly full. If you're a published Backspace author who's planning to attend and you'd like a spot on the program, please let Karen Dionne know as soon as possible, and she’ll do her best to see that you are included. The 2008 Backspace Writers Conference will be held August 7 & 8, 2008, at the Radisson Martinique on Broadway, in New York City. Keynote speakers will be Random House Senior Editor Mark Tavani, and New York Times best-selling thriller author Lee Child. Agents on the program include Richard Curtis, Scott Hoffman, Simon Lipskar, Laney Katz Becker, Paige Wheeler, and Jeff Kleinman. Cost for the two-day, two-track event is $355 for early registration (through March 31) and Backspace members; $395 thereafter, and includes a cocktail reception Thursday evening. Attendance is limited to 200, and registration is now open. Red Room - A New Website for Writers If you’re a published author, you’ll want to join Maya Angelou, Amy Tan, Jane Smiley, Daniel Handler, Salman Rushdie, Kahled Hosseini and 400 others by applying for a profile page at Red Room, a fabulous new website for writers. The Red Room website was created to appeal to readers, authors, booksellers and publishers as a one-stop shop for biographical information, book reviews, blogs, video and audio content and author appearances. Red Room contributed 69 authors to THE LIAR’S DIARY Blog Day. Everyone associated with that project was incredibly impressed with the organization's committment to helping writers, as well as the website’s professional appearance and quality of content. Members’ New Releases  Members who maintain a Backspace Bookshelf can add the following new releases this month to their collection:
Tasha Alexander - A POISONED SEASON (paperback) London's social season is in full swing, and the Victorian aristocracy can't stop whispering about a certain gentleman who claims to be the direct descendant of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. But he's not the only topic of wagging tongues. Drawing rooms, boudoirs, and ballrooms are abuzz with the latest news of an audacious cat burglar who has been making off with precious items that once belonged to the ill-fated queen. Light gossip turns serious when the owner of one of the pilfered treasures is found murdered, and the mysterious thief develops a twisted obsession with Emily. But the strong-minded and fiercely independent Emily will not be shaken. It will take all of her considerable wit and perseverance to unmask her stalker and ferret out the murderer, even as a brewing scandal threatens both her reputation and her romance with her late husband's best friend, the dashing Colin Hargreaves. A Poisoned Season is a delicious blend of sparkling romance, heart-pounding suspense, and rich historical detail that only Tasha Alexander could create.  Allison Brennan - KILLING FEAR
Theodore Glenn is bright, charismatic, and loves to inflict pain . . . both on his victims before they die and on those who later find their mutilated corpses. At his trial seven years ago, Glenn vowed vengeance on his persecutors: Detective Will Hooper, the cop who nabbed him, and beautiful Robin McKenna, the stripper whose testimony put him behind bars. "Fast becoming a master at delivering complex, layered plots and characters that erupt from the page, Brennan has created a roller-coaster ride of chills!" -- Top Pick! RT Book Reviews on Killing Fear
"This fast-moving, beautifully executed thriller is close to perfection from all angles—from carefully crafted, full-bodied characters to a dynamite killer thriller." -- Top Pick! Romance Reader at Heart on Killing Fear  Eileen Cook - UNPREDICTABLE (Berkley, February 5, 2008)
Sophie isn't crazy, she just wants her guy back. And posing as a psychic to give his new girlfriend a fake reading designed to break them up isn't going overboard, is it? Don't answer that. Faking psychic powers turns out to be fun, especially after a few lessons from Nick, the cute skeptic, who teaches her all the tricks of the trade. But her readings do a lot more than she could have predicted. Now she must decide whether to accept her rising stardom in a less-than-honest line of work-and whether the best option is trying to rekindle her old flame or finding romance with someone new. And, most importantly, she needs to figure out whether the answers lie in the stars-or in herself. UNPREDICTABLE has sold in Russia, France and Germany. The film rights were optioned by New Line Cinema.  Alexandra Sokoloff - THE PRICE (St. Martin's Press, February 2008)
Boston's Briarwood Medical Center is a bewildering maze of six separate hospitals symbiotically entwined, connected by glass bridges, underground tunnels, indoor and outdoor gardens -- its own self-contained city. But Briarwood, like every hospital, is also a threshold... to the other side.
Idealistic Boston District Attorney Will Sullivan has it all: a beautiful, beloved wife, Joanna; an adorable five-year old daughter, Sydney, and a real shot in the Massachusetts Governor's race. Then Will's life is shattered when Sydney is diagnosed with a malignant, inoperable tumor. Now Will and Joanna are living at Briarwood Hospital, waiting for their daughter to die. Joanna is slowly losing her mind with grief and Will himself starts to question his own sanity. He has begun to see bizarre and inexplicable things around him -- patients disappearing from elevators, monstrous nuns watching from the shadows.
The strange occurrences seem to center around a charismatic counselor named Salk, who befriends Will and talks mysteriously about the power of faith to heal. But when Sydney suddenly, miraculously begins to improve, Will suspects that Joanna has made a terrible bargain to save their daughter's life. Now he must uncover the truth in order to save them all.
 Kellyann Zuzulo - A GENIE IN THE HOUSE OF SAUD: ZUBIS RISES (Mystical Publishing)
This e-book begins the tale of Zubis and of Bethany O'Brien, of the race of djinn and their interaction among humans. One wish remains before Zubis, a djinni of primeval necromancy, is released. With freedom, he desires vengeance. Bethany O'Brien is bound to Zubis by an ancient betrayal. She is the only person who can vanquish the djinni because she was once the Asima Uruk, a high priestess in service to King Solomon and apprenticed to Zubis. But salvaging her existence as the Asima Uruk means questioning everything she knows about herself and the hierarchy of humans in God’s creation. Her life, as well as the balance of power in the Middle East, depend on the answers. Also available for download on the Amazon Kindle. Backspace Members' New UK releases:  Damian McNicholl - A SON CALLED GABRIEL (The Friday Project Limited, March)
This title tells of an Ulster adolescent struggles to come to terms with his homosexuality in the 1960s and '70s in McNicholl's fine, compassionate coming-of-age story. Gabriel Harkin, the eldest child in a working-class family, is a sensitive boy: he gets picked on at school, and he'd rather play with girls than kiss them. When a predatory older boy introduces him to sex, Gabriel's desires cause terrible guilt. Though eventually Gabriel overcomes the intimidation of his classmates, figuring out his sexual identity proves more difficult, as he bounces back and forth between dates with girls and clandestine trysts with boys. There are secrets, too, surrounding Gabriel's Uncle Brendan, a priest who left Ireland for Kenya after a family scandal.McNicholl paints a rich picture of Gabriel's life and all its conflicted messages about sex: while his mother is so prudishly Catholic she can't bear to watch a TV kiss, one of the priests at Gabriel's church sexually abuses him. Gabriel wants to be like the other boys, but when he gets himself a serious girlfriend, matters explode. Awkward, sometimes tender sex scenes - with both genders - recall all the clumsy uncertainties of adolescence. McNicholl is a graceful writer, and his is a worthy debut.  John Elder Robison - LOOK ME IN THE EYE (Ebury, February 8, 2008)
From the time he was three or four years old, John Elder Robison realised that he was different from other people. He was unable to make eye contact or connect with other children, and by the time he was a teenager his odd habits - an inclination to blurt out non sequiturs, obsessively dismantle radios or dig five-foot holes (and stick his younger brother in them) - had earned him the label 'social deviant'. It didn't help that his mother conversed with light fixtures and his father spent evenings pickling himself in sherry."Look Me in the Eye" is his story of growing up with Asperger's syndrome at a time when the diagnosis simply didn't exist. Along the way it also tells the story of two brothers born eight years apart yet devoted to each other: the author and his younger brother Chris - who would grow up to become bestselling author Augusten Burroughs. This book is a rare fusion of inspiration, dark comedy and insight into the workings of the human mind. For a someone who has struggled all his life to connect with other people, Robison proves to be an extraordinary storyteller. An extraordinarily moving and unexpectedly funny memoir of growing up with Asperger's syndrome, from the brother of Augusten Burroughs
 Pam Jenoff - THE DIPLOMAT'S WIFE - (Mira, Feb 2008 in the UK; May 2008 in the US)
"How have I been lucky enough to come here, to be alive, when so many others are not? I should have died...But I am here."Surviving the brutality of a Nazi prison camp, Marta Nederman is lucky to have escaped with her life. Recovering from the horror, she meets an American soldier who gives her hope of a happier future. But their plans to meet in London are dashed when his plane crashes.Devastated and pregnant, Marta marries a caring British Diplomat and glimpses the joy that home and family can bring. But her happiness is threatened when she learns of a communist spy in British intelligence, and that the one person who can expose the traitor is connected to her past. . . Praise for Pam Jenoff's first novel, THE KOMMANDANT'S GIRL: "...luminous simplicity...This is historical romance at its finest." - Publisher's Weekly
"...an insightful portrait of people forced into an untenable situation" - Booklist Members’ News News in this section is a compilation of members news posted at the Backspace discussion forums. If you have news you’d like to share, send your announcement to
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Book Deals: Italian rights to NYT bestseller Allison Brennan's KILLING FEAR, sold to Sergio Fanucci, by Lara Lea Allen, on behalf of Kimberly Whalen at Trident Media Group. Italian rights to Ally Carter's I'D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU BUT THEN I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU and CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY, sold to Ornella Robbiati of De Agostini, in a pre-empt, by Jenny Meyer, on behalf of Kristin Nelson. Foreign rights to Sara Gruen's RIDING LESSONS and FLYING CHANGES, sold to Villagebooks in Japan, and rights to RIDING LESSONS to Suma in Catalan, by Eva Talmadge at Emma Sweeney Agency. Rebbie Macintyre’s historical mystery CAST THE FIRST STONE sold in the fall of 2007 to Five Star. Chris Bauer’s paranormal suspense novel SCARS ON THE FACE OF GOD: THE DEVIL'S BIBLE, sold to Drollerie Press for publication late this year. Agent Signings Several Backspace members signed with agents this month: Joanne Levy is now represented by Eric Myers of The Spieler Agency, John Emery signed with Holly Root at the Waxman Literary Agency, and Michelle Bilski signed with Barbara Poelle from the Irene Goodman Literary Agency. And thanks to the November Backspace Agent-Author seminar, another Backspace member, Naseem Rakha, signed with Laney Katz Becker of Folio Literary Management. Emmanuelle Alspaugh, a literary agent with Wendy Sherman Associates, also signed an author from the November seminar. Awards/Nominations/Honors The paperback version of the first novel in Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls series, I'D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU BUT THEN I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU, landed on the New York Times paperback bestseller list at #4 at the same time the second novel, CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY, which already spent 5 weeks on the NYT hardcover list, returned to the list at #9. Kay Hooper’s newest hardcover BLOOD DREAMS debuted on the New York Times list at #9. Jon Clinch’s FINN was named an American Library Association’s "Notable Book." Renee Rosen's EVERY CROOKED POT has been selected a Booklist Editors Choice. Kamilla Reid’s self-published young adult fantasy novel THE QUESTORY OF ROOT KARBUNKULUS was featured recently in the Washington Post. Heather Brewer’s EIGHTH GRADE BITES made the final cut for the American Library Association’s 2008 "Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers." Good Reads recently selected their Best Books of 2007 and Sara Gruen's WATER FOR ELEPHANTS came in at number nine in fiction. Meanwhile, USA Today, in choosing their top 100 books for 2007, picked WATER FOR ELEPHANTS for their # 7 spot. Publishers Weekly lists WATER FOR ELEPHANTS at number 7 among trade paperbacks on its "2007 Longest-Running Bestsellers" list. (WATER FOR ELEPHANTS had the #1 slot for 14 weeks, longer than any other trade paperback in 2007.) The first two volumes in Lauren Baratz-Logsted’s projected nine-book childrens' series THE SISTERS EIGHT will be Houghton Mifflin's twin lead titles when this fall. Chris Johnson’s YOUR CRITICALLY ILL CHILD made Library Journal’s list of Best Consumer Health Books of 2007. Jackie Kessler’s short story "The Ties That Bind" received an honorable mention in Ellen Datlow's YEAR’S BEST FANTASY AND HORROR. Clea Simon's CRIES AND WHISKERS is now available as an audiobook read by actress Tavia Gilbert. The hardcover has been selling so briskly, Poisoned Pen Press is rushing CRIES AND WHISKERS into trade paperback by the end of the month. Reviews Lisa McMann’s soon-to-be-released young adult debut WAKE was favorably reviewed by Kirkus. "McMann lures teens in by piquing their interest in the mysteries of the unknown, and keeps them with quick-paced, gripping narration and supportive characters." Teens Read Too awarded WAKE five stars. Teens Read Too gave Lauren Baratz-Logsted's SECRETS OF MY SUBURBAN LIFE a five-star review, and Teen Central Net is doing a giveaway this month, featuring the book on their front page. Elizabeth Letts's (writing as Elizabeth Alalou) picture book THE BUTTER MAN got an excellent Booklist review that says in part: "This warm family story about a rarely viewed culture will have particular appeal among children of immigrants, who, like Nora, wonder about their parents' mysterious, former lives in another land." Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Backspace members Maureen McGowan, Terri Dunham, Jen Haupt, and Christine Nolfi are all contenders in the Amazon Breakout Novel Award contest in conjunction with The Penguin Group. Finalists will be announced March 3, and on April 7, the winner will be awarded a publishing contract. Short Stories/Poetry/Anthologies A.S. King’s short story "Harry’s Giant" is now online at Eclectica. Josh Peterson’s short story "Catch Me" is available as an mp3 as part of the I Am This Meat Anthology. Another story, "Natural Selection" appears in Postscripts, one of the premier English speculative fiction publications in Europe. Susan Henderson’s six-word memoir is included in the just-released anthology NOT QUITE WHAT I WAS PLANNING: SIX WORD MEMOIRS BY WRITERS FAMOUS AND OBSCURE alongside Jonathan Lethem, Richard Ford, Stephen Colbert, and Amy Sedaris. These terse true tales relate the diversity of human experience in tasty bite-sized pieces. Articles/Columns/Essays Anthony Policasto’s article "Email or Snail an Agent" was accepted by Writer's Journal for their March/April issue. Matt Marine has an article in the January Arizona Highways magazine. Opportunities Bella Stander is offering a special Backspace deal for her March 8 Book Promotion 101 workshop in New York City. Backspace members get a $50 discount, which brings the workshop price down to $375. Guest speakers include Ron Hogan of GalleyCat, book publicist Lauren Cerand and media coach Eileen Winnick. Class is limited to 8 attendees; registration deadline is Feb. 22. Contact Bella at
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. At last year's Broward County Literary Feast, Jon Clinch was treated to an amazing dinner based on food from Finn. The appetizer, for example, was fried catfish served in a paper cone made from the book cover. With that in mind, Jon is launching the Finn Book Club Menu Contest. The best menu based on the chow in the book – catfish and whiskey and fatback bacon and cornbread and sunfish and baking powder biscuits and huckleberries – wins a classroom set of Finn for their high school, and a book club visit from Jon. All entries must arrive by February 15, 2008. Backspace member Deanna Carlyle is teaching a two-week online writing class called "Screenwriting Techniques for Novelists: How the Seventh Art Can Ramp Up Your Prose." Topics include storyboarding, dialogue, transitions, and story development. The class begins February 4. Backspace member Ned Burke is accepting submissions for the online version of Yesterday's Magazette, "The Original Magazine of Memories," founded in 1973. Ned is looking for articles of no more than 1500 words and old photos. Photos should be included in the body of an e-mail (no attachments, please) and send to:
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