Catching up

6/17/04
The time has just sped by. I finally finished a bit of Spring Cleaning, and now that I can see the floor in my guest bedroom, somehow my mind feels less cluttered, too.

The biggest news is from yesterday. I received a call from Sharon at Arabella Magazine, who said that they want to publish a short story I submitted to them in March! I'm so stoked. The story is "Dom Perignon," a romance about love at first sight in a San Francisco art gallery gala. God is soooooo good. This is a faboo publishing opportunity He's given to me.

I'll also have an article being published in "Nikkei Heritage," a quarterly journal published by the National Japanese American Historical Society. The Fall/Winter edition is themed "War," and my piece is a light-hearted description of how World War 2 impacted life in the Hawaiian country town of Waialua, O'ahu, where my grandmother lives. I had a great time interviewing my grandmother and my mother, and I learned a lot about the rich history of the time. My grandmother is one of the few people old enough and mentally sharp enough to remember the time back then, so it was a joy to record her reminiscences.

I'm now working on a new manuscript, a sequel to "The Corinthian Rules." It's coming along slowly, and I am trying to bathe the process in prayer so that I can write this for God's glory, and not my own. The one, tentatively titled "The Ephesians List," is also set in San Jose, with Asian characters. I am also thinking about gearing this book specifically for the secular market, rather than the CBA, but I still need to pray about it.

Right now, an agent is reviewing "The Corinthian Rules" to determine if he wants to represent me. I also emailed my manuscript to Jeff Dunn at RiverOak, because he had requested it.

I read "Self-Editing for Fiction Writers" by Renni Browne and Dave King (2nd edition), and I think it's an absolute necessity for every writer. I feel like my manuscript is so much cleaner and tighter now that I've applied the principles in the book. This ranks up there with "Techniques of the Selling Writer" by Dwight V. Swain.

I had a wonderful opportunity to read Meredith Efken's "SAHM I Am," a manuscript recently bought by Steeple Hill. It's hilariously funny! I learned a lot about Stay-At-Hom-Moms that I never realized before, while at the same time laughing my head off. I can't wait for it to come out—I want to buy copies for friends and family who might like it.

I also read Kristin Billerbeck's "What a Girl Wants." Ooooohhhh she's a riot! (Besides being a cool person, too!) I lent it to my friend Lorianne Lee, and she thought Kristin perfectly captured the foibles of life in Silicon Valley, surrounded by engineers. I also wrote a review for it, which is on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Christianbook.com.

I read "Oxygen" and "The Fifth Man" by John Olson and Randy Ingermanson—terrific! Great science fiction! A nice faith message in both books, but not "in your face." I had "Oxygen" signed at Mount Hermon so I could give it to my dad for his birthday, but shamefully I admit I read it before sending it to him.

I'm still impatient to write full-time, but I am also praying for PATIENCE to wait on God's timing. I have received so much encouragment from the Lord and from other Christians about my writing, and I really do think God intends for me to write full-time one day. Just not right now. I need His strength to persevere until He gives me the signal to GO.

Well, that's it for now!
Camy

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Laura’s Apricot Shell Shawl knitting pattern

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No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

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Narrow Escape contest for January!

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Keriah’s Pyrennees Shawl knitting pattern w/ @knitpicks Palette

Why I knit this shawl: I wanted to knit the sunset-colored shawl Keriah was wearing in chapter 5 of my book, Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 2: Berserker , so I looked for an antique pattern that might have been used during the Regency era. This one caught my eye, even though it was published in a knitting book a few decades later than the Regency era. The Spider-Net border pattern was most definitely in use in the Regency period, but it’s also remotely possible that the Alice-Maud stitch and the lacy border stitch patterns were also in use during the Regency, being passed on from knitter to knitter via hand-written receipts, by verbal instruction, or with knitted sampler squares (like how many Shetland lace patterns and Bavarian cable patterns were shared). My/Keriah’s version of this shawl would have been lacy but warm because it is knit with fingering yarn on small needles. Since Keriah was cold, I think she would have grabbed this shawl rather than something more elegant and airy.

Phoebe’s Muffatees knitting pattern

In Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 4: Betrayer , Phoebe wears a pair of lace muffatees, or gauntlets/arm-warmers that hide a rather deadly surprise. :) I actually got the idea of having her wear muffatees because I saw a lace manchette pattern in Miss Watts’ Ladies’ Knitting and Netting Book , published in 1840, page 20. However, after doing some research, I found that they were called muffatees in the Regency era, and the term manchette did not arise until a few years later. They were essentially arm-warmers worn under those long sleeves on day dresses, which were usually made of muslin too thin to be very warm. I decided to knit Phoebe’s muffatees using a Leaf Pattern originally suggested for a purse in Mrs. Gaugain’s book, The Lady’s Assistant, volume 1, 5th edition published in 1842, pages 234-237. I think there was an error and row 36 in the original pattern was duplicated erroneously, so I have adjusted the pattern. The original manchette pattern called for “fine” needles a

New contest!

I haven’t had a contest since October! Here’s new one just in time for Christmas. I’m picking 3 winners to each be able to choose 10 books from my Christian book list! And yes, that list includes my books! 1) You get one entry into the contest when you sign up for my email newsletter at http://www.camytang.com/ . If you already belong to my email newsletter, let me know! 2) You get a second entry into the contest if you Like my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CamyTangAuthor . If you already Like my Facebook page, let me know! 3) You get a third entry into the contest if you join my Goodreads group: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/49078 . If you already belong to my Goodreads group, let me know! 4) You get a fourth entry into the contest if you follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/camytang . If you already follow me on Twitter, let me know! 5) You get extra entries into the contest if you get someone else to join my email newsletter. Just email camy {at] c

Year of the Dog serial novel

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Year of the Dog serial novel, chapter 13

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Chinese Take-Out and Sushi for One

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Toilet seat cover

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Update August 2008: I wrote up the pattern for this with "improvements"! Here's the link to my No Cold Bums toilet seat cover ! Okay, remember a few days ago I was complaining about the cold toilet seat in my bathroom? Well, I decided to knit a seat cover. Not a lid cover, but a seat cover. I went online and couldn’t find anything for the seat, just one pattern for the lid by Feminitz.com . However, I took her pattern for the inside edge of the lid cover and modified it to make a seat cover. Here it is! It’s really ugly stitch-wise because originally I made it too small and had to extend it a couple inches on each side. I figured I’d be the one staring at it, so who cared if the extension wasn’t perfectly invisible? I used acrylic yarn since, well, that’s what I had, and also because it’s easy to wash. I’ll probably have to wash this cover every week or so, but it’s easy to take off—I made ties which you can see near the back of the seat. And

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