Skip to main content

What I'm writing in YEAR OF THE DOG

I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
Post a Comment

ICRS Monday

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.10.2007

I overslept this morning and didn’t make it to the CAN breakfast meeting, but I did get up just in the nick of time to get to Sharon Hinck’s booksigning of The Restorer. She had a great signing—lots of people in line. I met up with Meredith Efken and Tracy Higley, and we “seeded” the line for a little while until it became apparent the line would propagate itself.

I also got to meet Tosca Lee in person (she’d commented on my blog a couple days ago, I think) and get a copy of Kimberly Stuart’s Bottom Line to give away.



Siri Mitchell saw me and came up to graciously give me a copy of Moon Over Tokyo, since she was signing at the Personality Party and non-exhibitors couldn’t get in. Isn’t that nice of her?

I also saw Jenn Doucette, Laura Christianson, and Jennifer Schuchmann while walking the floor. I also saw Marilynn Griffith briefly.



We went to Harry Kraus’s signing and I got All I’ll Ever Need. Then we went to WaterBrook Multnomah, but were too late to get copies of books. However, I met Mark Mynheir and I chatted with Tamara Leigh, and I’ll be doing a giveaway and interview with Tamara at some point.



Then we went to Steeple Hill and got Death Benefits from Hannah Alexander. I then went and stood in Tamera Alexander’s big honkin’ long line to get a copy of Remembered and a picture with Tammy.



Meredith and I went to see Maureen Lang at her signing, but then we went to my hotel room to get the chopsticks and bookmarks I needed for my booksigning.

At the Zondervan booth, I met Barbara Scott, the senior editor for Zonderkidz. I’m having dinner with her, Wendy Lawton, Janet Grant, and maybe Sue Brower tomorrow night.

I saw Joyce Ondersma working like crazy and gave her some ribbon bookmarks to give to the Z booth staff. The previous booksigning was of the new Faithgirlz line, with books by Nancy Rue, Melody Carson, and Dandi Daley Mackall, so I waited until they were done. I was able to say hi to Melody again.

I was so nervous, I thought I was going to puke.

It ended up going really well. There was a HUGE line wrapping around the corner because Brandilyn was signing with me. The first couple people got a copy of Brandilyn’s book and then took off without getting one of mine! Bozos.

But then people started coming to me to get a free chopstick and a book. I discovered I can be energetic and nice to perfect strangers. I also discovered I sign very briefly. No Bible verse or long message. I am very spare in my signing. As a result, my hand never got sore or crampy.

Zondervan (I think it was Karwyn Bursma) had also made up fortune cookies with special fortunes promoting my book, and they gave them to people waiting in line. My favorite fortune was: “Camy Tang is neither lingerie nor an astronaut drink.” Isn’t that a hoot? I wonder who came up with that one?!

Tyler Kingsbury (Karen Kingsbury’s son) stood in line for my book! Isn’t he just a darling? So did Sarah Long, Dave Long’s wife. I also saw Krista Stroever (Steeple Hill), looking radiant. I also saw Patty and Wendy (the ladies from the shuttle ride to the hotel), and bestselling author Wanda Brunstetter stood in line, too! I felt so loved and honored that all these people would come by to say hi and get my book.

I was standing and signing because I prefer that to sitting and signing, and I didn’t even realize how long I’d been doing it. Finally, I signed the last book and someone said I’d been signing for two hours and fifteen minutes!!!! I actually felt fine, not tired. My feet started hurting when I started walking, but they hadn’t hurt when I had been standing. Zondervan and I had given away all 250 copies of my book!!!! Yay!

As I was packing up, Karen Kingsbury’s son Tyler wandered by and we chatted. We headed to Tyndale to see if Karen was still signing (she wasn’t) or to see if she had any secret copies she could give me (she didn’t), and I ended up chatting with Andy Meisenheimer, who was hanging around the booth and talking with Karen K. and Karen Ball (B&H Publishing).

Andy and I talked for a while about his newly adopted son, who’s adorable. I also saw Kelsey Kingsbury (being run ragged by her slave-driver mom ;), and then Andy and I headed to Baker (Bethany) to get a copy of Robin Parrish’s new book Fearless. It has an awesome cover! We chatted with Dave Long and his wife Sarah, who’s also an editor at Bethany House.

I went to Steak and Ale restaurant that night for dinner with the ACFW members who were at ICRS. It was fun, although I ate too much. We got a little punchy.


Tricia Goyer


Sarah Sumpolec


(heads from left to right): Pat Rushford, Brandilyn Collins, Cassandra Woods


Me and Sarah Sumpolec


Me and Cassandra Woods


Me, Tamela Hancock Murray, Julie Dearyan

Continued: ICRS Tuesday
Labels:

Comments

Jessica Ferguson said…
I love reading all about this, Camy, so keep it coming. I know you're having soooooooooo much fun!
Mon Jul 09, 09:32:00 PM 2007
Deborah said…
i wish i could be there.

is this something strictly for writers and sellers or can readers go to?
Tue Jul 10, 04:02:00 AM 2007
LaShaunda said…
Camy,

I'm so excited for you. Did you read what you wrote? Two hours signing YOUR book. GOD IS SO GOOD!

I can't wait to read your book.
Tue Jul 10, 01:48:00 PM 2007
Ronie Kendig said…
There are several posting about ICRS, but I love reading YOUR accounts. So funny and filled with fun stuff. :-P
Wed Jul 11, 06:45:00 AM 2007
Domino said…
Great reporting! Love the pics. Tricia Goyer looks like she's eating her camera. Got her teeth on it. I just love her, don't you?

Enjoy your success. Glad your book is doing well.
Wed Jul 11, 08:51:00 AM 2007
Unknown said…
AWESOME signing, girl! I'm so tickled for you! :D
Wed Jul 11, 05:57:00 PM 2007
Maggie Brendan said…
Camy, I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to talk to you at the dinner Monday night--however, my husband, Bruce did. Go figure! But it was good to see you from across the room!
Sat Jul 14, 08:00:00 PM 2007
Post a Comment

Popular Posts

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.22.2008 I actually wrote out my pattern! I was getting a lot of hits on my infamous toilet seat cover , and I wanted to make a new one with “improvements,” so I paid attention and wrote things down as I made the new one. This was originally based off the Potty Mouth toilet cover , but I altered it to fit over the seat instead of the lid. Yarn: any worsted weight yarn, about 120 yards (this is a really tight number, I used exactly 118 yards. My suggestion is to make sure you have about 130 yards.) I suggest using acrylic yarn because you’re going to be washing this often. Needle: I used US 8, but you can use whatever needle size is recommended by the yarn you’re using. Gauge: Not that important. Mine was 4 sts/1 inch in garter stitch. 6 buttons (I used some leftover shell buttons I had in my stash) tapestry needle Crochet hook (optional) Cover: Using a provisional cast on, cast on 12 stitches. Work in garter st until liner measures...
10 comments
Read more

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th...
18 comments
Read more

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...
21 comments
Read more

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci...
2 comments
Read more

Lady Wynwood #7 early release Kickstarter

I worked on my first Kickstarter and it got approved! It’s for the Special Edition Hardcover of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 1: Archer and the release of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 7: Spinster. I contacted my graphic designer about the Special Edition Hardcover of vol. 1: Archer—it’s going to be SO beautiful! The Kickstarter focuses on the Special Edition Hardcover, but it’ll also include vol. 7: Spinster so that it’ll sort of be like a launch day for vol. 7, too. A third special thing that’ll be in the Kickstarter is Special Edition Paperbacks of all the books in the series. They won’t be available in stores, just in the Kickstarter (and later, from my website, and also in my Patreon book box tiers if I decide to do them). The Kickstarter is not live yet, but you can follow it to be alerted when it has launched. (You may need to create a free Kickstarter account.) Follow Camy’s Kickstarter
4 comments
Read more

Chinese Take-Out and Sushi for One

Captain’s Log, Supplemental My agent sent me an article from Publisher’s Weekly that discussed this incident: Chinese Take-Out Spawns Christian Controversy And here’s also a blog post that talks about it in more detail: The Fighting 44s This is Soong-Chan Rah’s blog: The PCS blog In sum: Apparently Zondervan (yes, my publisher), who has partnered with Youth Specialties, had put out a youth leaders skit that had stereotypical Asian dialogue, which offended many Christian Asian Americans. In response to the outcry, Zondervan/Youth Specialities put out a sincere apology and is not only freezing the remaining stock of the book, but also reprinting it and replacing the copies people have already bought. I am very proud of my publisher for how they have handled this situation. The skit writers have also issued a public apology . (I feel sorry for them, because they were only trying to write a funny skit, not stir up this maelstrom of internet controversy. I’ve been in youth work long enou...
39 comments
Read more

A List of my Free Blog Reads

Curious about what my writing is like? Here’s a list of all my free books and the free short stories, novellas, and novels that you can read here on my blog. I’ll update this post as I add more free reads. Christian Romantic Suspense: Necessary Proof (Sonoma series #4.1, novella) Click here to buy the FREE ebook on all retailers Alex Villa became a Christian in prison, and because of his efforts to help stop a gang producing meth in Sonoma, he has been set up for the death of a cop. Can computer expert Jane Lawton find the evidence that will prove his innocence before the gang eliminates them both? Fantasy short stories: Pixies in a Garden in Kyoto There were pixies in the garden. Since she was in Kyoto, she was certain they were not called pixies, but she didn't know what they would be called in Japanese, and they certainly looked like what she imagined pixies would look like. The King’s Daughter The trees in the King's garden were full of colored pixie lights. The...
Post a Comment
Read more

Brainstorm - character occupation

Captain's Log, Stardate 03.23.2009 Hey guys, I could use some help. In my current manuscript, The Year of the Dog , which is a humorous contemporary romance, I have a minor character, Eddie. He’s my heroine’s ex-boyfriend, and they’re on good terms with each other. He’s a bit irresponsible, but not so much so that he’s a complete loser. He’s got a very easy going attitude, he forgets to pay his bills sometimes, he’s friendly and charming. He’s adventurous and fun to be around, but he’s a little forgetful sometimes, and he tends to spend a little outside his income. I need an occupation for him. What would a charming, easy going, slightly irresponsible guy do for a living? He’s not too irresponsible, because otherwise readers will wonder what in the world my heroine saw in him to date him in the first place. She was attracted to his charm, his easy going attitude (her family’s uptight, and he was a nice contrast), and his adventurousness. But his forgetfulness and irresponsibility ...
64 comments
Read more

I sold to Steeple Hill!

Captain's Log, Supplemental Remember that romantic suspense proposal I blogged about earlier? Well, it just sold to Steeple Hill’s Love Inspired Suspense line! I am so jazzed! I am beyond jazzed! The story’s working title is Sinister Spa The story's title is Deadly Intent and here’s a blurb (but it’s probably not what will appear on the back of the book): Massage therapist Naomi Grant could use a massage herself. With her father at home recovering from a stroke, Naomi is put in charge of the family’s elite day spa in Sonoma county. The new responsibilities sit awkwardly on her shoulders, and things only get worse when handsome Dr. Devon Knightley breezes into the spa, demanding to see one of the female clients. And the woman is found dead in Naomi’s massage room. Suddenly, Naomi is a suspect and her family’s spa is shut down. How could God let this awful thing happen? Devon only needed to see his ex-wife about a family necklace she still hadn’t returned, but when she dies and...
32 comments
Read more