Monday, March 31, 2008

Amy Tan & My Year to Publish

I love Amy Tan. In fact, my husband calls me the Latina Amy Tan. Kinda like when they called Alisa Valdes Rodriguez the Latina Terry McMillan. Seriously though, I fell in love with Amy Tan in college when I took a Women in Literature class, one of my many English Lit classes to fulfill my minor in English. I loved that class and I loved the professor. And that's where I met Amy Tan when we read The Joy Luck Club.

A while back I bought my daughter a children's book by Amy Tan, The Moon Lady. For some crazy reason I had never read it to my daughter. Tonight I read it to my daughter for the first time and we loved it!! It is so beautifully written. I only wish that one day I can reach the same level as Amy Tan. She is on a totally different level of many writers and often I wonder if it's because she has a doctorate in Linguistics. I love the images that she weaves with her words. Plus her illustrator was wonderful.

OK. It's late. It was a tough week. I'm trying very hard to be positive and to focus on the good things in my life- like my beautiful brilliant children, my husband, my weight loss, and making it to finalist in the Glimmertrain short story contest. That's what I focus on and I think about come what may, I have those things.

I am going to publish my first novel this year. I know it. I know this is the year that it will happen. Something just tells me that. And if that happens I will be happy and complete. When I found out I was having a boy during my second pregnancy my best childhood friend told me that I was getting all that I wanted, a girl and a boy. If i publish my book this year then I will have all that I ever wanted personally and I will be happy.

I have been putting myself out there a lot more and I think it's working. Some people may think I am the total bragger, but I call myself my best PR agent ever. I will never need a PR person, because after being in sales for 19 years I can't think that anybody can possibly sell me and my work better than ME. I will sell my first novel, come what may. This is my year.

Seriously, if you haven't read my blog entry over at skirt! check it out and let me know what you think. I think it was a pretty ballsy entry for me in a very White magazine, but I think it was educational too. Send me your thoughts.

2 comments:

Moose said...

Positive thinking sister.

P-O-S-I-T-I-V-E thinking.

Coco said...

I LOVE Amy Tan!!
And yes, I read The Moon Lady to my class : )

Yay for publishing your book (hopefully) this year. I would LOVE to read it : )

Yes, I went to "SKIRT" and read your article...it's very well written. For me- my preference of language depends on the subject matter being read, as well as the author's mother tongue.

Un fuerte y caluroso abrazo,
bendiciones.