Each morning when I'm leaving for the cafe to work (I'm currently alternating between two), I do a quick rundown of the stuff I need. Laptop, check. Manuscript (currently using hard copy for revisions, and that sucker is heavy to carry), check. Notebook, check. Phone, wallet, keys, umbrella, power cord. I think that's it. I frequently forget one of these things. Usually it's the wallet or the power cord, which was not a big deal when the cafe was so close to my house -- plus they knew me and would let me pay for my coffee the next day. Now I have to be more organized. I almost left without my wallet this morning, but remembered at the door (it was on the floor where *somebody* had been playing with it, picking at its felt flower), and felt all smug. Ha.
So what's missing, now that I'm here? A tiny thing. Two tiny things: the little rubber covers of my ear buds! *Somebody* has newly started to pick them off while pursuing her favorite hobby of emptying my purse out item by item, so I had to put them out of her reach so she didn't, you know, eat them. And they remain out of reach. Joke's on me.
What I've learned from this is that you can still wear ear buds without the covers, but they don't block out ambient noise anymore. And that's kind of the whole point. So drat and blast.
Anyway. This next part here is probably obnoxious, but I can't help myself. In response to my last post (which was not, I swear, a desperate plea for praise!), young reader Katherine sent me a wonderful email, and I am not going to get in the habit of preening over praise emails here, but I can't help it this time. Here it is:
Hi Laini!!!
I was reading your blog and heard you needed encouragement!!! (Prepare yourself, for I shall be ranting about how much I love your characters..)
I'm 14. I read a LLOOOOOTT of books, on average, 2 books a week. And I can say with complete certainty that your books are my favorite and you are MOST DEFINITELY my favorite author. None of the others even come CLOSE.
I LOOOOOVE YOUR CHARACTERS!!!!! Specially Magpie :D and I was actually telling my friend the other day how cute Hirik and Whisper were as a couple!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D (*fangirl squeal*)
And it's not just your characters I love. The way you write it??? So much beautiful detail, the perfect combination of adventure, love, magic, sadness/heartbreak, anger, fantasy, everything!!! I love it all and you balance it all perfectly.
And also, your ideas are so original. SHEER GENIUS. The tapestry, the Djinns, and the one I thought was the coolest? Silksingers. I never would ever have thought of that and I don't know anyone who could. Spinning magic carpets with their voices!!! I'm a singer, so I probably got more excited about it than most would, but STILL....wow. Just wow.
On a completely unrelated note, you're so funny as a person :D not funny as in, laughing at you but as in your jokes are HILARIOUS :D
And I remember reading one of your old short stories about a ghost girl who put beetles in matchboxes with jewels and pretended they were robbing banks...... that made me laugh so hard and I loved it so much!!!
Anyways, I just wanted to say you are my idol and don't feel down. And just know that your characters are pure genius and you should never think otherwise.
Love,
Kat
Oh man, thanks Kat. That email made my entire head smile. You should have seen it. My big smiling head :-) Thank you. I love getting emails from readers. In the three years since my first book was published, the amazement has not diminished one bit that there are people out there with my books in their hands and what's more they like them. This is the coolest thing ever, and every day I am grateful I went for it, this dream, that has made my life so rich and fun.
Also, I love Kat's note because it affirms for me that my books do what I hope they do (for some readers, at least), and that they are the kind of books I want to write -- the kind *I* want to read, the kind I want to live in.
So, HUGE THANK YOU to Katherine. Yay!!!
*grin grin grin* *whole head still smiling*
Oh. And this is SO COOL. I will be reminding you in the upcoming days and weeks. The awesome divas at Readergirlz are featuring Lips Touch as their October title!!!! I don't know any online book community that can match Readergirlz for awesome, and I am thrilled to be part of it. There will be a live chat on October 20, about which I will remind you, but in the meantime they will post cool stuff, and ... stuff. Stuff is going to happen. Stay tuned!
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9 comments:
I agree.
;)
Great letter. And all true :)
Still thinking about that salted chocolate chip cookie from Sunday. I vote for that cafe. And what a beautiful letter that girl wrote- and many, many people would agree with her!
Hurrah for yays. :)
Glad that you'll be joining us at readergirlz!
Kat's letter is precious. What great support!
Can't wait to see you at rgz! xox
My inner 14 year-old agrees wholeheartedly with Kat! (As does my outer 28 year-old, haha.)
She makes a good point, though - cheerleading isn't solely reserved for the beta readers! Sometimes, a well-timed fan letter can turn everything around.
And congrats on being featured at Readergirlz!
Whata great letter! I agree with every word of it, and I'm 89 not 14! My son (a senior citizen also) read "Lips Touch" and since then has been giving it as a gift from him and Kristin to all the young people they have a special interest in.
That is one amazing fan-letter. Yay! Maybe you could come to my writing café sometime soon. They don't charge extra for the soy and they have excellent cinnamon buns.
My 30-year-old self agrees wholeheartedly with your 14-year-old fan! :)
(Spoiler Alert ahead to anyone who hasn't read Lips Touch!!!!)
I have to add, though, that I was thinking about it lately, and I have come to the conclusion that my absolutely favorite Laini-made idea in a story ever is in "Spicy Little Curses Such As These" -it is Anamique's singing in Hell- to her baby and to the other souls. Oh my gosh. As a music lover and singer, it nearly made me weep- in fact, just thinking about it right now makes me a little teary. SO powerful, so beautiful. Keep it up, Laini!! :) :)
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