Conversation with Other Writers Podcast: Solveig Eggerz on Seal Woman

Just posted, a new podcast of an interview with my amiga, the amazing writer Solveig Eggerz, about her poetic novel, Seal Woman-- and Iceland, writing, publishing, facebook, and more.

Listen in on podomatic or, listen in on iTunes.

Here's the official description:

As part of the new series of occasional conversations with other writers, C.M. Mayo talks with Solveig Eggerz, author of the fiercely poetic novel Seal Woman. Inspired by the Icelandic fairytale of the seal woman and the true story of some 300 German war widows brought to Iceland to marry and work on the remote farms, Seal Woman has been widely praised and translated into both Hebrew and Icelandic. The conversation ranges from the author's unusual background (from Iceland to England to Germany to Alexandria, Virginia), Iceland's book culture, fairytales, advice for writers, and more. Visit Solveig Eggerz at www.solveigeggerz.com

P.S. Read Solveig Eggerz's guest-blog, 5 works of historical fiction.

(Next winter I'll be starting up the Marfa Mondays series and some of those podcasts will be cross-listed with "Conversations with Other Writers.")

Guest-blogger Claudia Long: 5 Delicious Links on the Food of Baroque Mexico

Growing up in the United States, I never once, that I can recall, heard of Sor Juana. But once in Mexico—- I arrived some 25 years ago-- I found her to be ubiquitious, literally. She's on the 200 peso bill right now. You cannot visit a bookstore in Mexico without finding something by or about her. Back before Mexico was Mexico, that is, when it was still a Spanish colony, Sor Juana, which means "Sister Juana," was a nun and a literary prodigy taken under wing by the vicereine, and given a provocatively promininent place in court. One might imagine how this went over with the grimly-bearded Church fathers who were, now and again, busying themselves with burning people at the stake. Once the vicereine returned to Spain, things did not go swimmingly for Sor Juana. Hers was one of the great intellectual tragedies not only of Mexico but, one could argue, of humanity.

Josefina's Sin, by Claudia H. Long, is a story of love, poetry and the Inquisition. A sheltered land-owner's wife goes to the vice-royal court in colonial Mexico, in 1687, and meets the famous poet, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz. Sor Juana teaches Josefina about the terrors and joys of writing, loving, and living life to the fullest, under the cruel and watchful eye of the Holy Office.

Claudia grew up in Mexico City, and lives in California. Her book has received critical acclaim and can be bought at bookstores, and the usual on-line sources, including Amazon.

As an historical novelist myself (The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, set in the 19th century), I can well imagine some of the struggles Claudia must have faced in getting the details just right. And because, in Mexico anyway, Sor Juana is such a major figure, anything inauthentic, ayyyy ... No doubt every historical novelist loses sleep over this (I know I did).

Over to you, Claudia.
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5 Delicious Links on the Food of Baroque Mexico
By Claudia Long

When I was writing Josefina's Sin, which takes place in Mexico from 1687 to 1690, I thought feeding one's literary characters would be a simple task, but that's far from the case! Did you know that rice did not originate in Mexico? It was brought during colonial times. Sometimes, what seems so "typically" Mexican is really an import.

Josefina goes on a picnic with the ladies from the court. A tree with large, dark green, glossy leaves and hanging green fruit provided shade. Ah, a mango tree, I thought. Not so fast, said the editor at Simon & Schuster. Mangoes weren't introduced into Mexico until 1775! My mistake—- it was a papaya tree!

It's not hard to find out what food was available to the indigenous people of Mexico before the European colonization:
www.foodtimeline.org/foodmaya.html

And it's not hard to figure out which foods were ultimately imported to Mexico:
www.backyardnature.net/m/food/foodhist.htm

But it's really a question of "When?" What did they have? And what could they have had? If the first mention of mangoes was in 1775, they could well have had them in 1750, but there wouldn't be a mature tree sitting conveniently near my ladies in 1687!

Once I had the ingredients, I had to prepare them. Some of our favorite Mexican foods are easy to make, and were likely done the same way.

Take "agua de jamaica," or hibiscus tea. Jamaica flowers originated in Africa, and came to Mexico during the colonial era. The refreshing tea became popular for its great taste and medicinal value.

Here's a fun, timeless recipe for jamaica water.

One ingredient we know with certainty was native to Mexico: Chocolate—- amazing, wonderful, and powerful.

In 1519, when the first Spanish conquistadors entered the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, where today Mexico City stands, they found chocolate. Today, we may sweeten it with sugar (sugar cane came later. . .) but we enjoy it as much as Josefina did.

And now, back to our papaya. Papaya is native from Southern Mexico through the Andes of South America. We love it cut up, sprinkled with lime. But some things have definitely changed since Josefina's day. Enjoy this entertaining suggestion for preparation of a papaya for modern times:
www.mexconnect.com/articles/1055-magnificent-mexican-papaya

"First, you need to soak the outside of the papaya for 20 minutes in water with "microdine" iodine drops to kills any latent bacteria." I know Josefina never did that!

--Claudia Long

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Further surfing:

> Claudia Long's Shelf Awareness profile

>Claudia Long's page at Simon & Schuster, which includes an informative brief video.

>Octavio Paz's book, Sor Juana Or, The Traps of Faith, translated by Margaret Sayers Peden.

>Sor Juana's Poems, Protest and a Dream, selected and translated by Margaret Sayers Peden, introduced by Ilan Stavans.

>Sor Juana's The Answer / La respuesta, translated by Electa Arenal and Amanda Powell

>Guest-blog post here at Madam Mayo by Russell M. Cluff to celebrate his musical CD of Sor Juana's poetry.

---> For the complete archive of Madam Mayo guest-blogs, click here.
Recent guest-bloggers include midwife and memoirist Patricia Harman; traveling (to some strange places) reporter Gerry Hadden; and spiritual reporter Mare Cromwell.

The Arc of Writerly Action

Last Saturday I gave a talk on writing historical fiction at the annual American Independent Writers Association, held this year at the Writer's Center in Bethesda, MD, just outside Washington DC. It was great fun-- and an honor-- to sit on a panel with such fine writers as David Taylor (moderator), Barbara Esstman, author of the novel The Other Anna, and Natalie Wexler, author of A More Obedient Wife. My own point of reference was my novel based on the true story, The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, which came out in paperback last spring from Unbridled Books, as well as some of my other books, both fiction and nonfiction.

I began by introducing what I call "the arc of writerly action." Imagine the following arrayed as a half circle:

1. Writing the beginning of first draft
2. Writing the middle of first draft
3. Writing to the end of the first draft
4. Inviting feedback
5. Revising (looping around 4 and 5 multiple times)
6. Selling (submitting to agents, publishers)
7. Moving through the process of production, including further revisions and copyediting
8. Marketing (readings, lectures, booksignings, book festivals, book clubs, interviews, blogging, etc)
9. Interacting with readers
10. Integrating the resulting changes into one's personal and professional life

At each stage the writer risks bogging down. Some, dreaming for years of their novel, never get the traction to even start, while others might race through the first several stages, then, after multiple rejections from agents, stop. Some manage to publish their book but, wincing from a first sharp review, dive deep into hiding.

The two main reasons writers get stuck, it seems to me, are first, they just don't care that much; and/or second, anxiety about rejection / criticism overwhelms their ability to take action. So for many writers, the middle of the first draft, just where things start getting tricky, is the most likely place to falter. Others stop dead at the first critical reactions to their manuscript. "I'm no good," I don't have talent," "this is a crazy waste of time," and so on-- I've heard so many writers muttering this sort of thing to themselves, and it is precisely what keeps them stuck in the muck.

The emotional exhaustion-- or shall I say anxiety fest/ despair?-- of accumulating agents' and editors' rejections is another cause for freeze-up. I would venture that there are more novels abandoned in drawers and boxes than are ever published.

Point 7 in the arc, moving through the production process, is especially challenging for writers aiming to self-publish. There are a thousand and eleven choices (which printer? print on demand? Smashwords, iUniverse, Lulu? Ebook, Kindle, Nook, and/ or PDF? Encypted PDF? What price? What type of cover, how to do the design it? How to distribute? Hire a fulfillment company? Rent space in a warehouse? Taxes? Do I need to file a "doing business as"? What are ISBNs? Should I get a barcode? etc)-- and so, a thousand opportunities to procrastinate.

Point 8, the marketing phase, can tangle down even the most intrepid writers. Especially women, so "nice girl" careful to not be "self promoters," and/ or -- both sexes fall prey to this one-- assuming the airy attitude, "I am the artist, I do not dirty my hands in the commercial world." As I always say, book promotion is not self-promotion; book promotion is book promotion, and when you have a real publisher, that publisher has employees and they are making their living, and not a very good one, probably, in working for your book and it is not, in any way, helpful to any of them for you to play tortoise. Also, even though they work for your book, no one knows nor cares about your book as much you do, so it behooves you to get out there and do something for it. (Or, pray tell, why did you bother to write it?) Go open open a donut shop and see if you can sell even one of the hot-out-of-the-oven chocolatissimo yummies, by keeping them, lid down, in the closet. Oh, but anxiety, anxiety, anxiety... it never leaves us poor human beings...

Point 9, interacting with readers: here I am learning. I try to keep up with e-mail but I admit, I have fallen behind. I'm working on it...

Finally, point 10, integrating the changes resulting from publishing the book into one's personal and professional life: for some, this is a minor thing. But for others, it's more daunting than Mt Everest. I think it's like anything else-- graduating from college, getting married, buying a house, getting a job, having a baby, taking a trip, and so on... whether in a small way or a large way, publishing your book will change you-- how you see yourself, how others see you, and your responsibilities and opportunities. And this takes a little or a lot of adjustment-- should that come as any surprise? Alas, for some writers, it does. But that's life, yes? All about learning.

Of course, we all talked about research. I'll leave that subject for another blog post.

Here's the handout I provided at the event:

WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION
C.M. MAYO
www.cmmayo.com--> More resources on the “workshop” page

Panel on Writing Historical Fiction
American Independent Writers Association Conference
The Writer's Center, Bethesda, MD, June 11, 2011
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A 3 Pronged Process (kind of sort of... prongs are webbed...)

1. Mastering the Techniques of Fiction

Boorstin, Jon, Making Movies Work:Thinking Like a Filmmaker
Gardner, John The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers
*McKee, Robert, Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting
*Prose, Francine, Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them
Scarry, Elaine, Dreaming by the Book
Wood, James, How Fiction Works


2. Mastering the Management of Your Time and Creative Energies

*Baum, Kenneth, The Mental Edge: Maximize Your Sports Potential with the Mind-Body Connection
Cameron, Julia, The Artist's Way
Flack, Audrey, Art & Soul: Notes on Creating
Lamott, Anne, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
Leonard, George, Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment
Maisel, Eric, PhD., Fearless Creating: A Step-by-Step Guide to Starting and Completing Your Work of Art
*Pressfield, Steven, The War of Art: Winning the Creative Battle
See, Carolyn, Making a Literary Life


3. Seeing, Knowing, and Telling the Truth

Butler, Robert Olen, From Where You Dream: The Process of Writing Fiction
*Ricco, Gabriele Lusser, Writing the Natural Way: Using Right-Brain Techniques to Release Your Expressive Powers
*Smith, Pamela Jaye, Inner Drives: How to Write & Create Characters Using the Eight Classic Centers of Motivation
Simon, Mark, Expressions: A Visual Reference for Artists


P.S. Free ebook, C.M. Mayo on Creative Writing: The Best from the Blog, when you sign up for the Dancing Chiva Literary Arts Club (also free).
More anon.

2011 American Independent Writers Conference

I'll be participating on a panel about historical fiction in the Washington Writer’s Conference, sponsored by the American Independent Writers Aasociation (AIW) and The Writer’s Center, at the Writer’s Center, 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, MD 20815
Saturday, June 11, 2011 from 9 a.m. to: 6:30 p.m.

Morning Sessions:

Session I: Literary Agents Roundtable - covering both the nonfiction and fiction market

Session II: Marketing Your Work - How-to lessons from leading publicists

Session III: Mysteries and Thrillers - Writing and publishing tips from published pros

Catered Luncheon with Address by John Ross, Executive Editor of American Heritage Magazine, former senior editor of Smithsonian, and bestselling non-fiction author of War on the Run.


Afternoon Sessions:

Session IV: Writing for Movies and TV – crafting and selling a screenplay

Session V: Connecting with a live audience – be a great live reader of your own work

Session VI: Historical Narrative –seasoned writers show to bring the past alive

Networking wine reception – meet, chat, and drink with other writers

First 50 attendees to register for conference may sign up for a ten-minute meeting with a literary agent.

For more information about pricing and how to register, visit www.amerindywriters.org/ or www.writer.org

More anon.