The Secret Diary

HANK: Ooooh. Hey. C'mere.

Alex Sokoloff is letting us look into her secret diary for THE UNSEEN. Of course it's scaaaaarrrry....and of course it's hilarious.

It starts in...

December 2008

Dear Diary: You will be thrilled to know I’ve made an actual decision. No, I mean it, stop laughing. Really.I’m just not going to kill myself promoting THE UNSEEN when it comes out. No more of this stress. I love this book. I know people want to read it. Who wouldn’t want to read it?

John Lescroart says the only viable thing you can do to sell your books is to write another book. So that’s what I’m going to do – I’m going to write another book. In fact, I’m going to write two books.

And the Screenwriting Tricks for Authors book, too – I can do an hour of that every other day. It all stops now. No more traveling, no more craziness, just workshops close to home. That people pay me for. I’m going to write. That’s it. Write. And have a personal life, remember that? And then maybe Michael won’t leave me for alienation of affection? That would be good.

PS. You won’t be hearing from me for a while. I have writing to do. And affection.

------------------------Five months later------------------------

May 1, 2009.

Well, Diary, I am thrilled to report I have finished Book of Shadows and Scott loves it and SO DO I. I got that paranormal proposal in to HQ Nocturne and I will easily be finished with Ghost Ship by the end of the month and get that in to St. Martin’s ON TIME. I have an entire first draft of Screenwriting Tricks for Authors, and am psyched to launch into revisions. I am so golden.

Lescroart is so right. We need to be writing.

May 2

Woke up to panic attack. OH MY GOD, THE UNSEEN is coming out in twenty-four days. How did that happen? Who scheduled this?

I haven’t done anything. Nothing. I haven’t even thought about doing anything. I forgot about promotion. Who do I think I am, a screenwriter? I’m an author now, I have to promote.

What’s promotion again? How did I do it before? OH MY GOD.

May 3

Woke up thinking about Konrath. OH MY GOD. Konrath is doing a 100-stop blog book tour for AFRAID. I should be doing a 100-stop blog book tour. Wait. I can barely write one blog a week. I’d have to have started 100 weeks ago to do a 100-stop blog book tour. 100 weeks ago is – um, years, I think.I can do ten. No, twelve. No, eight. In two months. No, one. No, six weeks.

Is it worth it to do that? Does that even count as a blog book tour?

Note to self: check Blog Book Tour site for… specifics. Wait. Wouldn’t I rather just write more Screenwriting Tricks blogs? Won’t everyone hate me if I stop those for a month to do blogs on… whatever I would be doing blogs on? On somebody else’s blog site? Didn’t I start Screenwriting Tricks because I had nothing left to say about myself? Do blog tours really work? Konrath says it’s working.

Well, of course it’s working for Konrath, I’m talking about for REAL people, do they work for REAL people?Note to self: You are NOT under any circumstances going to try to pull a Konrath here. Just get a grip.

May 4

OH MY GOD. “The Edge of Seventeen” got nominated for a Thriller Award for Best Short Story. I can’t believe it. I mean, I love that story, maybe more than anything I’ve ever written, but… it’s supernatural. It’s got a teenage GIRL protagonist. I’m so overwhelmed it got noticed.

Lescroart is right. I need to be writing. Nothing matters but writing. And affection.

May 5

OH MY GOD. Thrillerfest is the same weekend as ALA. HOW DO THESE THINGS HAPPEN?How can I not go to ALA? How can I not go to Thrillerfest? I’m going to be just out with THE UNSEEN in hardcover, I have to go to ALA.

But I’m nominated for a Thriller award, how can I not go to Thrillerfest? How can I be in New York and Chicago at the same time?

May 6

Woke up thinking about social networking.OH MY GOD. I haven’t posted on Facebook in weeks. I haven’t Twittered in longer. And I can’t remember the last time I even signed on to MySpace. I need to update my sites. If I can remember them. Amazon blog, Red Room blog, MySpace blog, Haunt blog, Backspace, MWA something or other - Margery said we all had pages somewhere and that I haven’t done anything on mine; Pretty Scary, Authors Round the South, Indie Bound something or other, Library Thing?

Am I on that? Or was I supposed to do it and forgot? And what about that Facebook page thing? Did anyone ever figure out how to find my page as opposed to whatever the regular Facebook thing is? Is that page thing just going to open up a whole new spate of old boyfriends?

May 7

Woke up thinking about…. I can’t… think…

May 8

OH MY GOD. Romantic Times is in two days. Did I book a flight? What state is it in? Do I have bookmarks? Oh my God, I never ordered bookmarks for THE UNSEEN. I have to e mail Kelley at Iconix and order more NOW TODAY so they’ll come in time. Will they get here or do I have them delivered to – whatever state RT is in? Kelley will handle it. IF YOU REMEMBER TO TELL HER.

Where are my business cards? OH MY GOD. I have to learn all the songs for the Vampire show. Shut up. Slow down. What you need to do at RT is WRITE. Go rehearse the Vampire show and then go back to the room and write, write, write. Five pages a day, minimum.

(Pages done at RT: 7 total, done on the plane en route. Hours spent rehearsing Vampire Show: 20. Hours on the dance floor: 3 per night. Hours in hot tub after dance=2. Parties… a lot.).

May 9

Woke up thinking about website. Hmm, worrisome. Most Awesome Webmistress is not returning e mail on website update. Starting to panic. Better call.

OH MY GOD. Most Awesome Webmistress has been sending e mails on website update that have disappeared into the ether. Website needs complete overhaul.

OH MY GOD.Must send in all updates by tomorrow and decide on design.

OH MY GOD.

May 10
Have to get announcements of THE UNSEEN in to all the organizations I belong to for their newsletters. What organizations do I belong to again? Who do I send this stuff to?

Have to send updated list of all reviewers I know to new publicist so she can send reading copies.

Have to send updated list of all media contacts I have to new publicist to she can send reading copies.

Have to send updated bookseller/librarian list to new publicist.

Have to do author questionnaire for Little, Brown for UK releases.

Have to do new author questionnaire for St. Martin’s.

Have to do AT LEAST FIVE PAGES on Ghost Ship today. I have to. I have to.

(Pages written: 0)

May 11
Woke up thinking about bookstore mailings. Elaine Viets does bookstore mailings. Elaine swears by bookstore mailings, and everyone loves her. Does that mean I should do bookstore mailings? What is a bookstore mailing?

Books? Still don’t have them. Bookmarks? Bookmarks are great if you march them into the store and set them on the counter yourself, but if I were a CRM and got bookmarks in the mail I would just toss them in the trash. I don’t even open my own mail, how can I expect anyone else to?

May 12

Woke up thinking about book club mailings. Jenna Black swears by book club mailings. Do I need to do a book club mailing? What is a book club mailing?

May 13
There’s a book club coordinator at St. Martin’s. Who knew? I give her my targeted list of rabid book clubs and she will send books with my letter that I send to her. I love St. Martin’s.

Lesson learned: Ask, Ask, Ask.

May 14
Going through old promotional files and discovered Sisters in Crime has a bookclub database with specific contact info for mystery book clubs nationwide. Most want e mail contact first. I can do that. I can do that in a night and pretend to be watching whatever movie Michael wants to watch.

I love Sisters in Crime.

May 15
OH MY GOD. I haven’t worked out in two weeks. Have you somehow for gotten that you have the personality of a rabid armadillo when you don’t work out for TWO DAYS?

Has it somehow slipped your mind that a BOOK TOUR means you will be dealing with THE PUBLIC for all your waking hours? Has it not occurred to you that if you don’t get an injection of endorphins, not to mention muscle tone, then too soon to contemplate you will not be fit for viewing?

May 16, 2009
OH MY GOD. I haven’t updated my mailing list in six months. And I need to do a newsletter. How does Vertical Response work again? What’s my password? Why can’t I log in? Oh, right, I have to use Firefox to get into that one. Um, I think. But do I have any news?

Did I for sure take that guy off the list who wrote me that horrible letter about how he didn’t know me and how did I get his e mail and why am I spamming him? Does he know how many nights of sleep I lost lying awake wondering the same thing?

May 17
OH MY GOD. I have to be at BEA next week. What state is BEA in this year? I need a pass. I need books. Did I book a flight?…. Frantic e mailing ensues ....HAH! St. Martin’s has sent books and is sending me a pass.

I will do my Quail Ridge launch then drive up to NY with Natasha and stop at bookstores along the way to sign stock.

A Garmin would be good, though. Konrath swears by his Garmin. Note to self: need to get a Garmin. More to the point, need to figure out how to use it before I hit the road. Can I realistically do that? I mean, really?

May 18
OH MY GOD. Right after BEA I’m due in L.A. for the HWA Stoker weekend and So Cal MWA conference and Dark Delicacies signing and Mysterious Galaxy signing. Did I book a flight? OH MY GOD - must do bookstore drop-ins. Must do TONS of bookstore drop-ins. I can do 200 easily in two weeks before I have to be back for my Southern tour stops. Even without a Garmin. No Garmin required here at all. Konrath may be Konrath, but I know California freeways.

HAH!---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I wish I could say that’s as bad as it gets but it’s not even close. Multiply the chaos above by twelve thousand and you have a rough idea of my mental state at the moment. There is no order to anything.

The funny thing is, I just did an interview in which the eminently sane interviewer posed the question: “You’re a great business networker. What’s your strategy?”Which I guess is encouraging because no matter what is happening inside me I have the APPEARANCE of control and organization. So that must count for something.

But you know what? I was so fine while I was just writing. I really did get – almost - two books, a proposal, and a rough draft of another (non-fiction) book done in five months. This last month I’ve managed to do some editing, but that’s about it. And I am miserable about it. I could so easily have had my new book done by now.

So I really, really want to know. Are we really doing ourselves any favors doing this kind of insane promotion?Or is John Lescroart right, and we should just always be writing the next book, period?

What do you think, Reds? The Unseen did come out Tuesday, May 26, with or without me.

(HANK: I think we're going to post this blog EVERY YEAR on this date. I think it's an instant classic.)

As a screenwriter, Alexandra Sokoloff has sold original mystery and thriller scripts and written novel adaptations for numerous Hollywood studios. Her debut ghost story, THE HARROWING, was nominated for both a Bram Stoker award and Anthony award for Best First Novel. Her second supernatural thriller, THE PRICE, was called “some of the most original and freshly unnerving work in the genre” by the New York Times Book Review, and her short story, “The Edge of Seventeen” is currently nominated for a Thriller award for best short story. Her third spooky thriller, THE UNSEEN, is out now, and is based on real-life ESP experiments and poltergeist investigations conducted at the parapsychology lab on the Duke University campus. She is currently working on a fourth supernatural thriller for St. Martin’s Press and a paranormal thriller for Harlequin Nocturne, and is writing a book on SCREENWRITING TRICKS FOR AUTHORS, based on her popular workshop and blog at: http://thedarksalon.blogspot.com/

New Neighbors

HANK: You know how it usually happens. The moving van pulls up across the street. You peer through the slats of the window blinds. You don't want them to see you checking out the new neighbors. Who are they? In goes a fancy stove--Will you be friends and share gourment dinners? In goes a child-size bike--Will they have a weird kid who will set traps for your cat?

New neighbors are always fascinating. And there are new ones in blog world, too. And since we already know they'll be pals, we invited the Pens Fatales for tea!

Their new Blog launches June 1, and we're delighted to welcome them to town.

Who are the Pens Fatales? Check 'em out--and you dont have to look through the slats. They tell tales of mystery, romance, and supernatural suspense: Left to right in the above photo, meet L.G.C. Smith, Adrienne Miller, Martha Flynn, Juliet Blackwell (aka Hailey Lind), Sophie Littlefield, Lisa Hughey, Gigi Pandian, and Rachael Herron.

And read on below to get to know a bit about them. And if that's not enough? The Pens Fatales will be giving away a free book on Monday to someone who posts a comment below. (Check out their site on Monday to see if you won!)

And because we always want Jungle Red to be educational and informative:

Here are the Top 10 things you didn’t know about the Pens Fatales. And yes, see below. There will be a Quiz!

Adrienne Miller has never had to worry about what to name the heroines of her novels. So far, she has named them all after ice cream parlors she loves.

In elementary school, Gigi Pandian wrote a cartoon series chronicling the adventures of Minnesota Smith, a female Indiana Jones.

Getting an equally early start on her life of murder and mayhem, Juliet Blackwell received her first .22 rifle on her eighth birthday and her first motorcycle (a Honda 70) on her tenth. Both were gifts from her father. And yet her mother never asked for a divorce.

In middle school, Lisa Hughey and friends wrote an anonymous gossip column for their school paper based on the TV show Charlie's Angels, calling themselves Cooper's Angels.

L.G.C. Smith knows all the words to "The Battle of New Orleans" and "Sink the Bismarck." When she was four, she used to don her pearl snap shirt, cowgirl boots and hat, mount up on the ol' spring horse, and sing along with an old Johnny Horton record for hours at a time.

One Pen Fatale strictly bides by the Die Hard Rule--If while surfing channels she comes upon any of the franchise's movies, Martha Flynn stops what she's doing to watch.

Rachael Herron can knit backwards, and sometimes does. When asked if she can do so while playing the ukulele, she replied: "Only while knitting forwards."

During college, Sophie Littlefield entered and won a school writing contest. She used prize money to buy a bikini, and hasn't taken first place for any writing awards since.

BONUS FACTS:
Two Pens Fatales led parallel lives before they met: They went to the same University, dated guys in the same fraternity, lived in the same town in Illinois, then moved to the same town in California, all before ever meeting each other.

One Pen Fatale performed as Wonder Woman on stage at the Bedlam Theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland.

HANK: We think they're all wonder women--but wonder who fits the description of those bonus facts… can you guess? (I'm off to BEA today..catch you later! Play nice, now....And tomorrow--one of the funniest funniest blogs you've ever read.) But now--I'm thinkin' the Wonder Woman was--Gigi. Think I'm right?

Genre Generosity: Cross Training Critiques

“The Other Half of Life is a wonderful introduction for young readers to contemporary history and its traumatic and moral challenges.”--Elie Wiesel

















HANK: Yesterday was something completely different, right? Today--something Completely Different! Turns out, Kim Ablon Whitney is my neighbor! But we met at a book event..and her book just sounded so great...I just had to invite her to meet you all.


KIM: The Other Half of Life is based on the true story of the motor ship, the St. Louis. The St. Louis left Hamburg, Germany in May of 1939 carrying 900 Jewish refugees escaping Hitler, bound for Cuba. The book follows two fictional teenage characters and imagines the lives they may have lived until events and immigration laws conspired to change their fates.


I was actually doing research for another book when I came across the story of the St. Louis. I was shocked that I had never heard of it--especially since I'm very interested in World War II history and the Holocaust. I started talking to friends and family about the St. Louis and I found that most people under the age of 45 hadn't heard of it either. I felt I wanted to try to bring this forgotten chapter of the Holocaust to life for younger generations.

HANK: This story is so sad....what were the challenges of writing it? And especially for young adults?


KIM: Yes, it's absolutely heartbreaking and that led to a big challenge--making the book an enjoyable read and at the same time not shying away from the tragedy. I tried to concentrate on developing the characters and their relationships and layering happy moments with the tough ones. As much as the passengers on the St. Louis were dealing with very painful issues, they were also living their lives--laughing, loving, arguing--doing all the normal things we do every day.

HANK: Did writing this change your life? How?

KIM: I interviewed a passenger on the St. Louis and spoke with several other people who lived in Germany during that time period. At a recent bookstore reading I did, I noticed an older woman sitting the back row. I just had this feeling she had a personal connection to the Holocaust. She came up and introduced herself afterwards and shared her story--both she and her husband survived the camps.

It's one thing to read about the Holocaust but to get to meet and listen to people who actually lived through the events.... if I hadn't written this book I would have never gotten these chances.

HANK:. What do you wish someone had told you before you started this whole book thing?

KIM: I wish someone had told me how much luck is involved in the success of a book. I used to think that if you wrote a good book it would get published and be successful. I've since learned that the formula for success isn't so simple. While the quality of the book and the marketing budget of the publisher help to determine the commercial success of a book, it also has a lot to do with luck.

Word of mouth is huge when it comes to books and certain books also just happen to capture the zeitgeist. Sometimes a current event that mirrors an issue in a book catapults it to the top of reading lists. I know now how many great books there are out there that don't get the attention or readership they deserve. As a writer this can be somewhat disheartening but on the positive side it makes you re-evaluate why you write. If you write for commercial success or monetary reward, you're bound to be disapointed. If you write because you love to and because you feel you have a story that's worth telling, the reward will be in the process of the writing.

HANK: And you have a writer's group--a rather unusual one!

KIM: Generally writers come together based on the fact that they all write the same type of books—thrillers, sci-fi, children’s books etc. Since the works I’ve had published to date are all young adult novels, one would assume that my writers group would consist of other young adult authors.

In fact, my writers group consists of two published authors of adult thrillers, Lynne Heitman and Mike Wiecek, and Samantha Cameron, an unpublished writer who is working on a literary historical novel. Lynne, our unofficial group leader, brought us together five years ago and we have morphed into a tight-knit, supportive group.

Instead of our respective genres distancing us, the variety in what we write has brought us closer together. We open up each other’s insular genre-specific worlds—each of us benefits from "cross-training" writer-style.

We marvel at Samantha’s beautiful language as she evokes 1900’s New Orleans in all its sights, smells and sounds and find ourselves trying to add lyrical descriptions to our own prose. We are captivated by Lynne’s fire-cracker dialogue and Mike’s knack for setting scenes with exquisite details, and check our own stories to make sure they are never dull or vague. I like to think I add perspective on teen characters and distinct voice, which is crucial to successful YA novels.

As a result of the mix of genres, I’m less tolerant of a slow narrative pace and more adept at weaving crucial information into dialogue. In my latest novel, The Other Half of Life, I’ve even incorporated a mystery into the other plot lines. Before my writing group I never would have thought I was capable of doing this, but working with my group showed me how it was done and also gave me the confidence to try it myself.

I would encourage everyone to try to work with and learn from writers outside of your genre. It’s easy to "stay with our own kind" but by expanding our worlds and tapping the talents of others, our work can only get better.

HANK: Thanks, Kim!
Kim lives in Newton, Mass. with her husband, two young sons, and greyhound. She is a graduate of Tufts University, and has an M.F.A. in creative writing from Emerson College. She is a member of the PEN New England Children’s Book Caucus and is the coordinator of the PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award.