Some lessons from Tom Clancy’s first novel

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tom-clancy-the-hunt-for-red-octoberTom Clancy is one of the biggest authors of our time. How did he break in? It’s an interesting story that Deborah Grosvenor, the editor who acquired The Hunt for Red October (Clancy’s first book), tells here.

And this early interview provides more insights.

So what conclusions can you draw from this? Here’s what I picked up.

1. Writing a good book is one thing. That book finding success is quite another.

2. Endorsements from the right people make a huge difference. More here in my blog Is Product Popularity Random?

3. Know what you write. And if you don’t know it, do the research. And then invent what you have to.

4. It’s not always a bad thing to start with a small press, especially if they’re going to put as much $$ into marketing and PR as this one did.

5. To finish your novel, you’re going to have to set aside time and get it done.

6. Finally, follow the zing. Clancy loved this stuff. Notice how his book was fed by the stories he heard and read.

Maya, a character for a thriller?

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mayalassiterbeachphotoMaya lives in a yurt.

She has glorious garbage floors.

And chickens that run around and lay pastel eggs in odd places like buckets–Easter every day.

Here’s a list of her most popular blogs.

So, folks. Maya has a fascinating life (as do most people when you start to get the details). So fascinating that you can’t help but want to write about someone like her to see where the story goes. Go read her blog and tell me you don’t agree.  It doesn’t get any better than this.

In fact, what would happen if I took a Maya and put her in that thriller I’ve got incubating? 

Oh, baby. Zing.

Freecreditreport.com Ads

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Since I watch about 45 minutes of raw TV each week I tend to be behind on commercials. And while I don’t mind that most of the time, these were too good to miss. I luvs them. I really do.

DREAM GIRL

SINGING PIRATES

AND THE BEST OF ALL…NEW CAR
Love the beat and lyrics

A War of Gifts by Orson Scott Card

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orson-card-war-of-giftsI think this has just become one of my favorite Card stories (note: like Stonefather, this is NOT a novel, but another novella). I’m sure part of the interest stemmed from the religious angle. Many people of many differing faiths will see their religion in it, but there were so many of my own beliefs twisted and made into frights that I felt Card was speaking directly to me. I’m sure another part was that I served my LDS mission in the Netherlands and the story revolves around a Dutch tradition. And it didn’t hurt that I listened to the audio version read by Scott Brick and Stefan Rudnicki. But there was more to it than that.  In the end, it was the saving of the main character, Zeck Morgan, that made me care.

Because I should be working on my novel now, I’m going to simply quote the summary from Publisher’s Weekly review so you get an idea of what it’s about: “When Zeck Morgan, the young son of a puritanical minister, qualifies for admission into the International Fleet’s Battle School, he is brought to the school against his will. Citing his pacifist religious beliefs, Zeck refuses to participate in any simulated war games, but when he sees a Dutch student give a friend a small present in celebration of Sinterklaas Day, he [thinks he sees a way to be sent home].”

Okay, so I shortened the PW summary. I did so because this isn’t about religious holidays, as their summary leads you to believe. It’s about something far more important, and Card does a great job writing about it.