I hope that I have not offended or upset my friends and faithful readers who come to this blog and whose readership I appreciate with all my heart. It is a shock to know that those with less than positive feelings towards me may make an effort to find me on the Internet and come to the waters of this blog, seeking poison. I do feel my reaction was very strong yesterday and, of course, will qualify me as a biotch in some arenas. Strong women, especially those who stand up for themselves, are often made into biotches in the eyes of those who really want to see them as such, and I'm not a stranger to that. Which leads me to the idea of censorship and blogs: I use pseudonyms and little to no identifying material in this blog. I may have mentioned that I have gotten onto the lecturer list at UCSC, but the name of my alma mater remains blank, for the most part, in these posts. And, of course, all that is expressed here is the humble opinion of Ms. Strega and should not be taken as holy writ.
On happier notes, I have an agent interested in reading the first fifty pages of my book! This request came to me by snail mail, and I nearly tossed the envelope, thinking it was a rejection. Thank the Goddess this agent actually used my stamps on the return envelope! Also, the head of the agency herself wrote a personal note on it, rather than an assistant or underling, which I really liked (this agent used to work for the Ellen Levine Agency, and moved on to found her own literary agency). So, off to the races again. I still feel my first chapter is wonky--but the first fifty pages ends precisely at a suspenseful moment, so maybe she'll want to read on.
I also got a letter yesterday from one of my last living relatives from the time of Mamma Nonna and my grandmother. He wrote a beautiful letter describing Mamma Nonna, and telling me that my grandmother Mary was a lovely person who helped him with his schoolwork late at night when he was in grammar school and high school. One of the reasons I wrote this book is so that my grandmother--of whom little physical evidence exists that she ever lived--would not vanish into obscurity. Now someone else remembers her, and remembers her as being of the same temperament I do. I like having these kinds of confirmations.
4 comments:
"...will qualify me as a biotch in some arenas."
You're a biotech? That's so cool. You seem so lifelike and full of human emotions. I never would have guessed you for a biotech.
Good going on the manuscript! Whoohoo!
Ellen ;-)
Actually, I'm a biosphere. Just kidding. thanks for visiting and wish me luck.
That's so great that an agent wants to read the first 50 pages! Doesn't surprise me, though. Your book getting published is just a matter of time.
Blogs are such weird animals. I don't write with a pseudonym & while I agree with you about the creative doilies (love that image!) I did go back and take out some things I'd written that, in my naivetee, I hadn't thought about my agent and/or potential publishers reading. I thought about those items through their eyes and realized, in my energetic haste to write out some bloggy-juicy-stuff (weird, it was like an alien had taken over my body)...anyway, I revisited some stuff through their eyes and thought I sounded like the writer-from-hell, whose work I'd never want to take on. So I've shied away from certain topics and am keeping them in my journal. That said, I hear you loud and clear and DIG your expression of agency. Very real.
ox
Thanks, Kate--yes, I do think it's good to be careful--still, I hate, in my own case, to see a negative person trying to use my blog for equally negative purposes. That was an amazing experience.
Thank you again for the encouragement about my book--I am wishing and hoping for wonderful things with yours, too!
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