Read 'Til You Drop

My monthly post is up at the First Book blog - this one is about family and Thanksgiving and my 18-month-old nephew and reading and the magic of books:

http://blog.firstbook.org/2007/12/12/appreciating-the-magic-of-books/

Mindy, pleased with a full year of First Book posts

As many of you know, I donate 10% of proceeds from all sales of GIRL'S GUIDE and SORCERY to First Book, a charitable organization with the goal of getting underprivileged kids their first new books to own.  First Book is run by a dynamic group of people, and the organization is regularly listed as one of the most efficient charities in the country, with less than 2% of its income going to operating costs.

First Book has set up a Cafe Press store, with some great logo merchandise (including t-shirts, baby onesies, and sweatshirts with the READ logo.)  They'd make great presents for the readers on your list! 

http://www.cafepress.com/first_book

In addition, First Book's long-time publishing partner, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, has offered First Book a challenge:  they will match every dollar contributed to First Book during the holiday season with one brand new book.  That means that every donation to First Book is effectively doubled, until the end of the year. 

If you're looking for an end-of-year charity, I'd encourage you to consider First Book.  You can learn more about them and make donations at:

http://www.firstbook.org

Mindy, spreading the holiday cheer!

Well, I've been a bit lax about posting here.  (A bit?  I hear your shrieks of outrage.  It's writer's license, I tell you!)  I've made a couple of postings elsewhere, though...

SF Novelists:  This morning, I posted on SF Novelists, writing about First Book, and why I donate to that fine organization:  http://www.sfnovelists.com/2007/10/25/doing-well-by-doing-good/

First Book:  And yesterday, I posted on the First Book blog itself, writing about time management (or lack thereof):  http://blog.firstbook.org/2007/10/24/time-management-or-lack-thereof/

And while I didn't actually make the posting, I was mentioned in a fun little Halloween promotion over on e-reads, the e-book site run by my agent, Richard Curtis:  http://www.e-reads.com/  (I bet you never thought about who did novelizations for some of your favorite movies, huh?)

Mindy, posting links when actual new content is scarce :-)

Writing Marathon progresseth well!  I have completed my read-through of all prior writing on MAGIC AND THE MODERN GIRL, and I have about 15,000 words left to write.  Piece of cake!

Which brings me to the point:  Yesterday morning, my sister-in-law stopped by, bearing baked goods.  After reading the first chapter of SORCERY AND THE SINGLE GIRL (in a bookstore near you!  September 25!), she decided that she absolutely, positively *needed* to create Melissa White's confection, Almond Lust.  And then, for good measure, she decided to create an "adult" version with dark chocolate - Lust After Dark.  And *then* because she's a more amazing baker than I'll ever be, she decided to bake both versions, drizzle them in chocolate, and stop by to sustain me in my writing labors.  The bars look like the product of a professional kitchen, and they taste AMAZING.  I get one as a reward for each chapter I finish in its entirety :-)

So - question for the groupmind:  Would you participate in a "bake sale" project for a Good Cause (e.g., First Book)?  If I listed the names of the treats from Melissa White's bakery, Cake Walk, would you submit recipes that you have (or that you develop specifically for the cause)?  Would you consider buying a copy of a recipe book, if it were reasonably priced from a source like lulu.com (assuming that there were no copyright disasters lurking in the corner)?  Any other thoughts about this sort of thing? 

Mindy, encouraging her friends' list to circulate this post, to gauge a wider level of interest...

I've made my monthly guest posting over on the First Book Blog:

http://blog.firstbook.org/

Feel free to drop by - browse what I have to say, along with so many others involved with First Book's great projects!

Mindy, spreading the First Book love

I know that you kind-hearted souls will forgive me for my laxity in posting - I've been on the road with the day-job, and life has been more than the usual whirlwind (a condition that, alas, will likely last through the end of this month!)  I had a swell time at BEA, though, and wanted to pass on a few of my impressions.

The Javits Center was huge and hot - Friday was something of an endurance test for all involved.  The floor seemed even more crowded than DC was last year.  While I found a half dozen ARCs that I couldn't live without, far fewer publishers seemed to have stacks and stacks of books for the taking.  Most publishers seemed to be doing what Harlequin does - having structured signing times for key authors, where you wait in line to get the book that you want.  I totally understand that change - it only makes fiscal sense to hand out free books to people who have *some* likelihood of buying the things en masse - but it was a disappointment all the same.  (Even more disappointing for the ever-supportive accompanying spouse, but he rallied like the good man that he is.)

I had a great time with First Book, who was present at the Expo as well.  First Book is starting a new campaign - What Book Got You Hooked.  You can check it out at www.firstbook.org - they are collecting the names of the books that first got readers reading.  I don't remember the earliest books that entranced me, but I fell in love with storytelling, and with the possibilities of narrators who don't understand everything that's going on around them with E.L. Konigsberg's JENNIFER, HECATE, MACBETH, WILLIAM MCKINLEY, and ME, ELIZABETH.  Stop by First Book and tell them what book got you hooked!

My signing was a grand success - we gave away all the ARCs of SORCERY AND THE SINGLE GIRL within half an hour of the signing's start.  There were a few people that I recognized from last year, plus a number of people who were new to me.  I was thrilled to have a line of at least two or three people the entire duration of the signing.

While at the Harlequin booth, I conducted a podcast.  I'm not sure when it will be posted, but I'll let you know when it is.

Oh - and as I was leaving the convention floor, I ran into Justine Larbalestier (the MAGIC OR MADNESS series) and Scott Westerfeld (PEEPS, and the UGLIES series).  I got to squee like a fangirl, which was kindly received by those incredibly YA authors.

And that's about all of my report from the floor!

Mindy, back to day-job scurrying for a bit...

Here's my monthly post at the First Book Blog:

http://blog.firstbook.org/2007/05/09/tried-and-true-a-writing-regimen/

It's about how I've tried to modify my writing regimen as my jobs have changed.  I find it particularly fitting that this post made it "live" on a day when I've taken a train, drafted half a chapter, edited said chapter, and am planning on drafting another chapter on my return train ride tomorrow...

Mindy, juggling like mad

As many of you know, I have a monthly guest-blogging gig with First Book, a great organization that gets kids from low-income homes their very first books to own.  My posting for this month is about my life in libraries, in honor of National Library Week.

Here it is:  http://blog.firstbook.org/2007/04/18/a-lifetime-in-libraries/

Enjoy!  (And if you haven't had a chance to learn about First Book in the past, take a couple of minutes to browse around their site - they do great things!)

Mindy, juggling writing, reading, and libraries this week...

I have been invited to be a guest blogger on the First Book blog.  (Remember them?  A nationwide non profit, with the goal of getting kids their very own first books to read and own forever?  First Book has been very active in the Gulf Area, following the hurricanes, and in under-resourced areas throughout the States.  I'm donating 10% of my profits from GIRL'S GUIDE to them.)

I'll be posting on the second Wednesday of every month.  And the first posting is today:

http://blog.firstbook.org/2007/03/14/a-love-affair-with-books/

The entry is called "A Love Affair with Books" and it's about books, love, and my first date with Mark.

Mindy

First Book has a wonderful blog, updating its stakeholders on new developments at the charity.  Today, First Book interviews yours truly.  I had fun answering their questions, especially because they went off in the nostalgic direction of favorite childhood reads.  Take a peek at my answers!

Mindy, more and more impressed with First Book as an organization

As I developed my marketing plan for GIRL'S GUIDE TO WITCHCRAFT, I joked about sending advance copies to ultra-conservative religious leaders, so that one or more of them could ban the book, gaining me tons of notoriety, and encouraging free-thinking people everywhere to buy a copy.

Ahem.  That was a *joke* everyone.

A joke that has sort of, kinda come true.

I am donating 10% of my income from GIRL'S GUIDE to First Book, an international non-profit organization with the single mission of getting children their first books to read and to own.  First Book is a fantastic group, and they have been a pleasure to deal with every single step of the way.  They know their business; they have shown me support, and their projects work.

As one step of my working with FIRST BOOK, I prepared (with the ample assistance of my Chief Technical Officer, husband Mark), a "tile", a small graphic design advertising GIRL'S GUIDE, which would appear at www.theliteracysite.org when people clicked to donate funds through that site.  (The Literacy Site, like The Hunger Site, The Breast Cancer Site, and others, allows interested donors to click on a website, and funds are donated by third parties to charities.  Clickers pay nothing, but their clicks are counted for advertisers.)  When people clicked at The Literacy Site, they saw a number of tiles, including the one for GIRL'S GUIDE.

Until someone complained.

It seems that the complainer(s?) believed that GIRL'S GUIDE TO WITCHCRAFT was recruiting small children (um, girls), to become witches.  And obviously, that would just be wrong, wrong, wrong.

And so, The Literacy Site removed the tile.

Now, I *don't* fault The Literacy Site.  They need to generate clicks, or they can't raise funds for fantastic charities.  They don't have the staff to be in the center of a "witchcraft" firestorm.

And I *truly* don't fault First Book, which informed me of the problem and proposed a number of solutions, which involve using other tools to reach an even broader audience, to tell them about our partnership.

But I am truly, deeply saddened by the small-mindedness of a relative handful of people in this country, people who set an agenda and change the world for the worst for everyone around them.

Please, don't respond to this post by acting/posting/speaking out against The Literacy Site or First Book.  They are victims here, and I honestly, passionately believe that they should not have acted otherwise, under the circumstances.  Nevertheless, I think that the story should be told - and if you have a chance to speak out against the Little Minds, do so.  Early.  And often.

Mindy, shaking her head

You know, some weeks are crazier than others.  And this has been one of the crazy ones.  (Insert long boring story about office and day job and midnight baseball game that went to 14 innings, even if I left at the end of 12...)

But there are a ton of links piling up in my inbox, so - as Neil Gaiman says - it's time to close some tabs...

Meme Therapy:  If you have never visited Meme Therapy, you should stop by on a regular basis.  The folks who run the site come up with interesting and insightful questions that they ask of various speculative fiction authors.  The answers present a survey of thinking on the Topic O' The Week.  I was asked the question:  Out of the ethical dilemmas that Science Fiction has explored in the past which ones have been your favourite(s)? Are they still relevant in the same way today?  My answer is posted here:  http://memetherapy.net/26/science-fictions-ethical-dillemas-part-one/

Biography:  A couple of people have written, noting that I don't tell anything about myself on my website.  I've taken care of that, um, oversight here:  http://www.mindyklasky.com/biography.html

First Book:  First Book is an international nonprofit that works to get children their first books to read and own.  They do great work, most recentlyl with children who survived Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  I am donating 10% of my profits from GIRL'S GUIDE to First Book.  They have a Shop for Support page, and GIRL'S GUIDE is listed there, along with the products of several other First Book supporters:  http://www.firstbook.org/site/c.lwKYJ8NVJvF/b.933317/k.B3E7/Shop_For_Support.htm
Even if you aren't able to make a donation, swing by the site, to see the great work that First Book does.

The Literacy Site:  First Book runs the Literacy Site, a donation site where you can donate money simply by clicking on an Internet link.  (Donors such as myself donate money to First Book based on the number of clicks they receive.)  Bookmark this page - http://www.theliteracysite.com - and stop by once a day!  (And to feel really good about yourself, click on the other sites, too, to support eliminating world hunger, advancing breast cancer research, etc.)

Pandemonium Books:  Pandemonium Books is an independent bookstore in the Boston area, specializing in SF, fantasy, and horror.  Pandemonium recently moved to new quarters, and they are doing incredibly creative programming in their space.  They have regular gaming nights, craft nights, movie nights....  I have to admit that I am not now (nor have I ever been :-) ) a gamer; however, I am truly impressed with the effort Pandemonium has put into creating an exciting, user-driven space.  Check out Pandemonium's LiveJournal blog - </a></strong></a> to find out more about what they're doing.  Also, Misty Pendragon (the handle for one of the Pandemonium folks) has started a paranormal romance group on Yahoo.  Here's her post about the group - it sounds fascinating!  http://community.livejournal.com/pandemonium_bks/44736.html

OK.  That should do it for a bit...

Mindy, brushing her hands clean of linkage dirt