Maria Lima's Blog, page 4

Despite all their shenanigans, Frankie & Blue can be adorably cute.

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(Since tomorrow is Turkey Day, and many of you will be offline, I’m publishing my Thursday post early)



I saw this photo online a while back and it made me laugh. 



We go through life with the old “if life shuts a door, open a window” adage – which I get. I understand that it means to look for another solution, another path. And that’s valid.



But this sentiment also resonates. Don’t just accept that the door is closed. Open the damned thing. It’s okay to change the rules!



Is the door locked? Then look for a key or a lockpick.



I want to apply this analogy to writing–specifically, my own career (such as it is.)


Soooo many times, the door got shut in my face as I shopped Matters of the Blood around to various agents. Some read my letter, synopsis and sample chapters and basically Just Said No. Some asked for a full manuscript (and this was in the days of actual paper manuscripts), so after the initial OMG YES! reaction, I had to scramble, print out a copy and snail mail it to said agent. After reading said manuscript, they pretty much all said, thanks, but no thanks (in varying degrees of well, it’s okay, but…)



It was a slog, sure. I’m actually grateful, because the first version of the book that I shopped wasn’t right–at all. It needed tightening, editing, and fleshing out…which I did, and ended up with a better story.



Then I went back to try to reopen that door–which I did. And I set off submitting to agents and directly to publishing houses. 



Still, doors continued to be shut in my face. 



Eventually, discouraged, the door reopened: at least, there was a knock and I answered it.



I’d worked with a particular micropress before, with the Sisters in Crime Chesapeake Chapter anthology. We had great service, books came out in time for a fabulous kickoff signing at Mystery Loves Company in Baltimore, so when the owner showed up and offered to read my manuscript, I gladly sent it to him (electronically, even!). He offered me a contract and I happily signed. It was before urban fantasy was a thing, and most publishers just did not know what to do with this genre, so I figured, what the heck. The contract got signed, I never really got much in the way of editing, but I was new, and didn’t realize this was a red flag. My cover art…well, let’s just say it wasn’t completely awful, but it was close. The book came out, and it got some decent reviews…but then…the door closed.



Only, this door didn’t just shut, it VANISHED. 



Micropress guy overextended himself (as they do), and before my book really got off the ground, he disappeared and stopped responding to emails and phone calls. Yeah, not a new story, sadly. Same thing happened to too many authors. What sucked is that I though I had done my due diligence. I’d had an excellent experience with the anthology, and figured this experience would at least match that. And I wasn’t afraid of self-promotion: it’s not like if I signed with a Big House, that I’d be free of that.



So, I couldn’t reopen that door, not even with a sledgehammer.



This time, I ended up finding another door.



Just when I was thisclose to giving up this damned writing lark, the door opened back up.
This time, a reputable small press was interested in reprinting Matters, and possibly doing more books. At first, I was leery…another small press? But, turns out, this one had been in business for a looong time, and I figured, okay, dooo eeeet.



And I did.



That small door opened MUCH wider when said press made a deal with Pocket Books and my series ended up at a Big Five house after all.



The path: crooked af, but eventually, my determination in re-opening that door paid off.



Now, the door is slightly ajar, as I try to balance my chronic illness/lack of energy with writing, but I’ve not closed and locked it. 

 

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When my dad heads to bed at night, this is usually what greets him. Mom’s on the right side, reading. Blue and Frankie sprawl out on the left.

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I posted this on my patreon as a public post, read here or there.

Abroad by Liz Jacobs

It’s the story of an immigrant student, now studying in London who is coming to terms with who he is: as a Russian Jew, as gay and as he figures out where he belongs.


Nick’s story really hit home for me. Although I’m not a Russian Jew, I am an immigrant. Born in Cuba and brought to the U.S. at age almost-3, escaping Fidel Castro’s regime. I can’t tell you how much I identify with Nick’s struggle–as an immigrant, being in a new place and (eventually) coming out of the closet. 



I remember being in first grade (or kinder) crying because I didn’t understand what the teacher wanted, because I didn’t speak English well enough.



I remember being ashamed of my mother’s accent, because kids in school teased me about it. We never spoke Spanish at home, as my parents figured we’d assimilate better if we concentrated on English. There were so many cultural differences that I just didn’t get. 


My father had wanderlust and we moved house pretty much every year until they divorced when I was 16. We never got a chance to settle and become part of a community and I was always the “new kid;” the outsider. This is something that helped me out in later years, as I find it fairly easy to connect with new people now, but as a kid, it was so very tough.



Coming out as not-straight: a tough one. I’m old enough to be a tail-end baby boomer, and my generation did not just come out. I wasn’t sure how to tell people that I was bi/pan. We just did not talk about our sexualities so freely. Friends knew, especially fannish friends, but family? Not so much. Though, once I finally did say something, my mom told me she’d known for a long time – go figure. 



In Abroad, Liz captures the essence of all of these feelings so very well. I’m not a college-age Russian Jewish guy, but I understand Nick deeply and I very much want to get to know him and the other characters better. Can’t wait for the sequel.

Today’s Patron-only post is live! I talk about my foray into writing critical essays on pop culture – and getting paid to do so!





Since it’s Thursday, what better focus than the essay that started it all, Another Roadside Attraction: The Role of the Trickster for the Smart Pop book: In the Hunt: Unauthorized Essays on Supernatural. For SPN fans, you get the Thursday connection.