Garden Spells makes the list

A wonderful resource for learning about great new books each month are the Book Sense Pick lists. Book Sense is both a local and national effort to shine a light on the knowledge and diversity of independent bookstores. The Book Sense Picks offer a monthly selection of eclectic new books chosen by independent booksellers--the bookstores in your community.

For September, we were pleased to see that among the Book Sense Picks is one of our current faves, Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. Here's what they say about this unique book: "This is a magical novel about small-town legends, the intricacies of sisterhood, and the mysterious, deep layers of love. Allen's full, complex characters bloom and reveal their hidden depths as the story develops. I hope Allen might revisit this remarkable town and its unforgettable characters in a future novel." —Heather Christman, Warwick's, La Jolla, CA

—Laura

An interview with Jeffery Deaver (Part 2)

And now for the second part of the interview with Jeffery Deaver, originally published by the Select Editions UK office.

Why do you think forensics are so popular now in commercial fiction?
JD: The recent fascination, I think, reflects the shift in approach by law enforcement officials to embrace technology as wholeheartedly as the rest of the world. After all,a psychotic criminal can fool the best psychologists and lie detectors, but he can't beat a DNA match.

How much of what you write comes from your real life experiences?
JD: In my case, none. I was an attorney but I practised corporate law. It means working harder to do the research but I don't really mind—I don't think I have what it takes to chase criminals through back alleys and wade through blood at crime scenes. Of course, all writers draw upon their personal experiences in describing day-to-day life and human relationships, but I tend to keep my own experiences largely separate from my stories.

And how do you pick the settings for your books?
JD: Rule one: write about settings you’re familiar with. If I’m setting a book outside of New York (where I lived for twenty years) or Northern Virginia or California (where I live now), I’ll travel there and spend some weeks researching. I try to add some local colour and description, but also try not to go overboard—too much description can detract from the story.

Why do you think so many lawyers and doctors become novelists?
JD: The easy answer is that writing novels is a lot more fun than practising law. But there is an analytical component—a left-brained component—to writing crime fiction that I think is an element of such professions as law, and medicine as well. For me a thriller is a very carefully structured story. I spend eight months outlining and researching the novel before I begin to write a single word. The skills I use to do that are the same I used when researching and structuring a legal document or case.

What is the best advice about writing, and who gave it?
JD: Mickey Spillane: “People don't read books to get to the middle. They read to get to the end.”

—Laura

An interview with Jeffery Deaver (Part 1)

Our British Select Editions office also presented The Sleeping Doll to their audience recently and we'd like to share with you an interview with best-selling author Jeffery Deaver (right) they recently printed.

Did you always want to become a writer?
Jeffery Deaver: Yes. I wrote my first "book" at age eleven.

How did your first writing get into print?
JD: I was a reporter for the school newspaper and editor of my high-school literary magazine.

How do you find fresh story ideas?
JD: I'm often asked where the ideas for my books come from. To answer that I have to describe what I think is my responsibility as a thriller writer: to give my readers the most exciting roller-coaster ride of a suspense story I can possibly think of. This means that, rather than looking through newspapers or magazines for inspiration, I spend much of my time during the early stages sitting in a dark room and trying to think up a story line that features strong (though possibly flawed) heroes, sick and twisted bad guys, deadlines every few chapters, a short time frame for the entire story (eight to forty-eight hours or so), lots of surprising plot twists and turns and plenty of cliffhangers.

Does writing come easily to you?
JD: I wouldn't say it comes easily to me but I thoroughly enjoy doing it so I'm lucky in that sense. I revise a great deal. My publisher doesn't even get a peek at my manuscript until I've revised it at least twenty or thirty times (and I mean major revisions).

Where do you like to write?
JD: I write pretty much anywhere—on planes, in hotel rooms, anywhere in my house. (My office sometimes gets so cluttered I end up working in the kitchen. When the kitchen goes, it's up to my bedroom. And so on. I wish I had a bigger house.) I like the writing area to be silent, or with jazz or classical accompaniment occasionally, and either windowless or shaded. When it comes time to write the book itself I'll shut the lights out, picture the scene I'm about to write, then close my eyes and go at it.

Are there any books about writing you would recommend? Did you take writing classes?
JD: I never took classes. There aren't any books that I would recommend. The best way to learn about writing is to study the work of writers you admire.

Do you ever have "writer's block"?
JD: I've often said that there's no such thing as writer's block; the problem is "idea block." If you have a craftsman's command of the language and basic writing techniques you'll be able to write--as long as you know what you want to say. This is not to belittle the affliction, of course, because figuring out what you want to communicate can be one hell of a daunting task. When I find myself frozen it's usually because I'm trying to shoehorn an idea into a passage or story where it has no place. I ask myself: What am I trying to say? If I can't answer that, or if the answer doesn't enhance the work, I back off and try another approach. Trying to write books in a genre or style you're not familiar with is the best way to find the Big Block looming.

More of the Deaver interview tomorrow...

—Laura

An online room of one's own

We Select Editions editors are in the happy position of being able to surf the Web at work as a legitimate part of our jobs. We use the Web to stay up-to-date on current books and bestseller lists, to access book reviews, and especially to research author information for our AfterWords features following each story. So I’ve seen a lot of Web sites in the years I’ve been at SE. But I have to say that Julie Garwood’s site is one of the best—if not the best—I’ve ever seen. (See our full list of SE author Web sites in the column to the right of this.)

The home page greets the viewer with a warmly realistic drawing of a writer’s desk in a wood-paneled study. The viewer sees the scene from the writer’s perspective, as you would if you were sitting at the desk getting ready to work. Just above the desk, at eye level, is a huge casement-style window, topped with a fanlight, looking out on a winding garden path surrounded by trees and flowering shrubs. If you listen closely, you can hear the sounds of birds chirping, along with the distant hum of the world outside . . . put your cursor on the handle, click, and the window opens outward. The sounds become nearer, giving the writer a soothing auditory background for lengthy periods of concentration—or daydreaming.

To either side of the desk are bookcases filled with lovingly worn volumes just waiting to be read. There are family photos on the desk; a telephone; a pen and paper; a typewriter (not a computer!); a lamp, the inviting yellow glow of which goes on and off with a click of the cursor; and a center desk drawer with a secret object tucked inside (click the knob to open the drawer and find out what it is). There’s even an old-fashioned radio on the bookshelf: click the dial, and lilting classical music comes through the speaker. You can even change the station—click again, and you’ll get smooth jazz or something else that suits your fancy.

I want to dive into this picture and never leave!

—Barbara

A wonderful book fair for the public

For all of you who love books and authors, you should know about The National Book Festival held on the Mall in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, September 29, 2007. As in past years you'll find plenty of Select Editions authors appearing at the Festival, ready to meet their fans and sign books. Look for David Baldacci, Barbara Taylor Bradford, Lisa Scottoline, Carolyn Hart, and Brian Haig, among others. If you do end up attending the Festival, drop us a line and let us know how you liked it and who you met.

—Laura

Are America's reading habits YOUR reading habits?

In case you missed it, an AP-Ipsos poll concerning the reading habits of adults made the news in late August. Some highlights:
1. 75% said they had read a book during the last year. The average number of books read were 7 per person per year.
2. The Bible and religious books were number one followed by fiction, history, biographies and romance.
3. 30% of the women polled read romance novels and 10% of the men.
4. More women than men read; married men read more than single men.
5. Midwesterners, older folks, well educated folks, liberals and people who dislike both Bush and Congress read the most.

—Laura

Select Editions around the world

Right as we're launching this blog in the United States, 24 editors from 17 different editions around the world are getting together to compare notes and plan for the future. The meeting is in Prague, and the editors are discussing everything from how they choose books to how they do their translations and design their jackets.

One of the biggest items on the agenda, not surprisingly, is communicating with readers via the internet. And of course, the number one form for this communication is blogging. Sweden was one of the first Select Editions offices to launch their blog. Check it out (although it might help if you know how to read Swedish).

—Jim