Congratulations in Order
So congratulations to Jeanne on the official release date of her novel, The Becoming. I'm sure she'll be able to scare up some talented friends to entertain and convince guests at her book launch that they need MULTIPLE copies.

And congratulations, too, to Mario who was named one of the top ten Hispanic authors to look out for. My Stanford alum, Daniel Olivas, was also on this list. Daniel, a talented fiction and freelance writer, has also done amazing work promoting and supporting other writers.

Now that the holiday season (agh, agh, agh) is open us, we are being bombarded by a zillion messages to spend money in order to buy happiness for ourselves and others. I always thought that books brought happiness, and they're relatively inexpensive. The problem is: how do you choose a book for someone else? The husband usually writes down the titles of books he wants on scraps of paper. I collect them when I want to buy a present for him.

But I think the best way to choose is to select a book that someone else wants -- not the book that you think they should want. A gift book should not be medicine; it should be a delight.

Bookseller Chick has an entertaining rant on the season in her blog.

Speaking of gift books, my pal Nancy Levine's new book, Letters to a Young Pug, has just been released. Nancy is a very funny writer, performer, and photographer. We all love to dress our pets in silly costumes, but Nancy's figured out a way to do this professionally. Her pugs, Wilson andHomer, are the stars of her photography stories about a spiritual master and his student. Talk about pets earning their keep...

Biting News: I just found out that the great William Faulkner wrote a VAMPIRE SCREENPLAY while he was destroying himself in Hollywood. I'm hoping that someone will produce it without messing too much with Faulkner's writing.  ¶ posted by Marta @ 9:56 AM