Here kitty . . .

So I just started reading "Bad Kitty" by Michele Jaffe (sadly, I am behind on this bandwagon; the sequel to "Bad Kitty" was just released. But in my defense, studying English requires A LOT of reading. And heavy reading, like Nietzsche and Thackeray and Dickens. And while, yes, I love Nietzsche and Thackeray and Dickens--well, maybe not Nietzsche, but the others for sure--I also have a deep addiction to chick lit and teen novels. But because during the school months I am reading so much Nietzsche/Thackeray/Dickens, I don't have the brain power to read ANYthing else, not even chick lit or teen novels. So I am just now catching up on all the wonderful stuff I've been missing since last summer). And it is really good. I'm actually kind of glad that I'm just starting it now because this way, I can start reading "Kitty Kitty" (the sequel) as soon as I'm done with the first one, instead of having to wait a whole year or whatever for it to come out.

I tell my friends and family that I enjoy reading these kinds of books because I like to know what else is "out there," since I write those kinds of books (I also write fancy historical fiction, which I love just as much as chick lit/teen novels, but in a completely different way). But I only say that because I feel kind of embarrassed for loving them with the deep abiding passion that I feel. I'm a student of literature; I'm supposed to love books like "Vanity Fair" or "Middlemarch," not books called "Bad Kitty."

Again, I do love "Vanity Fair" and "Middlemarch" (which was totally the soap opera in print of its day). But I just can't stop reading books like "Bad Kitty" or the Princess Diaries or "Conversations with the Fat Girl" (see my sidebar for more on this delectable morsel). I love them!!!

My father recently expressed concern that by reading so many teen novels, I run the risk of Stifling My Voice. By this he means that I'll start to sound like Michele Jaffe or Meg Cabot or Liza Palmer when I'm writing instead of like me.

But I completely disregard this advice, because I LOVE CHICK LIT (my creative writing prof would probably have a coronary and an aneuyerism at the same time if he read that last sentence).

So, literary pretensions and the Stifling of My Voice be damned. I love "Bad Kitty" and I'm not ashamed! (Actually I'm not really concerned with Stifling My Voice. I've been writing for as long as I can remember, and while that may have been an issue back in my earlier writing years, my Voice is pretty solidified. There's really no danger of it being lost or stifled or whatever).

Anyway, I am loving this book. I too, have a cousin who is constantly trying to show me up and make me look like a giant moron, so I can definitely relate to Jasmine (who is the main character of "Bad Kitty." I also like Jasmine because the Disney princess Jasmine was always my favorite. I loved her black hair and I desperately wanted a pet tiger just like Rajah when I was little. So the name Jasmine has a lot of positive associations for me). Jasmine's friends are hilarious, and even though I never hung out in bars in Vegas when I was seventeen, I enjoy a good--aka ridiculous--pickup line as much as the next girl. And I may have to start making "That is so Mastercard" a part of my regular, daily conversation (sorry, I can't divulge the hilarity of this; you'll just have to read the book. Don't worry, it won't be a hardship for you).

I do, however, have to confess I'm a little jealous of Michele Jaffe, because her book is so good and so funny and is, of course, published. I think my book is also good and funny, but I'm also, of course, biased, and when I read a book that is as well-done as "Bad Kitty," I find myself thinking, "Who is ever going to want to publish my books when someone like Michele Jaffe is already out there, doing it so well?"

These are the kind of moments that make the unpublished life pretty dark.

But this week a friend of mine told me something very inspiring. You might have heard it before, but she said "Don't doubt in the dark what you believed in the light." This is an extremely fantastic quote, and I've been repeating it to myself all week (it's been a pretty trying week in other ways, besides the whole unpublished thing, but that's a whole other can of worms). I just keep reminding myself that I'm just as good of a writer as other people who have been published; maybe better than some, definitely worse than others. And that "If you don't have the determination to go along with your talent, you're washed up." (This is another very excellent and inspiring quote, said by Jenna Blum, that I have posted on my wall near the desk that I write at. I call this wall my Writing Wall of Fame, even though there's nothing really famous on it. Just a lot of quotes and comics and cartoons about writing.) So I just need to suck it up and keep plugging away.

my Writing Wall of Fame


Re: plugging away, I've spent the last few days combing through "Jeff Herman's Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, and Literary Agents" for agents who may be interested in "Gluteus" (which, in case you missed the post where I mentioned it, is the title of my book. Actually the full title is "Gluteus to the Minimus"). So the next step is to brush up my query and then send it out to the agents I hi-lited. And then it's nail biting time! Eek!

Now, before I sign off, I have one more thing to say: Many thanks to Mimi, who has posted the one and only comment on this blog so far. Mimi, you rock! Here's a little something just for you--enjoy!