Happy February
My book's out this month!
How is that even possible?
Dear Readers,
Last week started in the way many great weeks do: a sense of calm, a sense of not-panic, a sense of the universe lining things up for success, a sense of control over the choices I’d made getting things better lined up in order to perhaps stress a bit less in the new year (this is the new year still, right?). Anyway obviously then some unforeseen stuff blew up all this calm and I’m just shrugging to no one like I’m Jim on the Office sans camera crew but with better hair.
BUT I AM TRYING TO REMAIN CALM she screams in all-caps. This weekend I’m headed off to the desert for my annual writing retreat, though the only itinerary we maintain is for drinks and dinners at night. I have some ideas of what I’m working on; the beauty of a writing retreat when you’re sans deadlines is a bit more of a sense of freedom than I’ve had lately. I’m starting off the long weekend with nothing more than a pile of research and two paragraphs of a pitch I started last year. Don’t get excited for an update; I’m unlikely to tell you if all I do is reread my research and daydream or if I get actual pages started or whatever else happens. I WILL tell you I am already thinking about the hot tub.
To be fair I am often thinking about hot tubs!!
I truly cannot believe that At Her Service will be out soon! I am so, so proud of this book. It gave me a chance to write about being in one’s twenties, moving from a small town to your dream big city, trying to find connections in a world when that feels hard, and of course… hot bartenders. Or hot bartender, singular, at least.
I hope to be seeing some of you soon, or soon-ish. Los Angeles and St. Louis, please join me for my book launch events!
In March I will be at the Tucson Festival of Books!
And in September, I’ll be in Milwaukee for Romance Con! I have never been to Milwaukee before.
Below, I have some writing advice from very cool person Kayla Cagan!
xoxoAmy
Get Your Ask On
Today we’ve got advice from Kayla Cagan, author of Art Boss.
I want to start writing a novel, but I'm so overwhelmed. How do I get going instead of waiting any longer?
KC: Hi! So, first things first - do you want to write a novel or is there a story you are dying to tell, you’re so excited about it, you discuss it with your writing or creative pals? If you want to write a novel, that’s great. No shame in that game.
But if you need to scratch a particular story’s itch, you begin very simply. Write down one line or two - your idea! Your story! There it is! You’ve started and you’re writing. This could take 2 minutes or 10 minutes or an hour or a day, but you’ve started! Then, the next day or writing time you have, you write down the scenes that you’ve been thinking about - they don’t have to be in order. Maybe a dog runs into the street. Maybe a young soldier is returning from the war. Maybe a girl trips down the bleachers in front of a school assembly. Some of your ideas are down on paper. They’re right in front of you. You can see them. They are physical and not just living in your brain anymore. Now, how do you want to build toward them and away from them? Who are the characters in your story? Where is it set? Why is your story cringe or funny or horny or mean or all of the above? Can you discuss it with friends who get it? Because you’re on your way. You’re having fun, and you’ve begun. Keep it playful, and keep it going whenever your timing and schedule allows. You’re not on a deadline yet, but I always give myself one so I then have to develop discipline, too. You might try this, too. If you want to finish your novel - that’s diffident than beginning it - you’ve got to carve out the time and commit to it - which I think you will do anyway because by then you’ve fallen in love with figuring it out. Borrow craft books from the library and friends when you get stuck. Keep talking to your pals about it and keep your book it in the conversation. You’ve started something you’ve wanted to do - and yes there will be hard times, but you can keep going. Write a little at a time. Read in your genre as much as possible. Set a timer for 5 minutes and begin because a) I’ve talked too much and b) I want to read the story that won’t leave you alone. My last bit of advice came from poet Robert Hass - and it helped me write Piper Perish, my first published novel. The advice: “Take the time to write. You can do your life's work in half an hour a day.” That’s what I did.
So don’t give up, or give in to fears. Get writing!
If you have any questions about writing, publishing, revising, genres, querying, being on submission, etc., reply to this email and ask! Your question may be featured in an upcoming newsletter!
At Her Service is coming in February!
(And it’s on NetGalley now!)
Remember, if you order from the amazing indie bookstore Skylight Books, you will receive these EXCLUSIVE and ADORABLE stickers!
(I will also have stickers AT the Skylight event, as well as the Left Bank Book event!)
A sweetly sexy, thoroughly modern new novel about single life, social media, career goals, and making the bold move to grab your own happiness—and write your own love story.
Max Van Doren has a wish list, and a great career and a girlfriend are at the top. But despite being pretty good at her job as an assistant to one of Hollywood’s fastest rising talent agents, she has no idea how to move up the ladder. And when it comes to her love life, she’s stuck in perpetual lust for an adorably perfect bartender named Sadie. Her goals are clear—and Max has everything but the self-confidence to go for them. Even her mother seems to assume she’ll be crawling home to her childhood bedroom at some point . . .
When Max’s roommate, Chelsey—an irritatingly gorgeous and self-assured influencer in plus-size and queer spaces—offers to sponsor her for a new self-actualization app, Max gives in. If she can’t run her own life, maybe an algorithm guiding her choices will help? Suddenly Max is scoring big everywhere, and her dreams are achingly close to coming true. But when one of Chelsey’s posts reveals Sadie’s part in the app’s campaign, Max is poised for heartbreak on all fronts. Tired of the sponcon life with its fake friends and endless selfies, Max realizes that to have true influence, she’ll have to find the courage to make her own, totally authentic way in the world.
“Spalding brings her twentysomething protagonists to life in this romance that delivers on both the heroine’s self-actualization journey and her happily-ever-after. A must buy” —Library Journal
Today it rained a lot in LA, just in case you still believe it never happens here… IT DOES!